Cultivating change

Our annual convention and AGM took place at the beginning of the month. It was a great weekend of engaging speakers, interesting debate, and networking with farmers and organizations who are passionate about farming and local food! Here are some highlights from the convention.

This year our theme was “grassroots organizing,” and the speakers we invited reflected how important community organizing is in many different contexts. We kicked off the convention with a keynote lecture by Joan Kuyek and Sarah Harmer. Joan Kuyek is a local author and organizer and Sarah Harmer is a renowned Canadian singer and environmental activist. In their talk, Joan discussed the key components for building a successful social movement and how to reclaim the food system through creating sustainable alternatives, and Sarah told us about her work on protecting the Niagara Escarpment and what it took to create a successful environmental protection campaign.

On Friday, we heard from a panel of activists who have worked on various social justice campaigns. Vicki Monague, an indigenous activist from Beausoleil First Nation, told attendees about her work to protect the Alliston Aquifer in Tiny Township. She noted, “Water is a human right… When we worked for water, everyone stripped themselves of their political divide – unity emerged from a divided community.” Next, Terran Giacomini, an activist from Local 305, spoke about international solidarity and her involvement with La Via Campesina, an international peasant rights movement. Lastly, we heard from Aric McBay, our Membership Development Coordinator, who discussed the campaign to save the prison farms and the principles necessary to build grassroots campaigns.