When we talk about agriculture and food system sustainability, there are a lot of questions that seem to repeatedly come up, including who needs to collaborate, and who's going to pay for the real-world implementation of sustainability measures. Sustainability and food security are intrinsically linked — you can't have a secure food system if you're... Read More
Category: Food
The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food has published its report on the cost of food in Canada. The report, titled "Grocery affordability: Examining rising food costs in Canada," lists 13 recommendations, including calling for a grocery code of conduct, adding a possible "windfall tax" on grocery chains, and ways to address food waste. John... Read More
Most Canadians have noticed a serious run-up in grocery bills in the last 18 months. Inflation has hit consumers at checkout lines, even at the most discount of discount stores. Which begs the question, how do you save money on food? This week, the RealAg team had its regular Tuesday meeting where we kick off... Read More
Fourteen of Ontario's agriculture organizations are collectively asking the provincial government to pause forward momentum of the proposed Bill 97 and the Proposed Provincial Planning Statement. "We stand in strong opposition to the 3 lot severances per farm parcel proposed in prime agricultural areas as well as other measures that weaken local farmland protection. We... Read More
Tucked into the Ontario Progressive Conservatives' Bill 97 is a proposed change to severance allowances of farmland that the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) says could make siting of livestock farms much more difficulty. What's more, the bill carves out increased power for Ministerial Zoning Orders in the name of housing; however, Peggy Brekveld, president... Read More
The University of Guelph's Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE) within the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) has announced a $1-million research chair. The Arrell Family Chair in Behavioural and Experimental Economics will support students and seed projects and enable the hiring of a lab manager for a growing research lab. The new chair... Read More
Earlier this week, the House of Commons unanimously passed at third reading Senator Rob Black’s bill that seeks to establish a Food Day in Canada, thus ensuring it will become law. Twenty years after it was established, Food Day Canada officially becomes enshrined in legislation with Bill S-227, an act to establish Food Day in... Read More
Misinformation is nothing new. Humans have been stretching the truth since the beginning of time, but the growing amount of misinformation generated today and the speed at which it moves is one of the defining issues of our time, says academic and author Dr. Timothy Caulfield. As a member of the University of Alberta's Faculty... Read More
Merit Functional Foods has entered receivership while owing approximately $95 million to its two main creditors — Export Development Canada (EDC) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC), according to court documents. A judge on Manitoba's Court of King's Bench appointed PwC as the receiver for the Winnipeg-based plant protein processing company on March 1. According to... Read More
Update: Merit Functional Foods was placed in receivership on March 1. Read more here. Creditors for Merit Functional Foods are asking the Court of King's Bench in Manitoba to appoint a receiver for the plant protein processing company. Export Development Canada and Farm Credit Canada have filed an application for the appointment of a receiver,... Read More