Deconstructing Dinner

Natural Pastures Cheese Company The story of Natural Pastures is an inspiring one, as it's a story of how one farming family was able to preserve the heritage, social and environmental values of their dairy farm by diversifying and becoming a commercial cheesemaker. Natural Pastures sources their milk from a number of traditional farms on Vancouver Island, including one farm that raises water buffalo. While most of Natural Pastures cheeses are made with cow's milk, Natural Pastures is the only cheesemaker in Canada producing a variety of cheese that uses the milk of water buffalo. Host Jon Steinman visited the facility in October 2008. Agritourism While many farmers see the role of agritourism as a further insult to the dismal state of farming today, some farmers have recognized it as the only way to stay in business. DKT Ranch on Vancouver Island is one of those farms that has successfully remained in the business of farming by diversifying their operation to offer more than just food. Host Jon Steinman visi

Since March 2008, The Local Grain Revolution series has been following the evolution of Canada's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project for grain. A total of 180 members and one business from the communities of Nelson and Creston, British Columbia, are blazing a trail towards a local grain economy. Kootenay Harvest Revival III On this Part VI of the series, we continue with recordings from the Kootenay Harvest Revival - an event hosted by Deconstructing Dinner, the Nelson-Creston Grain CSA and All Seasons Café. The two-day event was held to celebrate the CSA's monumental harvest of grain and to use the success of the project as a "catalyst for a local food revolution." Day 1 of the event heard from a series of speakers who shared the history of food production in the Kootenay regions of British Columbia. By exploring what was once possible to grow and produce in the area, it was hoped that the event would inspire visions of what the soil is currently able to provide both now and into the future.

Since March 2008, The Local Grain Revolution series has been following the evolution of Canada's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project for grain. A total of 180 members and one business from the communities of Nelson and Creston, British Columbia, are blazing a trail towards a local grain economy. Kootenay Harvest Revival II On this Part V of the series, we explore the second in a three-part series of recordings from the Kootenay Harvest Revival - an event hosted by Deconstructing Dinner, the Nelson-Creston Grain CSA and All Seasons Café. The two-day event was held to celebrate the CSA's monumental harvest of grain and to use the success of the project as a "catalyst for a local food revolution." Day 1 of the event heard from a series of speakers who shared the history of food production in the Kootenay regions of British Columbia. By exploring what was once possible to grow and produce in the area, it was hoped that the event would inspire visions of what the soil is currently able to provide b

Since March 2008, The Local Grain Revolution series has been following the evolution of Canada's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project for grain. A total of 180 members and one business from the communities of Nelson and Creston, British Columbia, are blazing a trail towards a local grain economy. Kootenay Harvest Revival I On this Part IV of the series, we explore the first in a two-part series of recordings from the Kootenay Harvest Revival - an event hosted by Deconstructing Dinner, the Nelson-Creston Grain CSA and All Seasons Café. The two-day event was held to celebrate the CSA's monumental harvest of grain and to use the success of the project as a "catalyst for a local food revolution." Day 1 of the event heard from a series of speakers who shared the history of food production in the Kootenay regions of British Columbia. By exploring what was once possible to grow and produce in the area, it was hoped that the event would inspire visions of what the soil is currently able to provide both

On this episode, we continue where part II of the Genetically-Engineered (GE) Free Zones series left off with Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser, speaking in Castlegar, B.C. on July 10, 2008. Percy helped launch the GE-Free Kootenays campaign. Also at the event was GE-Free Kootenays' Andy Morel who described the steps that the campaign would take in the coming months. Fast-forward to October 20, when campaign spokesperson Kim Charlesworth requested from the cities of of Nelson and Castlegar that both councils adopt a GE-Free resolution and become a GE-Free zone. Deconstructing Dinner recorded the presentations. Also on this episode - an exclusive interview with Percy Schmeiser and his wife Louise. Host Jon Steinman spoke with the Schmeisers about the couple's well-being throughout the heavy-handed intimidation exerted by Monsanto during their legal battle between 1998-2004. Percy also shared his thoughts about the GE-Free campaign. Guests/Voices Percy & Louise Schmeiser, Farmer, www.percyschmeiser.com (B

In January 2008, Deconstructing Dinner launched the first in a series of episodes that began tracking the evolution of a campaign that is working towards creating a region that declares itself free of genetically-engineered plants and trees. The first region in North America to become a GE-Free Zone was Mendocino County, California, back in 2004. Soon after, Powell River, British Columbia, became Canada's first. The Southern Gulf Islands of B.C. have also declared themselves a GE-Free zone, and since November 2007, a group in the interior of the province has been working towards becoming the third such region in the country. As Deconstructing Dinner has long covered the topic of genetically-modified organisms (G.M.Os) or genetically-engineered (G.E.) foods, Host Jon Steinman has lent his knowledge and experience to the campaign. Since November 2007, Jon has compiled many audio recordings of the campaign with the hope that other regions and municipalities throughout North America can use these recordings as a

Since March 2008, The Local Grain Revolution series has been following the evolution of Canada's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project for grain. A total of 180 members and one business from the communities of Nelson and Creston, British Columbia, are blazing a trail towards a local grain economy. On this Part III of the series, Host Jon Steinman sits in on the July 14 meeting of the CSA steering committee with the hope that audio recordings from the meeting can help guide other communities towards launching a similar project. Jon also visits with David Everest, who came forward in late 2007 to become the Nelson-based miller. When members receive their grain in late October, David will make himself and his mill available each week to turn member's grains into flour. With so many people in the community coming forward to lend a hand to the formation of this local food system, perhaps the most exciting has been the group of sailors who have come forward and offered to sail the grain from the south

On September 29, 2008, four candidates running in the 2008 federal election debated in Ottawa on the topic of Agriculture. CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel) provided live coverage of the event hosted by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Moderated by Hugh Maynard, the debate featured Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Gerry Ritz; Liberal Agriculture critic, Wayne Easter; the NDP's MP Tony Martin; and Green Party candidate Kate Storey. Voices Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Foods / MP Battlefords-Lloydminster - Conservative Party of Canada (Brightsand Lake, SK) - Gerry Ritz was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997, and re-elected Member of Parliament for Battlefords-Lloydminster in 2000, 2004 and 2006. Wayne Easter, MP Malpeque, Liberal Party of Canada (North Wilitshire, PEI) - Wayne Easter is the Liberal Party's critic on Agriculture and Agri-Food. He represents the riding of Malpeque which is the central part of Prince Edward Island. He was first elected as the MP in 1993 and

Listen to a few broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner, and choosing food may suddenly become an intimidating adventure. Of course there are alternatives to the industrial food system. Enter the co-operative model of operating a business. Long an example in Canada of how people can assume control over our needs and resources, co-operatives is the focus of this ongoing series. How does a co-operative differ from a traditional business? A co-operative is owned and democratically controlled by the people who use the services or by those working within the co-op. A co-op is operated for the benefit of members and members have a say in decisions affecting the co-op. Part V The Common Ground Food Co-op in Urbana, Illinois is a very promising and inspiring sign that communities can indeed come together and build or expand upon their very own co-operative grocery store. The urban area of Urbana-Champaign, Illinois has a population of around 200,000, but up until recently did not have a natural food store easily accessib

This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Food and human rights are not often placed together in the same dialogue, however, Article 25 of the Declaration states: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food…” One concept that originates from the idea of a “right to food” is that of food sovereignty; whereby people have the right to determine what foods are available to them. The right to food and food sovereignty are undermined every day both here and abroad. The recent spike in the global food crisis is a clear indicator of this. Looking at food through a human rights lens was the subject of a dialogue that took place on August 29, 2008 at the United Nations in New York City. Titled “The Human Right to Food and the Global Food Crisis”, the event was sponsored by The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Department of Public Information, the NGO Committee on Human Ri

Since the Local Grain Revoltuion series first aired in March 2008, a lot has transpired as a result of that broadcast. The Nelson-Creston grain community supported agriculture (CSA) project has been mentioned in the House of Commons; it was a feature in a May issue of The Globe an Mail; and people from across North America have become inspired to seek out locally grown grain. On this exciting part II of the series, Host Jon Steinman travels along with the first CSA tour, where members and farmers met for the first time. Members were given the opportunity to see the grain that would soon become their bread, cakes or pasta. So long as the will and effort of a community chooses to make it happen, this broadcast captures just how easily we can all work together to resurrect local food systems. Voices Matt Lowe, Climate Change Campaigner, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Nelson, BC) - The West Kootenay EcoSociety promotes ecologically and socially sound communities while protecting species and ecosystems in the Southern

Many forms of urban agriculture have existed for thousands of years. As practical and environmentally responsible as growing food within a city can be, the art of gardening has seemingly disappeared in many urban settings. As current farming practices are proving to be unsustainable in the long-term, urban agriculture is looked upon by many as being a critical shift that needs to take place if we are to ensure a level of food security in the near and distant future. Since March 2008, The Farming in the City series has been incorporating a focus on urban backyard chickens. Raising poultry within an urban setting provides eggs, fertilizer, garden help and meat with a minimal environmental footprint. Having suffered decades of disconnection from our food, bringing the farm into the city (and in this case animals), can provide a much needed dose of agriculture and food awareness. It's this very disconnection that has allowed for the appalling conditions now found in factory egg and chicken barns. Episode III Sinc

Launching this episode, we travel to Cuba - a country that has over the past 10 years become of increasing interest to those around the world interested in more ecological models of producing food. Contrary to the more voluntary means through which some North Americans have adopted and supported more energy efficient and ecological food choices, in 1989, Cubans had little choice. As a result of the Soviet collapse, Cubans were plunged into a situation whereby conventional models of farming had to be abandoned for more organic models. Deconstructing Dinner correspondent Andrea Langlois travelled to Cuba where she met with Fernando Funes Monzoté - the son of one of the most recognized founders of the Cuban organic agriculture movement - Dr. Fernando Funes Sr. His son has followed in his footsteps and is presently completing his Ph.D on more diversified mixed farming systems at the University of Matanzas. As the past 17 years has proven to be a regeneration of more biodiverse and ecological food production in Cu

Fred Eaglesmith Deconstructing Dinner has long incorporated music into many of our episodes. From Phil Vernon's tunes about Percy Schmeiser, Biotechnology and Terminator Seeds, to Terry Winchell's Pesticide Song and Todd Butler's Farmer Dan, there is clearly no shortage of tunes out there that help add to our weekly content. In the second half of this episode, we meet with one musician who has long been writing pieces about farming and rural life in Southern Ontario and that is well-known bluegrass performer Fred Eaglesmith. The Juno Award winner has been compared to such icons as Woody Guthrie and Bruce Spingsteen and is the only Canadian musician to have ever held a #1 spot on the Bluegrass charts in the United States. His song John Deere has been played on the show before, and Host Jon Steinman finally had the opportunity to sit down with Fred in person and learn more about his personal history with farming and what inspires some of the heartfelt content making its way into his songs. A few tunes in partic

The Livestock Lost series examines the farming and business of meat, dairy and egg production. It explores the known and unknown dangers of meat production and what people can do to source alternatives to what many would refer to as a cultural staple of the North American diet. Part III - Local Meat? "Not in My Backyard? II" In this third installment of the series, we continue with our examination of how one community is responding to more restrictive slaughterhouse regulations in the face of increasing demand for safe and humanely-produced local meat. As of now, it is illegal to purchase locally raised and slaughtered meat within many regions of British Columbia. Our focus on the response in the West Kootenay region of the province provides a great example of how such a project may be received if proposed in other North American communities. While the critical questioning of any proposed development in a community is indeed a healthy process to undertake collectively, it became clear on Part II that much of

The Livestock Lost series examines the farming and business of meat, dairy and egg production. It will explore the known and unknown dangers of meat production and what people can do to source alternatives to what many would refer to as a cultural staple of the North American diet. Part II - Local Meat? "Not in My Backyard?" In this second installment of the series, we examine how one community is responding to more restrictive slaughterhouse regulations in the face of increasing demand for safe and humanely-produced local meat. The narrow Slocan Valley, situated in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, is home to many small-scale farmers raising livestock. The region is one of many in the province without a licensed slaughterhouse -- and any sale of local meat in the area is now deemed criminal, according to regulations put in place in October 2007. In response, a co-operative abattoir (slaughterhouse) group was formed to ensure that meat can continue to be processed legally in the region. However, t

Co-operatives: Alternatives to Industrial Food IV (Community Farms Program) It's been a topic of discussion throughout many broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner: While there is clearly a widespread interest in supporting more localized food systems, the bigger picture of how such systems can be physically, economically and politically sustained is a far more complicated and serious matter. So long as our food and farming continues to be built upon the same market-based systems of economics that govern all else, the preservation and access to farmland in close proximity to urban centres will only become increasingly harder to maintain. In most parts of the country agricultural land has become next to worthless for the production of food and we now watch cities sprawl into the fertile soil. So what's the solution? One solution is a project currently being expanded upon by The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC) and Vancouver-based FarmFolk/CityFolk. The program is called The Community Farms Program; first

The Livestock Lost series will examine the farming and business of meat, dairy and egg production in far more depth than has already been done here on the show. It will examine the known and unknown dangers of meat production and what people can do to source alternatives to what many would refer to as a cultural staple of the North American diet. Part I - Slaughterhouses and the Culture of Meat On this Part I of the series we hear from Toronto author Susan Bourette. After going undercover at the Maple Leaf Foods slaughterhouse and processing plant in Brandon, Manitoba, Susan became deeply disturbed at the state in which meat and animals have been degraded. It was this experience that led her to embark on a journey to learn if meat still maintained any cultural significance in North America other than as an industrial commodity. She titled the product of her journey "Carnivore Chic", because as Susan discovered, meat eating does continue to be a cultural experience in some areas of the continent while in other

Many forms of urban agriculture have existed for thousands of years. As practical and environmentally responsible as growing food within a city can be, the art of gardening has seemingly disappeared in many urban settings. As current farming practices are proving to be unsustainable in the long-term, urban agriculture is looked upon by many as being a critical shift that needs to take place if we are to ensure a level of food security in the near and distant future. Since March 2008, The Farming in the City series has been incorporating a focus on urban backyard chickens. Raising poultry within an urban setting provides eggs, fertilizer, garden help and meat with a minimal environmental footprint. Having suffered decades of disconnection from our food, bringing the farm into the city (and in this case animals), can provide a much needed dose of agriculture and food awareness. It's this very disconnection that has allowed for the appalling conditions now found in factory egg and chicken barns. Lending their vo

Since January 2006, Deconstructing Dinner has been reaching listeners around the world through dozens of radio stations and via the show's web site and weekly podcast. Now at its 100th episode, this broadcast marks the fourth in a series that has been capturing highlights of past broadcasts alongside musical accompaniments. Through a careful handpicking of highlights, this 100th episode acts as a collage of broadcasts aired between early May 2007 and late August 2007. The segments have been mixed alongside a soundtrack of music from Nelson, British Columbia's Adham Shaikh and his Dreamtree Project; Germany's Hendrik Weber and his Pantha du Prince project and England's Mark Hillier and his ishq project. The guest host for this broadcast is Kootenay Co-op Radio's Bob Olsen. A special thank you to all of the volunteers and staff at Kootenay Co-op Radio CJLY for having laid the foundation for Deconstructing Dinner to reach this important milestone.