Tributes
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So, when we walk and we march and I looked to my left I see Cathleen and I know I am where I am meant to be
from the fisheries to the forests to the fields and between
before the miserable and the mighty I see Cathleen
from the suckering of the many to the challenging of the mean in every place and plan I can feel Cathleen
Food Sovereignty is not a dream – it is a destiny
and Cathleen at peace makes it clear to see
we’re not in a War against Hunger –we're ending the war against the hungry
so when we walk and we march and I look to my left I see Cathleen
so when we walk and we march and look to our left we will see Cathleen
and the earth is soft and the earth is green
enriched so now by our Cathleen.
– Pat Roy Mooney, 2016 –
16 responses to “Tributes”
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To Rebecca, Jamie, Brian, and Theo – Yesterday was a sad day, of course. I’m so grateful I was able to spend time with Brewster in September, but I really didn’t think it would be our last visit. Today, our landscape is also draped in snow, and the sun beams and long shadows this morning were beautiful. I’m reminded how lucky I am. I wish I could reach across the miles and hug you, that I could fly across the distance and sit with you. Yours was an incredible family, and I’m so glad I got to be part of it for all my life. From camping in your front yard, “helping” with haying, enviously watching as you (Rebecca) skillfully navigated the tractor at age 5, dance parties, and community in your kitchen with neighbors who appeared from somewhere, skinny dipping with Brewster and Cathleen, love pouring out of their hands, their gardens and fields, and pots and pans. I dearly miss them both. I have lots and lots of photos to share when you want them. I’m glad Jamie will be with you this weekend. We talked a bit last night. Brewster lived a good, good life, and I’ll carry him close always.
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What I remember most about Brewster was how he didn’t like small talk, so would skip it entirely and ask deep probing questions about politics. I remember long conversations “solving the world’s problems” around the dinner table.
Both had this deep unshakeable uncynical belief that a person could make a difference. -
I first published the following on the listserv of Biojest, an on-line community of thoughtful critique around health policy and government actions, an entity of which Brewster was a member for years.
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Like many Biojesters ( — and a host of others — I knew and liked and respected Brewster for a long time – so long I can’t remember where it all started. I have an autographed copy of his book “Invisible Giant”, about the agribusiness Cargill, published in 1995, so that may have something to do with it. There’s a copy of another of his books, “Farmageddon” close beside it.
Brewster and Cathleen moved to BC’s Lower Mainland in 1995, and a few years later to Sorrento, BC, which is 20 km away from Salmon Arm, where I and my wife have lived since 1979. They lived with Rebecca and Brian MacIsaac on the latter’s “Left Field Farm”, with the organic brewery “Crannog Ales” next door to the farmhouse. They moved back east in the early 2000s.
A lovely and memorable dinner with farm-grown food and home-brewed ale and abundant lively conversation comes back into my mind.
https://web.archive.org/web/20180812173502/http://ramshorn.ca/brewster-kneen
I assiduously read Brewster and Cathleen’s newsletter, The Ramshorn, for years, filled as it was with trenchant comments about the agribusiness industry and capitalism, along with supportive pieces on progressive social action and innovation, leavened by quirky and insightful cartoon illustrations by Cathleen.
https://web.archive.org/web/20180804003831/http://ramshorn.ca/
https://web.archive.org/web/20180813004747/http://ramshorn.ca/graphics
Brewster was a long-time member of Biojest – among many, many affiliations and contacts. I have emails from him going back to 1999, all filled with his characteristic directness, easy articulation, and humour — as well as useful information and connections.
His final email to Biojest, just over a year ago, announcing his move out of his own home into a seniors’ residence, was characteristically to the point and amusing — without a trace of self-pity; it was more like an announcement of the Royal Court moving from London to Winchester — except for the whimsical cartoon and an earnest invitation to come and visit.
Brewster had longstanding hearing problems, which made social activities in his later years challenging — and frustrating. On a visit to BC several years ago, he was so grateful that I raised my voice so he could hear (easy to do, thanks to my own experience with a grandmother very deaf in her 40s!), and commented on how isolating hearing loss could be.
Cathleen’s death in 2016 was a deep blow, as they worked so closely together and for so long — and she was a powerhouse in her own right.
https://www.interpares.ca/voice/cathleen-kneen-our-big-sister
https://www2.foodsecurecanada.org/who-we-are/cathleen-kneen-award
But nothing could stop Brewster’s sharp mind, networking instincts and expressive turn of phrase from functioning well, until the very last years.
Friends called Brewster a “wonderful human being”, and they said the same about Cathleen. The two of them together — while no strangers to animated intra-familial debate! — gave a lot to the world that will have deep and permanent impact, and value. w
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My condolences to Rebecca, Brian, Jamie and families.
I met Cathleen and Brewster at Sorrento when there used to be the food sovereignty gatherings at the Sorrento Centre. I knew their position on food security and related issues and could totally relate to them. Their activism reminded me so much of my earlier days in the late 90’s to late 2000’s when I was totally immersed in ‘alternative housing, growing food, social justice, advocacy and well being for everyone. I still am but back then it felt different. Brewster’s writing and thinking reminded me of Robert Rodale who was editor of a sustainable/alternative farming magazine. Everything is so different now and I wonder who has filled Cathleen and Brewster’s shoes?
In July 2009 I flew via Ottawa to Quebec City to visit relatives and my late uncle. When I left home Neskie Manuel who died in June 2011, gave me Brewster and Cathleen’s address and suggested I visit them as my flight was to Ottawa. I took a bus to Quebec and stayed only a couple of days and was so anxious to get back Ottowa so I could fly home. I was very anxious but not knowing 4 of my family members were in a tragic accident in Utah that same weekend. I arrived in Ottowa and tried to enjoy a blues music festival but could not relax.
So I phoned up the Kneens and asked if I could come out. They said of course and gave me directions how to get there by bus. This was getting to be late evening. Brewster picked me up at the last bus stop from Ottowa. We had a late supper and conversation. They told me about Neskie visiting them. Neskie rode his bike all across Canada and visited them and our relatives in Quebec too. In the morning They had breakfast ready. I and Cathleen went for a walk in the wooded trails near their home. I was still feeling anxious. We heard a bird hooting. I got nervous. Cathleen said that is not an owl. This was when Cathleen had an injured arm by colliding with a cyclist on the trails. Her arm and shoulder were badly injured.
When I left to take bus to the airport Brewster drove me to the city bus stop. He made me a bag lunch for the air plane ride. I was surprised and so thankful. I had a good short visit with them. It will always be a time I will forever remember. When someone makes you a lunch for your trip it forever leaves a mark on you. It is something my grandmother would do.
I was totally grateful for Brewster and Cathleen’s hospitality. They lived almost straight across from where my uncle lived in Aylmer Quebec before he moved to Quebec City and where I spent a lot of time. if I knew the Kneens were across the river back then I would have visited them. -
We were sorry to hear of Brewster’s passing.
We have fond memories of both Cathleen and Brewster in Britannia Village, where they were shining examples of community spirit and participation.
Our condolences to Jamie, Rebecca, and their families. -
We are so appreciative to have the chance to voice our sorrow at Brewster’s passing, but also our deep respect for him and the incredible life that he and Cathleen lived. We often sat with them around their kitchen table in Mission, becoming more and more passionate about the state of our farms and the issues around “(Not) Food Security” – Nestles, Monsanto, and so many other for profit giants that control the food industry.
We have several of Cathleen’s beautiful pottery pieces with their restful scenes of sheep and most, if not all, of the editions of the Ram’s Horn, to which we still refer when we need a history of a company or campaign.
They had a great impact on our lives which is still with us. We have become stronger “unrepentant socialists” which is critical even more now in a time when the military-industrial complex is shaping our “(Not) Social Justice”.
We will always hold them in our hearts and minds and extend our heartfelt sympathy to Jamie, Rebecca and their families. -
Brewster, such a brilliant man. I recall spending some time with Brewster and Cathleen when they lived in Sorrento, BC. I was amazed by the collection of books which filled the shelves along their wall, hundreds of them with obscure titles. I asked Brewster “have you read many of these books?” He looked at me kind of surprised and said “every one of them!”
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The news about Brewster’s death reached me as I sat at the opening day of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario’s annual conference.
He and Cathleen would have been moved by the Annual Earth & Sky Gathering, a day for connection, celebration and conversations about Indigenous food systems. They had been at previous conferences and I could see their lives’ work being put to action by the EFAO community.
I had the luck of knowing them for many years, following their prolific writing, witnessing the never-ending research and advocacy, meeting Jamie and Rebecca, and enjoying multiple meals together. What an inspiration to have met them and how wonderful to see that others are building on their legacy.
Que descansen juntos, lo recordamos. -
Dear Rebecca, Jamie, and friends, (December 2, 2025)
I’m so sorry for your loss and thank you for creating this space so that we can honour Brewster and Cathleen. They were mentors to me and took me under their wing as a young activist living in Ottawa away from most of my family in Winnipeg.
Two candles are burning brightly on my windowsill on this snowy Winnipeg night – may their spirits reunite. ️️I pray that their spirits will rest peacefully knowing they’ve done great work to defend the commons and the earth. Yesterday I saw two deer near my house, and today I’ve seen many glimmers of rainbow light.
I first met Brewster when he gave a lecture in my Indigenous Relations course at the University of Ottawa with Marcelo Saavedra-Vargas. I so appreciated the lively discussions and knowledge they shared on our responsibilities to each other and the earth.
Brewster and Cathleen supported my climate work in a time of need, including to advocate for climate justice at the UN climate summit in South Africa, a pivotal moment in my life. Brewster edited a report I wrote called holes in the ground, holes in our democracy, about how big oil’s influence halted climate progress in Canada. He and Cathleen published it on the Ram’s horn. Brewster was a thoughtful editor, encouraging me to share my personal experiences and voice – something I’m so grateful for. He helped me to grow as a writer, community organizer and person.
I’ll never forget organizing actions with Cathleen and the Raging Grannies on Parliament Hill, or talking about the links between food and climate justice at Food Secure Canada conferences with Brewster.
It’s awesome to see their principles live on in their children and the impact they’ve had on so many of us. Big thank you Brewster and Cathleen, rest peacefully.
Hugs,
Brigette -
I don’t remember exactly when I first met Brewster, but I clearly remember the meeting of young anti-GMO activists he organized around 1997 or 98. We spent the weekend around a kitchen table in a Calgary suburb, talking about the future of seed and what we could do together. This led to life-long friendships and political collaboration among us. Brewster encouraged each of us and supported us along the way. That weekend had a huge impact on the rest of my life!
My last visit with Brewster was in 2023 after our NFU national convention in Ottawa. When it was time to go, he went and got me a copy of Block Chain Chicken Farm, by a young Chinese-American journalist and artist he’d met recently, who wrote about how internet capitalism is changing life for rural people in China. It was the perfect book for me at that moment, and another example of Brewster’s generous support of a young intellectual and writer.
I treasure all the memories, what I learned from him, the laughter shared, support and friendship I experienced, and knowing it is just a tiny part of the good Brewster did in the world. I know his spirit will live on in everyone who knew him, and will continue to ripple outward, who knows how far. -
https://mkocto.substack.com/p/farewell-brewster-kneen
You can read my tribute to Brewster and Cathleen on my Substack page, Food Biographies. As I go through my old files, I get several notes and messages from both of them. I admired their passion, love of life, and integrity. I am proud to know them and call them my friends. -
Dear friends,
Here is a tribute published by Inter Pares : https://www.interpares.ca/news/remembering-and-honouring-brewster-kneen
So many beautiful stories to share about this incredible couple. Their memory will live on and on and on.
Sending a big hug,
Eric
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When I first became interested in food studies, multiple people recommended Brewster‘s book, From Land to Mouth. I couldn’t find any copies so I phoned the number on the website for the Ram’s Horn. Brewster answered and we had an amazing chat. He mailed me his final remaining copy of the book and signed it for me. Since then, I became extremely close with both Cathleen and Brewster as friends and collaborators. I wouldn’t be where I am today without both of them and the food justice and food sovereignty movements are much stronger because of them. Brewster‘s legacy will live on.
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A Tribute to Brewster Kneen 1933-2025
I first met Brewster Kneen sometime in the mid 1990’s, in the early days of Family Farm Defenders. One of our all consuming projects at the time was opposing the use of Monsanto’s Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). Brewster was working on one of his many books, Farmageddon- Food and the Culture of Biotechnology. He came to Wisconsin from Canada to see firsthand how universities were partnering with industry on the promotion of rBGH, —and there was plenty of biotechnology research being done (although quietly) at the UW Madison. John Kinsman was also protesting against rBGH weekly at the UW, so they made a natural team.
Brewster also wanted to visit the World Dairy Expo, and question the army of Monsanto staff that ran probably the largest trade show booth at the Expo. In those days, Family Farm Defenders were allowed to have a booth at the Expo (we were deemed too subversive at some point) and boy did we have some discussions with the Monsanto folks, so, we were on common ground with Brewster.
As he recalls the early opposition to rBGH, he stated that it was “not on ethical grounds, but largely on grounds of food safety,” which he found totally unsatisfactory when so much more was at issue. While he was clearly concerned about food safety, he also pictured all the farmers who’s livelihoods would be at risk due to the further “totalitarian occupation” of farming that was envisioned by the biotech industry. —“if five or six giant corporations have control over every seed, of all the commercial crops planted anywhere on the earth, that is totalitarian”.
Brewster spent a few days on our farm and was, as Rebecca notes, “the perfect house guest”. Our kids were drawn to him because he was funny and treated them like people. While he was a deep thinker, a student of theology, philosophy and science, he could talk for hours with kids, anyone for that matter, because while he cared about many things, he cared so much about people.
As a high school a senior in 1951, he wrote an essay in which he stated, “Obviously, labor cannot survive without management nor can management survive without labor. Both can and must work as a single unit for the benefit of all. Management can help in this union by making the employees the stockholders. This makes the employees work for their own benefit and they take pride in ownership as everybody does, especially ownership of their job.” Years later he would write his memoirs, Journey of an Unrepentant Socialist.
He didn’t care much for corporations, perhaps from long before the day he formulated that senior essay on workers and management. “A corporation cannot control life, it can threaten, it can intimidate, it can take you to court and ultimately can kill. Like the state, it may have the power to take life, but neither have the power to give life.”
Brewster was a student of and fierce practitioner of ethics, —again it was his devotion to people and their well being that drove his life. Brewster and his wife Cathleen published the Ram’s Horn, a monthly news letter that analyzed both the ethical inadequacies and examples of hope within the world’s food system. It was both a source of evidence and, as the title indicated, a call to action for food sovereignty activists around the world. A source of information and truth that fearlessly exposed the totalitarian occupation of corporate agribusiness.
Brewster was not a born farmer, but eventually his concern with “development and the inequity it was supposed to address” started he and Cathleen to think about moving from Toronto to the “hinterlands” and put his body where his mouth was. They moved to Nova Scotia in 1971 and started a sheep farm, eventually having 400 ewes, among the largest flocks in Eastern Canada. After 15 years of farming, with their “indentured servant “children gone to college, –too much work running a farm brought them back to Toronto where Brewster did much of his writing, until they made another move to a small farm near Sorrento British Columbia in 1995. The farm was in the traditional territory of the Shuswap people who Brewster noted “added a very important dimension to our lives.”
Rebecca and I were fortunate to spend a few days with Cathleen, Brewster, his daughter Rebecca and her partner Brian McIsaac on their farm (and brewery) in British Columbia many years ago. When Rebecca and Brian took over the farm, Brewster and Cathleen moved to Ottawa to be better able to protest the shenanigans of the Canadian government. We saw Brewster for the last time when we visited him in Ottawa in 2019, he was still his charming and witty self, grateful for our help planting his garden, but very much missing Cathleen since she passed in 2016.
He was a good friend, a good loving person and a fearless activist for peace and social justice. His family created a memorial page https://www.kneen.ca/ .
In the acknowledgments for Farmageddon Brewster closes with a line that is, well, so evocative of him.
“May the weeds in the crops of mono-culture grow strong” -
My belated condolences to the Kneen family. I had the pleasure of meeting the Brewster and Kathleen in Vancouver in the 1990s and reconnected with Brewster from 2019 to 2022 when I was executive director of Food Secure Canada. I visited him a few times at his house in Britannia where I would normally stay for several hours and he gave me boxes of files to bring back to the office in Montréal. What an impact he and Kathleen had on so many people and organizations. I last saw Brewster at the Inter Pares holiday party in December 2023. May both of them rest in peace. These were lives well lived…
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I have belatedly learned of the death of Brewster Kneen only today, January 23, 2026. He, and then Kathleen, have shaped my thinking since the publcation of From Land to Mouth, which validated so many of my doubts about our ways of treating our planet as we humans go about feeding ourselves. Their thoughts and actions contributed to how I conducted myself in my field of work in wildlife toxicolgy and in my personal life spent on a small, largely self-sufficient homestead. But the influence went beyond food justice and food sovereignty to justice for all life and ensuring all lives are inviolable. In sorrow that his time has ended but with gratitude for his existence.
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