Reading Time: < 1 minute Zurich | Reuters — Swiss voters decisively rejected more help for farmers in two referendums on Sunday, heeding the government’s warnings that the measures would send food prices rocketing and hurt the economy, projections for broadcaster SRF showed. Opinion polls had shown early widespread support for more farm aid was fading as the vote neared […] Read more
Swiss voters reject more aid for farmers
Trust the opportunity
All the Chicken Littles are wrong. The sky isn’t falling, and we aren’t running out of food, says Evan Fraser. “We live in a world where there is enough.”
Reading Time: 6 minutes Dr. Evan Fraser wears multiple hats at the University of Guelph, although “hats” doesn’t seem a big enough word. Fraser is Canada research chair in global food security, scientific director of the university’s acclaimed Food from Thought research initiative, and much more. Fraser is also director of the Arrell Food Institute, whose mission statement conveys […] Read more
My crystal ball shows risk in expecting higher food prices
The world will need more food but unless production increases can’t meet that demand, today’s prices probably won’t change much
Reading Time: 2 minutes I attended the annual conference of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, held recently in Boston. Conferences of this type are always tainted by the flavour du jour. Hence, no surprise that conversations were dominated by the current downturn in U.S. agriculture. I was left with a couple of key takeaway thoughts for Canadian agriculture. […] Read more
Food commodity prices seen stable over next decade
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters –– Higher agricultural productivity and slightly larger crop areas in the coming decade will cover rises in food demand, leading to stable prices and a period of more restrained agricultural markets, the FAO and OECD said Monday. In their annual Agricultural Outlook report, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Organisation for […] Read more
World food markets set for stable year: FAO
Reading Time: 2 minutes Rome | Reuters — Global food commodity markets are likely to remain stable in the coming year, the United Nations’ food agency said on Thursday, even as prices rose for the fourth straight month. Solid output prospects and abundant stocks should keep prices and supplies stable, while lower prices than those seen last year are […] Read more
World food prices edge up in April
Reading Time: 1 minute Rome | Reuters — World food prices rose slightly in April, up for the third month in a row but they remained almost 10 per cent lower than a year earlier, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket […] Read more
FAO chief expects food prices to fall further
Reading Time: < 1 minute Abu Dhabi | Reuters — World food prices are seen falling further this year having settled near their lowest in seven years pressured by slowing economic growth, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) director general said Tuesday. The FAO’s food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy […] Read more
Threat of food crisis seen fading as grain stocks climb
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — A sudden change in the weather no longer raises the spectre of a food price crisis, with grain stocks rebuilt and governments now paying much closer attention to agriculture, a senior United Nations economist said in an interview Monday. “The buffer is big and unexpected shortfalls can be met by (grain) […] Read more
The Long way: Food, plus the facts
Toronto chef serves great food, with a side of information so customers learn how lucky they are to have Canada’s farmers working for them
Reading Time: 4 minutes “Someone is getting screwed,” declares chef Brad Long. We’ve only just sat down at Long’s restaurant, Café Belong, and the conversation is already intense. I immediately like Long, who smiles and gesticulates as he talks a mile a minute, punctuating his thoughts with the odd F-bomb. It takes focus to keep up. Even when he […] Read more
Our share keeps falling
Farmers’ portion of the consumer food dollar is plummeting. At the very least, it’s something consumers should know
Reading Time: 5 minutes The disconnect between farm commodity and retail food prices is worsening. Throughout 2013, major media warned consumers of rising food costs, with BNN on May 16 reporting, “How much Canadians pay for their food is becoming a major concern.” That same day, CBC added its voice, saying, “Canadian families are planning to cut back on […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
