News, Events & Comments

Join us for this inspiring tale of favela kids in Brazil who find some refuge from Rio's harsh streets through a surfing social enterprise. Meanwhile, in 2011 Rio police break up favela homes to make room for the 2014 World Cup of soccer, and in Toronto, as we speak......

Another economy is possible. Rio Breaks tells us what it might look like.

See the current TorontoTheBetter.net movie night info page here or the Facebook event page here for more details...



DATE: Tuesday Nov. 29, 7pm

LOCATION: OISE/Ontario Institute for Studies in Education - 252 Bloor St. West

Pay What You Can

Part of the 7th annual TorontotheBetter movie series: Movies, Dicussion, Action

about everyday actions for a better Toronto and a better world.

We will also be updating tou about Red Panamericana, TorontotheBetter's community development

project for Toronto's Latino neighbourhoods, in partnership with the Hispanic Development Council

Labels: TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

At a time when  Canada’s federal government is the choice of less than half of Canadians and promotes policies the great majority of residents in Canada’s largest cities reject, and the lowest percentage of Canadians in history bother to vote, it is the right time to do things differently.

From Venezuela’s  communal  councils to Brazil’s Participatory Budgetin, Beyond Elections  looks at the range of alternatives in the Americas and asks us, “what is  the best way of doingdemocracy?. 

Join us for TorontotheBetter’s first movie screening of our 2011-12. Movies. Discussion. Action.

DATE: Tuesday Oct.25, 2011
TIME: 7pm
LOCATION: OISE, 252 Bloor St. West – Room 3311

Labels: TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

Previously shown on 23 February 2010 as part of the 5th Annual TorontoTheBetter Movie Series, Ana Sofie Joanes's Fresh: The Movie will be making its Toronto theatrical debut at the Bloor Cinema on Tuesday, 26 August at 6:30PM.

After the film, there will be a panel discussion,from 8 to 9 PM, including Debbie Field from FoodShare and Chris Wong from Young Urban Farmers.

Great to see the film getting some wider exposure...

Labels: FoodShare, Fresh the movie, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series, Young Urban Farmers

One of the participants at the latest TorontoTheBetter Movie Series screening gave us permission to repost some of his feedback:


"Taodhg,

... a really wonderful night, a great presentation also by Adam and I felt the people that were present, had the vibe I would like to be around more often! I am an artist/painter. I was in security since Nov. 2007...I am asking you if there is anyone who is hiring at the moment. I appreciate anything you can do to help. At present as well, though not all 'raw', I resonate with that lifestyle. Ideally, in the end, I would like to work in the area where people and food are interconnected. I have a lot of people experience, no food experience (jobwise). Eventually, I would also like to be in a home where permaculture exists and have others who are vegetarian/vegan/raw. I will attach both my CV and art CV for your perusal. I have not been in the art world for a few years; and I want to get back into that too!

...see you at the next movie night! (to the best of my ability).

Andrew Roth

Labels: Fresh the movie, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

After the latest TorontoTheBetter Movie Screening, we received this message from ana Sofia joanes, the maker of Fresh the movie - New thinking about what we're eating:


"Hi Taodhg,

Genetic food giant Monsanto is at it again. Its next target: a new product that could eliminate all organic alfalfa, a key food for raising organic-fed cows and pigs without any genetic engineering.

The USDA is well on its way to approving Monsanto's genetically modified alfalfa. In its own report, the USDA says that not enough consumers care enough about organic foods for the USDA to block Monsanto's modified alfalfa seeds. [1] This is absurd since one of the main reasons people buy organic food is to avoid genetically engineered crops.

The USDA is only accepting public comments for the next two weeks. We need you to write to the USDA right now and tell them they must not approve Monsanto's mutant alfalfa. We'll deliver your comments before the deadline. [2]

Alfafa is one of the major food sources for certified organic animals, not only because of its quality as forage, but because Monsanto's patented genes are already found in 95% of soybeans and 80% of corn. If the USDA lets Monsanto sell its new alfalfa, it will inevitably overtake organic alfalfa crops through the natural pollination process. [3] As a result organic farmers may be feeding their cows genetically modified food.

Just like its corn and soy, Monsanto's alfalfa is designed to tolerate its leading herbicide: Roundup. We can't allow Monsanto's greed to take-over one more crop. The consequences to our choice as consumer, to biological diversity, to the survival of our small and organic farmers depends are too dire.

Monsanto's domination of our food must stop. For the USDA to shrug it off like nobody cares is to add insult to injury. We only have two weeks to submit our comments.The fight for FRESH food will continue, and with your help we'll make it clear that people care about the food they eat.

The fight for FRESH food will continue, and with your help we'll make it clear that people care about the food they eat.

Thanks for all you do.

ana Sofia joanes
FRESH the Movie

---------

SOURCES:

1. United States Department of Agriculture. Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa Events J101 and J163: Request for Nonregulated Status. Draft Environmental Impact Statement-November 2009. P.T-2.
2. Docket: APHIS-2007-0044: USDA Seeks Public Comment on Genetically Engineered Alfalfa
3. United States Department of Agriculture. Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa Events J101 and J163: Request for Nonregulated Status. Draft Environmental Impact Statement-November 2009. P.95.

Labels: Fresh the movie, Monsanto, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

On Oct. 27th TorontotheBetter kicked off its 2009-2010 movie series with a successful screening of Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days, which showed what happened when 6 diabetics took up the challenge of the Dr. Gabriel Cousens' "Tree of Life Rejuvenation Centre" to go cold turkey onto raw food for 30 days. While the flick is a feelgood vindication of the Tree of Life method - hint: noone's diabetes got worse with less insulin (understatement) - it certainly got the audience thinking about the practical consequences for their body of the type of food they eat. Thanks to Nutritionist Lisa Villary who answered questions from the audience about things like "Are there any obese vegans?" One audience member confirmed that yes, it's possible! Watch how much you eat, not just what.

The next TorontotheBetter movie is Pedal Power [about biking in Toronto] on Tuesday Nov.24th, again at OISE. of course, its not enough just to eat as well as we saw in Simply Raw; we have to exercise. TorontotheBetter movies build relevant life skills, obviously! Movie co-director Chris Sumton will be on hand, with a speaker from Toronto's Community Bicycle network, to answer questions.

Labels: TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

The 2008-09 4th Annual TorontoTheBetter Movie Series starts in just under two weeks:


TorontotheBetter & Students on Seven (SOS)
PWYC Film presentation

Who killed the electric car?
Tues. Oct 21 8.30-10.30pm
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE/UT)
252 Bloor St. W. (St. George Stn)
Rm 5-262
Q&A after the film
http://www.torontothebetter.net/2tgbd-2009movies.html

Co-sponsors: Bazant Unique Adornments, Libra

Labels: Bazant Unique Adornments, Libra Information Services, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

Welcome to the 2008 TorontoTheBetter 3rd Annual Film Series:
Everyday Economic Choices for a Better Toronto and a Better World

Presenting PWYC Movie, Discussion, Action...

- Free TorontotheBetter shopping cards for first 20 to arrive

Date: Wednesday, Apriil 23, 2008
Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: 519 Church Street

WHAT:
You Never Bike Alone - A Film produced, written, directed and edited by journalist Bob Alstead for ICYCLE.CA Productions.

SPEAKERS:
Anthony Humphreys (Toronto Cyclists Union)
Herb van den Dool (Community Bicycle Network)

DESCRIPTION:
You Never Bike Alone is a documentary that charts the history of Vancouver's Critical Mass
rides from the early "Tame the Lions" rides, that helped bring about better bike facilities on the Lions Gate Bridge, to the wild spectacle of Vancouver's
freak bike collective and the World Naked Bike Ride in more recent times.

As well as a humorous and entertaining look at how city cyclists are mobilizing, You Never Bike Alone looks at the implications of transportation decisions by politicians at municipal and provincial levels and asks are we up to the challenge of making a truly liveable city.


Sponsored by:
Bazant Unique Adornments
Department of Antropology/U of T
Libra Information Co-op c/o TorontoTheBetter
IWW GMB Toronto
Timbuktu
The Harvest Room
Thorn Glass Studio

Labels: Bazant Unique Adornments, IWW, Libra Information Services, Timbuktu, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

Can't Do It In Europe - 2008 TorontoTheBetter 3rd Annual Film Series


Date: Thursday, March 20, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Concord Cafe, 937 Bloor Street West (between Ossington and Delaware


Welcome to the 2008 TorontoTheBetter 3rd Annual Film Series:
Everyday Economic Choices for a Better Toronto and a Better World

Presenting PWYC Movie, Discussion, Action...

Courtesy of First Run / Icarus Films
Can't Do It In Europe
A Film by Charlotta Capcutt, Anna Weitz & Anna Klara

Already visited Paris, Rome, Berlin, Madrid and the other great cities of Europe? Looking for a truly unusual tourist spot? Then how about the silver mines of Potosi in Bolivia, billed as "the best adventure in the Cerro Ricco," where you can don helmets, gloves and overalls and descend into the dark, stiflingly hot, and polluted mines to watch real Bolivian miners at work?

CAN'T DO IT IN EUROPE portrays this new phenomenon of 'reality tourism,' whereby bored American or European travelers seek out real-life experiences as exciting tourist "adventures." The film follows a group of such international tourists as they visit the mines in Potosi—the poorest city in the poorest nation in Latin America—where Bolivian miners work by hand, just as they did centuries ago, to extract silver from the earth.

Sponsored by:
Bazant Unique Adornments
Department of Antropology/U of T
Libra Information Co-op c/o TorontoTheBetter
IWW GMB Toronto

Labels: Bazant Unique Adornments, IWW, Libra Information Services, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series, U of T Dept of Anthropology

A TORONTOTHEBETTER PWYC MOVIE AND A TORONTO PREMIERE
_____________________________________________

MIGRANTS: THOSE WHO COME FROM WITHIN /
MIGRANTES: LOS QUE VENIMOS DE ADENTRO
Directed by Aaraón Díaz Mendiburo, Mexico, 2007, 45 min.,
Spanish with English subtitles

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23RD, 2007, 7 to 9PM
BRUNSWICK THEATRE - 296 BRUNSWICK AVE (@BLOOR), Toronto

What happens when Ontario's Mexican migrant workers get back home­?

Meet Director Aaraón Díaz, Researcher Janet McLaughlin
(University of Toronto), and Kate Sheese (York
University) from Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW)

Migrantes portraits the experiences of various Mexican
migrant workers that come to Canada and the U.S.
through the SAWP/PTAT Seasonal Agricultural Workers
Program. Initiated in 1974, at least 12,980
Mexican migrant workers were registered in 2003, and
there has been a growing presence of women since 1989,
further transforming the reality of those who migrate
to work and of those who wait for them to return home.
The film focuses on the livelihood of peasant workers
from the Mexican town of Cuijingo who have worked in
greenhouses and farms near Ontario towns such as
Leamington, Simcoe, and St. Catharines, and how their
experiences weave around the common thread of
migration. The director, Aaraón Díaz, uses an old
metaphor of human beings as working bodies and of the
workers as a body; when the body gets sick, all the
members get sick, and therefore health is also a main
subject of the film. Migrantes shows the ways in which
migrant workers view themselves, their families, and
their work by telling us intimate stories and dreams
as well the costs and struggles of working abroad.
This film captures the audience and leaves the
audience wanting to join migrant workers for improved
labour conditions.

- (Daniella Jofré(PhD Student, University of Toronto, IWW and Libra Co-Op member)

Aaraón Díaz came from the Autonomous University of
Mexico to Canada this fall to work on his Master's
Degree in social work. For his thesis he decided to
study migrant workers in Canada and to this end
he made a film about them, Migrants: Those who Come
from Within. Aaraón Díaz is now working on his next
film which will deal with the living
conditions and the rights of the migrants in Canada.

Janet McLaughlin is a PhD candidate in Medical
Anthropology at the University of Toronto. She holds a
Master's Degree in Human Rights from the University of
Sussex, and has also been a research training
fellow at the Institute for Work and Health in
Toronto. Her doctoral research investigates Mexican
and Caribbean seasonal agricultural workers with a
focus in Ontario's Niagara region, and has involved
over three years of fieldwork in Canada, Mexico and
Jamaica. Her specific focus is on health and safety
issues among the workers, and evaluating their access
to workplace protections and support systems.

Janet and Aaraón have worked closely in Mexico and now
in Canada, and have been presenting the film and their
research findings together throughout Canada and in
Mexico. Throughout their research they have
also volunteered with migrant workers, providing them
with informational workshops and various support
services.

Kate Sheese has been working with Justicia for Migrant
Workers since 2005. She is currently studying Women's
Health at York University and much of her involvement
in Justicia has been around issues of women's sexual,
reproductive, and mental health.

More info:
www.justicia4migrantworkers.org,
www.december18.net,
www.briarpatchmagazine.com,
www.torontothebetter.net,
www.chass.utoronto.ca/anthropology

-- MOVIE, DISCUSSION, ACTION
-- WORKER CO-OP AND UNION SIGN-UP OPPORTUNITIES
-- SPONSORED BY 'ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE AMERICAS' AND THE
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
-- IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ONTARIO WORKER CO-OP FEDERATION (OWCF)
AND THE TORONTO BRANCH OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD (IWW)
-- STAY TUNED FOR THE 2008 TORONTOTHEBETTER FILM SERIES (www.torontothebetter.net)

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23RD, 2007, 7-9PM
BRUNSWICK THEATRE - 296 BRUNSWICK AVE (@BLOOR), Toronto

Labels: TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

The 2007 2nd Annual TorontoTheBetter Movies Series:"PWYC Movies, Discussion and Action about everyday economic choices for a better Toronto and a better World" is being extended...


on Wednesday, May 16th at the Brunswick Theatre (296 Brunswick Avenue, just south of Bloor Street) we are presenting a 7 PM double bill: Together We Win: The Fight To Organize Starbucks (New York Wobblies add salt to the Starbucks brews), along with House of Despair, Parks of Hope.


Heck, maybe we should make this a year round thing...if you have any questions or suggestions, contact us as postmaster@torontothebetter.net, or 416-364-0050, ext. 305.

Labels: Brunswick Theatre, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series

Free copies of Wasun's CD What Must Be Done will be available to the first ten arrivals at the final screening of the 2007 2nd Annual TorontoTheBetter Movie Series this Thursday (26 April 2007).

Starting at 7:30 PM, we will be showing The Toronto Rap Project (Toronto Rappers Speak Out For Their Music Against Corporate Media Messages) at the Brunswick Theatre, located at 296 Brunswick, west of Spadina and just south of Bloor.

If hip-hop and/or documentaries are not your sort of thing, you may be interested in the Industrial Workers of the World Toronto presentation: not without a Fight (Music And Spoken Word in Support of The New York City Food Industry and Allied Workers Union).

Starting at 8 PM in the Smiling Buddha Bar (961 College, just west of Dovercourt), this event will donate all proceeds to NYC warehouse workers fired for unioninzing and to the IWW Canada legal defence fund.

The performerrs include singer-songwriter Smokey Dymny.

Labels: Brunswick Theatre, IWW, Smokey Dymny, Toronto Rap Project, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series, Wasun

**************************************************************************************************************
"MAQUILAPOLIS"
- A fascinating and intimate film where maquiladora workers create political change using undercover videocams.

WHEN?: Thursday March 22nd. 7.15pm
WHERE?: Tinto Coffee House, 89 Roncesvalles (N. of Queen)

**SPECIAL BONUS MOVIE : "Together We Win: The Fight to Organize Starbucks"**

Pay What You Can movies, Organic Fair Trade Food, Guest Speakers, Free Books.

See here for complete movie series information.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Maquilapolis Description:
"As Carmen and a million other maquiladora workers produce televisions,
electrical cables, toys, clothes, batteries and IV tubes, they weave the very
fabric of life for consumer nations. They also confront labor violations,
environmental devastation and urban chaos -- life on the frontier of the global
economy. In MAQUILAPOLIS, Carmen and her colleague Lourdes reach beyond the
daily struggle for survival to organize for change: Carmen takes a major
television manufacturer to task for violating her labor rights. Lourdes
pressures the government to clean up a toxic waste dump left behind by a
departing factory."

Labels: Tinto Coffee House, TorontoTheBetter Movie Series