Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion relief program to help U.S. farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus, including $16 billion in direct payments to producers and mass purchases of meat, dairy, vegetables and other products (all figures US$). The U.S. Agriculture Department is partnering with regional […] Read more
U.S. announces coronavirus aid for farmers, food buys for poor
Direct payments, mass purchases planned
Trump administration aims to buy milk, meat to help farmers, Perdue says
Homeland Security to ease visa rules for ag workers
Reuters — The U.S. government plans to buy milk and meat from farmers as part of an initial US$15.5 billion effort to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. The decision comes amid rising pressure from the U.S. farm lobby for government purchases as growers and […] Read more
JBS sees steady trade flows but flags export woes
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, has said the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic could cause container shortages, port disruptions and other logistics issues, but said trade flows should stay strong thanks to Chinese demand. In a conference call to discuss earnings results on Thursday, JBS executives said its export operations had […] Read more
U.S. under pressure to keep slaughterhouses open
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to reassure meat producers it will keep slaughterhouses staffed with federal inspectors as fears about potential shutdowns due to the COVID-19 coronavirus hammer livestock prices and fuel concerns about food supplies, meat industry groups said on Monday. Livestock markets have been hit hard as […] Read more
CFIA rethinking limits on travellers’ personal food imports
Consultation running until March
The federal government is considering changes to the amounts of food travellers can bring into Canada with them from other countries for their personal use. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday announced public online consultations on the proposed new limits, which CFIA said would “better reflect the volume of foods typically moved by travellers […] Read more
Coronavirus disrupts China meat imports, food supplies
Swine fever has created pork shortage
Chicago | Reuters — Coronavirus is disrupting meat shipments to China as the country faces a shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease, Tyson Foods Inc and U.S. agricultural groups said on Thursday. An outbreak of African swine fever, which infects only pigs, has decimated China’s herd, pushing Chinese pork prices to […] Read more
Canada, China both ‘furious’ over Huawei row, envoy says
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada and China are both “furious” over the case of a Huawei executive detained in Canada in 2018 and its aftermath, but there are signs the two sides can hold constructive talks, the Canadian ambassador to Beijing said Wednesday. Canadian police picked up Huawei Technologies chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on […] Read more
Conflicting studies point to meat moderation as healthy diet
London | Reuters — A new study on meat consumption has found that people who eat red and processed meat have higher risks of heart disease and early death — contradicting recent research that suggested cutting out meat has few health benefits. The multiple findings can make it “difficult for people to make sense of […] Read more
The Year That Was: Fake meat takes off
Many ranchers view faux burgers as a threat, but others argue they’re a sign that opportunities abound
Reading Time: 3 minutes Faux burgers have been around for a while but in 2019, some sort of switch was flipped and all of a sudden everyone was talking about them. The pivotal moment came when the food-service industry decided to embrace Beyond Meat — which more closely mimics the look and texture of actual hamburgers, said Sylvain Charlebois, […] Read more
Beyond Meat? More like Beneath Beef
Plant-based burgers may come close in some aspects but they remain a highly processed food
Reading Time: 4 minutes Well cattle and beef producers, this is solely marketing for marketing’s sake. With the organic, vegetarian, raised without added antibiotics or hormones movements we are seeing, I suppose a plant-based protein product was probably inevitable. What we as beef producers need to do is keep telling our story — and what we do to raise […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
