2008 “Can We Go Organic?” Videos Are Up!

13Jun10

Join Canadian Organic Growers as we explore how organics is making a difference. Who is making this vision real and how can you be part of it ? What is your role? Hear farmers, researchers, local food security advocates and community organizations discuss the state of Canada’s food system and share their positive vision for the future

Filed under: Agriculture, business, Conferences, Food Distribution, Toronto   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Agriculture, bartering, carbon, climate change, community, development rights, farmer, farming, Food, global warming, labour rights, land trust, local, markets, multiplier effect, organic, Toronto, trading, transport, video, Wal-Mart

Greenhouse Operations & Sales Coordinator, f/t (YEIP), FoodCycles, Toronto ON

15Mar10

FoodCycles is offering a 9 month, full time Greenhouse Operations and Sales Coordinator position.

Filed under: Agriculture, Food Distribution, Food Retail, Internships, Jobs/Careers, Local Agriculture, Ontario, Organic Agriculture, Skill Development, Soil Management, Toronto, Urban Agriculture, Youth   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Agriculture, greenhouse, Internships, job, Ontario, sales, Toronto, YEIP, YMCA

Pesticide 4800 Times Worse than CO2

18Jul09

Public health and environmental advocates Friday asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny a request from Dow AgroSciences for a permit allowing it to release large amounts of sulfuryl fluoride onto farm fields in four states. The chemical is a toxic pesticide whose global warming effects are thousands of times stronger than carbon dioxide.

Filed under: climate chaos, Environment   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Agriculture, climate change, climate chaos, DOW, EPA, farming, global warming, pesticides, sulfuryl fluoride

Breaking Ground: 2nd Farm Work Gig Revs Up

04Jul09

Looking for some exercise and stress relief? Need something extra to do while vacationing close to home? Or looking to kill time between gigs? Well there’s plenty to do right here at the FoodCycles farm (http://bit.ly/ATb3G and http://bit.ly/YDDfp).

Filed under: Agriculture, Food, Food Sovereignty, Local Agriculture, Organic Agriculture, Toronto, Urban Agriculture   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Agriculture, city, Compost, cultivation, Downsview, farm, farming, Food, FoodCycles, garden, growing, horticulture, News, Park, pdp, urban

The Real Deal: Who Created Swine Flu…

17May09

Fingers are pointing to our current system of agriculture for the outbreak of swine flu (H1N1). When you decide to cram a lot of pigs together you’re creating a perfect place for disease to grow and thrive. In particular, some fingers are pointing towards a massive pig farm run by Smithfield Corporation.

Filed under: Agriculture, Environment, Global/World, Health and Wellness   |  2 Comments
Tags: Agriculture, disease, factory farming, farming, flu, H1N1, industrial agriculture, pig, swine flu

Factory Farming Is Among Top 8 Killers

12May09

Taxpayers are demanding that government enforce existing regulations and create more stringent rules to limit the excess and greed in banking, insurance, housing, and on Wall Street. But, in the rush to regulate, we can’t forget to oversee industrial agriculture. It is one of our most polluting and dangerous industries. Like the financial sectors, its practices have not been well regulated for the last thirty years. Let me run down a few of the major problems that have developed because of our poorly regulated U.S. agriculture.

Filed under: Agriculture, CSR, Environment, Food Sovereignty, Health and Wellness, sustainability   |  3 Comments
Tags: Agriculture, Burger King, chemical, CSR, Environment, factory, farming, industrial, KFC, McDonald's, pollution

How to Start Farming through Apprenticeships

04May09

Part of the lure of organic farming is the challenge of working in a ‘field’ that requires skill, knowledge, and passion. Apprenticing is an age old method of learning your trade from a master; absorbing wisdom acquired through years of observation and experience. This primer, for those thinking of a career in organic farming, will introduce you to students well on their way to becoming organic farmers as well as a WWOOFER who has traveled the world through organic farming

Filed under: Jobs/Careers, Toronto, Training   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Agriculture, apprenticeship, career, farmer, farming, job, Training, voluntary, wwoofing

Green Economy a Key to Solving Crisis?

02May09

The new report entitled Green Jobs: Towards Decent work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World, says changing patterns of employment and investment resulting from efforts to reduce climate change and its effects are already generating new jobs in many sectors and economies, and could create millions more in both developed and developing countries.

Filed under: Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Global/World, sustainability   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Agriculture, climate change, climate chaos, developed, developing countries, eco tourism, economic crisis, global warming, green economy, green jobs, tourism

Swine flu fears touch Canada-destined Mexican farm workers

27Apr09

Quebec’s agriculture sector is waiting to hear whether thousands of Mexican migrant workers needed for the impending growing season will be allowed to enter Canada in light of the swine flu outbreak.

Filed under: Agriculture, Economics, International   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Agriculture, Canada, disease, latino, Mexican, mexico, pandemic, quebec, swine flu, workers

Black Gold Bankruptcy: 4 Things to Beware Of

27Apr09

Wrecking good soil is like wrecking the foundations of your house. It’s costly and it’s dangerous (not to mention the possibility of having the roof collapse on your head). The destruction of healthy, nutritious soil costs US agriculture $20 billion a year [1]. Topsoil (the stuff you get when you jab your hand into the first 6 inches of dirt) is vanishing faster than you can say, “Duh” in a third of the world’s food growing land.[1]

Filed under: Agriculture, Composting, Environment, Food Sovereignty, Soil, Soil Management   |  1 Comment
Tags: Agriculture, chemical, Compost, conventional, crisis, environmental, erosion, organic, Soil Management, tillage, topsoil, waste