Caucus Coordinator:

Steering Committee
2008-2009:

John Burcombe
Mouvement Au Courant, QC

Josh Brandon
Greenpeace Canada, BC

Maria Castro
Beyond Factory Farming, BC

Helen Forsey
Peace and Environment Resource Center, ON

Ella Haley
Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, ON

Fabien Jouve
Sierra Club of Canada, QC

Gabrielle Kretszchmar
New Brunswick Partners in Agriculture, NB

Jean Paul L'Italien Comité de développement durable du Nord-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick, NB

Rick Morrell Saskatchewan Environmental Society, SK

Agriculture Caucus

Mandate

Terms of Reference and Networking

The Agriculture Caucus recognizes that farmers are regularly exposed to advertising and other pressures from industrial agribusiness and trade interests promoting incentives for them to adopt the 'big factory' model. The Agriculture Caucus will look for opportunities to support and promote viable alternative models.

• The Agriculture Caucus Steering Committee will meet at least quarterly via conference call.
• The Agriculture Caucus will foster links and share information with existing enviro-agriculture groups, nationally and internationally.
• The Agriculture Caucus SC will establish links with Agriculture and/or Food Caucuses of Regional Affiliates where they exist.
• The Agriculture Caucus will discuss cross-caucus issues, such as watersheds, riparian areas, stewardship and air, with other Caucuses where relevant.
• The Agriculture Caucus will investigate international cooperation with other nations moving towards more ecological self sufficiency.

Workplan

• Read the Agriculture Caucus 2007-2008 Workplan

Annual Report

• Read the 2006-2007 Agriculture Caucus Annual Report

Projects and Activities

1. Green Paper and Position Paper on Agriculture and the Environment
   
   As part of the RCEN Annual Conference on the Environment, held in Montreal on October 19-21, 2006, the RCEN Agriculture Caucus has prepared a Green Paper on Agriculture and the Environment, as well as an Executive Summary of the Green Paper. The Green Paper examines the interconnections between environmental and agricultural issues in the goal of facilitating productive discussion and providing a starting point for future action. In conjuntion with the Green Paper, the Agriculture Caucus has also developed a Position Paper, Agriculture and the Environment: Analysis and Action.
   
   All three documents were distributed for ENGO sign-on, and were presented to Agriculture Canada on March 27, 2007.
   
   For more information, consult the RCEN Green Paper webpage or contact Leela Ramachandran, tel.: (613) 728-9810 ext. 223.
   
2. Agriculture Policy Framework Review

• APF Review Panel Questionnaire - October 2005
• Common Goals as Stated in the APF Framework Agreement - 2005
• APF Panel and Executive Committee - 2005

Documents

A draft of the 2006 Green Paper will be posted on the RCEN website in early October 2006.

Related Links

Note: The RCEN is not responsible for the content of external sites.

• Beyond Factory Farming
• Greenpeace Canada
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
• Ban Terminator

Archives

Archived Workplans

• 2005 Agriculture Caucus Workplan

2003-2004 Activities

• Canadian Standards Association Development of a Standard for Hog Operations
• Fish Farming
• Plants with Novel Traits
• Genetically Modified Wheat
• Bovine Spongiform Encephalothopy (Mad Cow Disease)
• Environmental Assessment Regulations Programme