Dairy farmer Jerry Huigen’s milk dumping video is representative of the dark side of our supply management system A video of an exasperated Canadian dairy farmer, Jerry Huigen, went viral last week. For probably the first time in Canadian history, a Canadian dairy farmer was filmed while discarding milk on his own farm. Almost three…
“Chickengate” exposes the crisis of confidence grocers face today It all started with one reporter taking a simple, trivial picture of an overpriced pack of five boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The cost was $26.87 a kilo, a world-class sticker shocker, at least double what one would expect to pay for chicken breasts. Within hours, the…
Hundreds of companies are developing lab-grown food in the U.S. and over a dozen in Canada We knew it was just a question of time, and we know the time is now. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just authorized the sale of cultivated chicken in the U.S., giving safety approval for human consumption to…
The Canadian Dairy Commission is morally and ethically compromised. It needs to distance itself from the dairy sector immediately
Every year, the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC), a branch of the federal government, hires external consultants to assess the cost of producing milk on the farm. The CDC has never released any data about costing and has recommended farm milk price increases most years, eventually impacting retail prices and Canadian families. Since February, dairy product…
Unfortunately, the Trudeau government is the consumer’s worst enemy right now
It wasn’t a good week if you’re a consumer on a tight budget – and that means most of us. Consumers are under attack. We’ve just learned that Canada’s food inflation rate was at a record 9.7 per cent in May. Everyone is noticing higher food prices and no section of the grocery store is…
Supply management pushed up to 190,000 Canadians into poverty
By Krystle Wittevrongel and Gabriel Giguère New Zealand had never launched a dispute under a free trade agreement until two weeks ago, on May 12, when it launched a trade dispute against Canada under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), accusing our government of breaking its promises on dairy imports. This was also the first dispute launched…
Its largest baby formula plant ships all its products to China
Parents of toddlers are concerned about baby formula shortages due to a combination of factors. A major recall in the United States affecting the top manufacturer of baby formula, coupled with supply chain challenges, has made things difficult for parents. In the U.S., some parents are driving hours just to get the right product for…
UN estimates that half of 2050 emissions related to food could be cut by things like eating less meat
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has provided a roadmap to saving the planet. For global food security, we must become better environmental stewards. To reduce gas emissions, we need to adhere to sustainable agricultural practices if we are to meet our 2030 targets, according to the report. And, yes, changes in…
Supply management is a racket to protect vested interests
Canadians’ love for dairy products is about to be put to the test since the prices of most of those products are about to rise significantly. It goes without saying that milk and cream are important parts of our diet. And cheese, yogurt and butter are cherished by many people. But the average household will…
Supply chains in Western Canada have always been vulnerable and that’s not going to change anytime soon
Images from British Columbia over the past week have been heartbreaking: human casualties, dairy cows barely breathing above water before being pulled to safety, the loss of livestock across the Fraser Valley. Just devastating. And the flow of goods on rail and roads is severely compromised. Many now claim that flash floods and atmospheric rivers…