Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Shoppers in British Columbia have emptied grocery shelves following catastrophic flooding, although the shortages are as much down to panic buying as disrupted supply chains, industry associations said on Thursday. Even as flood waters start to recede, some parts of the province are expected to face to temporary shortages of dairy supplies, with […] Read more
Panicked shoppers clear out flood-hit B.C.’s grocery stores
China proposes new rules to ease GMO approvals
Leadership seeks 'turnaround' in seed sector
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China is planning changes to its seed regulations that will make it easier to approve genetically modified crops, a move seen as a critical step toward commercializing GM corn. The ministry of agriculture and rural affairs published a draft document late on Friday proposing a series of amendments to several different […] Read more
Finding hope in Indigenous food
Food sovereignty is emerging as a core value in today’s reconciliation efforts
Reading Time: 5 minutes Almost half of Indigenous households living on reserve and a quarter of those living off reserve struggle with food insecurity, compared with about eight per cent for all households across Canada. The discovery earlier this year of the graves of 215 children buried at a former Indian residential school (and the thousands more that followed) […] Read more
‘Containergeddon’ drives sugar, rice shippers back to bulk vessels
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — Food traders are switching from containers back to dry bulk vessels to transport refined sugar and rice, hoping to avoid shipping delays caused by container shortages and port congestion the industry is calling “containergeddon,” according to traders. Container-based transportation has been hit by sky-high costs and delays amid booming shipping […] Read more
Mexico won’t limit GMO corn imports from U.S., ag minister says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ankeny, Iowa | Reuters — Mexico’s agriculture minister said the country would not limit imports of genetically modified (GMO) corn from the United States during a meeting with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Iowa on Wednesday. Mexico published an executive order late last year that sought to ban in three years the use of […] Read more
More acres seen needed worldwide to meet mounting crops demand
U.S. acres may have already hit ceiling: AgResource chief
Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — Farmers need more space to grow crops to meet mounting demand for food and renewable fuel at a time of slowing growth in yields, consultancy AgResource said on Tuesday. A renewable fuel push under U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate agenda is set to trigger a boom in soyoil use, reinforcing a […] Read more
Iqaluit confirms ‘exceedingly high levels’ of fuel in water supply
Water not safe for cooking or drinking, city says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters –– The Canadian city of Iqaluit said lab results confirmed that fuel had entered its water supply, officials announced Friday. Analysis of samples from one of the city’s water tanks found “exceedingly high levels of various fuel components,” Amy Elgersma, Iqaluit’s chief administrative officer, said, adding it was likely diesel or kerosene. Residents in […] Read more
U.N. urges Ethiopia to allow unhindered aid as hunger kills
'Ethiopian children are starving'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Ethiopia’s government on Wednesday to allow the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to millions in the country’s north “without hindrance” as U.N. officials report deaths from hunger. During a U.N. Security Council meeting, Guterres urged Ethiopia’s government to allow “unrestricted movement of desperately needed fuel, cash, communications […] Read more
Canary seed prices rise as production drops
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — This year’s canary seed crop in Canada will be smaller than expected, according to Darren Yungmann, board chair of the Canary Seed Development Commission of Saskatchewan. “Overall, canary seed is one of the most susceptible to the drought when compared to other crops,” he said, noting it’s shallow-rooted and could not access any […] Read more
U.N. looks for recipe to tackle global food dysfunction
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Billions of people are overweight, millions are hungry, one third of food is wasted and the way the world produces, processes and consumes food generates one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said on Thursday at the first global summit on the future of food. The aim of the summit is […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
