Growing Resistance: Canadian Farmers and the Politics of Genetically Modified Wheat

Emily Eaton (Author)
University of Manitoba Press

Purchase book HERE.

In 2004 Canadian farmers led an international coalition to a major victory for the anti-GM movement by defeating the introduction of Monsanto’s genetically modified wheat. 

Canadian farmers’ strong opposition to GM wheat marked a stark contrast to previous producer acceptance of other genetically modified crops. By 2005, for example, GM canola accounted for 78% of all canola grown nationally. So why did farmers stand up for wheat?

In Growing Resistance, Emily Eaton reveals the motivating factors behind farmer opposition to GM wheat. She illustrates wheat’s cultural, historical, and political significance on the Canadian prairies as well as its role in crop rotation, seed saving practices, and the economic livelihoods of prairie farmers.

Through interviews with producers, industry organizations, and biochemical companies, Eaton demonstrates how the inclusion of producer interests was integral to the coalition’s success in voicing concerns about environmental implications, international market opposition to GMOs, and the lack of transparency and democracy in Canadian biotech policy and regulation.

Growing Resistance is a fascinating study of successful coalition building, of the need to balance local and global concerns in activist movements, and of the powerful forces vying for control of food production.

REVIEWS

“This is a unique and important work. The preponderance of discussion on GM resistance has focused on consumer/health, environmental and economic issues. This work, by focusing on farmers’ perspectives, is exploring new territory, opening questions, giving insights into a different kind and level of thought and argument in the field.”

– Nettie Wiebe, Department of Church and Society, St. Andrew’s College, University of Saskatchewan, and former president of the National Farmers’ Union

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Eaton is an assistant professor of geography at the University of Regina specializing in political economy and natural resource economies. She is also active in a variety of social justice struggles.

Opposition growing to sale of Sask. community pastures

BY BRUCE JOHNSTONE

REGINA LEADER-POST

Cattle Roundup at a Sask. Community Pasture

MARCH 28, 2013 3:30 PM

A growing number of organizations are lining up to oppose the provincial government's plan to sell off all or part of the 1.6 million acres of community pastures that were transferred back to the province by the federal government in last year's budget.

And the group organizing that opposition, Public Pastures-Public Interest (PPPI), has come up with six principles to guide the management of the 62 federally managed pastures, including continued public ownership, livestock grazing under professional management, and preservation of what has been called "the largest blocks of native grassland" in the country.

"We've got 18 organizations from all across Canada and from Saskatchewan ... endorsing a set of basic principles that we hope can be used to guide Saskatchewan forward in the transition of these important grasslands in the PFRA (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration) pastures that have been transferred to Saskatchewan's responsibility,'' said Trevor Herriot, spokesperson for PPPI.

Roll on Saskatchewan

STOMPIN' TOM: ROLL ON SASKATCHEWAN on WORLD WATER DAY ACTION

 

Harper government in frenzy as doubts grow over Keystone XL pipeline

BY DAVE COLES

RABBLE.CA

MARCH 19, 2013

"In a bad omen for his leadership, Broten responded to Premier Wall's pressure by telling reporters: "To clear the record ... I support the Keystone XL pipeline because of a triple bottom line assessment looking at environmental, economic and social reasons."



Stephen Harper's government and a big part of Canada's ruling establishment are in a frenzy over Keystone XL.

The Conservatives and their provincial allies have spent millions (probably tens of millions) of dollars in public money to push a pipeline that will export Canadian jobs, trample First Nations rights and, overall, be bad for the environment. But it'll be good for the profit margins of some of their oil industry friends.

Pursuing the Pipeline Pipe-Dream

By Jim Harding
No Nukes
March 7, 2013

Prime Minister Harper’s view that Alberta’s tarsands will be the economic motor for the Canadian Energy Superpower is starting to unravel. Alberta faces a $6 billion revenue shortfall and will face a $4 billion deficit. Last year it predicted “only” an $800 million deficit. Premier Redford can’t displace responsibility on to a shortage of pipelines, for Alberta’s budgetary calculations can’t be based upon hypothetical scenarios. Norcan Saskatchewan’s, which projected a $95 million surplus, which has dropped to $9 million.

When the Keystone XL was put on hold before the US presidential election, Harper and Alberta quickly shifted their support to the Northern Gateway pipeline to the BC coast, to access the Asian market. But even if Harper could end-run environmental assessment and force en-route support, it would take up to 7 years to make the Asian market a reality. What might Alberta’s cumulative deficit look like then? What guarantees are there that the price of oil would stay the same? What if the price of carbon got added in, as it should? What guarantees are there that China won’t establish its own energy security plan, as is the US, which could be a net oil exporter by 2030?

Is Saskatchewan Thinking Globally and Acting Locally?

By Jim Harding

No Nukes
February 27, 2013

All of us everywhere on the planet must think globally while acting locally. Parochialism is counterproductive; our industrial practices anywhere act upon one planet, and the blowback from “Gaia” doesn’t occur proportionate to ecological abuse. The climate crisis is already dramatically affecting areas like the circumpolar Arctic, which contribute little if any greenhouses gases into the global mix; the early victims aren't necessarily the main perpetrators. The pursuit of global justice therefore goes hand in hand with the pursuit of sustainability.

How is our province doing facing up to this global challenge? The Wall government likely believes it is thinking globally and acting locally. We are after all, building our provincial economy out of world demand for non-renewable resources here. But this isn’t exactly what we mean. This is similar to the kind of thinking that was used to continue to ship slaves across oceans because there was still an economic demand; or for that matter, the thinking still used to try to justify exporting illicit drugs to lucrative markets abroad; the end justifies the means.

Free Film Event: Feb. 24, Regina

Biofuel rush wiping out America’s grasslands at fastest pace since the 1930s

Climate Connetions

February 21, 2013

Note: Rather than algae or cellulosic biofuels, as the author suggests, which will create just another grab for land to produce cellulose for bioenergy, we must challenge and ultimately dismantle the systems which give rise to the exorbitant consumption of energy. Without addressing the drivers of energy and resource consumption, social and ecological devastation will only continue to accelerate.
–The GJEP Team

By Brad Plumer

 February 20, 2013

Source: The Washington Post

This map shows the percentage of existing grasslands that were converted into corn or soybean fields between 2006 and 2011. Photo: Washington Post

America’s prairies are shrinking. Spurred on by the rush for biofuels, farmers are digging up grasslands in the northern Plains to plant crops at the quickest pace since the 1930s. While that’s been a boon for farmers, the upheaval could create unexpected problems.

A new study by Christopher Wright and Michael Wimberly of South Dakota State University finds that U.S. farmers converted more than 1.3 million acres of grassland into corn and soybean fields between 2006 and 2011, driven by high crop prices and biofuel mandates (right). In states like Iowa and South Dakota, some 5 percent of pasture is turning into cropland each year.

The City of Regina’s Unquenchable Thirst for Bad Ideas

By Simon Enoch
Saskatchewan Office CCPA
February 13th, 2013

It seems the City of Regina just can’t get enough of bad deals. Hot on the heels of the City Plaza debacle and the stadium funding mess, the City has now announced its intention to enter into a 30-year contract with a private corporation to upgrade its waste water treatment facilities. Just as the City seems immune to the evidence that sports stadiums are a poor use of taxpayer money it seems equally oblivious to the mountain of evidence that essential public infrastructure should remain in public hands. In the case of contracting out wastewater treatment, the record is anything but reassuring.

Event: "Create a Better World Together"

Mother Earth Justice Advocates

MEJA facebook event page HERE.

‘Collaboration Agreement’ with uranium giants sparks opposition in northern Saskatchewan

By Scott Harris

Council of Canadians

December 3rd, 2012 

Revelations last week that the northern Saskatchewan community of Pinehouse is set to sign a so-called “collaboration agreement” with uranium giants Cameco and Areva have sparked outrage in the community due to terms of the agreement that residents say is a blatant attempt to silence opposition to the expansion of uranium mining in the area.

A summary of the agreement, obtained by the Committee for Future Generations, contains a number of alarming terms, including that “Under the Collaboration Agreement, Pinehouse is expected to fully support Cameco/Areva’s mining,” including existing operations, proposed projects, and, incredibly, even future operations.

Perhaps most alarming, however, are the terms which aim to silence voices opposed to expanded uranium development. Th two terms, contained under the section “Other Promises,” state that Pinehouse promises to “Not make statements or say things in public or to any government, business agency that opposes Cameco/Areva’s mining operations” and “Make reasonable efforts to ensure Pinehouse members do not say or do anything that interferes with or delays Cameco/Areva’s mining, or do or say anything that is not consistent with Pinehouse’s promises under the Collaboration Agreement.”

Global Warming: A Weapon of Mass Destruction

By Yves Engler
Dissident Voice
November 30th, 2012

What do you call someone who pursues policies knowing that they contribute to large numbers of deaths?

A murderer? A politician?

At a minimum they should be investigated for crimes against humanity.

The point?

A slew of studies have detailed the growing toll anthropogenic global warming is having on millions of people around the world. The Climate Vulnerability Monitor has estimated that climate disturbances are already responsible for some 400,000 deaths per year with most of the victims living in poor countries that discharge few greenhouse gasses.

A September report commissioned by 20 governments found that over 100 million people will die by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change and carbon-intensive economies. “A combined climate-carbon crisis is estimated to claim 100 million lives between now and the end of the next decade,” the report conducted by humanitarian organization DARA explained. According to the study, five million die each year because of air pollution, hunger and disease caused by climate change and carbon-intensive economies. By 2030 that toll is expected to reach six million if current patterns of fossil fuel use continue.

The Oil Rush: Where's the Political Leadership for Sustainability?

By Jim Harding

Bakken Oil Rig

No Nukes
November 28, 2012

Our leaders aren’t really leading; they are following. They are following a big myth, even a delusion several centuries in the making that the economy can continue to expand without ecological blowback putting biodiversity, water quality, human wellbeing and our society at risk. The extreme weather events from global warming are the tip of the iceberg.

It’s taking a long time to sink in. Prime Minister Harper doesn’t get it and he may never. Premier Wall doesn’t act like he gets it either. Even past federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who was regularly briefed on climate change and spent some quality time with David Suzuki, still refuses to get it. Recently, speaking on CBC’s The National about the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, he says “failure is not an option”. Growing carbon emissions didn’t seem to cross his mind; it’s full speed ahead with heavy oil production. As Vice President of CIBC, a major funder of and profiteer from the tar sands, Prentice says we must find a “second customer” and do this quickly.

Grasslands in Peril: A public talk by Candace Savage

Candace Savage, best-selling author of "Prairie: A Natural History" and "A Geography of Blood: Unearthing Memory in a Prairie Landscape" is giving a public talk that highlights the heritage of the PFRA pastures.

These pastures, more than one million acres of public land, are some of the largest remnants of native prairie and sustainably grazed pasture that we have. They're valued for environmental, agricultural, recreational, and spiritual reasons. Now, the provincial government is putting them up for sal
e or lease.

Join Candace as she explains why these grasslands are important - and should matter - to everyone in Saskatchewan. The talk will be beautifully illustrated by a slide presentation of photographs from these vital grasslands.

Thursday, November 22, at 7:00 pm
Education Auditorium, University of Regina
Free parking in lots 13M and 14M

Candace's talk is a precursor to Friday's event: Public Pastures, Public Interest, a public forum and discussion on the future of Saskatchewan's public grasslands.

Sponsored by the University of Regina Departments of Biology and Geography, Campion College, RPIRG, and SM Solutions.

Stopping Nuclear Waste in its Tracks

Communities, Indigenous organizations pass resolutions against transportation and storage of nuclear waste in Saskatchewan

BY SANDRA CUFFE

The Dominion

October 2012

Growing numbers of communities in Saskatchewan are vowing to block nuclear waste from being transported through their territory. 

BEAUVAL, SK—Three places in northern Saskatchewan may be on the map in Canada's search for a high-level radioactive waste dump site, but the spent nuclear fuel bundles may be stopped in their tracks. Communities and Indigenous organizations along potential transport routes and beyond have been passing resolutions against nuclear waste.

The Northern Village of Pinehouse, English River First Nation and the town of Creighton are all currently in the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) site selection process to find a "willing host community" for a deep geological repository to house the waste piling up at nuclear reactors in Quebec, New Brunswick and especially Ontario.

Canada’s Spy Groups Divulge Secret Intelligence to Energy Companies

Documents raise fears that info on environmentalists, Indigenous groups and more shared with industry at biannual, secret-level, briefings.

BY TIM GROVES

The Dominion

October 10, 2012

Since 2005, the Canadian government has been organizing secret-level meetings between federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies and energy corporations to share intelligence on environmentalists' activities. 

The Canadian government has been orchestrating briefings that provide energy companies with classified intelligence from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the RCMP and other agencies, raising concerns that federal officials are spying on environmentalists and First Nations in order to provide information to the businesses they criticize.

The secret-level briefings have taken place twice a year since 2005, and are detailed in documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, and in publicly-available government files.

The draft agenda for one of the briefings, acquired by The Dominion, shows that the RCMP and CSIS assisted the department of Natural Resources in organizing a daylong event on November 25, 2010, at CSIS headquarters in Ottawa, and a networking reception the previous night at the Chateau Laurier.

Unhealthy meat from an unhealthy industry

Trevor Herriot's GrassNotes

October 3, 2012

So what do E. coli outbreaks, Saskatchewan's plans to sell off the former PFRA pastures, and the recent letters to the editor of the federal minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz, all have in common? No, it's not that they will all make you sick in the stomach.

We all have reason to worry

These three things are all signs that the Big Lies of our centralized and industrial approach to meat production are starting to wear thin. The lies? Here are some: 1. That the beef industry is serving the interests of small, local cattle producers who are doing so darn well they can afford all kinds of things, including a market price for the former community pastures. 2. That the current system, under which virtually all of Canada's cattle are slaughtered in massive facilities owned by an duopoly of the Nillson Bros. (they own XL Foods, producers of the recent E. coli) and Cargill, is working for both producers and consumers. 3. That it is possible to produce healthy beef products by taking animals fed for half a year in massive feedlots and then processing them in plants that handle as many as 4,500 head per day.

XL Foods and the Nillson Bros. have packing plants in the United States as well as feedlots, auction markets and cattle on feed. They are all about getting control of the entire supply chain from pasture to plate. No one should be surprised if we learn some day that they are the hidden backers behind an offer to purchase one or more of the pastures.


Ag Minister Ritz ponders his next assault on the truth

Meanwhile, Federal Minister Gerry Ritz, one of the main purveyors of official fiction about big agriculture in Canada, has nothing better to do than criticize Saskatchewan newspaper columnists who have the audacity to question agricultural policy. In his letter in today's Leader-Post, Ritz says that "because farmers expect us to work smarter with their tax dollars, we are winding down programs like community pastures and shelterbelts that have met their goals." Yep, I imagine he gets letters every day from farmers thanking him for cutting those programs.

But it is fun reading Ritz's letters to the editor, so here is another one worth a laugh or two. And a third where he takes a shot at Paul Hanley, Star-Phoenix columnist.

Dependence on China's Growth Not Path to Sustainability

By Jim Harding
No Nukes
September 26, 2012

Media coverage of Premier Wall’s recent trip to China was “dumbed-down”.  It takes courage to criticize an economy that is “doing well” in conventional terms. Conventional terms are exclusively about economic growth; not health, or justice, not human rights or the environment.

Once the global market becomes the political “be-all and end-all”, market-dependent politicians are inclined to simply follow the money, without a balanced consideration of outcomes, domestically or abroad. Surely governance and its reporting should involve more than cheerleading the hitching of our economic wagon to China’s totalitarian economic growth.

Sask. must do more to lessen coal dependence

BY PETER PREBBLE

THE STARPHOENIX

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

When Canada's Environment Minister Peter Kent came to Saskatchewan this month to announce Canada's new greenhouse gas emission regulations for coal fired power plants, the results were disappointing for anyone concerned about the well-being of our environment.

The new regulations are a significant weakening of what was originally presented to the public in draft form 13 months ago. Over the next 18 years, they will result in greenhouse gas pollution at Canada's coal fired generating stations being cut by less than half the amount originally proposed by Ottawa.

That announcement may have been satisfactory for SaskPower and the operators of Alberta's coal fired power plants, but it is not in the larger public interest. Greenhouse gas pollutants from these plants are the single most important reason why climate change on our planet is accelerating.

Out of province investors may be eyeing our pastures

Trevor Herriot's Grass Notes
September 12, 2012

Ten or twenty years after these signs disappear who will own the pastures?  

The Saskatchewan government says it wants to sell the federal pastures (until recently known as the PFRA or Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Association pastures) to local farmers. Ag minister Lyle Stewart says that they intend to sell the pastures one by one to the “patrons groups” made up of the cattle producers who have been grazing them.

That sounds so reasonable and nice, tugs at those strings we all keep in our stubblejumper hearts. What could be better than local Saskatchewan people banding together to gain control over the land that they need to raise their livestock? It’s almost like those first agricultural co-operatives we remember fondly from before the days of Viterra and NAFTA.

But hold on here. The price of land in this province is leaping well beyond the reach of the small to medium sized family farms that the Sask Party claims to embrace in its messaging. And the prices are expected to go higher. It’s tempting to blame the galloping land prices on the current government but unfortunately the Sask Party doesn’t have a corner on messing up the conditions small farmers depend on to make a living.