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Rethinking the food bank: It’s no longer just about handing out food to the hungry

Nick Saul is having another “wow” moment. Literally.

In giant blue capital letters, the word seems to dance on the office wall behind him as Saul speaks excitedly about his latest plan to turn the food bank concept on its head.

“I want to harness the power of food to connect, empower and create knowledge and skills — and hope and self-worth,” he says.

“Other than checking your humanity at the door and picking it up on the way out — how can (the food bank) experience be fuelling self-worth and hope and a sense that things can change?”

Green Communities

Super Weeds No Easy Fix For US Agriculture-Experts

A fast-spreading plague of "super weeds" taking over U.S. farmland will not be stopped easily, and farmers and government officials need to change existing practices if food production is to be protected, industry experts said on Thursday.

"This is a complex problem," said weed scientist David Shaw in remarks to a national "summit" of weed experts in Washington to come up with a plan to battle weeds that have developed resistance to herbicides.

Local Agriculture

Ontario Cattlemen Leadership Development Program

Guelph, ON – In collaboration with the Rural Ontario Institute (ROI), the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) committed in the fall of 2011, to the development and implementation of a pilot program to recruit and train a group of visionary organization leaders who are capable of moving the Ontario beef industry forward. The first class of the program commenced in January, 2012 and OCA is pleased to announce that upon completion of the spring session in mid‐April, 15 participants have successfully graduated from the program.

The fall program is scheduled to begin with three multi‐day sessions over a period of four months beginning in September, 2012. Applications and curriculum information can be found on the OCA website. 20 participants will be selected to participate in this session. Applications will be accepted until 4pm on August 24, 2012.

Local Agriculture

2012 Spring Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Two decades have passed since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development—commonly known as the Earth Summit—was held at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In the intervening years, much has been accomplished on the green agenda, from reducing some key air pollutants to applying new technologies such as satellite remote sensing to help us understand complex linkages within and between ecosystems.

Climate Change

Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan says federal government will likely fall short on 2020 greenhouse gas targets

Ottawa—The federal government still has no solid plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and it’s almost certainly too late for it to recover in time to reach its 2020 goals, says a new environmental audit.

“Although the federal government has begun to lower greenhouse gas emissions, right now the reductions are not happening fast enough to meet the 2020 target,” Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan said in a report tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Climate Change

Vermont Will Be First U.S. State to Ban Fracking

MONTPELIER, Vermont, May 8, 2012 (ENS) - Vermont is about to become the first U.S. state to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for natural gas.

The Vermont House of Representatives voted 103-36 Friday to approve a conference committee report calling for the ban. The report reconciles differences with a bill banning the practice passed by the state Senate last week.

Goat vote meetings scheduled

May 2 - Ontario’s goat producers are getting ready to have their say on how Ontario Goat (OG) and the goat industry will be shaped and positioned for the future.

This follows the recent announcement from the Farm Products Marketing Commission (FPMC) that a producer “expression of opinion” vote will be held on Ontario Goat’s proposal seeking marketing board status.

Local Agriculture

New provincial food strategy initiative requires farmer input (2012)

By Bette Jean Crews, Director Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)

A provincial initiative is underway to create a food and nutrition strategy for Ontario. Sustain Ontario – a coalition of health and food industry professionals – is among a group of organizations contributing to the document, which is available on the group’s website until May 31, 2012.

While the coalition is particularly interested in health and healthy eating, they also plan to focus on agricultural practices such as economically and environmentally sustainable farming. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) believes that’s where Ontario farmers and agricultural organizations can pitch in.

To comment go to Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy.

Green Communities

Japan switches off last nuclear power plant; will it cope?

Japan shuts down its last working nuclear power reactor this weekend just over a year after a tsunami scarred the nation and if it survives the summer without major electricity shortages, producers fear the plants will stay offline for good.

Climate Change

Genetically modified crops' results raise concern

Washington -- Biotechnology's promise to feed the world did not anticipate "Trojan corn," "super weeds" and the disappearance of monarch butterflies.

But in the Midwest and South - blanketed by more than 170 million acres of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton - an experiment begun in 1996 with approval of the first commercial genetically modified organisms is producing questionable results.

Local Agriculture

Sustainability

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