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| Challenging Mark Lynas' new pro-GMO stance |
| Source: FoodFirst.org |
| Date: 14-Jan-2013 |
| Mark Lynas recently did an about-face and apologized for once fighting against GMOs. Now, after having discovered "science" he has decided we need GMOs to feed the world.
Anyone against GMOs, he claims, is anti-science - because "the debate is over" and the "scientific consensus" has won... This is a very familiar argument heard over and over again from big GMO in... (read more on FoodFirst.org) |
| Guatemala is hungry for corn |
| Source: NYTimes.com |
| Date: 11-Jan-2013 |
| As demand grows for biofuel grows, countries with traditional corn-based diets - like Guatemala - are facing food shortages.
In the tiny tortillerias there, people are now constantly complaining about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, eight tortillas cost about 15 cents; today that buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price, because chickens eat corn feed.
In the rural area... (read more on NYTimes.com) |
| Wheat prices continue to fall after summer spike |
| Source: OntarioFarmer.com |
| Date: 10-Jan-2013 |
| Even though it's turning out to be a tough year for winter wheat in parts of the U.S., prices for the commodity continue to drop from this past summer's highs.
According to the USDA's latest crop report, as much as 25% of the Kansas crop has already been written off as a failure.
Overall, only one-third of the winter wheat is classed as being in good to excellent condition, ... (read more on OntarioFarmer.com) |
| Canadian fruit and veggie growers will have to meet US specs for export |
| Source: OntarioFarmer.com |
| Date: 09-Jan-2013 |
| Canadian farmers hoping to export their fruit and vegetable across the border will have to comply with the U.S.'s new food safety rules.
The tougher import rules are part of a package of food safety measures the FDA has unveiled two years after politicians passed a law to counter food poisoning.
It could take the agency another year to craft the rules after a four-month comment period,... (read more on OntarioFarmer.com) |
| Former anti-GMO activist takes a new stand |
| Source: TheGlobeAndMail.com |
| Date: 08-Jan-2013 |
| Mark Lynas, an Environmental journalist, used to be a leader in the anti-GMO movement, and spent years helping to rip out GMO crops. Now, Lynas says he was unequivocally, disastrously wrong about GMO foods, and he’s offering his apology. “I could not have chosen a more counterproductive path,” he told a British farming conference recently. “I now regret it completely.”
The crusade against GMO f... (read more on TheGlobeAndMail.com) |
| Sobeys and Griffiths team up to support Potato Museum |
| Source: JournalPioneer.com |
| Date: 07-Jan-2013 |
| If you shop at any Sobeys stores in Atlantic Canada in February, you will have an opportunity to support the Canadian Potato Museum in O’Leary, PEI, and possibly even win a trip to the Island.
Sobeys and WP Griffin Inc. of Elmsdale, PEI, have teamed up for the promotion in support of the Museum.
Museum director Bill MacKendrick approached John Griffin, co-owner of WP Griffin, about doing a... (read more on JournalPioneer.com) |
| Research targets foods that may help with IBD |
| Source: OntarioFarmer.com |
| Date: 04-Jan-2013 |
| New research being conducted here in Canada may offer some hope for those who suffer from IBD.
Studies are showing that eating a diet comprised of whole foods with high levels of bioactives may be an effective way to combat the duration and severity of IBD symptoms. ("Bioactives" are food components that induce a beneficial biological effect when consumed.)
The potential benefits ... (read more on OntarioFarmer.com) |
| Can a farmer really be "lazy"? |
| Source: Mother Earth News |
| Date: 31-Dec-2012 |
| "I don't know why, but somehow I think of myself as a lazy farmer. Perhaps it is because I know that I am not a real farmer. Sure, we ate out of the garden all summer and I sold our excess produce at the farmer's market, but gardening is hardly farming. And the crops that I love the most, I do not even need to plant! My maple trees grow all by themselves. All that I need to do is dr... (read more on Mother Earth News) |
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| Looking for a multi-use crop? Try ‘Puhwem’ corn |
| Source: Mother Earth News |
| Date: 28-Dec-2012 |
| ‘Puhwem’ corn is one of the tallest Native American corns known, reaching about 18 feet.
With this corn variety, so much more than just the kernels were valuable to the Native Americans who revered it. ‘Puhwem’ plants become similar to bamboo if dried, so the stalks were sewn together and used for making structure walls. The huge leaves were woven into mats, shoes, hanging room dividers, and ev... (read more on Mother Earth News) |
| CFIA delays new grain requirements indefiintely |
| Source: ThePigSite.com |
| Date: 21-Dec-2012 |
| The Animal Nutrition Association of Canada is applauding the CFIA's decision to delay indefinitely that introduction of new import requirements on the grains of a range of crops entering Canada, designed to guard against the introduction of foreign pests.
The proposed change had been scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1. It would have meant that importers of grains for processing where pest... (read more on ThePigSite.com) |
| How to build a healthier burger |
| Source: FreshPlaza.com |
| Date: 19-Dec-2012 |
| A hamburger is not typically seen as a healthy food choice, but a recent study by UCLA is suggesting that it could be a little healthier – if you add some Hass avocado.
Results of the pilot study showed that adding an avocado to the burger diminished inflammation and narrowing of blood vessels immediately, which suggest that adding a bit of avocado to one's meal could have an instant impac... (read more on FreshPlaza.com) |
| Mighty good rhubarb |
| Source: AtlanticFarmer.com, by Vanda White |
| Date: 18-Dec-2012 |
| This is a true story that happened to my mother in the 1940s. Back in those days, we were fortunate that we lived on a farm that provided food for our table. We also lived in a very charitable community where neighbors believed in sharing with one another. So whenever a farmer had an abundant crop the bounty was shared with others.
Although money was scarce, our mother's culinary skills p... (read more) |
| Cavendish Farms expands to Alberta |
| Source: dailybusinessbuzz.ca |
| Date: 13-Dec-2012 |
| Cavendish Farms has made an agreement to buy the assets of Maple Leaf Potatoes, the frozen potato business of Maple Leaf Foods Inc.. The purchase includes a 142,000 sq. ft. processing facility in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Cavendish Farms says it expects to retain all employees currently working at the Lethbridge plant, in addition to international employees.
"The Lethbridge plant is a well... (read more on dailybusinessbuzz.ca) |
| Potato sampling fees to increase |
| Source: Island Farmer |
| Date: 13-Dec-2012 |
| Some seed potato growers will soon find themselves paying the CFIA $100 an acre to test for potato cyst nematode.
The Agency currently performs sampling and analysis fees for seed shipments destined for the US, Mexico, and Thailand at no direct cost to producers.
Soil samples are collected at a rate of one sample per acre. Starting in 2013, sampling and analysis will cost $49.87 per sample,... (read more on Island Farmer) |
| New hope for defunct apple plant |
| Source: TheChronicleHerald.ca |
| Date: 11-Dec-2012 |
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The former COO of the now-closed Mason apple plant wants to revive the business.
“There is room here for a future-focused agriculture business which adjusts to changing market circumstances nationally and internationally,” Harrison said.
“In the Annapolis Valley, we are just an hour away from the Port of Halifax and we could have fresh apples on tables in India and China in perhaps 14 or 2... (read more on TheChronicleHerald.ca) |
| StatsCan shows surprising canola numbers... again |
| Source: AgriSuccessExpress |
| Date: 11-Dec-2012 |
| Statistics Canada may have been expected to bump up its canola production figure from its last surprisingly low estimate, but that's not what happened.
Final estimates for 2012 show canola production at 13.31 million tonnes, a bit below StatsCan's September estimate of 13.36 million, but well off industry expectations of 13.7 million.
Canola production was at 14.6 million tonnes ... (read more on AgriSuccessExpress) |
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