Speakers

ELAINA ASSELIN

After spending her early adult life as a Systems Analyst, ELAINA ASSELIN felt a need to be more creative in her work. She spent over 16 years in Toronto and Montreal in the restaurant business as a Chef. It is a very grueling lifestyle, but also exciting, creative, stressful, all consuming and at times overwhelming. Now, she is at a stage in her life where many things are important… husband, family and cooking, the environment, living a healthy lifestyle, spending time with friends, and giving something of herself. Her current position as a farmer, allows her to contribute to all of these. She is proud to say that she is a small part of a growing concern for our health and our environment.

BRAD LONG

Recognized as one of the top chefs in Canada. His talents are highly acclaimed by some of the country’s toughest food critics - VQA Restaurant Awards of Excellence and Globe and Mail Top 10 restaurants of the year. Currently he is chef and owner of Café Belong and Belong Catering. He is a co-host of the Food Network smash hit Restaurant Makeover and is currently in post-production of a new provocative food documentary. An active advocate for sustainable farming and ethical treatment of livestock, balancing work and family is vital to Long. When he isn’t creating menus, speaking with farmers or checking the freshness of new produce, he relishes family time with his wife Sheryl and their five children.

WARREN BELL

Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Warren has been a full-service family physician nearly four decades, with an interest in the relationship between human and ecosystem health for many years, as well as peace and social just issues and the integration of healing modalities of all kinds. He is past founding president of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, which he co-founded in 1994, and which is now the environmental voice of the medical profession in this country. He has been president of the Association of Complementary and Integrative Physicians of B.C., Physicians for Global Survival, and the Wetland Alliance: The Ecological Response (WA:TER). For 10 years he wrote a column entitled "Global Health", and in recent years has written extensively for the National Observer.

ELEANOR BOYLE

Writes and speaks about how individuals and communities can choose foods that strengthen the environment and their health. Author of the book High Steaks: Why and How to Eat Less Meat (New Society, 2012), she offers strong evidence for organic, local and moderate-scale livestock and other agricultural production, and is inspired by the trend for consumers to eat 'less and better' animal products. In a previous career, Eleanor was a full-time journalist for 12 years with the Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun and CTV. She holds a BA in Psychology, a PhD in Neuroscience and an MSc in Food Policy, has taught college and university courses, and can be found at eleanorboyle.com.

CAM COLLYER

Executive Director, Programs at Evergreen, a Canadian charity “Inspiring action to green cities”. He oversees Evergreen’s national suite of programs that focus on the design, stewardship and animation of public lands. This includes the award winning national school ground greening program - Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds - along with the summer camp, visiting schools and weekend programs at Evergreen Brick Works. Cam has directed the establishment of a national network of school ground design professionals, the creation of a large suite of print and web-based publications, the development of pioneering partnerships with schools boards across Canada and the distribution of over $2.5 million in grants to schools. He is a co-founder of the International School Ground Alliance and sits on the board of directors of Green Teacher magazine and Green Schoolyards America.

ARWA de GROOT

Manager the organic dairy herd at Mapleton's Organic Dairy, a business owned and operated by her family. Mapleton’s is a certified organic farm providing healthy, local and environmentally sustainable products produced in their on-farm dairy. All their products (ice cream, frozen yogurt and fresh yogurt) are produced using milk from the herd of 70 dairy cows. Arwa graduated from York University in film production and worked for a time in Toronto as a cinematographer before deciding her true calling was back on the family dairy farm. She takes great delight in managing the dairy herd and ensuring quality milk for the dairy. She is also the mother of 13 year old twins.

KATHY ENGLISH

Toronto Star's Public Editor. The Public Editor position encompasses the roles of reader advocate and guarantor of accuracy, serving as a liaison between the Star and its many readers, across the Star's many platforms. Kathy began her journalism career at the Brantford Expositor in 1976 and was a Star reporter and feature writer from 1983-89. She has reported and edited for six Canadian daily newspapers including the Star and the Globe and Mail. She taught newspaper journalism at Ryerson School of Journalism for 10 years and then launched websites for two Canadian media companies. She currently serves on the Canadian Journalism Association Ethics Panel and on the executive committee of the Canadian Journalism Foundation. Kathy is a former board member of Canada's National Newspaper Awards and the Organization of News Ombudsmen, a group of international public editors and ombudsmen. She holds a Masters degree in Canadian history.

GREGORY HILL

Has a long and varied career in widely different fields. He graduated from U of T in Computer Science, specializing in Computer Graphics. He spent his first 15 years in various hi-tech businesses including typesetting, computer animation, compact disc production and various consulting roles. He founded or was involved in the start up of several businesses including Canada’s first compact disc plant, a high-end athletic apparel company, a test and instrumentation company and recently, an entrepreneurial endeavour to establish a world-scale straw-based board manufacturing facility in China. Most recently, he has turned his attention to his first loves, wood and the land. With his wife Elaina, they have established Wicklow Way, an Organic Farm, an Artisan Kitchen and a Woodcraft Studio. They share their interests and talents to provide handcrafted products from wood, creative food from their kitchen and delicious, heritage produce from their land.

PAT LEARMONTH

Served as the Environmental Farm Plan Representative and Workshop Leader for Peterborough County for seven years, and co-founded the Kawartha Farm Stewardship Collaborative. She serves on the Peterborough County Stewardship Council, the Greater Peterborough Area Agricultural Advisory Committee and the Sustainable Peterborough Working Group on Food and Farming. Pat holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies (Trent University) and a degree in Law (University of Western Ontario). Through her work, teaching, research, consulting and personal experience, she has developed extensive networks with farms and farming organizations within the Kawartha region, as well as across Ontario. Pat and her husband own a farm near Peterborough.

ALAIN MENARD

Graduated with a Bachelor of Science majoring in microbiology at McGill University. He worked for more than 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Alain co-founded The Green Beaver Company with Karen Clark. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science majoring in biochemistry before working in the pesticide and pharmaceutical industry for more than 10 years. Together, they founded The Green Beaver Company located in Hawkesbury, Ontario, in 2002. In order to guarantee the pureness of their products to consumers, Green Beaver decided to become certified organic in 2008.

JULIE DANILUK RHN

Author of Meals that Heal Inflammation, has helped thousands of people enjoy allergy-free foods that taste great and assist the body in the healing process. She is also the co-host of the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Healthy Gourmet, a reality cooking show that highlights the ongoing battle between taste and nutrition. She is the recipient of the 2012 Canadian Health Food Association’s Organic Achievement Award. Julie studied nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. She then went on to become a co-operative owner of The Big Carrot Natural Food Market, where she acted as the Chief In-Store Nutritionist for over 12 years. Julie also served on the board of the Canadian Health Food Association in 2000 and 2009. She has studied Culinary Arts at George Brown College and herbalism at Emerson Herbal College. Julie’s food activism has led her to speak to the Canadian Federal Government in Parliament about the potential health risks of genetically modified food. One of her greatest joys to date has been cooking on the Greenpeace tall sailing ship, The Rainbow Warrior, during its GE-free New Zealand tour.

JANINE GIBSON

Social and environmental activist for over 30 years, and has worked as an independent organic inspector since 1993. She is one of the three founding members of the Organic Food Council of Manitoba. She is past-president of Canadian Organic Growers, and has worked toward the adoption of a national organic standard for Canada. She teaches other inspectors through the Independent Organic Inspectors Association. She lives in a solar and wind-powered village known as Northern Sun Farm Cooperative in southeastern Manitoba.

DR. RENE VAN ACKER

Professor and Associate Dean (external) of the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) at the University of Guelph and was previously chair of the department of Plant Agriculture. Prior to his appointments at The University of Guelph, Rene was a professor of weed science and crop management at the University of Manitoba. As Associate Dean external in OAC, he is responsible for helping to initiate and coordinate fundraising in the college and manage communications and partnerships with and across the college. In his administrative role he also helps to lead special projects including the initiation and development of The Food Institute, a pan-University initiative to facilitate knowledge translation and transfer on food related research and expertise. In his academic role, he conducts research in weed biology and ecology and the coexistence of GM and non-GM crops. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed works to-date and has made over 300 other non-peer reviewed contributions. His research work on coexistence of GM and non-GM crops has lead to ongoing international collaborations and consultations. Rene grew up on a farm in southwest Ontario. He holds BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Guelph and a PhD from the University of Reading in the UK.

ANN SLATER

Professional that has been running a 1 1/2 acre intensive organic market garden, in the northwest corner of Oxford county, for over 30 years. Her fresh vegetables and greens are sold at the St. Marys Farmers Market and through her 35 member CSA. She represents Ontario on the national board of the National Farmers Union and is the Ontario Coordinator for the NFU. She is a past president of the Ecological Farmers of Ontario (EFO) and continues to chair the EFO GE Committee and act as the EFO representative to the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN). Ann occasionally contributes articles to The Canadian Organic Grower, Ecological Farming in Ontario and the Ontario Farmer.

JODE ROBERTS

Writer, painter, beekeeper and schemer. By day he is a wordsmith and strategist, bringing nature to the city through the David Suzuki Foundation’s Homegrown National Park Project and shilling milkweed on behalf of monarch butterflies. Most recently Jode has begun installing planetary wayfinding signs in Toronto neighbourhoods as part of the Walkable Planets project. To recharge his batteries he spends time at the easel creating colourful abstract paintings and toying with the wonders of digital photography. Jode lives works and plays in Toronto’s Christie Pits neighbourhood with his darling partner and charming five year old boy. He periodically shows his paintings around the city, and occasionally does commissioned paintings.

MELINDA ZYTARUK

Is the General Manager and a founding member of the Fourth Pig Worker Co-op. She enjoys managing eco construction projects almost as much as troweling on a smooth coat of fresh earth plaster. She has a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University with a focus on community renewable energy and sustainability and is a graduate of the Renewable Energy Education Program of Solar Energy International located in Colorado. Melinda’s career has merged her passions for green construction, community organizing and education. She has worked as a builder on straw bale houses, designed and installed solar electric and hot water systems, and has been the general contractor for Fourth Pig's eco-renovations since 2007.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

DAVID R. MONTGOMERY

ANNE BIKLE

Co-authors of a recently published book, The Hidden Half of Nature, a riveting exploration of how microbes are transforming the way we see nature and ourselves and are potentially revolutionizing agriculture and medicine. David is a professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington and a 2008 MacArthur Fellow. His research interests involve the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies, and interactions among climate, tectonics, and erosion in shaping topography on Earth and Mars. He has published more than 200 scientific papers, 4 technical books, and is a three-time winner of the Washington State Book Award, for The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood; Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations; and King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon. Anne has over two decades of experience in the environmental science and policy fields. She earned Bachelors degrees in Biology and Natural History from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Masters Degree in Environmental Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Her endless fascination with the natural world has taught her to see connections between seemingly unrelated topics and events in science, history, and modern culture that affect the environment. She finds this perspective a fruitful and rewarding way to make sense of the world and our place in it, especially while working in the garden, the kitchen, and writing at her desk.

STEVE BEAUCHESNE

Co-founder of Beau’s All Natural, an award-winning, family-run, organic, and totally DIY craft brewery in Eastern Ontario. Since its start-up in 2006, Beau’s has won 80 national and international awards for beer-making, marketing and packaging design, sustainability and business practices. Steve certified Beau's All Natural as Canada's first-ever B-Corp brewery, founded February 1 as International Gruit Day and successfully lobbied to have some of Canada's old beer laws changed to recognize the rights of craft brewers. He is Vice Chair of the Ontario Craft Brewers Association, and a frequent presenter at craft brewing, culinary, and sustainability seminars and events. He was selected for the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce “Top Forty under 40” in 2015, and in 2013 he was recognized by the United Way with a Community Builder of the Year Award. He holds a B. Commerce degree from Toronto’s Ryerson University, and his kids think he's a bit of a goofball.

ANN SPERLING

Director of Winemaking and Viticulture at Southbrook Vineyards where she is committed to managing the vineyard organically and biodynamically. She has over two decades of experience in winegrowing, winemaking and consulting for successful winery startups. Raised on a family vineyard in Kelowna, BC, Ann began early on recognizing, developing and appreciating the fine balance within the characteristics of the fruit and its effects on wine. She completed her Food Sciences degree at UBC and has continued her path of learning and exploration since she entered the wine industry full-time in 1984. Ann has played pivotal roles in the start-ups of both B.C.'s CedarCreek winery and Niagara's Malivoire Wine Company- where she oversaw the conversion of the Moira Vineyard to organic. in 2004, she received the Winemaker of the Year award at the Ontario Wine Awards.

LUCY SHARRATT

Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (www.cban.ca). CBAN is a campaign coalition of 18 organizations including farmer associations, environmental groups and international development organizations, all of which have various concerns about genetic engineering. Lucy is based in Ottawa and has previously worked as a campaigner and researcher on this important issue at the Sierra Club of Canada and the Polaris Institute. She also coordinated the International Ban Terminator Campaign.

BILL REDELMEIER

A passionate entrepreneur and connoisseur of food and fine wine, Bill Redelmeier, together with his partner Marilyn, evolved Bill’s family business from a cattle farm on a 19th century property in Richmond Hill, through to a roadside vegetable stand in the 1980s, to a thriving garden market, and now an award-winning winery. He honed his skills and knowledge at the University of Guelph and was an active supporter of local growers long before the expression “locavore” was coined. In 2005, Bill and Marilyn chose to reinvest in agriculture by purchasing a 74-acre vineyard in the heart of Ontario wine country in Niagara-on-the-Lake. They doubled their holdings to approximately 150 acres of prime viticultural land in the spring of 2008. With this significant investment located within the Green Belt, the Redelmeiers have intentionally chosen to become a part of this region’s agricultural heritage for generations to come. Bill and Marilyn have pursued certifications for both the vineyard and the winery – including LEED, biodynamic and organic certification – clearly demonstrating leadership and commitment to environmental concerns, quality winemaking, and outstanding customer experience. Bill is a board member of the Vintners Quality Alliance (Ontario), the Wine Council of Ontario, and Fruit Wines of Canada.

ALVARO VENTURELLI

Co-owner of Plan B Organic Farm. Established in 1997, this certified organic 50-acre farm is located near Flamborough, ON. It grows produce for a CSA operation delivering up to 1000 boxes a week. Alvaro looks to nature to provide his “beneficials”—not just beneficial insects that pollinate his crops, but beneficial functions such as fertilizing and pest control. Plan B strives for self-sufficiency, and can now produce most of what it needs from its own land, from stinging nettles and horse tails for fertilizers to anti-fungal agents derived from elderberry leaves.

PAT MOONEY

Executive Director of ETC Group. He has more than four decades experience working in international civil society, first addressing aid and development issues and then focusing on food, agriculture and commodity trade. In 1977 he co-founded RAFI (Rural Advancement Fund International, renamed ETC Group in 2001). He received The Right Livelihood Award (the "Alternative Nobel Prize") in the Swedish Parliament in 1985 and the Pearson Peace Prize from Canada's Governor General in 1998. He has also received the American "Giraffe Award" given to people "who stick their necks out." The author or co-author of several books on the politics of biotechnology and biodiversity, he is widely regarded as an authority on issues of global governance, corporate concentration, and intellectual property monopoly. ETC's work continues to emphasize plant genetic resources, agricultural biodiversity, and biotechnology, and in the late 1990s, expanded to encompass a succession of emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, synthetic biology, geoengineering, and new developments in genomics and neurosciences.

CHARLES BENOIT

Co-founder of Toronto Distillery Co., a certified organic grain-to-glass distillery, and the city's first new distillery since 1933. Charles' first exposure to craft distilling was as a consumer, living in Washington, D.C. and practicing customs law. Charles was an expert at getting heavily regulated goods from one jurisdiction to another, and this led to work with craft distillers across the United States. This in turn led to a deep appreciation about the importance of both the ingredients and process used for distilling spirits. Partnering with a longtime friend from high school, Jesse and Charles together set out to distill spirits from their home province's own agricultural bounty.

TAARINI CHOPRA

Joined Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) in 2013 as a researcher and campaigner. She is also the publications coordinator at Seeds of Diversity Canada, and a researcher with the Global Food Politics Group at the University of Waterloo. She has been working on issues related to food politics, international development and genetic engineering for several years, and has completed graduate research on the politics and policy of genetically engineered cotton in India. Before joining CBAN, Taarini worked as the associate editor for the national environmental magazine, Alternatives Journal. She has also worked as an independent writer and editor for several environmental and agricultural groups and researchers in India and Canada. Taarini has worked on two organic farms in Ontario. She is currently the co-chair of the Waterloo Region Food Systems Roundtable.

FLEUR ESTERON & CINDY PHAM

Fleur Esteron is a Research Assistant at Ryerson University, in both the Centre for Studies in Food Security and the School of Professional Communication. Her background is in Nutrition Communication.

Cindy Pham is a Nutrition undergraduate student at Ryerson University. She was also an amazing volunteer at the Good Food Cafe, both at St. Joseph's College School and Ecole Secondaire Toronto Ouest.

LUKE KIMMEL

Has 5 years of experience designing and installing edible gardens in Calgary AB, and across Western Canada. During this time he has completed two Permaculture Design Certificates and attended hundreds of hours of additional workshops and training, as well as co-founded and operated Leaf Ninjas Inc, a garden design and installation company in his home town of Calgary, AB. He has worked on a variety of projects ranging from urban yards to community gardens, public parks, organic farms, orchards, homesteads, and acreages. Luke is a passionate public speaker and educator, frequently giving speeches and workshops regarding his topic of focus; edible forest gardening aka food forestry. He has facilitated over 15 "permablitz" garden installations and is excited to share his insight on this with the guests of the Canadian Organic Growers Conference!