In May 2017, the Government of Canada launched consultations towards the creation of a new food policy, something it says is “a way to address issues related to the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food.” It’s also something the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), and others have been recommending… Read More
Category: Food
We might be hearing more about plant-based protein and meatless burgers in headlines, but when we look around the world, demand for animal-based protein — meat — is still climbing. In this podcast we connect with Carlos Saviani, the vice president of food sustainability with the World Wildlife Fund. You might say he brings a… Read More
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity published its 2017 public trust survey results on Tuesday, coinciding with the second annual Public Trust Summit taking place in Calgary. The research finds the top concerns for Canadians revolve, primarily, around the affordability of food. The work was built on the foundation of previous studies of consumer attitudes…. Read More
Recent efforts to address consumer questions and confusion over certified organic food production have taken a step forward in Ontario. On Wednesday, MPPs Peter Tabuns and Sylvia Jones announced a co-sponsored private member’s bill for organic products regulation in Ontario. “This bill will provide further transparency and help ensure that the growing organic industry continues… Read More
Over the past couple of decades, those who make a profit off of the environment — farmers, ranchers, miners, and loggers — have seen a fair amount of negative publicity. As people involved in some of these industries, we know the negativity isn’t always accurate, and Bruce Vincent with Environomics Incorporated more than agrees. “The… Read More
Opportunities to watch Food Evolution, the new documentary focusing on scientists’ views of GMOs, have been few and far between. But that all changes today with the release of the film on iTunes and Amazon. RealAgriculture attended a premiere of the film in Guelph, Ont., in June, but since that time the film has struggled… Read More
No one has to tell University of Guelph agricultural economics master’s student Travis Jansen that farmers like him are well-advised to listen to consumers. But he’s doing more than just listening to them – he’s set to learn from them, too. Jansen, who comes from a family hog farm near Seaforth, knows successful farmers have… Read More
What’s the value of public opinion? That’s a question I find myself asking more often these days. In a democracy, public opinion should matter and politicians and policy makers should have a strong understanding of the people’s will when making public policy. But should they give the people what they want? Today we have no… Read More
My daughter and grandson share the same birthday, August 7. They’re part of a pork-and-grain farming operation near Thamesville. At their birthday celebration on the weekend, our family barbequed pork sausage from their farm on the campfire. There was no reason to doubt the quality of the sausage. We trust the meat packers in nearby… Read More
Canada has a reputation for producing superb food ingredients…then shipping them abroad to be processing into finished goods, which we buy back at a higher cost. We further lose their added value because the processing and manufacturing jobs that are part of creating finished goods are part of someone else’s economy, not ours. Apologies if… Read More