Merit Functional Foods has entered receivership while owing approximately $95 million to its two main creditors — Export Development Canada (EDC) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC), according to court documents. A judge on Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench appointed PwC as the receiver for the Winnipeg-based plant protein processing company on March 1. According to… Read More
Category: Food
Update: Merit Functional Foods was placed in receivership on March 1. Read more here. Creditors for Merit Functional Foods are asking the Court of King’s Bench in Manitoba to appoint a receiver for the plant protein processing company. Export Development Canada and Farm Credit Canada have filed an application for the appointment of a receiver,… Read More
Canada’s federal government has allocated more funding for plant protein development across the country, so what types of investments can we expect to see coming up in this sector? Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada (PIC), spoke with RealAg’s Shaun Haney on the direction PIC is going with this next round of funding. Greuel… Read More
Rising costs and inflation are a hot topic right now, but what are the overall trends being seen in consumer choices in the long term? Heather Thomson is the executive director at the Alberta School of Business Centre for Cities and Communities and she spoke at the Ag Awareness Summit at Saskatoon last week. Thomson… Read More
Agriculture in the Classroom works to give kids an opportunity to learn about food production. An annual part of that goal is agriculture literacy month, celebrated each March. Chandra Gusikoski, communications coordinator for Agriculture in the Classroom, spoke at the Ag Awareness Summit last week at Saskatoon. RealAg’s Atley Hamlin asked Gusikoski about agriculture literacy… Read More
The federal government has committed another $150 million to Protein Industries Canada over the next five years, as the original funding for the innovation cluster expired last year. The protein initiative is one of five clusters receiving funding as part of the $750 million Global Innovation Cluster program that was announced in the 2022 budget… Read More
Changes are coming to the top of the civil service within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that Chris Forbes, a veteran in federal agriculture policy circles, having served as deputy minister of the agriculture department since 2017, will be moving to… Read More
Canola is a Canadian-made and developed, home-grown crop. With canola oil being grown and produced locally, why is this resource no more widely discussed and utilized? Lynn Weaver, a registered dietitian and the market development manager at SaskCanola, spoke with RealAg’s Atley Hamlin about the nutritional and culinary benefits of canola when compared to other… Read More
For months since the North American Lamb Company (NALCO) announced it had gone into receivership, it’s been unclear as to who would take over the Alberta assets of the company, including a large feedlot and processing facility at Picture Butte. Finally public, the majority of the Alberta assets of NALCO have been acquired by Préval AG,… Read More
Agriculture ministers from across Canada met virtually on Friday to discuss and receive updates on several agriculture-related files that they’re following, including progress on a national grocery code of conduct and the implementation of the new five-year Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) that’s set to take effect April 1, 2023. “We would like to commend… Read More
As consumer trends change, food production adjusts to meet demands. Plant-based products and ingredients have taken up residence on grocery store shelves, and this is a trend that’s likely here to stay. CEO of Protein industries Canada, Bill Greuel, discusses the chatter around plant proteins at industry meetings and the evolving market for plant proteins… Read More
OPINION Travel with me to a time not long ago when the government in Ontario was of the red variety. The former premier, at one point, went so far as to also serve as agriculture minister, in an effort, one can only imagine, to show her commitment and respect for the portfolio. Kathleen Wynne’s government… Read More
Sustainability is a journey not a destination, and the global agriculture industry is working to balance meeting global needs while maintaining the health of the environment that supports the industry. That’s according to Jack Bobo, who works at Nature United using his expertise to oversee global food and water policy, and spoke this week at… Read More
Dr. Samatha Yemmine, a neuroscientist, digital media producer and science communicator, also known as ScienceSam, recently spoke at the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity Canadian Centre for Food Integrity’s Public Trust Summit at Toronto. In her address, Yemmine dives into dealing with an “infodemic,” and how to discern between misinformation and information from credible sources…. Read More
Under the guise of solving the housing crisis, Ontario’s premier Doug Ford is moving to develop over 7,000 acres of prime agriculture land in the province’s Greenbelt around the city of Toronto. In exchange, the Ford government says it will set aside over 9,000 acres…somewhere else. MPP for Temiskaming-Cochrane, John Vanthof says the premier’s plan… Read More