I'm a long-time journalist, activist, photographer and writer based in rural, western Manitoba. I spent about 15 years with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, mostly as a radio news reporter in western Canada. I specialize in stories about agriculture and the environment. In the year 2000, I formed a citizens group to successfully oppose plans for a complex of factory hog barns in my community. I was a candidate for the Green Party in the provincial election in Manitoba in 2003. Now that I am no longer a full-time employee as a reporter, I have more time to research and write and do the occasional news story for CBC on a freelance basis. I wriite many articles and letters to the editor, on topics like climate change and depleting world resources. I strongly support sustainable, organic, family farms as opposed to the predominant, disastrous "agribusiness" model of monocropping, the over-application of pesticides and genetic modification. I also strongly support the "eat local" movement. For about 5 years, my wife and I produced certified, organic vegetables to sell at farmers' markets.