Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario has introduced a legislative package setting up new legal boundaries around livestock in that province, whether on farms or in transit. The Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, introduced Monday by Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman, is expected to “address the unique risks and challenges associated with trespass onto a farm or into […] Read more
Ontario draws new legal lines against on-farm trespass
Safety advocates sound alarm over new U.S. hog slaughter rules
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. food safety and the health of plant workers will be at risk from new federal rules that allow meat companies to slaughter hogs as fast as they want and shift the role of government inspectors, food and environmental advocates said on Tuesday. The warnings about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s […] Read more
Glyphosate: the real science
Will new studies that confirm the safety of glyphosate actually stop politicians from banning an essential herbicide?
Reading Time: 6 minutes The study published in the November 9, 2017 Journal of the National Cancer Institute is crystal clear. Called “Glyphosate Use and Cancer Incidence in the Agricultural Health Study”, it says: “In conclusion, we found no evidence of an association between glyphosate use and risk of any solid tumours or lymphoid malignancies, including NHL (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma) […] Read more
Join the fight for consumer trust
Every farmer should be in the habit of telling non-farmers to check out www.bestfoodfacts.org
Reading Time: 4 minutes Early on the evening of April 13, 1970, Jack Swigert, pilot of Apollo 13’s command module, radioed the now famous phrase, “I believe we’ve had a problem here.” His words immediately set in motion the incredible teamwork needed to diagnose what had happened and to find a solution to a very serious situation. Since then, […] Read more
Public input sought on sustainable beef indicators
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ranchers, consumers and others who have thoughts on how beef and its cattle should be sustainably produced in Canada are asked to speak up again, this time by early November at the latest. The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), in the midst of developing a Verified Sustainable Beef Framework, has released its new draft […] Read more
Federal government extends food policy discussions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Citing a strong response from across the country, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay has extended the public consultations on a national food policy until Aug. 31. “Canadians’ responses to our online survey show they truly care about food issues. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the extended comment period, and I look forward […] Read more
The sustainability conundrum
In the Western world at least, there’s a big demand for ‘sustainably sourced’ products. What that means, or receiving a premium for them, is another matter
Reading Time: 5 minutes The food giants want it on their labels, and in the annual reports and other information they send to their investors. PepsiCo, Walmart, General Mills, McDonald’s, Unilever, Sara Lee and Nestlé are among those citing the years 2020 or 2025 as targets for achieving their goals of buying “sustainably sourced” products. But what does that […] Read more
Federal food policy consultations underway
Reading Time: 2 minutes The long-discussed-and-debated notion of a public pan-Canadian food policy has taken a move forward with a new online survey from the federal government. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Monday announced an initial round of consultations and called on the public to “share their input to help shape a food policy that will cover the entire […] Read more
Greig: Food fraud a challenge to whole food supply chain
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers are used to the conversation about how to manage trust with consumers. Food companies are learning it too, and finding food fraud to be a significant concern. Food fraud “comes back to trust,” according to Renata McGuire of NSF Consulting and Technical Services. “Do I trust this brand?” McGuire, along with Sylvain Charlebois, dean […] Read more
Another big hurdle for Canadian producers
With MRLs, the problems begin when a test used for regulating trade gets treated as a verdict on food safety
Reading Time: 6 minutes In the past 25 years, agriculture has seen a full gamut of new programs from environmental farm plans to neonicotinoid-use restrictions in Ontario. Some are relatively farm friendly, some less so. Like them or hate them, they’re all meant to be in the name of sustainability, traceability and food safety and security, which are under […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
