61% of Canadians have a “very or somewhat” positive impression of Canadian agriculture according to a new national survey released by Farm and Food Care (FFC) and the newly minted Canadian Centre For Food Integrity. That’s the highest ranking Canadians have given farming since FFC started asking Canadians for their impression of the industry 10… Read More
Category: Food
Update: Health Canada formally announced its proposal to approve irradiation of fresh and frozen ground beef on June 17th. A 75-day consultation period with Canadians will end on September 1, 2016. The proposed regulatory changes are published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, for June 18, 2016. 18 years after formally asking the Canadian government for… Read More
Besides offering unique craft beers like “Confused Sea Cow,” “Screamin’ Reels,” and “The Salty Buddha,” a small, Florida-based craft brewery is offering a unique innovation to a global concern. Well known for its passion for marine life and the sea, Saltwater Brewery, in partnership with WeBelievers, has developed a six-pack ring that isn’t just biodegradable and compostable, it’s also… Read More
While many farmers were busy seeding on May 21st, thousands of people around the world spent the day rallying against genetic engineering and other innovations in crop science, at what is known as “March Against Monsanto” (MAM). Most of the people at the rallies proclaim that genetic modification, herbicides and other technologies used to produce food are,… Read More
Headlines in mainstream news last week declared that genetically engineered (GE) crops are no more dangerous to humans than conventional crops following the release of a major study looking at the risks and benefits of GE crops. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published what many have called the most thorough review to… Read More
On April 26, Earls Restaurants announced it had taken its beef business to Creekstone Farms, an operation in the United States, in order to source 100% Certified Humane beef. The announcement was met with extreme criticism, and by May 4 the company apologized for the “mistake,” and committed to working with Canadian farmers. Response to the… Read More
Last week the new Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba changed the name of its agriculture ministry back to the Department of Agriculture. Previously it was the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, or MAFRD. Many people on twitter were cheerleading the decision as if this was agriculture finding its roots with the name change. Some said they found… Read More
In the pursuit of healthy living, we’re working against some pretty incredible obstacles, like 6 million years of evolutionary biology and 15 thousand years of human civilization. At least, that’s how founding director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and president of the American College of Livestyle Medicine, David Katz explains it. “We live… Read More
Early last week, leaders from the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) met with Earls Restaurants to discuss sustainable sourcing. By mid-week, the company announced it had made a mistake. “I think it was unfortunate that it happened in the first place,” Fawn Jackson, executive director of the CRSB, told Shaun Haney in an interview, “but… Read More
I said last month that I should start giving credit to more companies that do the right thing. I’m happy to say I can already do that. Thank you Earls. If you’ve been under a rock for the last few weeks (or at least not run into a Canadian beef farmer steaming with an opinion… Read More