In Brief… – for May. 27, 2010

Another barn fire: An empty chicken barn in the Steinbach area went up in flames May 19. Steinbach RCMP says it received an early-morning call and arrived at the scene south of the city to find the barn fully engulfed in flames. The fire resulted in the total loss of the barn, that had an

White House Garden Changing Attitudes

“In the single year since the groundbreaking, Mrs. Obama has caused a dramatic paradigm shift.” – EDDIE GEHMAN KOHAN When the first lady broke ground for a garden on the south lawn of the White House last spring, it was front-page news in the New York Times and Washington Post. Michelle Obama planted the first



COOL Case Finally Underway At WTO

“I don’t think they have any legal grounds to stand on.” – John Masswohl, Cca Canada’s long-delayed trade challenge to the U. S. country-of-origin labelling rule is finally ready to roll. The World Trade Organization last week named a three-person panel to rule on whether COOL violates international trade law. Canada and Mexico have launched


Course Seeks Peaceful Solution To Food Wars

Try to have a discussion on food production these days and you invariably end up in a fight. It usually goes something like this. Monsanto: bad. Organic: good. Or vice versa. Either way, it’s a confrontation. A special Canadian Mennonite University course next month aims at taking the conflict out of the food system debate.

Manitoba Shares Food Technology With India

Amemorandum of understanding (MOU) signed May 12 between the Province of Manitoba and the State of Haryana, India, will launch plans to create a food development centre in that state and cultivate a working relationship between the new facility and the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie, Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Stan


Familiar Issues In A “Complicated But Peaceful” Country

“When they (farm groups) were divided, I always won.” – PIET VANTHEMSCHE, BELGIAN FARMERS UNION Does this sound familiar? A national farm leader del iver ing a speech in two official languages, and calling for farmers to present a united front to government through a single farm organization rather than through a bunch of commodity

4-H Stakes Out Urban Turf

4 -H is looking to urban areas and the Aboriginal community to replenish its depleted membership, the chief executive officer of the Canadian 4-H Council told the Commons agriculture committee May 5. Mike Nowosad said 4-H is reaching out into urban centres to teach people about agriculture because there’s interest there. “We’re going to be


Silver Lining To EU Economic Crisis

The European Union’s economic crisis will create allies for a British government seeking to streamline the bloc’s farm policy in upcoming reform talks, the new U. K. agriculture minister said May 17. The economic situation means that reform of the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) must focus on prioritizing limited resources, said Conservative Minister Caroline

Sowing Seeds Of Hope For The World’s Hungry

“It’s just a Christian response to meet the needs of the hungry.” BARRY REIMER, CO-CHAIR AND FARMER WI TH THE KILLARNEY GROWI NG PROJECT, WHO SOWED THE SECOND HALF OF A 120-ACRE FIELD EARMARKED FOR THE CANADIAN FOODGRAINS BANK. The conditions couldn’t be better,” said Dale Balour, who wanted things to go perfectly on Monday,