Oxford dictionary defines "post-truth" as "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief." We're seeing this term thrown around by the media in the context of recent politics, but these "post-truth" conditions are really nothing new for agriculture. "This has... Read More
Category: Food
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is one of the cornerstones of food safety in Canada. Federal inspectors monitor meat and food processing plants, feed mills, and even farms. But beyond what we tend to hear in the media about inspections, the CFIA has much larger responsibilities, some of which need to be separated from... Read More
Recognizing irradiation as a safe and effective treatment to reduce bacteria in ground beef, Health Canada has published new regulations allowing the sale of irradiated fresh and frozen raw ground beef. The final regulations were published in Canada Gazette, Part II on February 22, and take effect immediately. Irradiation involves exposing food to low levels... Read More
How easily could your farm business absorb an added $120,000 bill? That's approximately what Jan Vanderhout, co-owner of Beverly Greenhouses, says the new Ontario carbon tax will cost him this year, or just over $6,000 per acre of greenhouse space. Vanderhout, a third-generation greenhouse grower and the chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers'... Read More
The inaugural "Canada's Agriculture Day" is slated for Thursday, with celebrations of Canadian agriculture planned in communities across the country. In Alberta, organizers of an event called "Meet in the Middle" are bringing together 150 millennials for a five-course meal and conversation about food in the Willow Lane Barn near Olds. As Terry Andryo, ATB... Read More
It’s pretty hard to beat food. We need it, we like it, and it can be an incredibly significant part of who we are. As any shopper knows, though, food can also be expensive. The good news for us Canadians is our national food dollar isn’t actually that high. Despite what our grocery bills suggest,... Read More
Why are celebrities so influential when it comes to trends? Turns out, we may actually be programmed to follow prestige. But, as Timothy Caulfield explains, we may not always recognize this behaviour in ourselves, claiming instead that "everyone else" falls for such things, but not us. Caulfield, a professor with the University of Alberta's law... Read More
Have you seen the Dairy Farmers of Canada newest ad? (Scroll down to view) The latest television commercial and billboard campaign has received critical acclaim from advertising big wigs, but at least some of the farmers the ad represents aren't exactly thrilled with the "crying over spilled milk" commercial calling it "horrifying," "dark," and "confusing."... Read More
Donald Trump may or may not succeed in building a wall between him and us for what he calls security purposes. But let’s be clear: we appear to be entering a new era of American protectionism. If it’s not a physical structure that comes between us, in the name of saving US jobs and lives,... Read More
Sitting in the Northern Exposure presentation at the Southwest Agricultural Conference, I watched with fascination as a room full of southern Ontario farmers were captivated by Prairie agriculture. How's that, you ask? Well, farming in Ontario's "north" is far more similar to farming in Manitoba than the rest of the growing region of Ontario, and... Read More