Points of Interest

Due to the mixed blessing of Istra's sprained ankle, I was able to take both kids to the Royal Winter Fair on Wednesday. Since Istra would not get out of the stroller to walk (or run) around, I was able to keep both kids under control in a large building teeming with people. Istra's flying leap off the couch enabled us to visit with all kinds of dairy cows, goats, sheep, llamas, ducks, chickens, geese and pigeons.

The kids had a lovely time. We spent some time just wandering around, taking in the rows and rows of picture-perfect cows. I have never seen cows so clean and shiney. Their coats were groomed and glossy and even their little tail-tufts were teased and curled to perfection. There was not one speck of a cow patty to be seen. Istra told me that she saw a cow make a pee-pee, but honestly I did not see it. I cannot vouch that any of those cows made a pee-pee, ever.

Then after a visit to the fascinating poultry section, we made our way to the petting zoo and the "Ag-tivity Centre", where Istra and Emeth fed some animals, coloured some pictures of farm animals, painted model horses and played with some farm animal figurines in a toy barn.

Like I said, the kids had fun; me, though--not so much. I was expecting a fair showcasing the practices of small, family-run farms. I do not know why I thought this; perhaps I have been spending too much time at the farmer's market. Instead, what I encountered at the Royal Winter Fair was display after display touting the benefits of industrial agriculture. There was the giant Semex display: a 20-foot long poster of yet another perfect cow with udder near-bursting and text happily informing farmers that, with their genetic-manipulation services, you too can have 500,000 cows that only just barely show the disease-inducing stresses of a life in close proximity to half a million other perfect cows.

As if that was not disturbing enough, I had my illusions properly shattered about dairy goat farming and grocery store eggs. For some reason I'd always been under the impression that since goat milk and cheese is not as popular as cow's the operation to harvest such milk must not be as industrialized. I was wrong. I also had the impression that Canadian egg producers were slightly more responsible than their American counterparts. Again, I was wrong.

I nearly walked past it, but I wheeled the stroller around to take pictures of the display at the Burnbrae Farms booth. I could hardly believe it. The Burnbrae Farms people had set up a display of battery-hen cages. As you can see, these are the cages with wire, sloped floors so that the four-or-so hens per cage get to spend their lives never setting foot on solid, level ground. There is not enough room for them to spread their wings and nothing for them to do but peck their insipid feed and pop out eggs which roll away from them the moment they hit the cage floor. These are the practices that bring these eggs to your grocery stores.

Ok, so what if you don't care if your egg-laying chickens never feel grass or dirt beneath their feet or if your dairy-producing cows are transported to their slaughter without food, water or rest? You may care about the effect that industrial farming has on the environment. This was the main incongruity with the Royal Winter Fair: there were ample booths there with "eco-themes"; Toyota even had a display of all their hybrid cars for a reason I could not discern. Yet amid the "all-natural" this and "eco" that, nothing was said about the environmentally devastating effects of certain kinds of farming. In fact, this kind of farming was lauded at the Royal Winter Fair, mainly for it's ease and profitability. It was as if the Fair was trying to cater to two distinctly different types of people: the rural famer looking to keep abreast of the latest in industrial farming technology, and the city slicker, who perhaps wanted a fun outing to "the country" and while there conveniently had environmental guilt assuaged by the sight of a Prius.

How long can inconsistencies like this exist side by side before people clue in? Perhaps this revolutionary idea is the precise thing needed to bring the two sides together and hopefully save our melting ice-caps.

We are perhaps preaching to the choir here, but all the same, here is a document Tim put together on the eve of our election day.

One can't help but wonder where the Harper government would fall on this list. I somehow doubt that he would be keeping that lone Conservative, Sir John A. Macdonald, company at the top.

Saturday was the rally and march in support of the US war resisters. It was a national event—with people getting together to show their support all over the country. In Toronto, we met at “Lake Devo” on the Ryerson campus, where we heard from the campaign organizers, local politicians and a few of the resisters.

Jeremy Hinzman, who is due to be deported in 8 days, spoke to the crowd about how—if his latest appeal will not be heard in court and he is sent back to the US and court martialed—he will be proud to go to jail rather than kill people in Iraq, or even participate in the machinery that allows Americans to kill Iraqis. Jeremy's application to become a conscientious objector was twice denied by the American military; how the military could deny that Hinzman is indeed a conscientious objector is mind boggling.

The people gathered at Lake Devo were a diverse and interesting bunch, holding aloft some creative and even literary signage. The two most popular slogans were “War Resisters Welcome Here” and “Stop Harper from Deporting War Resisters”; and as we marched down Yonge St to the drumming of Samba Elegua (which was incredibly energizing, not to mention attention-grabbing), the chanting of the crowd took on a similarly partisan tone. The most popular chant was “Resisters In! Harper Out!” The public we passed in their cars or on the sidewalks was largely receptive, except for one or two individuals in SUVs who shouted pro-Harper slogans as we marched past.

Escorted by a huge number of police on bikes, we made our way to the US consulate on University Ave, where we heard the campaign organizers speak and outline the plan of action for the following 10 days before Jeremy's possible deportation. The campaign handed out window signs and urged everyone to put them up and talk to as many people as possible about the resisters. Write to newspapers. Write to MPs. Use the election to get this issue more attention. Don't let Harper quietly undermine Canada's long-held reputation as a peacekeeping nation.

Make no mistake; despite the fact that these soldiers signed up for military service, there is grave injustice going on here. If (or when) Jeremy is court martialled upon his return to the US, he will first be imprisoned for up to five years. When he gets out of jail, it will be with a dishonourable discharge. He will be unable to apply for most jobs, unable to apply for a mortgage or a student loan. Keep in mind that this is a man who did his best to abide by his conscience while still working within the military system. He did not just desert and take off to Canada; Canada was his last resort after he'd already been denied conscientious objector status and had been to Afghanistan as a non-combatant.

If you feel, as I do, that this issue is yet another symptom of the deceptive self-interest inflicted upon us by Harper and his Canadian neo-cons, please talk to your friends about the resisters. Write to your local papers. Write to your MPs. I will happily share the letter I am sending to my MP with anyone who will use it to write their own letter. If you feel passionate about Canada's role in the world as peace-keeper, don't let Harper slip this subtle move toward militarism under the radar.

Click to see more pictures of the event.

In conversation with my mom recently, she lamented that she is not able to come and visit more often; not only does she have a busy work schedule, but now that gas prices are so high it is necessary to cut back on driving. I sympathized, but couldn't resist (as a sometimes-obnoxious carless person) a comment about how the market is forcing us into change now, that rising gas prices were going to kill the (fossil-fueled) car and change society as we know it in North America.

I said all this with a certain amount of glee, but then felt bad once my mom wailed in response, "it's not my fault that my family is spread all over the country!" Nor is it her fault that North American values and culture has created a situation that is unsustainable, but it is people like my mom (and just about everyone else I know) who are going to be feeling the crunch as things start to change. It is unfortunate.

Recently, Tim and I came across an interesting radio show on people who seem to have anticipated the change needed and have responded dramatically, changing not only how they live their lives, but how various infrastructures work in their communities. The show was a podcast of CBC's Quirks and Quarks, a science show for the masses. In it, host Bob McDonald "look[s] at 6 communities around the world that are trying to become carbon neutral. Featured are: Samso, Denmark; EcoVillage at Ithaca; Freiburg, Germany; Sherford, UK;Greensburg, KS; Dongtan, China."

Download and be inspired! We need to keep our eyes on people and projects like these in order to remain hopeful. The greatest burden during this transition period will be on regular people and such change could quickly become overwhelming. It's nice to know that there are those out there who are making small but significant steps that others could (eventually) follow.