The Rural Voice, 2005-09, Page 50[automatic
ROLLER MILL RENTALS
• 4 - 1800 bu./hr. roller blowers - 540 RPM
• 1 - 2400 bu./hr. roller blower - 1000 RPM
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• 2 - 3600 bu./hr. roller with auger discharge
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Since 1982
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P.O. Box 280 Wellesley, Ont.
519-656-2352 Fax 519-656-3252
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46 THE RURAL VOICE
In contrast to trade liberalization,
the cornerstone of Via Campesina is
food sovereignty, Desmarais says.
"This is the idea that peoples and
the governments that represent them
have the right to define their own
agricultural food values in the
interest of their own populations."
Working
from that priority,
many of the organizations
aligned with Via
Campesina, including the NFU in
Canada and Union Paysanne in
Quebec, support local production.
supply -management, orderly
marketing, the ability of farmers to
control their seed supply. and the
redistribution of land.
There are success stories.
In Brazil, a country often held up
as an example of how liberalized
trade works. there's an organization
— Movimiento Sem Terra (MST) or
Landless Movement — supported by
millions. Desmarais says. Taking
advantage of the Brazilian
constitution, agricultural land that's
been left idle can be claimed through
a legal process.
Brazil, Desmarais points out. has
'about the most unequal distribution
of land in the world.
As a result. there's been
opportunity for organized
communities of landless peasants —
MSTs — to claim land. Many
Brazilian communities have
supported the efforts because the
MSTs generate wealth through local
economic development.
"These are so popular that there's
even a soap opera in Brazil, a country
where soap operas are part of the
culture, in which the various issues
surrounding MSTs are discussed.".
In Canada, agricultural land may
be more widely distributed and there
are opportunities for farmers in urban
centres. However, the negative
impacts of trade liberalization and
agricultural consolidation are still
felt, Wiebe says.
These impacts include the
environmental consequences linked
to the limited crop rotations and
narrow genetic base that are often
associated with large, farmers
dependent on trade. Rural
communities can also be counted
among the victims as rural
populations decline and agricultural