Campaigns

During spring and summer the desire to create an esthetically beautiful garden is something on every homeowners mind, but many have not even considered how to do it without using chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

SAANICH - The Green Party of Canada is calling for a re-evaluation of the poultry industry, by linking avian flu compensation to the promotion of more diverse, humane, and economically sound farming practices, said Green Party deputy leader Andrew Lewis today.

19 million chickens in the Fraser Valley will be slaughtered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, because of the avian flu threat. The federal and provincial governments are now considering public compensation to support the industry during these devastating times.

A few of us around the world have taken the initiative to draft an open letter to the Director General of FAO to express our disagreement with the report "Agricultural biotechnology: meeting the needs of the poor?" that FAO launched on 17th May - an unprecedented move by FAO's publicity machine in support of genetic engineering.

We invite everybody (individuals and organisations) to sign-on to the letter.

There are so many aspects to this issue for organic growers everywhere in Canada that I have been unable to sort things out in order to write for the web site. With the killing of Karl's flock of 2000 layers today and the killing of my neighbour's flock of over 2000 last week the last of the organic birds in the valley are all but gone. I feel a deep sense of sadness that goes way beyond anger and feel defeated by the steamroller of industrial agriculture.

We have a small organic farm in the Fraser Valley. I am trying to get the best info I can about what is happening, but the more I look into it, the more I realize there is something very wrong. The disease has revealed serious problems in our food system, and also in our bureaucracy. The avian flu seems to have factory farmers and their supporters the CFIA panicking, and running in all the wrong directions. Some experienced farmers believe that we will not be allowed to have chickens or ducks or geese in the future. This will be devastating to many farms where animals are integrated into the farm procedures. They are not just a source of meat and eggs; they can also be very valuable labor. If we lose our birds we are in trouble. Some people, probably believing the media, act as if the patriotic thing to do is to kill all chickens. They may fink on me while think they are doing me a favor. I asked a Veterinary Doctor to get a voluntary test done, and was told that it is impossible.