Episodes
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/050610.htmOver the past month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (the CFIA) has embarked on a concentrated effort in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, threatening area businesses with fines unless they remove their ungraded farm-fresh eggs from store shelves. Close to a dozen businesses that Deconstructing Dinner is aware of have received such a visit This episode hears from a number of those businesses including comments on the issue from...
Published 05/10/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/042210.htmVirginia farmer Joel Salatin has become one of the most well known names in the world of alternative farming after his notable presence in Michael Pollan's best-selling book The Omnivore's Dilemma and an important role as part of the popular documentary Food Inc. In February 2010, Joel was interviewed by Lauren Berlekamp of the Erie Wire. Joel spoke to Lauren about his unique and seemingly common-sense approach to farming, but more specifically,...
Published 04/26/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/041510.htm This episode follows up on our March 25th broadcast on Bill C-474 - a bill that is calling for changes to the process through which genetically engineered seeds are approved in Canada. The bill was supported by many groups such as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the National Farmers Union and the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, and was strongly opposed by groups like the Canadian Canola Growers Association and CropLife Canada -...
Published 04/16/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/040810.htm This episode marks part III of our ongoing coverage on the future of Canada's rehabilitative prison farm program. Since July 2009, Deconstructing Dinner has been paying close attention to the 6 prison farms that have been operating across Canada. In February 2009 it was discovered that the farm program was scheduled to be phased out, however, the farm program is not going down without a fight as farmers, prison workers, inmates, academics, and...
Published 04/09/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/032510.htm  Deconstructing Dinner has long been at the forefront of covering anything and everything to do with the presence of genetically engineered (GE) foods. The latest on the issue from Canada's capital is Bill C-474 - a bill introduced by Member of Paliament Alex Atamanenko. The bill was debated in the House of Commons for one-hour on March 17 and is calling for a change in the way GE seeds are approved in Canada. Back in 2009, Canada's primary...
Published 03/29/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/031810.htm We examine the latest setback in the ongoing struggle to maintain healthy honey bee populations around the world. Every winter honeybee farmers hope that come spring, their colonies will have survived so that their businesses can remain economically viable. And with Vancouver Island receiving Spring the earliest of any location in Canada, farmers there are reporting catastrophic results from the winter with some farmers having lost up to 90%...
Published 03/22/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/031110.htm Conscientious Cooks VII (Sooke Harbour House) The Sooke Harbour House is a 28-room inn in Sooke, British Columbia which has been owned and operated by Frederique and Sinclair Philip since 1979. The inn is home to a restaurant that has led the way in Canada (if not North America) in the practice of sourcing local and wild-crafted foods. The restaurant even goes so far as to cultivate their own herbs and salad greens right on the property. The...
Published 03/14/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/030410.htm Author Marc David lends his voice to the show and together we explore a new way of seeing nutrition where our body's ablility to digest and metabolize food is not just determined by the scientific breakdown of the food itself but by our level of relaxation, the quality of the food, our awareness when we're eating, the rhythms with which we eat throughout the day, the pleasure we find in our meals, the thought that's put into the food, the story...
Published 03/09/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/022510.htm The Seaweed Lady In mid-February, Deconstructing Dinner visited southern Vancouver Island, and in particular the community of Sooke, which is home to an active and well-connected food community. One of those foodies is Diane Bernard who is more commonly known as "The Seaweed Lady". Diane is the founder of Outer Coast Seaweeds - a producer of seaweed-based skin care products, but Diane is also active in using and supplying seaweeds for culinary...
Published 02/28/10
http://www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/021810.htmFor regular listeners of Deconstructing Dinner, the connections between the food we eat and our rapidly changing climate are clear and well understood. But beyond the many stories covered on the show that address the connections, has been a relatively slow uptake among the general public, the media, and policy-makers of this new reality... a reality where every food we consume carries either a positive or negative impact on our local and...
Published 02/22/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/021110.htm Farming in the City XIII (Backyard Chickens X) In November 2009, a panel discussion on urban agriculture was hosted by Backyard Bounty and the University of Guelph. The event was called Opportunities for Action: An Urban Agriculture Symposium and Deconstructing Dinner partner station CFRU recorded the panel. This episode hears from two of the panelists who both share innovative urban agriculture projects: the Carrot City exhibition - a...
Published 02/13/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/020410.htmIn July 2009, Deconstructing Dinner aired a one-hour feature on the now in-process closure of Canada's prison farm system. That episode came only months after it was discovered in February 2009 that Corrections Service Canada alongside Public Safety Canada had already planned the closure of the 150-year old program. With six farms having been operated in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the discovery of the news sparked...
Published 02/06/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/012110.htmThe Speerville Flour Mill is a locally-owned and operated business in New Brunswick that has for over 25 years been supplying the Atlantic Provinces of Canada with local, organically grown grains and foods. The mill supports dozens of organic grain farmers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. One of those farmers is Andrew Kernohan of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. In September 2009, Deconstructing Dinner visited Speerville and...
Published 01/26/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/011410.htm On February 23, 2006, Deconstructing Dinner aired a one-hour feature titled "A Dinner Date With the Olympics". The episode was produced alongside the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. The show focused its attention on two of the Games major sponsors (Coca-Cola and McDonald's). When we think of the Olympic Games, the athletes, the events, we think of human beings at the peak of performance, in optimal physical and psychological states. Sports do after...
Published 01/18/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/010710.htm Campaign for New Farmers Our food system faces many crises, among which is the steady increase in the average age of the North American farmer. As farms have gotten bigger and bigger and as the business of farming proves less and less attractive, young farmers have become quite an anomoly. Canada's National Farmers Union (NFU) has maintained a strong youth focus throughout its history and at their 2009 annual convention held in Ottawa this...
Published 01/12/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/123109.htm On today's final broadcast of 2009 (or first of 2010 depending when you listen!), Deconstructing Dinner shares audio recordings from the National Farmers Union's (NFU) recent annual convention hosted in Ottawa - November 25-27. The NFU has lent their voice to Deconstructing Dinner on well over a dozen occasions and we've always appreciated their passion and commitment to defending and promoting the Canadian family farm. This year's convention...
Published 01/03/10
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/121709.htm This episode is truly in the spirit of "deconstructing" our food and features a talk delivered by Andrew Smith - a writer and lecturer on food and culinary history. His latest book is Eating History - 30 Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. The diet of the modern American wasn't always as corporate, conglomerated, and corn-rich as it is today. Smith demonstrates how, by revisiting this history, we can reclaim the independent,...
Published 12/21/09
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/120309.htm Deconstructing Dinner continues with our ongoing coverage on the controversial subject of GMOs - genetically modified organisms. As part of our past coverage we've spent time looking at how dialogue on GMOs makes its way through the Government of Canada, whether it be the regulatory process itself, or debates heard from Canada's House of Commons. On today's episode we listen in on December 2009 meetings of Canada's Standing Committee on...
Published 12/03/09
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/112609.htm In October 2008, Deconstructing Dinner had the pleasure of spending time on Cortes Island, British Columbia with a group of young enthusiastic adults who had just spent 8 months learning the intricacies of growing food using organic and permaculture principles. Cortes Island is located in the Straight of Georgia and can be accessed by a series of ferries originating in Campbell River on Vancouver Island. For over 20 years Linnaea Farm has been...
Published 11/30/09
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/111909.htm In January 2009, the Agroinnovations Podcast featured Deconstructing Dinner. Agroinnovations touches many of the subjects covered on Deconstructing Dinner but further offers unique perspectives and subjects worth exploring. The Agroinnovations Podcast is based in Albequerque, New Mexico and is hosted weekly by Frank Aragona. They have produced 70 episodes to date. Today's episode features segments from Agroinnovations featuring...
Published 11/21/09
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/111209.htm We travel to the State of California where 50% of all fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in Canada and the United States are produced. Beyond fresh produce, California is also a major producer of dairy, olives and nuts, and the list of foods goes on. But how secure is this reliance we all have on Californian food? Certainly for most Canadians and Americans, the distance food is travelling from California is almost laughable. But food...
Published 11/14/09
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/102909.htm Dan Barber - A Perfect Expression of Nature (Conscientious Cooks VI) However we try to look at it, agriculture itself - as it's existed for 10,000 years, will always be a departure from aquiring our food as nature intended. By extension, agricultural and food production methods will always be debated on their merits of balancing natural systems with the social needs of human populations. But what if the line between social needs and natural...
Published 11/02/09
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/102209.htm Sustainable Agriculture at Fleming College (Deconstructing Dinner in our Schools IV) Deconstructing Dinner is excited to share with our listeners an amazing new agriculture program for new farmers being offered at Fleming College in Lindsay, Ontario. The proposed curriculum touches on many of the areas of focus that Deconstructing Dinner has shared since the show was launched in 2006. The Sustainable Agriculture program appears like an...
Published 10/26/09
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/101509.htm The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they...
Published 10/19/09
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/100809.htm In October 2009, Deconstructing Dinner descended upon the Halifax Farmers' Market. Founded in 1750, it is the oldest continuously running farmers' market in North America. The first market vendors were Acadian - the original European immigrants to the land. In 1983, the vendors launched what is now a self financed cooperatively governed group of local producers, processors and artisans that has grown to over 200 vendors. The model is a...
Published 10/10/09