The Ram's Horn - who we are

Who We Are

Brewster Kneen was born in Ohio and studied economics and theology in the U.S. and the U.K. before moving to Toronto in 1965. There he produced public affairs programs for CBC Radio, and worked as a consultant to the churches on issues of social and economic justice. In 1971, with his wife Cathleen and their children Jamie and Rebecca, he moved to Nova Scotia, where they farmed until 1986, starting with a cow-calf operation and then developing a large commercial sheep farm.

For many years Brewster was secretary of the Sheep Producers Association of Nova Scotia and in the early 1980s he organized the Northumberland Lamb Marketing Co-operative (Northumberlamb) and the Brookside Abattoir Co-operative, both farmer owned and operated. In 1980, the Kneens started publishing The Ram's Horn.

In 1986 the Kneens returned to Toronto and Brewster began his current career of writing and lecturing on the food system, with increasing attention to biotechnology. He received two grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council as an Independent Scholar for research into 'technological determinism' and in 1994-5 he was a Senior Fellow of the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University. Brewster was also a founding member of the Toronto Food Policy Council.

The Kneens lived in British Columbia from 1995 to 2006. During this period Brewster engaged in public education and organizing, helping form the BC Biotechnology Circle and the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (C-BAN). Much of his current focus is on the ‘upstream’ social and intellectual roots of public policy, with the formation of The Forum on Privatization and the Public Domain. (see: www.forumonpublicdomain.ca )

Cathleen KneenCathleen Kneen is a feminist and social activist, and has helped to found many important community groups from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. In Toronto in the 1960s she was active in the Student Union for Peace Action and as a young mother helped organize natural childbirth classes and two parent-coop daycare centres. She also worked briefly as an announcer for CBC, and while farming in Nova Scotia, she contributed a weekly Farm Diary to the local noon program on CBC for several years. During that time she was the key organizer of the annual Sheep Fair; she was also a founding member of the Pictou County Women's Centre and Tearmann House for Battered Women. In Toronto, Cathleen spent five years as Executive Director of the Assaulted Women's Help Line in Toronto, and also worked as an editor and publisher.

When the Kneens moved to BC in 1995, Cathleen began to integrate her commitment to social justice with her farm background. She was instrumental in founding the Mission City Farmers’ Market and later the Sorrento Village Farmers’ Market and served on the Board of the Certified Organic Associations of BC in several different capacities; she was also the editor of BC Organic Grower, COABC’s quarterly magazine, from its inception. Her main focus became community food security and food policy and she worked with groups  across the province to create the BC Food Systems Network, founded in 1999, which she served as the Executive Director until moving to Ottawa at the end of 2006. (see: www.fooddemocracy.org )

In October 2006 Cathleen was elected Chair of the newly-incorporated national organization, Food Secure Canada/Sécurité Alimentaire Canada. (see: www.foodsecurecanada.org ) She also continues to work closely with Brewster as the editor, co-writer, illustrator and designer of The Ram's Horn.

Our son, Jamie Kneen, is Communications Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada: www.miningwatch.ca

Our daughter, Rebecca Kneen, in partnership with Brian MacIsaac, runs Crannog Ales: www.crannogales.com