It’s about time!

At a recent meeting in Cornwall, ON, organic reps were told by CFIA that the Canada Organic Standards would soon be available for free download. If you’re not sure of the relevance of this, read on…

The Standards are held by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB), which charge everyone about $60 to download them (they claim this is for “overhead”). CGSB is very serious about their money too and have some very strict copy write language around it (ie. only one copy of the standards can be used by one user – if you want a copy on both your personal computers, you’re supposed to buy two copies!!).

The Standards used to be available for free download, but since the new version was passed in 2008, the old agreement was null.

And if you think CGSB just came around to “reason”, think again. This is the Government of Canada paying CGSB (and a very hefty sum, I’m sure) for our ability to access them. Yep, the Canadian Organic Office (CFIA) has been hard at work to strike a new deal.

Finally, what it means to be organic in Canada will be transparent again.

It’s in the mail…

The latest edition of the ACORN newsletter is in the mail! The office was filled with paper and envelopes in a furious attempt to finish before the weekend–it’s a big job assembling hundreds of envelopes (nope, we don’t have a big mail house doing this for us).

This edition features in-depth information on the conference and key speakers, as well as ACORN’s new Value-Added Project (have you registered for our free webinar on January 28th?). There’s also a terrific article on Local Fair Trade:

“Why would new entrants consider agriculture if they would be no better off than they would be working a minimum wage job with no benefits? Is it any surprise that Statistics Canada figures reveal that between 1991 and 2006, Canada lost over 60% of its farmers under the age of 35?”

Another terrific inclusion in this member newsletter mailout, is our recently up-dated print directory of certified organic growers and resources for Atlantic Canada. We used to do a print directory on a regular basis, but found that it was already out of date by the time it was printed. This is still the case, however many of our members really wanted a new hardcopy, rather than run to the computer to look something up.

If you are not a member of ACORN, why not consider joining now? We’ll immediately send you our new newsletter and copy of the print directory.

Finally, thank you to each one of our members–you are invaluable to our organization. Now that we are in our 10th year, we can honestly say, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Getting Excited

I can’t believe it’s almost time for the next conference, and to think it’s the 10th year! It’s going to be at a grand old hotel in Charlottetown (Rodd Charlottetown) on March 4-6.

What a terrific line-up we have too. The speakers are top notch and such a variety of issues to be covered–from new entrants to advanced soil fertility. There’s also the issue of local fair trade that Marty Mesh (Agricultural Justice Project) is going to address.

I’m particularly excited that ACORN is going to be the Canadian premier of the film: What’s Organic About Organic, by Shelley Rogers. Shelley is even coming from NYC to be with us and provide a workshop on new media for farmers.

To recognize all the hard work that our members have contributed to ACORN to get us this far, we’re offering a special 2 for 1 to our farmer and gardener members! You must register by Feb. 4th to take advantage of this awesome deal.

So, less than 50 days until we see you in Charlottetown!

Beth

PS — Remember, we do have a carpooling blog if you’ve got a ride to share or need one.

Organic regulations could limit supply, spike prices

Alison recently posted a link to this article on the ACORN-NL blog, it has to do with Canada’s organic regulation no longer allowing organic foods containing sodium nitrate.

Check out the full article here.

Special Organic Report in Today’s Globe and Mail!

November, 12th’s Globe and Mail boasts 3 whole pages of information on organic food and production! It includes information on the Canada Organic Products Regulation, the new logo, and articles by Derek Lynch, Canada Research Chair in Organic Agriculture at the NSAC, and Laura Telford, the national director of Canada Organic Growers. Grab a copy on your way home!

Check it out here!

Also: New website launched: www.organicbiologique.ca

Acadia University to host “The Farm in Education” Forum

The Farm in Education: Growing Curriculum in Food and Food in Curriculum
November 6th & 7th
Acadia University, Wolfville, NS

How can education and agriculture interact to create a local and sustainable food system? On November 6th and 7th, the Acadia Community Farm invites you to discuss this question with local growers, professors, students, thinkers and eaters at “The Farm in Education” forum. Come and contribute your perspective as we investigate the interaction between the School and the Farm, and whether or not this relationship can move us into a new agricultural and educational future.

Speakers include Norbert Kungl of Selwood Green (Keynote), Dr. Av Singh (organics and rural infrastructure specialist from Agrapoint), Dr. Soren Bondrup-Nielsen (farmer, biologist and author of A Sound Like Water Dripping), Patricia Bishop of Taproot Farms, Dr. Greg Cameron of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, David Greenberg of The Black River CSA, Kathy Aldous of The Edible Schoolyard Project, and many more!

The discussions will be held in the Michener Lounge and breakout rooms in the Student Union Building on Friday (9am-5pm) and Saturday morning, then we go to Ross Creek Centre for the Arts for a “Great Meal for a Change” lunch (facilitated by Edith Callaghan, Alan Warner, Cate Trueman, and others) and a ‘Publish Your Own Conference Findings’ workshop on Saturday afternoon.

Seating at Friday and Saturday’s lunch is limited, so be sure to register for the forum early! Our online registration form and tentative schedule are available at the Farm’s website: http://acadiafarm.org/events/the-farm-in-education/.

For additional details – contact alex@acadiafarm.org or (902)585-1311.

Introducing ACORN’s newest interns…

ACORN has hired me, Stephanie Kukkonen, to be their Technical Project Coordinator in the Sackville office for the next nine months. I’m a University of Kings College Bachelor of Journalism with Honours graduate and I have experience in the field, as well as experience working on websites and networking with a number of people.

Aside from regular website updates and keeping on top of general office work, I will be working on various projects to help make ACORN more accessible to the general public and to encourage people to buy locally and organically.

At the beginning of October I started up an ACORN Facebook Fan Page.  It’s a public page that anybody with a Facebook account can access and become a fan of. Once a person becomes a fan of the page they will receive updates from ACORN, see links to our website and our blog page and gain a better understanding of the benefits of eating locally and organically.

Another major project in the works is updating our Google Maps page. Here, anybody wishing to know where they can access locally grown organic products can find out with a simple click of a mouse. A map of Atlantic Canada pops up and a number of organic producers and retailers  have their very own place and profile within the map.  I am hoping to make the map even more accessible by designating which locations are farms, retailers, markets, etc by marking each type with a different symbol. That way, somebody searching for a retailer can click on a store or restaurant symbol and somebody searching for a farm can click on a farm symbol instead of aimlessly clicking their way through blue pins.

I’m hoping to also put some videos on how to plant organically and perhaps some video testimonials from members of ACORN. On the Facebook page, I am hoping that people start discussing and sharing ideas on how to eat locally and organically. Perhaps placing a recipe page and even adding a few pictures of some of the great local and organic food people have come across in their travels.

I look very forward to working at ACORN. Have a safe and happy harvest.

Stephanie Kukkonen

Hello, my name is Rosemary Murphy and I will be interning with ACORN for the next 9 months as the Education and Outreach Coordinator. I have been interested in organic food and growing for some time, and am very excited about this opportunity to get involved with the organic and sustainable foods movement here in Atlantic Canada. Although my studies were in the arts (I recently completed an MA in Philosophy at UVIC), I have volunteered on farms, worked in greenhouses, and, for a few years, served local and organic food and drinks in a small café I opened in my hometown of Antigonish, NS.

The ACORN projects I’ll be focusing on will include the Sustainable Farm Apprenticeship Program (our partner project with SOIL), which helps to link farmers and apprentices and offers wonderful opportunities for both – established farmers can benefit from the additional labour and enthusiasm, while the apprentices can learn directly from the farmer’s invaluable experience and their own hands-on involvement. I will also be helping to organize the fall workshop series on on-farm food processing. The development of value-added local food has multiple advantages – it can significantly increase a farm’s profitability, increase diversification and help to reduce our area’s reliance on imported foods. I will also be helping to coordinate volunteers for ACORN’s 10^th Anniversary Organic Conference and Trade Show this March 4-6^th in PEI, and helping out in the office with the newsletters and other communications.

I see a lot of opportunities to increase awareness and education around organic methods and issues by working with rural retailers, making sure our resources are accessible to their customers, and that the retailers themselves are familiar with what is available. Also, I hope we can expand our audience by making use of established local teaching tools, like community radio and rural publications, in conjunction with internet resources like this blog, youtube videos, and possibly podcasts.

I look forward to becoming much more familiar with the exciting work already being done in the region’s sustainable food community, and to learn what is needed to help it continue to grow. I look forward to meeting you over the course of my program!

Rosemary Murphy

Jon Steinman, of Deconstructing Dinner, wants you to rethink your edible investments.

On September 29th, along with the Fundy Biosphere Project and CHMA 106.9FM, ACORN welcomed Jon Steinman to Mt. Allison University, in Sackville, NB, for a discussion of food security issues.

Steinman is the host of Kootenay Co-op Radio’s award winning program “Deconstructing Dinner,” which is currently broadcast on 37 radio stations across Canada, and over a dozen stations around the world. Produced and recorded in Nelson, British Columbia, Deconstructing Dinner informs and assists listeners in making more educated choices when purchasing food either for the kitchen or at restaurants.

Steinman was touring the Maritimes to discuss issues of food security and corporate concentration in Canada. In an informative and totally engaging talk, he asked those of us in the audience to try to think about buying food as making an investment, rather than a merely necessary expenditure. Then he asked us to think about what exactly our daily food purchases are investing in…

Jon showed us how the average North American meal is an investment in only a handful of enormous corporations and supporting unsustainable, corporate agribusiness. While this may not come as a huge surprise to those of you already interested in these issues, the numbers and examples Steinman provides – for instance that 90% of beef available in our country is processed in one of five massive slaughterhouses – are alarming. After illustrating just how precarious our current systems are, Steinman provides the remarkable example of what one community, his own town of Nelson, BC, can do to make sure their food investments are sound ones.

The talk was very well attended and a very lively discussion ensued! CHMA 106.9FM (Sackville’s campus and community radio station) recorded the entire talk (we haven’t included the discussion) and has graciously made it available to all here!

CHMA broadcasts Deconstructing Dinner every Wednesday at 2pm.

S.O.I.L. Apprenticeship Farm Tour for Immigrants

On Sunday, July 26th, S.O.I.L. Coordinator Nicole Arsenault, with Leslie Savoie from the Farmers’ Market Community Connectors project (a project connecting immigrant communities to farming communities), as well as help from the YMCA, teamed up to organize a farm tour for new immigrants who are interested in agriculture. They toured 3 farms in the Windsor, Nova Scotia area. Participants were actively engaged and many questions were answered!

We also got some great photos from the tour, check them out!

Maritime Organic Grain Field Tour: PEI & NB

July 16th PEI Organic Field Crop Tour was a great success!

The NB Organic Field Crop Tour was equally well attended, and despite the misty weather, we had a good turn out.

Each group (NB & PEI) got the chance to network, experience on-site field expertise in a full day of exploring different organic field crops including soybean, buckwheat, spelt, wheat, potatoes, oilseed, corn, brassicae, and more!

More to come in the upcoming Maritime Organic Grains Network Newsletter! Contact ACORN if you would like to be included on the Grains Network Contact List, it’s FREE!