Food and Farming Canada

Pondering fresh meat’s future

Lilian — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:59:58 +0000

Normally, when I go grocery shopping, I approach the whole experience a bit like a military mission – with focus, list in hand and plan in mind to get in and out as quickly and painlessly as possible. Several weeks ago, I was a bit less rushed than usual at the supermarket, so I had [...]

New bioproducts resource for soybeans

Lilian — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:40:53 +0000

Industrial Uses and Opportunities for Canadian Soybeans, a new brochure highlighting industrial market opportunities for Canadian soybeans, is now available. The goal of the 16-page resource, produced by Soy 20/20, is to generate awareness of the many new soy-based products and applications being developed, as well as those already commercially available. “Bio-products are an emerging [...]

Do we or don’t we talk about it?

Lilian — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:14:41 +0000

In a society where less than two percent of the population farms, there’s a real knowledge gap when it comes to food. It exists on many levels – nutrition and preparation come to mind – but especially on the production and origins end. So it’s no surprise that one of the main missions of many [...]

A house made of soy

Lilian — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:58:46 +0000

Believe it or not – it’s possible to live in a house built from soy. And you can see one for yourself if you head down to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. Ok, so it’s not a house built from actual soybeans, but many soy-based products were used to construct and decorate the 1200 [...]

Grow your own pasta – virtually

Lilian — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:59:06 +0000

When I came across a website that mentioned it would let me grow my own wheat online and follow it through right to my dinner plate, I have to admit I was intrigued. I went to www.howwheatworks.com and signed myself up so I could get started. Faced with several different wheat types I could plant, [...]

Speaking champs crowned in Toronto

Lilian — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:49:50 +0000

They’re young, they’re smart and they’re passionate. And this past Saturday afternoon, they were strutting their stuff as finalists in the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. These six presenters spoke to an assembled crowd in the fair’s cafe on everything from unsung heros of agriculture, what they [...]

Presenting modern agriculture

Lilian — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:29:31 +0000

Here’s a great blog post about modern agriculture and bridging the gap between farmers and consumers. It’s written by Australian journalist Pip Courtney of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the Aussie equivalent of the CBC here in Canada), whom I had the opportunity to meet while attending the International Federation of Agriculture Journalists (IFAJ) congress in [...]

Putting a face to farming

Lilian — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:05:16 +0000

We all eat but most of us likely give it little thought beyond worrying about calories or fat content. We certainly aren’t likely to spend a lot of time thinking about who grew that food and the work that someone somewhere put into producing it. But that’s the goal of the 2010 Faces of Farming [...]

Canada’s farms not suited to 100 mile diet?

Lilian — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:09:33 +0000

It’s harvest time in Ontario – a time of bounty and plenty for lovers of local food. But where Canadian agriculture is concerned, it’s not all about buying local and the 100-mile diet, even though everyone seems to be getting in on that action. It’s true that local food is growing in popularity and the 100-mile [...]

Farm animal welfare blog launched

Lilian — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:27:05 +0000