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Venezuela’s Seed Law should be a global model
The imposition of patented transgenic seeds onto rural communities has had a catastrophic impact on human livelihoods and biodiversity protection. In many countries, seeds have traditionally been the collective property of farmers—however, these farmers’ right to control their own seed supply is being attacked by corporate forces which have captured capitalist states around the world.
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The lesson we should have learned from ‘Silent Spring’
Rachel Carson gave us a vivid and compelling description of the barren world that the agrochemical industry was creating. But hidden within that was a clear analysis of why it was happening: the inherent drive to accumulation within capitalism and the willingness of corporations and capitalists to use every tool available to them, including the state itself, to create markets and grow profit.
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Utopian musings on an endangered world
Half-Earth Socialism by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese sets forth a unique ecosocialist vision that centres the preservation of the fullness of the natural world at a time when the dawning Holocene extinction, driven primarily by capitalism and consumption patterns in the Global North, is putting life on the line.
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Canada could learn from Cuba’s sustainable agriculture
It is incumbent upon Canadians to learn from Cuba’s sustainable and democratic agricultural transition and implement its principles however they can, be it through organizing or lobbying campaigns or direct agroecological action. Only then can we begin to recuperate Canadian agriculture for the people who reside in these borders.
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The case for smashing Big Alcohol and reclaiming working class joy
Despite the ubiquity of a legal and safer supply of alcohol, beverage alcohol contributes to the deaths of some three million people around the world every single year via traumatic injuries, chronic diseases, self-harm, cancers, and alcohol use disorders, including alcohol dependency. Countless more people live with alcohol-related diseases, chronic pains, mental health issues, and various disabilities.
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Prairies ramp up potash production amid Russia sanctions blowback
Fertilizer prices are extremely high, contributing to the ongoing global food crisis that has worsened in the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the short-sighted imposition of sanctions by Western countries. In particular, production of potash has been severely impacted by the war in Ukraine and the West’s stubborn aversion to negotiation and compromise in eastern Europe.
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Federal agency rules ‘Product of Israel’ labels violate Canadian law
In 2017, Dr. David Kattenburg filed a complaint against two wines made in the Israeli, West Bank settlements of Psagot and Shiloh. Dr. Kattenburg argued that, because those settlements are situated on Occupied Palestinian Territory in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the wines produced in those settlements were falsely labelled as “Product of Israel.”
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Canada is facing a dangerous food insecurity crisis
Canada’s food crisis is the result of a settler-colonial capitalism system which deprives a disproportionate number of Indigenous people of access to healthy diets, while simultaneously enforcing brutal class-based rule that impacts all races and sectors of the economy, thereby draining Canadians of their earned incomes and condemning many to early deaths caused by hunger.
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Yes, you should just delete your apps
The only thing certain about the future of third-party delivery is that we cannot predict the next steps from these companies. But it’s a corner of the restaurant industry where we can take simple, direct action through our choices. For diners who love their city’s restaurants and want to see them survive, to make dining choices that put money directly in the pockets of restaurants, there is something we can do.
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Time for craft brewery workers to organize
It is imperative that the impetus created by the public response to the sharing of allegations of sexual harassment, abuse, and discrimination within the craft brewing industry builds into an enduring movement that extends beyond the current moment. The possibility for a necessary shift away from a toxic workplace culture comes from the increased support and solidarity that a labour organization or union can provide.