When the prestigious medical journal The Lancet published a 51-page report laying out a plan for a sustainable “planetary diet” that transforms how we eat and live, it made a big splash. The group of 37 experts, all members of the so-called EAT-Lancet Commission — brought together by the Stockholm-based non-profit EAT, which works to […] Read more
Tag Archives sustainability — page 11
Opinion: Drinking the plant-based Kool-Aid
How to tell the sustainability story
Professor says production efficiency increases are legitimate argument
Increases in farm production efficiency continue to reduce the environment impact per unit of production. However, such messages are often technical. How well do they resonate with consumers looking at agriculture as an environmental villain? Why it matters: Farmers are trying several ways of telling their story about environmental impact. The bottom line is that […] Read more
Farming insects may solve one problem, create others
Rome | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Insects have great potential as an alternative source of protein, but further research is urgently needed before mass production begins in order to avoid environmental disaster, Swedish researchers warned Monday. There is currently an “overwhelming lack of knowledge” on basic questions such as suitable species, their housing and feed […] Read more
The details on CAP
Details are now available for the first intake of the new federal-provincial program, which closes May 8
With maximum funding ranging between $25,000 and $35,000 per project, aspects of manure and nutrient management and livestock handling and housing represent key areas of focus for government support in the recently-released Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) suite of programs. Also on offer is a maximum of $75,000 for either livestock or food crop producers for […] Read more
Burger King pledges to end deforestation by 2030
Rio de Janeiro | Thomson Reuters Foundation — The owner of Burger King has pledged to eliminate deforestation from its supply chains by 2030 but scientists say the company is not moving fast enough to stop its hamburgers from destroying rainforests and the communities who depend on them. Restaurant Brands International, one of the world’s […] Read more
Study finds organic’s sustainability ‘context-dependent’
When weighed for sustainability, the purported benefits and costs of organic agriculture can actually “vary heavily” from case to case, a new University of British Columbia study finds. The UBC study, titled “Many shades of gray: The context-dependent performance of organic agriculture,” published Friday in the U.S. journal Science Advances, sets out to “systematically review […] Read more
Consumers want sustainable beef, but defining that may be murky
CNS Canada –– McDonald’s plans on using sustainable beef by 2016, and intends on sourcing at least part of it from Canadian producers. The fast food giant’s latest step toward sustainability is to define what exactly that means. Defining sustainability is important, according to a beef brand officer, because in some cases it’s something consumers […] Read more
Guenther: McDonald’s sustainability goals to reach beyond beef
Farmers who want to keep supplying the world’s biggest quick-service restaurant chains can expect more scrutiny of their methods going forward. That’s because the chains’ customers appear to be looking for more sustainably-produced food — so companies such as McDonald’s in turn are looking for third-party verification to prove the ingredients they source make the […] Read more
Federal funding pledged for crop market development work
Canadian crop commodity groups getting federal AgriMarketing funding plan to put the money to work over five years — not just in salesmanship, but in developing their crops’ story for potential customers. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz made two five-year funding announcements during the CropSphere 2015 conference Tuesday and Wednesday in Saskatoon: over $3.3 million […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
