What do you do when two busloads of students come to your farm? Well, of course you welcome them, show them around, and feed them lunch. On a rainy day during harvest, students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic came out to the farm of Doyle and Val Wiebe near Langham. All of the farm equipment was lined… Read more »
Category: Food Safety
Recall of U.S. ground beef spurred by E. coli-related death
One person has died in the U.S. from Escherichia coli O26 contamination linked to ground beef, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Seventeen others have also become sick after eating the potentially contaminated beef. More than 132,000 pounds of ground beef from Cargill has been recalled due to the outbreak, as a result of… Read more »
Getting involved in the conversation with Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan
Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan was launched in 2015 to foster conversations with people in Saskatchewan about food and farming. We recently had a chance to catch up with Clint Monchuk, Executive Director with Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan (FFCS). Farm and Food Care had its origins in the Food and Animal Council (FAC). When… Read more »
New food safety regulations finalized for cross-border sales
What’s new The Safe Food for Canadians Act was drafted in 2012 and on Wednesday, after years of industry consultation and review, the regulations were finalized. The federal government has consolidated 14 different food regulations into one under published earlier this week in Canada Gazette, Part II. The new rules include licensing and traceability requirements for… Read more »
Food Truths From Farm to Table addresses food guilt, shares farmers’ stories
If the conversation around farming and food is really going to change for the better, we have to get past talking to each other and reach out to our customers. In writing her book, Food Truths From Farm to Table, author Michele Payn specifically chose consumers as her target audience to move beyond “preaching to the choir.”… Read more »
Mind Your Farm Business — Ep 32: Putting a value on public trust
If we can’t manage what we can’t measure, how do we approach the very real risk of losing public trust in how food gets grown? “Public trust is one of those things where we don’t know the full value of it until we’ve lost it,” says Crystal MacKay, president of the Canadian Centre for Food… Read more »
Canadians want GMOs labeled, study suggests
While consumer opinion is split on the health and safety of food and food ingredients derived from genetic modification (GMOs), the majority of Canadians support labeling foods that contain GMOs, according to a recent survey by Dalhousie University. Researchers at the university, led by Sylvain Charlebois, surveyed 1,046 Canadians in an effort to measure “attitudes… Read more »
The case for human intervention in nature
Over the past couple of decades, those who make a profit off of the environment — farmers, ranchers, miners, and loggers — have seen a fair amount of negative publicity. As people involved in some of these industries, we know the negativity isn’t always accurate, and Bruce Vincent with Environomics Incorporated more than agrees. “The… Read more »
Neither side wins with ‘Pig Trial’ verdict
The recent court case of Anita Krajnc, informally called the “Pig Trial,” has come to a close, and the farming community leaves the courtroom with disappointment. Sort of. Rather than a one-sided legal rout for animal rights activism, the verdict delivered in this criminal mischief case actually supports Ontario farmers in a number of ways. Let’s… Read more »
CBC runs a story smearing University of Saskatchewan professor for alleged ties to Monsanto
As universities encourage researchers to collaborate with industry, activists are looking to discredit academics they declare to be compromised. This week, an American anti-GMO activist organization, U.S. Right to Know, convinced someone at CBC that University of Saskatchewan professor Dr. Peter Phillips has been compromised by Monsanto. The attack is similar to others carried out by… Read more »
Krajnc acquitted of criminal mischief charge in pig transport trial
Despite the defence creating over-the-top, headline-grabbing statements in court and using arguments not based on science, Justice David Harris has acquitted activist Anita Krajnc on the charge of criminal mischief related to interfering with hogs while in transit. Justice Harris says activists can protest laws, but they have to do that “within the confines of the laws that… Read more »
Is Glyphosate the Next Honeybee?
When I’m knee-deep (ankle, for most of you) in discussions about challenges in agriculture, I often ask, “What’s the next bee?” I’m used to the funny looks I get, but what I mean, once I clarify, is what is the next issue in agriculture that will be debated and perhaps regulated not necessarily on the… Read more »
CFIA’s Mixed Priorities Holding Back Canadian Agriculture
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 »
Health Canada Approves Irradiated Fresh and Frozen Ground Beef
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 »
Teens Taking Chances with Food Safety — And We’re All Affected
Safety is one of the key selling points that agriculture uses to promote food produced on Canadian farms. It’s often mentioned in the same breath as freshness, wholesomeness and nutrition, mirroring what consumers say they value (besides local). Farmers take many on-farm measures to keep food safe — using sound environmental practices, and federally approved plant and animal health… Read more »