Saturday, December 6, 2014

An Eleven Year-Old Boy Sets Us Straight (Video)

New Project in Manitoba, Canada, Provides Information to Farm Operations Switching to Loose Sow Housing

Government of Manitoba.
Screen image from 'Crated Cruelty, Canada's pork industry 
animal abuse exposed' website. A Mercy For Animals Canada 
undercover investigation that took place in 2012 looked into animal 
abuse at Puratone, one of the nation's largest pork producers located in Arborg, Manitoba.
Hog producers will benefit from research on switching from gestation stalls to loose sow housing as a result of a pilot project underway at a Maple Leaf Foods barn near Steinbach, Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced today. 

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Canadian Wheat Board Prepares for Corporate Takeover

CBC News
Wheat field. Larry Powell PinP photo.
Foreign multinational could assume control without reimbursing Canadian farmers, taxpayers. Story here.

Canada’s Wheat Exports Dogged by Quality Complaints

Manitoba Co-Operator

Buyers of Canadian wheat are increasingly complaining about quality ever since Ottawa changed how its biggest crop is sold and inspected, raising the risk the world’s third largest exporter will lose sales to rivals such as the U.S. Details here.

Dozens of Lawsuits Filed Over Syngenta's Release of GMO Corn Seed That China Refuses to Buy

Winnipeg Free Press

Agrochemicals giant Syngenta is facing a growing number of lawsuits challenging its release of a genetically modified corn seed that China had not approved for import, with losses to farmers estimated to be at least $1 billion. Story here.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Federal Scientists Muzzled by the Office of the Canadian Prime Minister




Manitoba Co-Operator

Stance on antibiotic issues hard to pin down. Story here.

Larry Powell PinP photo.

A Court Orders Canada's Yukon Territory to Consult Again on a Plan For the Storied Peel Watershed.

The Canadian Press
WHITEHORSE - First Nations and environmental groups scored a major victory today as a judge ordered Yukon's government to go back to the consultation stage over preservation of the massive Peel River watershed (above). Story here.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Canada's Climate Inaction Leaves it 'Increasingly Isolated' as a Big Climate Meeting Begins.

CBCnews

Provinces step up to fill policy vacuum as Canada faces mounting international pressure. Story here. 

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Harper Government Destroys Farmer Control Over Seed

National Farmers Union
Organic hemp. Is it next? Larry Powell PinP photo.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is sounding the alarm with the passing of Bill C-18, the Agriculture Growth Act omnibus bill yesterday in the House of Commons. “Farmers must now contend with UPOV ’91. UPOV ’91 is one of the most farmer-unfriendly mechanisms we have ever seen,” exclaimed Jan Slomp, NFU President. Story here.

Alberta Pipeline Spills 60,000 Litres Of Crude

The Canadian Press

RED EARTH CREEK, Alta. - The Alberta Energy Regulator says close to 60,000 litres of crude oil have spilled into muskeg in the province's north. Story here.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Tanzania Government Denies Plan to Evict Maasai for Lion Hunting

Bloomberg News

Tanzanian Natural Resources Minster Lazaro Nyalandu said reports are false that the government would evict 40,000 ethnic Maasai from traditional lands being sold to rich Middle Eastern investors. Story here.

NFU Condemns Israel’s Destruction of Seeds in Palestine

The NFU (Canada) condemns the Israeli military forces'  targeted destruction  of a Seed Multiplication Unit in the southern West Bank ci...