Apr 1, 2013

Ministry of Health carpet-bombs drug safety monitoring The tragedy of Roderick MacIsaa by Alan Cassels image by Anthony Freda • Unanswered questions around the death of a Ministry of Health employee might hold some clues to the biggest scandal to ever hit BC’s drug evaluation system. Linda Kayfish’s voice weighs heavily with exasperation as she speaks to...

Apr 1, 2013

I-522: The People’s Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act • Labelitwa.org is an anti-GMO activist organization that has put together a piece of legislation that would mandate labelling for foods containing genetically modified ingredients. “1-522: The People’s Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act” was submitted to the Secretary of...

Apr 1, 2013

by W. Gifford-Jones M.D. • Do you know that every day 290 North American citizens are killed by prescription drugs? To kill the same number of people, a jumbo jet would have to crash every day. So why are natural remedies being removed from health food stores while drugs that kill remain available? Dr. Zoltan Rona, an expert on natural remedies, recently told...

by Joyce Murray • When news broke that a by-election was imminent in Labrador following the resignation of Peter Penashue – the disgraced Conservative MP who stepped down following news about his election financing irregularities – I called Green Party leader Elizabeth May and asked her to consider having the Green Party Electoral District Association...

Apr 1, 2013

by Bruce Mason • The voice on the line is soothing, eerily familiar and deservedly famous – the unmistakable crystal soprano Bill Moyers once dubbed the “voice of the century.” And the conversation – typical of 73-year-old Judy Collins’ life and work – is revelatory, with unexpected twists and turns, shaped by tragedy, driven by hope. “I stay...

Apr 1, 2013

Art and text by Geoff Olson • You might see one or two at a collector’s fair or antiquarian bookshop: dog-eared copies of Popular Science magazines from decades past, with covers promising a sunny future of expanded leisure time. There might be, for example, an illustration of a beaming Caucasian family in a hovercraft, weaving past city spires on a...

Apr 1, 2013

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • Despite its huge area, Canada has relatively little dependable farmland. After all, a lot of our country is rock or buried under ice and snow. Fertile soil and a friendly climate are hard to find. To feed our growing urban populations and sustain local food security, it’s critical to have productive land close to where...

Apr 1, 2013

La Dolce Vita by Alastair Gregor • As I write this, I feel a sense of dread on behalf of the people of the US. On March 20, Monsanto managed to slip its Monsanto Protection Act through the US Senate. If signed into law by President Obama, the rider will allow farmers to plant, harvest and sell genetically engineered plants even if the crops have been ruled...

Apr 1, 2013

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead • Rob Stewart is the underwater filmmaker who, with Sharkwater, showed everyone it’s safe to go back in the water; what’s more, he opened our eyes to the barbaric practice of shark-finning. The film’s impact came from gorgeous, up-close footage of different species of sharks combined with hard-hitting sequences...

Apr 1, 2013

UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young • Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly. – Mahatma Gandhi Something that is really coming up for many of my clients lately is the extent to which they do not, or cannot, speak their truth. If we are not being true to ourselves, we are not being authentic....

Apr 1, 2013

A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle • To read Eckhart Tolle’s latest column, please see the current print edition of Common Ground For copyright reasons, we are authorized to publish this column in our print version only. More than 1/4 million people read Common Ground every month! Pick up your copy today. This article appeared in the APRIL 2013 print edition...

Apr 1, 2013

ON THE GARDEN PATH by Carolyn Herriot • I recently met my first Young Agrarian (YA) at a farmer-2-farmer conference on Vancouver Island. A Young Agrarian is self-described as someone who values food, farmers, nature and community and is intent on growing food sustainably. YA is partnered with FarmFolk CityFolk, a not-for-profit society that cultivates...

Apr 1, 2013

NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina MS, RD • I recently attended the 6th International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition, which is held in California roughly every five years. The 2nd Congress in 1992 was so inspiring that afterward I co-wrote the first edition of our classic Becoming Vegetarian (now in 15 countries in five languages) with Brenda Davis and...