Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada said on Monday that a major trade deal agreed by 12 Pacific nations would only allow limited access to protected Canadian domestic dairy and poultry markets, a politically sensitive issue ahead of the Oct. 19 election. Officials said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would offer up just 3.25 per cent of […] Read more
Canada says TPP offers limited access to dairy market
Starbucks to switch to all cage-free eggs by 2020
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Starbucks will switch to using only eggs laid by cage-free chickens at its North American locations within five years, the company told Reuters on Thursday. The company said it has been steadily working on making the switch since it began buying cage-free eggs in 2008. The pledge follows similar moves by […] Read more
TPP trade ministers push to wrap up ambitious trade deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Atlanta | Reuters — Pacific trade ministers readied on Wednesday to close the biggest trade deal in a generation but warned there was still work to be done on issues ranging from intellectual property to trade in dairy and automobiles. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said ministers from the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership […] Read more
Canada to pay farmers for any losses under TPP deal, Ritz says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian farmers will receive government compensation for any losses resulting from a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, the country’s agriculture minister said Wednesday in a discussion about the nation’s protected farm sectors. The U.S., New Zealand and Australia want Canada to start dismantling a system of supply and import controls over dairy, poultry […] Read more
Farmers, upset over TPP talks, take cows to Parliament
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Unhappy Canadian dairy farmers parked dozens of tractors in central Ottawa and walked their cows down the main street opposite Parliament on Tuesday to protest trade talks they said could cripple them. Canada is one of 12 Pacific Rim countries trying to nail down a trade deal in Atlanta this week. […] Read more
McDonald’s cage-free egg pledge pressures farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — This month’s pledge by McDonald’s Corp. to phase out eggs laid by caged hens in its North American restaurants will increase competition for limited supplies of cage-free eggs. The ban, which follows similar moves by Burger King and food services company Sodexo, carries higher costs that may, at least initially, sting farmers. For […] Read more
U.S. may kill poultry with heat stress to stop bird flu
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. agriculture officials seeking ways to control deadly bird flu have approved the use of a method to kill poultry by turning up the heat in their barns and shutting off ventilation systems. The Agriculture Department will consider using the method, condemned by animal rights groups as cruel, if there are […] Read more
McDonald’s investor wants it to cut antibiotics in all meats
Reading Time: 2 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters –– A McDonald’s Corp. shareholder group is renewing its call for the fast-food chain to stop buying any meat from animals raised with antibiotics vital to fighting human infections. The move from the Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, Texas, comes amid growing concern from public health experts that the overuse […] Read more
Study alleges U.S. fast food still mostly raised on antibiotics
Reading Time: 2 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters –– Most large U.S. fast-food chains still serve meat from farm animals that have been routinely fed antibiotics, consumer groups said in a new report, which concluded that many companies have not yet laid out plans to curb the practice. Subway, Starbucks, KFC and Domino’s Pizza were among the industry leaders […] Read more
Yukon to help cover livestock vets’ travel costs
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Yukon government has launched a pilot program to help cover veterinarians’ travel and service expenses for farm calls. The territory government on Tuesday announced it will accept up to 30 farmers for the pilot of the Veterinary Services Program, running from now to the end of March 2016. The program will reimburse participating veterinarians […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
