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Life
Food
Deconstructing Dinner
Environment

Sowing Grain and Goodwill

'Deconstructing Dinner' on how citizens are putting the culture back in agriculture.

Jon Steinman 25 Nov 2008TheTyee.ca

Jon Steinman is producer and host of Kootenay Co-op Radio's program Deconstructing Dinner. A new podcast with notes is posted here every Friday afternoon. All Deconstructing Dinner podcasts can be found here.
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[Editor's note: This is a summary of a podcast you can download or listen to from this page.]

This sixth episode of the Local Grain Revolution series looks at the relationship between food and culture, and how one agriculture co-operative has sown human goodwill (along with a whole lot of grain) in their Kootenay community.

The industrial food system has taken the culture out of agriculture, argues Capers founder Russell Precious -- but it's not too late to grow anew.

"Culture really has to do with how we inhabit place; the dimension of the time we live in and the present moment," he said, at the Kootenay Harvest Revival festival this fall.

Precious joined a panel of guests -- including Deconstructing Dinner host Jon Steinman -- at the event, which was held to celebrate the Nelson-Creston grain CSA (community supported agriculture) project and its monumental first harvest of locally grown grain.

"It was just a matter of people who wanted something in their community just going ahead and doing it," said the CSA co-founder Matt Lowe. "These are what the times are calling for, for each of us to take back our power."

Voices

Roy Lawrence, farmer, Lawrence Farm (Creston, B.C.) -- Roy is a third-generation farmer. He has long farmed using conventional methods but sees the CSA as an opportunity to transition to growing naturally.

Russell Precious, board of directors, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Sunshine Bay, B.C.) -- After graduating with a BA in Asian History at UBC and UC Berkeley, Russell studied organic farming with pioneer organic farmer and teacher, John Harrison. Subsequently he co-founded the Naam vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver (still running after 35 years), the Quadra Foods market on Quadra Island and Capers natural foods stores in Vancouver. In 1993 he was finalist for the regional Entrepreneur of the Year and Van City's Ethics in Action awards. In 1999 he was one of three recipients of the B.C. Organic Pioneers Award. He most recently joined the board of directors at the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative.

Matt Lowe, climate change campaigner, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Nelson, B.C.) - The West Kootenay EcoSociety promotes ecologically and socially sound communities while protecting species and ecosystems in the Southern Columbia Mountains ecoregion. Matt is the co-founder of the grain CSA.

Jon Steinman, producer/host, Deconstructing Dinner (Nelson, B.C.)

Music

Earl Hamilton, musician/educator (Nelson, B.C.) -- Earl was invited to author a song in honour of the Kootenay Harvest Revival, and he was recorded performing Close to Home in the Kootenay Co-op Radio studios in September 2008. Earl was joined by Norman Richard, Jeannie Sittig and Marcella Edwards.

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