Sow and Grow Podcast

Feat. Maddie Marmor, Stuart Oke, Aliyah Fraser

Join Aliyah, Stuart and Maddie one last time to reflect on the conversations, takeaways, throughlines of the past seven episodes. The power of nuance, semantics and intersectionality are all present as the crew shares what stood out to them. Keep your ear’s piqued for a series 3 too!

Continue learning at the links below.

Feat. Maddie Marmor, Stuart Oke, Brenda Hsueh, Manish Kushwaha, Julia Smith, Anastasia (Ana) Fyk

Co-host Stuart Oke sits down with four farmers from across the country to learn how when you  are forced to change, age-old skills and tools can serve us well, and the solutions are scalable if we use the values behind them as our guide - open-mindedness, adaptability, creativity, cooperation, reciprocity. 

Check out the links below for more on what you heard in this episode.

Feat. host Maddie Marmor, co-host Aliyah Fraser and guest Dave Skene 

In our second episode on land, co-host Aliyah Fraser sits down with David Skene of Wisahkotewinowak to bring to the forefront the perspective that a deeper relating to the land around us would positively impact our decisions on land use, an often underreported cause of climate change. 

Find out more about what you heard at the links below.

Learn how the decisions farmers are making day-to-day and more so for the future are significantly impacted by the stress, anxiety and depression felt while farming in a time of crisis through the testimonies of young farmers across the country and by host Maddie Marmor and guest Toby Malloy’s conversation about the feelings felt farming in a time of crisis. 

Feat. Host Maddie Marmor and guest’s Toby Malloy, Hannah Dyer, Ari Westhaver, Kishon Warmington, Jordan Rivers with contributions from Elizabeth Cyr and Jessie MacInnis

*Disclaimer* This episode deals with mental health issues like depression, anxiety and suicide ideation. From all of us here at the show, we want to express our sympathy and care - it’s hard out there. If we can offer anything, it’s to call/text/message a friend. Making this show helped all of us mentally, and hopefully you have someone to chat to too. 

If you need more information about what you heard today, please check out the links below:

How do we use our land is a question that invites and warns us to take a critical look at the decisions we are making about the land we steward. Join co-host and show producer Aliyah Fraser as she brings forward this narrative of land use change as a major cause of climate change in her conversation with guest Thorsten Arnold.

Feat. Host Maddie Marmor, co-host Aliyah Fraser and guest Thorsten Arnold

Want more information about what you’ve heard? Check out the links below. 

Uncover the truths behind the big rallying cries of the current climate moment. Alongside our guest Ayla Fenton, the team will give their hot takes on some of the biggest myths and falsehoods when it comes to the narratives and representation of the relationship between farmers and the climate in mainstream culture. 

Feat. Host Maddie Marmor, co-hosts Stuart Oke and Aliyah Fraser and guest Ayla Fenton

More on the myths you heard about today at the links below.

Join co-host Stuart Oke and guest Darrin Qualman of the National Farmers Union to learn more about one of the most dominant narratives about climate change - GreenHouse Gas Emissions. From the influence of nitrogen in our input practices to to understanding the complexity of cutting emissions in agriculture, the conversation will stimulate a new way of understanding the omissions about emissions. 

To take a deeper dive into emissions from Canada’s ag scene, check out these links.

Join the podcast crew and guest WWFU alum Ayla Fenton as they introduce some of the core themes of the series. From the intersectionality of justice movements to the silver linings present in moments of big change, the conversation will stimulate listeners to engage with their own relationship to eating, growing and living in a time of constant...wait for it...crisis.

To learn more about the origins of the series, check out the following links.

Introducing Sow and Grow, a new podcast series from the group of farmers that brought you the Who Will Feed Us Podcast ! With Agroecology and Food Sovereignty at its core the Sow and Grow podcast is produced and hosted by young farmers exploring the forces that shape Canadian agriculture. Through interviews and discussions the hosts and their guests seed the solutions needed to build a more just and ecologically sustainable food system.

The first episode of the new series will drop May 31st and weekly thereafter.

@rootedoakfarm

@luckybugfarm

@heartbeet_farm

Core Funder:

We are so excited to announce that our team is currently in production and fundraising mode for a 2nd season of the podcast.

We can't share too much about what it will look like yet but we can share that it'll include the same great team as in season one, that we'll have a new name for season two, that we'll bring the same lens of Food Sovereignty to every episode, and that the podcast will be released in the springtime of 2023.

We know everyone is constantly bombarded with appeals for money these days, and there are many places you can choose to put your money. We hope that after season one, you've seen the value in what we're trying to do with this podcast and enjoyed the content we've put into the world. After putting hundreds of hours into season one, we're a lot wiser and more knowledgeable about what it'll take to do this work this winter and are ready to jump into it with both feet. However, we know how important money is to making this happen and ensuring the same quality of guests and production as in season one.

That's why we've created a fundraising campaign...to ask for your help in making this happen. The good news is that we're already more than 60% of the way toward being fully funded thanks to a significant sponsorship but we still need a last push to get to our fundraising goal and make sure this podcast can be every bit as good as season one and hopefully even better!

If you can afford to and enjoyed season one of the podcast we hope you'll consider sending a little money our way to help take season two from a great idea to fully formed series wherever podcasts are found... We can’t do this without you!

In the final episode of our series we’re going to be revisiting agroecology and how it may offer a solution to some of the many challenges that we’ve identified in our current agricultural system. Our guest for this episode is Jessie MacInnis, a peasant farmer, academic, and activist, who has been involved in conversations on agroecology at local and international levels. She will break down the mystery of agroecology and explain how it is useful for her farm and can be useful for farmers of all scales. It’s a great conversation and it helps debunk the myth that small farmers cannot feed the world. 

Jessie MacInnis is a small-scale, first generation agroecological farmer and scholar-activist based in unceded and unsurrendered Mi'kmaq territory (aka Nova Scotia), Canada. She is currently the Youth President of the National Farmers Union of Canada. She has been extensively involved with La Via Campesina regionally and internationally for a number of years. She recently graduated from the first cohort of the Master of Human Rights (MHR) program at the University of Manitoba.

Check out the following for more about the NFU, La Via Campesina, and Spring Tide Farm.

In this episode we’re examining this country’s agricultural system through the lens of decolonization and focusing on the importance of Indigenous foodways. Our guest, Tiffany Traverse, tells us about her work with Fourth Sister Farm, preserving traditional Indigenous foods and reframing our relationship with seeds and with the land.

Tiffany is of Secwepemc and European descent. With Fourth Sister Farm she grows rare varieties of vegetables, fruits and other plants that are traditional to both Secwepemc and other Indigenous peoples. The goal of the farm is to connect with other seed and land stewards, and encourage community members to strive for stronger food security without extraction.

More info about Tiffany’s work, Fourth Sister Farm, and other Indigenous land/ seed stewards (per Tiffany’s recommendation) :

The unequal price of food starts with production! Our guest, Cheyenne Sundance, highlights the necessity of paying fair wages for farm work and in making small scale farming a viable livelihood and step to achieving food sovereignty. We’ll dive into the tension between food prices and fair wages while getting into one of Sundance Harvest’s central goals of providing dignified work to people who have historically been shut out from an equitable place in agriculture. Small scale farmers feed the world, so let’s make sure they are fairly compensated!

This episode draws attention to the very real impacts of the climate crisis on farmers and our food production system generally. Farmers are feeling the impacts now and need to be a part of the solution! We will hear from Arzeena Hamir, organic farmer and politician, about the important role that Farmers for Climate Solutions is playing in shaping agricultural policy and informing growers about steps that can be taken towards on-farm climate adaptation.

Arzeena Hamir and her husband Neil own Amara Farm, a 26-acre certified organic farm in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. She is a local politician and was a co-chair of the Farmers for Climate Solutions Policy Task Force. Arzeena is committed to climate action on her own diversified farm and in ensuring that farmers’ concerns are voiced in policy and regulatory spaces.

Dig deeper! Read more about Farmers for Climate Solutions, NFU’s climate policy, and Amara Farm.

This episode offers a deep exploration of the multi-faceted migrant farm labour crisis. Kit Andres, from the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, offers insight into the unstable foundation of our current agricultural system due to lack of access to permanent residency and work permits that tie workers to their employers. Farming is skilled labour, so policy and treatment of workers should reflect that. Tune in to learn more about how we can work together to uplift migrant workers and build a stronger food system!

Kit Andres is a 3rd generation white settler in the Niagara region of Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory. As someone with citizenship status, they are united with their migrant, refugee, and undocumented neighbours to win full and permanent immigration status for all. Kit is a farmworker organizer with Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, which serves as secretariat for the Migrant Rights Network, the country's largest migrant-led coalition.

Learn more about migrant farm labour and migrant rights!

Episode 3: Land Access and the Financialization of Land

Hosts: Madeline Marmor and Ayla Fenton

In today’s episode we will learn about land access issues, specifically the financialization of farm land with our guest Katherine Aske.  We’re going to clarify the difference between valuing land as a financial asset, a commodity and valuing land by its productivity. Access to farmland is one of the main factors gatekeeping agriculture because of the colonial context, financial challenges, and land grabbing done by speculative investors. Katherine shares findings from her research about land tenure models in the Canadian context.

Our guest, Katherine Aske, grew up in Mi'kma'ki. From 2019-2020, she interviewed grain and oilseed farmers across Alberta for her MA research into the financialization of farmland. She has worked as a farm worker in Alaska and around Vancouver, and is currently farming on unceded Musqueam territory as UBC Farm's Practicum Field Coordinator. She previously worked for the National Farmers Union (NFU) in New Brunswick, and is now involved in leading the NFU's Farmland Committee. 

For more about land issues and Kat’s farming experience, check out the links below.

In today’s episode we will learn about land access issues, specifically the financialization of growing/farm land with our guest Katherine Aske.  We’re going to clarify the difference between valuing land as a financial asset, a commodity and valuing land by its productivity. Access to farmland is one of the main factors gatekeeping agriculture because of the colonial context, financial challenges, and land grabbing done by speculative investors. Katherine shares findings from her research about land tenure models in the Canadian context.

Our guest, Katherine Aske, grew up in Mi'kma'ki. From 2019-2020, she interviewed grain and oilseed farmers across Alberta for her MA research into the financialization of farmland. She has worked as a farm worker in Alaska and around Vancouver, and is currently farming on unceded Musqueam territory as UBC Farm's Practicum Field Coordinator. She previously worked for the National Farmers Union (NFU) in New Brunswick, and is now involved in leading the NFU's Farmland Committee.

Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed by the guest and producers of this podcast do not necessarily represent the thoughts, opinions or policy of our sponsors, including that of the National Farmers Union.

Hosts: Madeline Marmor & Ayla Fenton

Bio: Ayla is a first-generation farmer and community organizer. She graduated from Queen's University in 2011 with a B. Sc (Honours) in Biology, and since 2013 has been working on local organic farms, learning regenerative production methods for vegetables, livestock, cereal grains and dairy. Since. Ayla has been a board member of the National Farmers Union, and is a former Youth President. 

Maddie is a landless farmer born in downtown Toronto. She has been farming for the past 7 years on farms throughout Ontario and has grown food on the current and traditional lands of the Houdensaunee, Anishinabewaki, Attiwonderonk, Mississauga, Odawa, Wendake-Nionwentsïo, Petun, Saugeene - Ojibiway nations.Over the years she has come to recognize the privilege and political significance of farming on stolen land, knowledge which has informed her dedication to food sovereignty and agroecology. She is a member of the National Farmers Union and sits on the Climate Justice collective for the international social movement La Via Campesina.

For more about land issues and Kat’s farming experience, check out the links below.

Description: In this episode we’re talking about the corporatization and financialization of agriculture with Cathy Holtslander, National Farmers Union Director of Research and Policy. This episode gives us a historical account of market power in Canadian agriculture and shows how policy from the top down has enabled corporate consolidation.  Cathy details what the impact has been on farmers, and what we can do about it.  We are reminded that our ultimate goal of food sovereignty is in direct conflict with corporate agriculture.

In addition to working as the Director of Research and Policy for the NFU, Cathy Operates an organic grain farm with her partner in Saskatchewan and has been advocating for sustainable and just farm policy since the early 1990s.

Links from the Episode:

Description: Welcome to the Who Will Feed Us Podcast! In this first episode, we will meet our host, Ayla Fenton and our three co-hosts: Stuart Oke, Aliyah Fraser, and Madeline Marmor. Together, they will introduce the podcast and set the scene: who they are; why they wanted to create a podcast from the perspective of young farmers; and, what they hope to achieve/gain/offer from the process. Join our hosts as they lay the groundwork for the episodes to come and explore the forces that shape our food production system.

Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed by the guests and producers of this podcast do not necessarily represent the thoughts, opinions or policy of our sponsors, including that of the National Farmers Union.

Host: Ayla Fenton

Bio: Ayla is a first-generation farmer and community organizer. She graduated from Queen's University in 2011 with a B. Sc (Honours) in Biology, and since 2013 has been working on local organic farms, learning regenerative production methods for vegetables, livestock, cereal grains and dairy. Since. Ayla has been a board member of the National Farmers Union, and is a former Youth President. She has been involved with organizing young farmers and farmworkers nationally and internationally, advocating for the transition to agroecology, food sovereignty and climate justice. Ayla also represents the NFU in the global peasant movement La Via Campesina.

Welcome to Who Will Feed Us, a podcast by young farmers exploring the forces that shape Canadian agriculture and the solutions needed to build a more just and ecologically sustainable food system. Throughout a nine episode arc, a variety of guests, including activists, policy advocates, and of course other farmers, farmworkers, seedkeepers and food providers, will share individual experiences as they help hosts, and listeners, understand some of the underpinnings of what we believe is a food system that serves no one a healthy meal.

Episode One Drops May 15th and biweekly thereafter.