field trip takes the viewer through a typical day at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair's Education Ring, where thousands of children per year are conditioned to accept a corporate-sponsored and increasingly mechanized system of intensive animal agriculture. The film was shot entirely on location at the Fair over the course of one day of presentations.

The Fair, which happens annually in Toronto in November, draws tens of thousands of people. Held at the Ricoh Coliseum, it is billed as an event where "the rural meets the urban," where adults and children alike can learn about agricultural production and connect directly with the people (and animals) that produce their food. Unfortunately, the Fair is setup very much like a typical trade show, with agrictural corporations and some smaller companies paying top dollar for the precious real estate of the Fair floor. Representatives from corporations such as Semex vie for the attention of prospective buyers, while the general public might browse the butter sculptures or booths selling artisan cheese and beeswax candles.

I spent four days at the Fair and was surprised to see the intense focus on "education," especially as it related to children and adolescents. School kids from around Toronto (approximately 25,000 over the course of the Fair) are brought to the Education Ring to learn about cow milking, goat milking, and sheep shearing. These presentations are sponsored and mounted by associations of producers, whose main priority is first and foremost to push their particular animal product.

I was skeptical whether or not anything was actually being learned. The Ring used a fairly low-grade sound system, and coupled with the noisy equipment used to pump milk out of the cows and goats and the shaver used to shear the sheep, it was often difficult to hear what the presenter was saying. Generally speaking, the children looked somewhat bored and restless, only seeming to perk up at the sight of a cow defecating or urinating on the floor. Still, the Ring functioned very well as a site of ambient education, where practices were normalized by simply being near them.

- karol orzechowski
decipherfilmandphoto {AT} gmail {DOT} com

The following photos were taken on Day One of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

According to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair press pack:

- "The Royal," as it's called, is the largest agriculture show of its kind in Canada, and has run for the past 87 years.

- 500 schools in the Toronto area participate in the educational programs, where students see "agricultural awareness" presentations that are intended to "complement the Ontario curriculum."

- All of the animals at the Royal are female. Though male animals are brought in to the Fair for competitions, they are immediately taken away when the competitions are over. Male animals are not favoured for exhibition or demonstration because of their strong smells and aggressive behaviour. All animals used in educational demonstrations are female.

- There are 5,000 animals who call the Ricoh Coliseum home for the duration of the Fair. These animals are kept on the premises, with concrete floors and fluorescent lighting, for the whole ten days.

According to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Teacher Resource Kit:

- The Fair is described as "the place where entertainment meets education" and where students can learn about the scientific and practical dimensions of Canada's agri-food system."

- The educational programs are sponsored by various organizations with vested interests in promoting animal products. These sponsors include: Chicken Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc., Ontario Cattleman's Association, Ontario Dairy Goat Co-operative, Ontario Farm Animal Council, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ontario Pork and the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency

- Though the Education Ring is a major aspect of the educational programs at the Fair, visiting students can also visit booths that teach them about eggs, "swine," and veal. When visiting booths and the Education Ring is done, students can visit the Pizza Pizza Petting Farm and touch some of the animals themselves.

According to representatives from the Dairy Farmers of Ontario:

- The cows used for the milking demonstration are specially selected for their looks and demeanor. These cows are used for demonstrations and then returned to their cycle of artificial insemination and milk production.

- The Dairy Farmers of Ontario has over 60 public relations representatives who serve different jurisdictions in Ontario. The PR representatives for Toronto do classroom presentations every working day, and also act as liaisons for lobbying government and doing damage control in the event of news stories that might impact milk consumption.

- The Dairy Farmers of Ontario are responsible for producing and distributing 700,000L of milk each and every day.

There is much more to the lives of sheep, goats, and cows than providing milk, wool and other products for human consumption. The following links provide an alternative to the corporate-sponsored education that is offered through the Fair's educational programming.

Farm Sanctuary - An organization dedicated to rescuing animals from situations of abuse so typical in today's methods of agriculture. Take a visit to the farm in Watkins Glen, NY to meet some cows, sheep, and goats up close, and learn about what they're like outside of the context of production. Visit the Farm Sanctuary website for a wealth of resources on "farm animals" of all kinds.

Sheep of Fools - Artist and illustrator Sue Coe presents a meticulously researched and stunningly drawn story of some of the harsh realities of wool production.

Canadian Dairy Facts - This website offers a downloadable pdf factsheet (in both French and English) about dairy production specific to Canada. Factory farming is not something that only happens in other places.

Facts about Canadian Sheep - Similar to the website above, this site offers some basic information about the raising of sheep in Canada. Information about goats coming soon.