Cooper Institute’s third annual social justice symposium in honour of Father Andrew Macdonald will take place on Saturday, March 11th. The theme for this year’s event is “food sovereignty and climate change; nurturing human and ecological communities in stormy times”, and will feature a presentation by guest speaker, Dr Nettie Wiebe.
While it’s generally understood that climate change, due to elevated temperatures, drought and extreme weather events, has an impact on food production, the opposite is also true. That is, our current global food system – the way that we produce, distribute, trade and consume food – is a significant contributor to climate change. The social justice symposium will offer an opportunity to consider this paradox. What do we need to do, in a changing climate, to reconfigure our food system to make it more sustainable, and to ensure that everybody has access to enough food?
Nettie Wiebe farms near Delisle, Saskatchewan, growing organic grains and pulse crops, and raising cattle. She served in elected leadership positions of the National Farmers Union for ten years and was the first woman to lead a national farm organization in Canada. She recently retired from teaching ethics at St. Andrews College, University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Wiebe is an active participant in public discourse on sustainable agriculture and rural communities, trade agreements, women’s equality, human rights, peace, economic and environmental issues and food sovereignty. Her recent publications include co-editing two volumes on food sovereignty and several articles about changing farmland ownership in Canada.
The symposium will take place at Milton Community Hall, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on March 11th. This is a free event, open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information, please contact Cooper Institute – 902.894.4573 or ann@cooperinstitute.ca.