The inability to achieve production-line capacity was cited for the recent closure of two Canadian-owned food processing facilities serving the country’s densest population centres. The closures, combined with soon-to-take-effect closures of two further-processing pork factories in Quebec, leave primary producers of both vegetables and livestock hoping this isn’t a sign of things to come. Pickle […] Read more
Tag Archives food production — page 2
Is processing at a tipping point?
Labour, capacity and access to capital make Ontario processing a challenge
Development partners commit US$30 billion to food production in Africa
Continent facing record-level hunger
Dakar | Reuters — Development partners have committed US$30 billion to boost food production in Africa over the next five years, the president of the African Development Bank said on Friday at the close of a summit on food security on the continent. The continent is facing its worst food crisis ever, with more than […] Read more
China to step up investment in rural infrastructure
Beijing | Reuters – China will accelerate investment in rural infrastructure to improve its ability to ensure food supply while also stabilizing the economy, according to a plan published by the agriculture ministry on Tuesday. The plan, backed by eight ministries and government agencies, comes amid slowing growth in the world’s second-biggest economy, due to […] Read more
Experiential learning program plants SEEDS of on-farm knowledge
Organizers hope to launch a science-based program in September Three sets of eyes widen as a brown egg drops from a hen and rolls to a stop next to two others in the laying box. Amid excited squeals, one girl gingerly reaches forward and, after a few false starts, snatches the fresh egg from under […] Read more
University proposal among food system prize semifinalists
Researchers hope vision for 2020 will be worthy of $200,000
Two researchers from the University of Guelph have reached the semifinalist stage of a $2-million competition striving for a more environmentally conscious future of food. The proposal, submitted by a professor and a PhD student from University of Guelph’s School of the Environmental Sciences, calls for “truly integrative agricultural practices” throughout southwestern Ontario by 2050, […] Read more
Campaign aims to share food system stories
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity hopes the campaign will help build public trust
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) is stepping into a new role with the launch of a media campaign that tells the story of Canada’s food system. The CCFI is funded by players throughout the food system from producers to retailers. It has, since its founding in 2016, focused on researching consumer attitudes toward […] Read more
How COVID-19 is upending global food supply chains
Cows fed strawberries in India, watermelons rot in U.S., okra not reaching Canada
Satara/Singapore/London | Reuters — In the fertile Satara district in western India, farmers are putting their cattle on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawberries to cows. It’s not a treat. They can either feed their crops to animals or let them spoil. And other farmers are doing just that […] Read more
Sweets, alcohol, not meat common to high carbon households
Science notes: Frequency of restaurant meals were also influential in Japanese study
Families with higher carbon footprints are likely to consume more confectionary, alcohol, and restaurant food, according to a new study by Japanese and European researchers published in One Earth. Considering the spectrum of traditional to urban lifestyles across Japan, associate professor Keiichiro Kanemoto of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan, and […] Read more
Why won’t consumers listen?
Farmers have been trying to engage consumers for years — yet the work has had little impact
It happens at farm meetings across Canada. Speakers use words like “engagement” and then talk about how farmers can use Twitter and Facebook to influence people. This has been happening for years at agricultural conferences across Canada. Because of all those presentations, thousands of producers now use social media to connect with consumers and explain […] Read more
Stoking conflict between farming and conservation hurts everyone
Agriculture businesses and the environment both need to be sustainable
Canada’s future prosperity will depend on effective environmental conservation and sustainable — and profitable — agriculture. Unfortunately, recent comments from former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall pit the two concerns against each other unnecessarily. Agriculture and the environment are not mutually exclusive, and polarization of the issues only undermines progress toward successful and sustainable solutions. A […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
