Dakar | Reuters — Development partners have committed US$30 billion to boost food production in Africa over the next five years, the president of the African Development Bank said on Friday at the close of a summit on food security on the continent. The continent is facing its worst food crisis ever, with more than […] Read more
Development partners commit US$30 billion to food production in Africa
Continent facing record-level hunger
Change is coming, but the options are many, say food experts
Forum on the future of food offers interesting takes on what’s coming down the road
Reading Time: 3 minutes What does the future of food look like? An eclectic panel of experts offered very different answers to that question at a recent forum hosted by the University of Alberta. How we grow food and even what we eat is probably going to change, but the solutions to today’s problems will require creative thinking and […] Read more
China to step up investment in rural infrastructure
Beijing | Reuters – China will accelerate investment in rural infrastructure to improve its ability to ensure food supply while also stabilizing the economy, according to a plan published by the agriculture ministry on Tuesday. The plan, backed by eight ministries and government agencies, comes amid slowing growth in the world’s second-biggest economy, due to […] Read more
Schoepp: Farmers are innovative and resilient — our food system should be, too
The globalized commodity model is needed, but so are regional and local alternatives
Reading Time: 3 minutes Today’s farmers show resiliency, whether they are highly technical mass producers or deliver fresh to the farm gate. In agriculture, technology continues to rapidly advance in areas such as robotics and precision farming. Nutrient attributes can now be added or taken away in plants through genomics. Machinery can do the work of humans in picking […] Read more
Schoepp: Many popular foods have a long history — and an uncertain future
Reading Time: 3 minutes Lately I have been curious about lettuce. The plant has been traced back to Egypt some 6,000 years ago and is a member of the sunflower family. That may surprise you because we often think of sunflowers in terms of the flower and the oil. But lettuce was not grown for its leaves, it was […] Read more
Schoepp: When did food producers become the bad guys in movies?
‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ is the latest offering that looks to the food sector to find a villain
Reading Time: 3 minutes A chance to hang out with my granddaughters during New Year’s was celebrated with treats and a movie. We watched “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” a new film based on the 1963 book of the same name. Clifford and his friend Emily Elizabeth are always on an adventure. In the movie, Clifford’s size attracts more […] Read more
Schoepp: The narrow definition of a farmer is far from the whole story
The full story of farming needs to be told more often, and we should be proud to do that
Reading Time: 3 minutes A farmer is defined by Merriam-Webster as a person who cultivates land or crops or raises animals. I find the definition too narrow as it does not portray the depth and breadth of food production. From the tiny fields where mulberry is grown to feed the silkworms and the pots of herbs on a windowsill […] Read more
Schoepp: Does sourcing ingredients from around the world really make sense?
It’s time that consumers were offered the chance to buy truly Canadian food products
Reading Time: 3 minutes Have you ever felt betrayed when you bought a food product? I am fascinated by brand claims and food sources. One day I simply emptied the nearest cupboard to see where the food came from and what was in the manufactured products that now were scattered on the counter. The pure Atlantic Sea Salt I […] Read more
Opportunities await in the post-pandemic world
Interest in local food, pent-up consumer demand, and Canada’s reputation are strong pluses
Reading Time: 3 minutes Things may seem bleak now, but there are silver linings in those dark clouds, says Farm Credit Canada’s chief ag economist. “In a lot of ways, things are different than they were 12 months ago,” said J.P. Gervais. One is that consumers are more interested in local and specialty foods, and knowing where those foods […] Read more
How COVID-19 is upending global food supply chains
Cows fed strawberries in India, watermelons rot in U.S., okra not reaching Canada
Satara/Singapore/London | Reuters — In the fertile Satara district in western India, farmers are putting their cattle on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawberries to cows. It’s not a treat. They can either feed their crops to animals or let them spoil. And other farmers are doing just that […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
