Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – In 2022, Health Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced that crop varieties developed with gene editing technology will not be subject to the same regulatory requirements as genetically modified organisms. Though many within the agriculture industry praised the decision as a win for crop breeders, and Canadians more generally, some academic […] Read more
Where are public sector gene editing projects?
Regulatory differences and lack of funding constrain gene editing in academic research
Report sees lower Canadian food inflation through end of 2024
Project lead Sylvain Charlebois sees return to inflation “sweet spot” by year-end
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian food prices are expected to rise between 2.5 and 4.5 per cent in 2024, according to a new report. “It is probable that Canadians will continue to experience the strain of food inflation compounded by increasing costs of housing, energy and various other expenditures,” says Canada’s Food Price Report 2024, an annual joint effort […] Read more
Sugar beet growers seek to expand sector with domestic policy
It wouldn’t stop strikes, but it would recharge Canada’s sugar industry
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – A domestic sugar policy would help kickstart the Canadian and particularly the Albertan sugar industry, says a major player in the sector. The Alberta Sugar Beet Growers want a national domestic sugar policy, which the organization says could lay the foundation for resurgence in the sector. Such a policy would regulate the […] Read more
Global hunger stalled well above pre-pandemic levels
Intersecting crises of conflict, climate and economics have hit struggling communities hard says Foodgrains Bank
The number of people experiencing hunger around the world remains far higher than pre-pandemic levels, but is still "significantly better" than 20 years ago, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank says.
AI can be an agricultural solution
The technology can help farmers tackle the challenges of modern farming
Reading Time: 3 minutes Iowa State University – For all the attention on flashy new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, the challenges of regulating AI and doomsday scenarios involving super-intelligent machines, AI is a useful tool in many fields. In fact, it has enormous potential to benefit humanity. In agriculture, farmers are increasingly using AI-powered tools to tackle challenges […] Read more
Feds earmark $400,000 to tofu production automation
Quebec tofu manufacturers have seen high demand in recent years
A Quebec tofu-maker has received a $400,000 federal loan to help automate its organic tofu production facility.
Opinion: Water for our world
Is this dry year going to seem like a wet one in our parched future?
Reading Time: 3 minutes As I flew over Alberta, the brown earth contrasted sharply with the blue sky. It’s an ideal picture in fall or even spring, but this was late November and not a snowflake or raindrop had quenched the open fields. I recalled past seasons, with both bitter cold and massive snow, as well as balmy days, […] Read more
Opinion: Let’s give the grocery theatrics a rest in 2024
Grocers made convenient punching bags, but that’s not how solutions are found
Reading Time: 2 minutes In an era when food inflation has become a contentious political issue, it’s tempting for politicians to target the grocery industry. Sadly, that’s exactly what transpired in our country this year, and it was both absurd and embarrassing. The government and Parliament relentlessly hounded grocers, drowning out the opportunity for Canadians to truly comprehend the […] Read more
Grocery code will stabilize producer incomes, say fruit and vegetable growers
The code has hit recent speed bumps as grocery giants Loblaw and Walmart have stalled signing on
Canada's proposed grocery code of conduct will usher in a new era of fairness and transparency and stabilize grower incomes, said the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC) in a statement Thursday.
Olds College to pioneer cutting-edge indoor ag training
New controlled agriculture program caters to a burgeoning sector
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you only had two or three seconds to describe controlled environment agriculture, “high tech greenhouses” would probably suffice. But it’s much more than that, said a developer of a new program at Olds College, and the college hopes to be a pioneer in training the workforce needed to increase food production efficiency. “We put […] Read more