False blueberry advertising

A week ago I brought this false advertising to the attention of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in Ottawa.

It was referred to the Hamilton office and I was assured they would investigate.

But a week later I had heard nothing. So I reminded the CFIA in Ottawa that I am a reporter, and said it was shaping

 up to be a good storyl

Then I heard from the Hamilton office which asked for most of the same information, including picture, that I had originally sent.

When do you guess I might hear the results of their "investigation"?

They couldn't even be bothered to walk into one of the many Loblaws-owned stores and see for themselves.

If you harvest blueberries for a living, don't count on prompt help from your Canadian Food Inspection 

Agency.

Valo gets egg quota for Sanofi’s vaccine plant

 

Valo has received national and Ontario egg supply management approval for 6,716,666 dozens of eggs, the equivalent of 492,000 laying hens.

Valo will be producing them for Sanofi’s new vaccine production plant at Mississauga.

The Farm Products Council of Canada recently granted its approval for the special annual production. It takes effect Jan. 1.

Valo and/or Sanofi will require annual approvals to continue egg production.

Many farmers lack education

Many Canadian farmers lack education and communication around business risk management programs, according to a study by Farm Management Canada.

That hinders their ability to make use of the programs, it said, and it recommends a national strategy be developed to address these challenges.

“Many producers are unaware, misinformed about or skeptical of the risk management programs and tools available, and underutilize proactive risk management practices,” the report said.

The federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture put business risk management programs at top priority when they recently met at Halifax.

Veggie board chooses new general manager

 

Mark MacPhail is the new general manager for the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers.

He takes over from Keith Robbins.

The board has about 350 members who grow nine main processing vegetable crops that are canned, frozen or pickled.

Province’s Tories oppose ALTO

Eleven provincial Tories have issued a statement calling for meaningful consultation on ALTO, the federal government’s proposed high-speed rail line linking Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.

The 11 MPPs who made the statement include Laurie Scott, Steve Clark, Dave Smith, Tyler Allsopp, Ric Bresee, John Jordan, George Darouze, Stéphane Sarrazin and Billy Denault plus two cabinet members: Minister of Colleges and Universities Nolan Quinn and Labour Minister David Piccini.

“If Alto is to proceed, local voices impacted by this project deserve to see their feedback reflected in the project’s planning, route selection and delivery. 

"The federal government must ensure that any potential future rail project minimizes impacts on farmland and is supported by the people affected.” the statement said.

Dairy lobbying overwhelms trade talks

Canada’s dairy industry accounted for 90 per cent of the responses when the federal government invited public comment on trade talks with the United States and Mexico.

Matt Malone is a scholar at the Balsillie School of International Affairs and the author of Open Governments, Secret Canada: Hiding Information Other Countries Share, used Access to Information to learn that 4,572 of the total of 5,143 responses from stakeholders were dairy special interest groups or dairy farmers engaged in a letter-writing campaign.

All the public got was an opaque summary of the consultations, leaving it unclear where any specific input came from, Malone said.

“As with so much of the Carney government’s approach to trade with the United States, the attitude was tight-lipped and need-to-know,” he said.

It was similar with comments on government plans to regulate Artificial Intelligence. All the public got was an AI-generated summary of comments and no identification of who was lobbying and what for.

Cargill chief forecasts complex future

 

Cargill’s Brian Sikes, the board chairman and chief executive officer, foresees a complex future.

He wrote a letter in the annual report saying slowing population growth, aging consumers, shifting dietary preferences, geopolitical tensions, artificial intelligence (AI) and climate disruption are reshaping the global food system, requiring companies to focus on “smarter movement, stronger connections and deeper trust” rather than simply increasing production.

Cargill said it has spent the past two years restructuring its operations, consolidating five enterprises into three and reducing its business groups from 23 to 14 while investing in digital technologies, AI capabilities and acquisitions, including Mig-Plus and Teys, to improve efficiency and better serve customers.

As an example of its use of technologies, he said an AI-powered hypothesis engine is helping researchers reduce work that once took months to just hours. Cargill has been using AI in supply chain management, product development, grain forecasting and research.