The agriculture industry is not dissimilar from other industries in Canada. We produce many different products but through the production of food, there is often some form of inorganic waste that is generated. To protect the environment and manage different aspects of primary production, we currently use plastics, and lots of them. Barry Friesen is the Executive Director of Cleanfarms who provides solutions to some of these challenges and how this is improving the environmental sustainability of agriculture in Canada.
Guest Barry Friesen
Barry Friesen is Executive Director of Cleanfarms Inc., a national producer responsibility organization operating coast to coast in Canada. In Quebec, Cleanfarms is known as AgriRÉCUP.
Barry is a Professional Engineer who has been deeply involved in solid waste issues since 1995, first as a government regulator for waste, a municipal waste operator servicing a half million residents and, since inception in 2010, running Cleanfarms Canada. His range of expertise is in demand at international meetings such as the OECD Conference on Rural Development, the Conference on Canadian Stewardship, Agricultural Film Americas and other circular economy and policy conferences.
Barry currently serves as Chair of the Conference on Canadian Stewardship and as a member of the AGRI plastics working group of the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organizations. A recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal, Barry is the past chair of the Board of the Compost Council of Canada, past Board member of the Recycling Council of Ontario, past Board member of the Alberta Plastic Recycling Association, past Chair of the National Task Force on Packaging and past Board member and recent recipient of a Paul Harris award from the Etobicoke Rotary Club.
Host Clinton Monchuk
Clinton Monchuk grew up on a mixed dairy, beef and grain family farm outside of Lanigan, Saskatchewan. He received his Bachelors of Science in Agriculture majoring in Agricultural Economics from the University of Saskatchewan and Masters of Business Administration in Agriculture from the University of Guelph. Clinton has enjoyed numerous roles across Canada, the United States and Mexico as a researcher, educator, manager, economist and director of trade policy.
In 2016 Clinton accepted the role of Executive Director with Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan to promote farming and ranching to consumers. Clinton understands the value of increasing public trust in agriculture and actively promotes engagement between the agriculture industry and consumers.
Clinton, Laura and their children Jackson and Katelyn, continue to be active partners on their family grain and layer farm in Saskatchewan and cattle ranch in Oklahoma.
Resources:
- Recycling on the Farm
- What is Upcycling
- Carbon Farming
- Canadian Farmers Help Feed the World
Episode Credits: Research and writing by Dorothy Long and Penny Eaton, Produced and edited by Angela Larso
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