Reading Time: 3 minutes One in seven Canadians is food insecure. I wondered: Just who are the food insecure throughout this vast nation? Where do they live and what is the relationship between food security, location, culture or income? Those persons who are the most food insecure in Canada live in remote places. The population of Nunavut is 57 […] Read more
Schoepp: It’s harder for women to put food on table when they’re paid less
Many women make one-third less than men doing similar work
Schoepp: In a changing world, a host of new questions need answering
Data ownership and who pays for sustainability measures are just two of many issues farmers must grapple with
Reading Time: 3 minutes There is a lot of pressure on farmers to adopt sustainable practices, digitize, understand carbon, conserve water, and add value. What are the top five areas in which all farmers should be asking questions? And what might those questions be? Carbon credits Although Canada’s goals are towards net-zero carbon emission, there is just as great […] Read more
Schoepp: When it comes to succession, things can so easily go terribly wrong
Reading Time: 3 minutes When the transfer of the farm goes off the rails, the hurt and hardship never really go away This is a factual case study of succession gone wrong — and the hurt and hardship it created for the families on three farms. The farms and farm families are extraordinarily similar. The families are well-known and […] Read more
Schoepp: To sustain is one thing, to regenerate is something else
Sustainable agriculture has been a step forward but it is not the end of the journey
Reading Time: 3 minutes For the past decade the focus on food and farming has been on sustainable systems. To be sustainable means to meet production needs without compromising the future, particularly our future natural resources. To farm sustainably is to ‘do no further harm’ or to maintain the current balance and to accept a level of accountability for […] Read more
Schoepp: Technology can be used to create new opportunities in Canadian agriculture
We can not only grow more veggies and fruits here, but also create new value-added sectors
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s food guide encourages putting fruits and vegetables at the centre of the plate. But to do this the nation is heavily dependent on imports, particularly from California. In 2019, Canada imported US$4.3 billion of vegetables, fruits and nuts from California. In total, Canada imports nearly US$6 billion in fruits and US$4 billion in vegetables […] Read more
Advisory council named to steer national Food Policy
Development of Canada’s Food Policy is taking a major step forward with the naming Friday of a new advisory council featuring industry, academic and government members tasked with guiding the policy. Public consultations on a “Food Policy for Canada” started in 2017, leading to the release of a 2018 report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada […] Read more
Schoepp: Who will win the battle for the plates of consumers?
The rise of meat created from plants or in a lab is a fascinating, and multi-faceted, affair
Reading Time: 3 minutes Who will win the plate on the battlefield of food animal versus plant- or cell-based meats? I have often wondered about the outcome of this raging war for the shelf, especially after I first noticed food animal companies investing in plant-based technologies. There is mounting evidence for the use of food animal over alternate meats […] Read more
Schoepp: A tedious task offers up some lessons on life
Those who came before us have given us a gift and we must preserve it for future generations
Reading Time: 3 minutes Surrounding my new rural house is a rock garden that stretches 30 metres long and is 10 metres deep. It’s steep and rugged and has not been tended to for several years. The task of pulling established grasses, invasive ground cover and weeds from this huge space seemed a monumental task. I began the process […] Read more
The interconnections between species are deep and interwoven
COVID-19 has put bats into the spotlight, and research shows how deeply everything is connected
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the last column I introduced the concept of systems change for the benefit of human and animal health. Fortunately, there is an avenue to work with human and animal doctors, scientists and experts towards a healthy world and it is called One Health. One Health is defined as a “collaborative, multi-sectoral and transdisciplinary approach […] Read more
Reflections from a long and sorrowful drive
Those who came before us have given us a gift and we must preserve it for future generations
Reading Time: 3 minutes It was a long and sorrowful drive home in September as I travelled to say the final goodbye to my dad. He was a man of honour, integrity and faith — and will remain forever our farmer and gentleman. It is men like him who along with their partners carved out a living strictly from […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
