Gordon Bacon, former CEO of Pulse Canada and the Canadian Special Crops Association (CSCA), has been recognized for the innovation and value he has brought to the pulse industry.
Bacon was presented with the Pulse Promoter Award at the Saskatchewan Pulse Grower’s (SPG) annual meeting in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Monday. The award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of Saskatchewan’s pulse industry.
Along with his 24 years spent as CEO for Pulse Canada, and 16 years as CEO of the CSCA, Bacon has also been an active member of the executive of the Global Pulse Confederation (GPC) since 2001, and now serves the GPC as director of food systems.
As part of a national and global pulse leadership group, Bacon worked to have the United Nations (UN) declare 2016 as International Year of Pulses and a UN designation of World Pulses Day each year in February.
For more than two decades, Bacon has been a champion of positioning pulses as an affordable, nutritious, and healthy food. He has focused on sustainable cropping systems and reducing the ecological footprint of pulse production.
Bacon says Canada’s pulse industry is positioned to be the leader in health, nutrition, and environmental sustainability — but that opportunity must be co-created and developed with the food sector.
“The necessity for dietary change in order to feed 10 billion is an important opportunity for pulses — this isn’t just about farmers and the markets we have today; this is about consumption and influencing the social drivers of change,” says Bacon. “The opportunities lie within the matrix of being efficient and being transformative. I am honoured to receive the Pulse Promoter award the year.”
Prior to joining Canada’s pulse industry, Bacon was director of market development at the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). He has also served as senior policy advisor to a federal cabinet minister in Ottawa, as well as various roles with federal and provincial departments of agriculture.
