Edmonton-base G2V Optics working on LED technology that has the potential to improve food security around the world
Sunlight, water and nutrients – in varying degrees depending on the plant – are the foundation of all plant life. But if you want to see them really grow, one University of Alberta graduate says threaten them with a little shade. Michael Taschuk, founder of G2V Optics, explained that plants growing in a field are always competing…
Food manufacturing lacks investment, suffers from thin margins, faces additional grocers’ fees and must deal with aging facilities
By Sylvain Charlebois and Amy Hill Dalhousie University Canadian food and beverage manufacturing plays a key role in supporting farmers and the rest of the food supply chain. The second largest manufacturing sector, food and beverage, contributed $26.5 billion to Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020. Just 10 manufacturing sectors – including food manufacturing…
The two necessities in life are food and shelter. It looks like both are getting much more expensive. For a few years, the cost of food has been the most important food affordability barrier. Not anymore. The cost of housing is now seen by Canadians as the most significant barrier. A recent poll conducted by…
A fast-growing Edmonton startup company that’s a new player in the cellular agriculture sector recently received US$2.2 million from three U.S. venture capital firms and a number of private investors. Future Fields, which was incorporated in 2018, was founded by two University of Alberta graduates and a former U of A employee. All but two…
Couche-Tard has a reputation of generating value by polishing hidden gems in companies like Carrefour
We heard this week that Alimentation Couche-Tard is looking at acquiring European-based Carrefour, the seventh largest food retailer in the world. Buying a grocery chain would be a significant departure from what Couche-Tard is known for. A non-binding, friendly offer of $25 billion was sent to Carrefour. Couche-Tard is all about the convenience store economy.…
No thought as to how it could put many Canadian families in a state of food insecurity by 2030
COVID-19 has had an impact on Canada’s food industry but, over time, resilience will prevail. However, the federal government’s pre-holiday announcement that it will increase the carbon tax to $170 per tonne by 2030 will have a long-term impact on consumers. Climate change is a real and significant problem. We need to act quickly, and…
From lab-grown meat to grocery store staff bonuses to the food-service crisis to gardening and cooking at home to panic buying
The year 2020 was as unusual as they get, with no shortage of stories. Some flew under the radar because of the pandemic but this list is based on how some food-related stories will probably have long-term implications, whether they were related to COVID-19 or not. At No. 10, the apparent end of Tim Hortons’…
Statistics Canada's recent September job market data is reassuring, overall. But for the agri-food sector, the reality is quite different. Overall, employment in the country increased in September, creating 378,000 jobs, the majority of which were full-time. This increase in September brought total employment to 720,000, shy of the level we had before the pandemic.…
Food inflation is on the way up, despite lower prices for other consumer goods. And COVID-19 has impacted incomes
Statistics Canada has confirmed what most of us knew already: Canada is becoming a hungrier place. According to a survey conducted by the federal agency in May, almost one in seven (14.6 per cent) Canadians indicated they lived in a household where there was food insecurity in the past month. In 2017-18, a similar survey…
The food sector has never been recession-proof. But COVID-19 may show us that it’s immune to deflationary pressures
Despite a negative inflation rate overall, recent Statistics Canada numbers tell us we’re in for a wild ride at the grocery store. While the general inflation rate sits at -0.2 per cent, the food inflation rate is at 3.4 per cent. In December, Canada’s Food Price Report predicted a food inflation rate of about 4.0…
Sunlight, water and nutrients – in varying degrees depending on the plant – are the foundation of all plant life. But if you want to see them really grow, one University of Alberta graduate says threaten them with a little shade. Michael Taschuk, founder of G2V Optics, explained that plants growing in a field are always competing…
