To underline the value of research at universities in the province, the Council of Ontario Universities has launched a campaign inviting the public to vote on what it considers to be the top 50 “game changing” research breakthroughs in the past century. Universities were asked to forward their suggestions to the council, which then chose... Read More
Category: Food
The head of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is accusing the union that represents food inspectors of "unnecessarily undermining Canadians' confidence in their food safety system." The Agriculture Union issued a news release this week saying cost-cutting within the CFIA is creating an inspector shortage that is putting Canadians' health at risk. As an example,... Read More
The room was abuzz with the energy of high cattle prices, an informative day of sessions, and the opportunity to dress up for a night of entertainment. There was a white tablecloth, food heaped onto my plate, the offer of an array of drinks a short stroll away, and a group of quasi-strangers set to... Read More
Researchers at Kansas-based Engrain are working through a process that they hope will lay the groundwork for the creation of celiac-safe wheat. The study is led by Chris Miller, Engrain’s senior director of research, and will result in a comprehensive study of the wheat proteins related to celiac disease. This information could allow scientists to... Read More
Tapping into a new food or food ingredient market takes years of research, market development and buy-in of an entire value chain. It helps, of course, if there’s a ready market for the product, and you’ve got land that needs a new cropping option. That’s the current situation with hazelnuts in Ontario — work into... Read More
A proposal for a one-million-acre set-aside for pollinators in Ontario by 2018 sounds like something a government or activists would propose, and farmers would lose their minds over. What? A million acres in a province losing 350 acres of prime farmland a day to development? But now, this set-aside program, the gemstone in the new... Read More
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but sometimes looks really don't matter. Take misshapen and imperfect fruits and veggies, for instance. Until now, they've been chopped and whirred into soup or sometimes straight into compost instead of hitting store shelves. That's despite the fact that much of this "too ugly"... Read More
The great thing about social media — like Twitter and Facebook — is that it provides a megaphone for farmers, a group of people who have struggled for decades to be heard by consumers. The flipside is, of course, that technology doesn’t discriminate; a megaphone for farmers is a megaphone for everybody else, too. Which... Read More
If you’re looking to catch up on what’s been happening in the world of Canadian agriculture, this week’s podcast runs the gamut — from seed companies collecting end point royalties to why some weeds are more prone to herbicide resistance to why McDonald’s is looking to Canada for “sustainable beef.” Here’s “This Week on Real... Read More
Not surprisingly, like any livestock farmer I’ve ever met, you’ll find me enjoying a glass of milk, a steak or a hard-boiled egg on any given day. And as a conventional farmer, I believe in the safety of the food system I produce for, so am not likely to buy organic. They are things I’ve... Read More