Update From East Africa: People Pushed To The Brink

Canadian Foodgrains Bank executive director Jim Cornelius is on a study leave in Kenya and Ethiopia. Last week he sent this observation from southern Ethiopia, which is experiencing its worst food crisis in 60 years. Unlike the major Ethiopia famines in 1972 and 1984, which were concentrated in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, this food

Taking Climate Change Seriously

While there is no such thing as an “average” farmer, there seems to be a certain proportion of the species with a somewhat selective attitude toward science-based research. When it comes to crop chemicals or genetically modified organisms, they are quite prepared to accept the vast majority of scientific opinion that they are perfectly safe,


Universities Flunking On Food Safety

The remarkable success in controlling many foodborne diseases must be considered one of the great achievements of public health in the past century. Due largely to public health laws, food regulatory agencies and continuous improvement by the food industry, we have almost eradicated human disease and death from many foodborne diseases such as scarlet fever,

Taking A Position On Agriculture And Climate Change

At its 66th annual international conference in July, the Soil and Water Conservation Society released this position statement on climate change and soil and water conservation. SWCS is a scientific organization with chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada, and which has over 5,000 members around the world. The Soil and Water Conservation Society finds that


Letters – for Jul. 28, 2011

The July 14 article, “Subsidies, new methods lift Zambian farm yields,” clearly positions accessing subsidies as being more important than applying the principles of conservation farming as key to increasing smallholder food production in Zambia. The experience of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is quite different. The Canadian Foodgrains Bank supports numerous conservation farming projects where

Protecting Tow Truck Drivers

Imagine you had the constant threat of being run over by a vehicle travelling upwards of 100 km per hour while trying to do your job. For over 400 tow truck drivers in Manitoba, this is their reality every day. The sudden gush of wind that passes as they hook up a car to the


It’s The Economy, Stupid

Canada’s ruling prime minister, Stephen Harper, seems to have persuaded voters that, as an “economist,” he is fit to rule the country, since there is nothing more important than “the economy.” But just what is it that he is talking about? An economy is how we organize our material affairs, from the household to the

Letters – for Jul. 21, 2011

I’m writing in response to a letter in your July 14 edition of theManitoba Co-operator.The letter was headlined as “It still comes back to hogs.” I am saddened and disheartened at the shots people take at the beleaguered hog industry. The person who wrote that particular letter should do a little homework. Right now, the


Open Letter To CWB Directors

The private elevator companies and the railways are expecting more revenue at the expense of the farmers’ income if Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz destroys our Canadian Wheat Board. The power of price negotiation for farmers is

Time To Pack It In?

Word was barely out that the federal government was withdrawing $10 million in financing for Keystone Processors Ltd. beef-slaughter facility last week and Manitoba Beef Producers was calling for an end to the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council. The association that is the voice of Manitoba beef producers, and which is supported by its own voluntary