According to the Ontario government, the future is electric. If you’ve watched television or browsed online lately, advertisements for Ontario’s electric future have been plentiful. Putting the cart before the horse, the ads have been running for several months, long before Energy Minister Todd Smith finally laid out the province’s plan to achieve its electric […] Read more
Editorial: Beware of the electric hunters
PHOTOS: 50th Ontario Pork Congress held in Stratford
Annual pork show celebrates with special display, events
The Ontario Pork Congress (OPC) celebrated its 50th anniversary June 21 and 22 at the Rotary Complex in Stratford, the first in-person show since 2019. Back this year were many events regular attendees have come to expect, such as educational programming, the pork quality competition, taste the best pork sampling, and a large industry trade […] Read more
Editorial: Cultivated meat no competition
For the past several months, I’ve been following registered dietician Diana Rodgers on LinkedIn. She’s the executive director of Global Food Justice Alliance, an organization whose mandate is to advocate “for the right of all people to choose nutrient-dense such as meat, milk, and eggs, which are critical for nutritious, environmentally sustainable, and equitable food […] Read more
Editorial: Action on food inflation
Since 2014, the week beginning on the first Monday in June in each year is known as Local Food Week in Ontario. Local Food Week was proclaimed in the province’s Local Food Act 2013. The purpose of the Act, according to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is to foster successful […] Read more
Editorial: Proposition 12 could bring trouble for livestock trade
A victory was achieved May 11 by animal rights groups when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld California’s Proposition 12, an item on the state’s 2018 election ballot. Also known as the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Prop 12 establishes minimum space requirements to be provided for egg-laying hens, breeding pigs and calves raised for […] Read more
Editorial: Nutrition often the forgotten element in food security
It’s rare that an international report actually advocates for animal agriculture. Raising animals for food is often blamed as a cause of climate change and environmental degradation, and is viewed as cruel and unnecessary by some groups. The consumption of animal products is also accused of causing various human health concerns including heart disease, diabetes […] Read more
Editorial: A big carrot in one hand, nothing in the other
It’s rarely a great idea to compare yourself to someone else. You can end up dissatisfied with something about yourself or about what they have and you don’t. Psychologists have a name for this behavior. It’s called social comparison. The theory suggests that people value their own personal and social worth by assessing how they […] Read more
How biogas can fit with a sustainable agriculture strategy
The potential is huge, but policies must make sense
The landscape for renewable natural gas (RNG) production on Ontario farms is getting bigger, but the provincial and federal governments must stop thinking of the fuel in the same way as they do for natural gas derived from fossil fuels. That was the take-home message from a group of panelists representing the agriculture sector at […] Read more
Editorial: Farming knowledge can help form future habits
As I previously wrote in a column for Farmtario in November last year, one of the most endearing memories I have from elementary school is when a classmate brought in a dairy calf for “show and tell.” I still remember that day vividly nearly 40 years later; how the calf’s tongue felt on my fingers […] Read more
Local students get a Bite of Brant
Local agriculture production focus of 27th annual educational event in Brant county
What started as a one-day dairy event has evolved into an interactive two-day hands-on opportunity for Brant county students to learn more about how the food they eat is produced. More than one thousand grade five students, teachers and parents from Brant county-area schools visited the Burford Fairgrounds for the 27th annual Bite of Brant. […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
