The Compost Diaries

I was sitting on a bus – one of the new cavernous tanks on the road in Metro Vancouver. I had just happily settled into one of the few seats when I noticed an elderly woman teetering down the wide centre aisle. Bags of heavy groceries dangled from one hand contorting her body into a [...]

I am a big fan of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Farm. I’ll be taking a tour there this spring. It’s the only working farm in the city of Vancouver, located on a 24 hectare expanse of land on the campus grounds, with 10 hectares actually farmable. With that kind of “undeveloped” land one [...]

I have joined a food co-op. I stumbled on it quite by accident one day. There was a sign posted in a front yard a half block from my place: Kitsilano Organic Co-op it said. I noted the email address and sent a note to find out more. Here’s how it works, local chef and [...]

I had the privilege of hearing Percy Schmeiser speak recently. Monsanto sued this prairie farmer for growing Round-up Ready Canola when in fact he hadn’t planted it (see previous post: the Persecution of Percy). When the vigorous 79 year old farmer took the stage, he got a standing ovation. He looked the most unlikely hero, [...]

Percy Schmeiser is a Canadian farmer from small town Saskatchewan. He has been farming for more than 50 years, saving his own seed, developing some of his own, minding his own business. His wife Louise is a full partner in the farm operation and managed most of the seed saving and breeding. Then one day, [...]

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, I share this poem with you. My favourite love poem. It is by Pablo Neruda, Nobel laureate who arose to great popularity in North America during the 60’s. While he was more widely known for his political poetry here, at home in Chile, he was also equally loved for his [...]

Global Exchange is doing amazing work. I used their web site and various reports and resources a lot when I was working on the chocolate chapter in my latest book. Here’s something you can do for Valentine’s Day, that will not increase your calorie intake nor keep children enslaved. Feel free to copy and email [...]

Honeybees are dropping like flies. Around the world beekeepers are reporting massive die-offs of these essential pollinators. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) as it is called has been blamed on cell phones, genetics, mites, pathogens, gmos, nutrient-deficiency and pesticides. In British Columbia, bee experts say it is a parasitic mite that is attacking the bees, along [...]

A crowd has gathered on Granville Street at Helmcken in front of a vacant store. There is a shopping cart there with large buckets in it. A serving cart holds paper cups, bowls and plastic spoons. There’s juice and water too. Boxes of buns and apples sit on the sidewalk. Once a month, the day [...]

I was having dinner with André. Andre LaRivière. Former CBC Radio producer. Chef and local food writer. Member of the Vancouver Food Policy Council. And now the executive director of Green Table Network, a non-profit that helps restaurants go green and then certifies them.
André is also father of Pascale, the four year old who gave us [...]