Canada: Colleen Ross
Colleen Ross is a visionary. As an organic farmer and as Women's President of the National Farmers Union (NFU), Colleen spends her days, and many nights, working with others to build a more positive future for global agriculture. Colleen began her farming life in Australia where she first became aware of the impacts of industrial agriculture on farmers. Upon moving back to Canada in 1995, Colleen and her family bought a 200-acre farm and converted it to certified organic, growing grains, oilseeds, horticulture crops and raising livestock. Colleen began to devote more energy to organizing and activism on farm and food issues, and joined the NFU. Meeting like-minded farmers felt like "being a part of a larger farm family, working in solidarity with other farmers, with a realistic and wholesome vision for appropriate food production," she says now.
Through her work with the NFU, Colleen collaborates with farmers in Canada and internationally, acting together to promote global food sovereignty. In 2005, supported by Inter Pares, Colleen traveled to India to join Asian farmers and activists in advocacy concerning the impacts of genetically engineered (GE) crops on farm livelihoods. Drawing on NFU research, Colleen showed that rather than Canadian farmers becoming wealthy through the adoption of industrial agriculture, net farm incomes have actually dropped below zero, and questioned whether this was a model we should be exporting to other countries. At the same time, through her own organic farming and direct-to-consumer marketing systems, Colleen is practicing local solutions that empower farmers, and demonstrating that by working together, we can build a brighter agricultural future for all.
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