Almost half of the people visiting food banks live alone. The single-household economy is clearly not doing so well. It's time for some social retooling
We’re reminded every year how many Canadians are left behind in our society, without enough food. Hunger Count 2019 has just been released. The report says that despite a strong economy and living in one of the richest countries in the world, many Canadians still don’t have enough food. The report says food banks have…
The company is showing what environmental stewardship in agri-food should look like in the 21st century
Maple Leaf Foods isn’t just pretending to be environmentally friendly; it’s trying to be a trailblazer in the wild kingdom of proteins. The company has just adopted science-based targets that will help it become the first major agri-food company in the world to be carbon neutral. Clearly motivated by the federal carbon tax and our…
They remind us of how critical food diversity is to all of us. And they may be pointing the way to the future on our dinner tables
Veganism attracts plenty of criticism and some people even claim to hate vegans. But vegans’ contribution to public discourse on our relationship with proteins shouldn't be taken lightly. Nov. 1 is World Vegan Day and Canada is home to about 470,000 vegans, according to a recent Dalhousie University survey. (Even though some believe that number…
A Sobeys pilot project shows that we’ll soon enough be able to shop without talking to anyone and completely bypass lineups and cashiers
Grocery giant Sobeys has unveiled what it calls Canada's first smart shopping cart at a store in Ontario. It’s a great idea for people looking for assistance in shopping and to be on their way as soon as possible. The project is a partnership with New York-based retail technology company Capers. Essentially, the cart you…
The “local food” movement is mostly about connecting producers of expensive niche products with middle- and upper-middle class patrons
Across Ontario, “local food” activists continue to promote the economic, social and environmental virtues of small local alternative farms, community gardens, backyard henhouses and older, less efficient and more expensive ways to produce food. In response, the Ontario government – directly or through organizations such as Foodland Ontario, the Greenbelt Fund and the Trillium Foundation…
Graham Sherman talks about the extraordinary measures Tool Shed Brewing took to change the Alberta beer landscape and the great future he sees for the industry
Graham Sherman is co-founder of Tool Shed Brewing Co. Tell me about Tool Shed's history and how it started? Sherman: That’s a crazy story! In my former life, I used to be in the IT world working on satellite communication projects for government and military customers throughout Afghanistan. I lived there on and off from…
A new report shows women are much more adept at driving change and managing results in startups, yet they struggle to find funding
A recent report on agri-tech startup funding provided some compelling numbers but it barely received attention. And when it comes to what it reveals about gender discrepancies, it deserves attention. More and more venture capital is being invested in the sector, which is great news. But these funds apparently aren’t serving all demographics equally. Some…
The protein war isn’t about the amount of meat we should eat, but rather about how studies on nutrition should be interpreted. It's messy
For a few years, we’ve been force-fed the notion that red meat and processed meat products threaten our health. But the protein war between the livestock industry and plant-based supporters has taken an interesting twist. In 2015, the World Health Organization went as far as to say that processed meats were carcinogenic, adding them to…
Ivonne Gamboa of GOAT talks about how the food-sharing app can be a difference-maker for many people
Ivonne Gamboa is CEO of GOAT. What is GOAT and what does it stand for? Gamboa: Goat Generation is a mobile app that enables meal sharing among communities in a new and unique way. The term GOAT is used to define an exceptional person, experience or thing – GOAT is the greatest of all time.…
If A&W is seen as a disrupter in food service, McDonald’s could become the exclamation mark in an era of protein plurality
When McDonald’s makes a move, everyone pays attention. That’s just the way things are in the food service industry. For months, rumours swirled around when McDonald’s would launch a plant-based product. We now know McDonald’s will enter the plant-based game by running a 12-week pilot in Ontario. This is a global first for McDonald’s. That’s…
We’re reminded every year how many Canadians are left behind in our society, without enough food. Hunger Count 2019 has just been released. The report says that despite a strong economy and living in one of the richest countries in the world, many Canadians still don’t have enough food. The report says food banks have…
