Category: Education

February 26th, just a few weeks ago, was “Ash Wednesday”, the day when many Christians around the world observe a day of fasting, the beginning of a 40 day preparation for Easter.  On this day they abstain from eating meat. Coincidentally, I turned on the radio while driving to catch an interview with Mark Bittman, the celebrated food writer, on the topic of plant based meat substitutes.  It’s worth a listen if you have time; https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/15762625-national-affairs-panel-on-climate-and-resource-policy-mark-bittman-on-plant-based-meat-continuing-the-work-of-iranian-canadian-scientists-lost-in-flight-752-how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-coronavirus   As you know, the introduction of plant-based burgers and sausage at fast food outlets like Tim’s and Burger King drew a lot...

I can still hear the voice of my good friend and mentor, Bernhard Hack, in his thick German accent saying “These healing plants… we call weeds.” For a young conventional farmer, which I was back in 1982 when I first met Bernhard, this was a revolutionary concept. Weeds were simply a nuisance, something to get rid of with sprays. He introduced me to the notion that weeds had a purpose – a role in the agricultural ecosystem. As I stopped spraying and started observing weeds my thinking changed and I began to see the truth in his statement. Today,...

What many of us don’t know, or don’t think about, is that all of this diverse life that we see, and some, like farm animals that we have to manage, is entirely dependent on a community of living things that we don’t see – the life in the soil. A single tablespoon of healthy soil is home to millions of living organisms; bacteria, fungi, microscopic insects and larger species like the earthworm. Together they form an intricate and fascinating web of life that is indivisible from plant life. In fact, scientists who study in detail the interchange of nutrients...

Why I Love Potatoes By Ted Zettel Sr. The potato is perhaps the best plant on the planet!  I may be slightly biased toward love of the “pomme de terre”, having grown up on a farm in Southwestern Ontario, within a community descended from German and Irish immigrants.  Throughout my childhood, we ate potatoes every day.  Twice a day!  We had them boiled for supper and fried the next day for lunch.  Potatoes for us were like rice to the Chinese or pasta to the Italians. I never thought there could be any other way to eat them until...