Episode 9

Agroecology and Building a System that Works

Release Date: September 4, 2022

We’re going to be talking about 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 – because we think they can!

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

As always, a huge thank you to the National Farmers Foundation (NFF)

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Other Episodes in this series

Episode 1: Who Will Feed Us

Meet our host, Ayla Fenton, and three co-hosts: Stuart Oke, Aliyah Fraser, and Madeline Marmor. Together, they will introduce the podcast and set the scene:...

Episode 2: Corporatization of Agriculture

Join our talk about the corporatization and financialization of agriculture with Cathy Holtslander, National Farmers Union Director of Research and Policy. This episode gives us...

Episode 3: Land Access (Part One)

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...

Episode 4: Land Access (Part Two)

Explore the issues of accessing land that are facing young farmers today. We’re thrilled to hear from Hannah Hunter and Natalie Childs of Agricola Cooperative...

Episode 5: Migrant Farm Labour and Building the Solidarity we Need

Go on a deep exploration of the multi-faceted migrant farm labour crisis. Kit Andres, from the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, offers insight into the...

Episode 6: The True Cost of Food

Examine how the unequal price of food starts with production. Our guest, Cheyenne Sundance, highlights the necessity of paying fair wages for farm work and explains...

Episode 7: The Climate Crisis and Farming

Discover the very real impacts of the climate crisis on farmers and our food production system generally. Farmers are feeling the impacts now and need...

Episode 8: The Rematriation of Seeds and Decolonizing our Food Systems

Examine 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...
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contributors

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Jessie MacInnis

Jessie is a small-scale, first generation agroecological farmer and scholar-activist based in unceded and unsurrendered Mi’kmaq territory (aka Nova Scotia), Canada. Agroecology is a foundational part of their farm: from the practices they engage (cover crops, soil-health building, low-tillage, and crop and non-crop biodiversity) on the farm, to the ways in which they seek and share knowledge horizontally with other growers, to relationships they build with their community through solidarity approaches to food accessibility. Jessie is currently the Youth President of the National Farmers Union of Canada and 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.

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Stuart Oke

Stuart is a young farmer from Eastern Ontario who, alongside his partner Nikki, owns and operates Rooted Oak Farm, a 12 acre organic vegetable and cut flower farm. After years of renting land Rooted Oak in 2020 relocated to Eastern Ontario, and the traditional territory of the Anishinabek, Huron-Wendat, Haudensaunee and Oneida Peoples. In addition to loving food and taking pride in growing food that sustains people, the farm was founded on the idea that farming is a political act, one capable of creating great change.

www.rootedoak.ca | @rootedoakfarm