How powerful is popular culture? It has tremendous influence on much of our daily lives, impacting everything from food choices and diets, to exercise, and what products we buy. Many of these choices our those we make to help our families lead healthy lives. Dr. Timothy Caulfield would like to like to see governments, regulators,... Read More
Category: Food
With 98 per cent of businesses in Canada employing less than 100 people, it really is true that, cliché or not, small business is the backbone of the country. In Ontario, agriculture and food already employs some 800,000 people. Its presence is clear. But once businesses are up and running, they then have to grow.... Read More
Around the globe, agriculture and food systems produce about 2,850 calories per person per day. That’s enough to feed the world explains University of Guelph professor Evan Fraser, but unfortunately we still have 800 million people who are undernourished. Even more perplexing is the fact that we have 2 billion people who struggle with being... Read More
Trade between the NAFTA nations has become mainstream news on a daily basis. Trade relations between Canada and the United States seems to be getting cooler as the battle over lumber, energy, and dairy heats up. The Canadian and American agriculture economies are very linked and, as highlighted by Kevin Grier in his March edition... Read More
When I'm knee-deep (ankle, for most of you) in discussions about challenges in agriculture, I often ask, "What's the next bee?" I'm used to the funny looks I get, but what I mean, once I clarify, is what is the next issue in agriculture that will be debated and perhaps regulated not necessarily on the... Read More
88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes every year in the United States. Nobody has ever died because an ingredient in the food or drink they consumed was genetically modified. Call it ironic, distracting, or deceptive, marketers are all too aware we have a skewed perception of risk, especially when it comes to the stuff we... Read More
Globally, the big question in food production – the one that reverberates in any discussion about the future – is who will feed the increasingly hungry world, and how. Most of the focus is on Africa, and the growing population there. So the question goes: Who will feed Africa? Well, after spending two weeks with... Read More
Thirty-five vegetable growers in Manitoba are facing uncertainty after Canadian Prairie Garden Puree Products (CPGPP) entered receivership in late March. Court documents show the company owes over $9 million in debts, including over $1.5 million to the federal Agriculture Innovation Program and nearly $150,000 to the Food Development Centre at Portage la Prairie, Man. Earlier... Read More
What happens when a supplier and a processor can't agree to a contract? In some cases, the parties walk away from the deal. In others, such as is usually the case between Ontario's processing-vegetable growers and processors, there's a set out and agreed upon mediation process. If that doesn't result in a deal, the parties... Read More
Activist attention coinciding with the launch of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month has served as a "wake-up call" for Agriculture in the Classroom-Canada and its partners. Several anti-GMO activist organizations, including the Canadian Biotech Action Network, Kids Right to Know and the Council of Canadians, sent a letter to education ministers across the country asking them... Read More