Exporting actual food products may no longer be the best option moving forward
It’s tomato season, and Canadians love their tomatoes. It is by far the most popular vegetable at the grocery store. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the average Canadian consumes at least six to seven kilos of tomatoes per year. More than 12 kilos per capita of fresh and processed tomatoes are made available to…
The Canadian Dairy Commission is morally and ethically compromised. It needs to distance itself from the dairy sector immediately
Every year, the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC), a branch of the federal government, hires external consultants to assess the cost of producing milk on the farm. The CDC has never released any data about costing and has recommended farm milk price increases most years, eventually impacting retail prices and Canadian families. Since February, dairy product…
Interest groups are weaponizing science to support a narrative that fits their biased view of what farmers should and shouldn’t do
Most Canadians have never been on a farm, let alone lived on one, which makes more than 98 per cent of our population agriculturally illiterate. For many Canadians, crop production is an unknown concept. Because of this, it’s relatively easy to use fear to influence public opinion on any food-related issue involving agriculture. Activists know…
Chickpeas are nutritional powerhouses for consumers who don’t necessarily opt for animal proteins
Since the start of the pandemic, we have heard about shortages countless times. Most sections of the grocery store have been hit by tightening supplies for one reason or another. But the latest headlines we are seeing are about chickpeas. Many analysts are expecting chickpea inventories to drop significantly in months to come. For westerners,…
Food inflation in Canada may have already peaked
Once again, the numbers coming out of Statistics Canada were discouraging. The food inflation rate in the country was 8.8 per cent in June, which is still higher than the general inflation rate. Everyone is affected by higher food prices. Americans learned last week that food inflation at the grocery store was 12.4 per cent,…
Evidence of ‘greedflation’ is weak at best
By Sylvain Charlebois and Samantha Taylor Accusations of gouging in the food industry have reached an all-time high. According to a recent survey, 68 per cent of Canadians believe food corporations are taking advantage of the inflationary cycle to increase prices, and it’s not just in retail. Class-action lawsuits have been launched against the beef…
Unfortunately, the extremists are taking over
Not a day goes by without seeing a group, or even a government, changing rules for farmers. In the name of the planet, animal welfare and our health, rules are changing despite our farmers’ knowledge and experience. It’s an interesting phenomenon, and it’s happening around the world. Farmers have long been regarded as the best…
Unfortunately, the Trudeau government is the consumer’s worst enemy right now
It wasn’t a good week if you’re a consumer on a tight budget – and that means most of us. Consumers are under attack. We’ve just learned that Canada’s food inflation rate was at a record 9.7 per cent in May. Everyone is noticing higher food prices and no section of the grocery store is…
The food we buy is always changing, so keeping customers engaged with brands is challenging
Sobeys recently decided to dump Air Miles and start its own loyalty program. Empire Co. Ltd., Sobeys’ parent company, is joining the Bank of Nova Scotia and Cineplex as co-owners of the Scene+ program. This move by Sobeys is no coincidence. As we brace for higher food prices and cope with a post-COVID-19 workforce still…
Saturated fat in beef, and pork: bad. Saturated fat in dairy products: nothing to see here
It looks like we will see different symbols on food packaging soon, telling us whether a food product at the grocery store has too much fat, sugar or sodium. Health Canada is likely going forward with a policy requiring front-of-package nutrition symbols on foods high in saturated fat, sugars and sodium. It will provide clear,…