Reading Time: 2 minutes The organic industry is mounting a protest against pending changes for its Organic Products Regulation (OPR) that it says has potential to “undo the entire Canadian organic supply chain.” In 2012, the passage of the Safe Foods for Canadians Act resulted in a number of regulations, including the OPR, being combined into a single document […] Read more
OPR threatened, organic industry officials say
Danone wins antitrust approval to buy WhiteWave
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — French food group Danone has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave Foods, the Justice Department said on Monday. To win approval for the US$10.4 billion deal, Danone agreed to sell its leading U.S. organic yogurt business Stonyfield Farms, the department said. Danone did not immediately reply […] Read more
Study finds organic’s sustainability ‘context-dependent’
Reading Time: 3 minutes When weighed for sustainability, the purported benefits and costs of organic agriculture can actually “vary heavily” from case to case, a new University of British Columbia study finds. The UBC study, titled “Many shades of gray: The context-dependent performance of organic agriculture,” published Friday in the U.S. journal Science Advances, sets out to “systematically review […] Read more
Canada Bread buys into organic craft bread market
Reading Time: < 1 minute A Toronto baking firm that grows and contracts its own organic grains in eastern Ontario is going to be an entry point in the craft bread market for Canada Bread. Canada Bread, the Canadian arm of Mexican baking giant Grupo Bimbo, announced Monday it had completed its deal to buy Stonemill Bakehouse Ltd. for an […] Read more
Incentives urged to match organic supply to demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian governments will need to come up with incentives for farmers going organic if they want domestic supply to keep up with domestic demand, a national organic sector group warns. The Canada Organic Trade Association on Wednesday released data showing 5,053 certified organic operations in Canada, accounting for 2.43 million acres of land, at the […] Read more
Giving our business to India
If we won’t grow our own organic food, these small farmers are more than ready to step in. In fact, they already are
Reading Time: 6 minutes Once again my perception of our agricultural industry has been rocked by international travel. This time it was a visit to India in December that challenged my perception of organic production and marketing. First on my list was a cashew processor in Mangalore on India’s west coast. Canadians might be taken aback when they see […] Read more
B.C. foods to require certification for organic claims
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agrifood producers in British Columbia who promote their wares using the word “organic” will soon have to show certification to back up the claim. The province on Thursday announced new regulations under its Food and Agricultural Products Classification Act that will allow for the term to be used “only if and when specific certification standards […] Read more
Switzerland to recognize Canada’s organic wine, processed foods
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada and Switzerland have reached a deal to recognize each other’s organic certifications on wine and “multi-ingredient” foods. The two countries on Thursday announced expansions of their previous organic arrangement, which deems their respective certification systems to be equivalent for organic ag commodities and agrifood products. The amended deal takes effect Saturday (Oct. 1). The […] Read more
Top Canadian mushroom grower buys westward expansion
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s biggest producer of mushrooms has expanded its reach into Western Canada with the purchase of one of the region’s biggest producers. Highline Produce announced Thursday it has bought Langley, B.C.-based organic mushroom producer All Seasons Mushrooms. According to Irish tropical fruit marketing giant Fyffes, which has owned Highline since April, it will pay $59.1 […] Read more
SunOpta pressured by shareholders after sluggish sales
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – Canadian organic food company SunOpta Inc, already under pressure from U.S. hedge fund Tourbillon Capital Partners LP, is being prodded by a second activist shareholder to explore the sale of all or part of the company, according to sources familiar with the matter. Canadian hedge fund West Face Capital, which pushed SNC-Lavalin to sell […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
