Jewish community takes food inspection agency to court over slaughter guidelines

OTTAWA - A group of agencies that certify Kosher meat took the government to court Wednesday to ask for an injunction against Canadian Food Inspection Agency guidelines for the ritual slaughter of animals.

Kosher meat calls for animals to be slaughtered without being stunned.

While the Kosher method of slaughtering animals for meat is allowed in Canada, the food inspection agency posted guidelines in 2021 outlining how abattoirs must determine if an animal is unconscious and can no longer feel pain.

The Kosher groups argue that achieving the criteria is seriously slowing down production to the point abattoirs no longer want to provide the service, and has reduced access to Kosher meat in Canada.

‘Too logical to ignore’: Maple Leaf to spin off pork business into new public company

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - This little piggy is going to market.

Maple Leaf Foods is spinning off its pork business into a new publicly traded company, the firm announced Tuesday.

It's something that's been in the works for a little while, but the time is now right, said chief executive Curtis Frank in an interview.

That's thanks to pork markets normalizing from pandemic disruptions and the completion of significant capital investments in two manufacturing facilities, he said.

Environmental group buys Fraser River island near Chilliwack, B.C., to protect salmon

VANCOUVER - An ideal natural salmon habitat of gravel beds and side channels on British Columbia's lower Fraser River will be protected by the purchase of a private island by an environmental organization, with the help of the federal government and private donors.

The deal to buy the 248-hectare Carey Island near Chilliwack is a "big win for conservation" in the important ecological area between Mission and Hope known to environmental groups as "the Heart of the Fraser," Steven Godfrey, Nature Conservancy of Canada West Coast program director, said Monday.

The conservancy announced it had bought the island off Carey Island Farms Ltd., which was using it to grow corn.

Godfrey said up to 90 per cent of the gravel shoreline of the lower Fraser River from Hope to Mission had been subject to some form of development.

Newfoundland and Labrador premier takes aim at Ottawa over reopened cod fishery

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Newfoundland and Labrador's Liberal premier has once again penned a letter to the federal government opposing one of its decisions — this time about the reopening of the province's commercial northern cod fishery.

In a letter Wednesday to federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, Premier Andrew Furey said foreign offshore vessels have no place in the province's fishery. The federal Fisheries Department's decision to allow these boats to catch cod in the reinstated fishery is "an affront" to Newfoundland and Labrador's fishers and processors, and the work they've done to help the cod stock grow, Furey wrote.

Newfoundland and Labrador, and its small coastal communities, "deserve to be the sole beneficiary" of the northern cod fishery, he said.

"These decisions should not have been taken without consultations with stakeholders in Newfoundland and Labrador," Furey wrote, adding: "The time has come for the province to have a direct say over our resources."

Chefs mourn for B.C.’s peaches but adapt to stone fruit wipeout

VANCOUVER – Chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson says that when it comes to a fat B.C. peach, there are “endless possibilities” for a fruit that signifies summer. Maybe a salad? “They play so nicely together with nice blackcurrant leaf oil and maybe some rose vinegar and crunchy salt and some fresh shiso (Japanese mint) and basil,” said Stieffenhofer-Brandson, who has earned a Michelin star for Published on Main in Vancouver, regularly listed among Canada’s best restaurants. Perhaps peaches on top of crispy focaccia paired with whipped ricotta, or roast peaches with seared foie gras? And peach desserts never disappoint, said Stieffenhofer-Brandson, as […]

Japanese executive among dozens arrested in Myanmar for allegedly selling rice above set prices

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has arrested a Japanese business executive, along with dozens of local businessmen, for allegedly selling rice at prices well above the officially regulated ones, state-run media said Monday. The reports said Hiroshi Kasamatsu, a director of Aeon Orange, was detained. Aeon Orange operates several supermarkets in Myanmar and is part of Japan’s giant Aeon retail group. Japanese media reports confirmed that Kasamatsu is one of its executives. Rice is vital as Myanmar struggles to keep its economy on an even keel as civil war disrupts efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The army […]

Farms, housing projects share $11M to go green

The federal and Manitoba governments rolled out nearly $11 million in green technology grants Thursday that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by dozens of farms and at several affordable housing projects.

Tracy Schmidt, the provincial environment minister, and Terry Duguid, a Winnipeg Liberal MP, announced the first 32 recipients of the low carbon economy fund’s merit-based program at the University of Winnipeg.

​​The projects will “help Manitobans reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, and save money by lowering energy bills,” Duguid said.

“It’s about becoming more energy efficient, cutting energy costs and building resilient communities, all the while contributing to meeting Canada’s 2030 emission reduction targets.”

Gassy cows and pigs will face a carbon tax in Denmark, a world first

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming. The aim is to reduce Danish greenhouse gas emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by 2030, said Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus. As of 2030, Danish livestock farmers will be taxed 300 kroner ($43) per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2030. The tax will increase to 750 kroner ($108) by 2035. However, because […]

Norway starts stockpiling grain again, citing the pandemic, war and climate change

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian government on Tuesday signed a deal to start stockpiling grain, saying the COVID-19 pandemic, a war in Europe and climate change have made it necessary. The deal to store 30,000 tons of grain in 2024 and 2025 was signed by agriculture and food minister Geir Pollestad, finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum and four private companies. The wheat, which will belong to the Norwegian government, will be stored in already existing facilities by the companies in facilities across the country. Three of the companies will store at least 15,000 tons this year. Companies “are free […]

‘Bulldozing our history’: Alberta man working to restore town’s grain elevators

NANTON, Alta. - When Leo Wieser worked in the movie biz, he built a million-dollar swimming pool that was used for one day.

Now he’s fighting to raise at least that much, entering contests, running raffles and hosting movie nights, to preserve two 21-metre icons of the Prairies – twin grain elevators in Nanton, Alta.

"These were the beacons. These were the things from the 1910s and 1920s that were actually landmarks,” said Wieser.

“You're going to go in the office (there), you're going to talk about world and current events, you're going to talk about the gossip, the chin wagging, alcohol imbibing, the games of cribbage.

Filling farm fertilizer footprint

Over the past few years, Curtis Hiebert has watched the price of his farm’s fertilizer skyrocket. Now he’s trying to produce the plant food on his own land.

Hiebert is piloting a system Ontario-based company FuelPositive hopes will revolutionize Manitoba farm operations.

“It’s not normal for us to have to wait,” remarked Hiebert.

He’s been farming since 1992, and his family even longer. Since the 1960s, the Hieberts have used anhydrous ammonia fertilizer (a nitrogen fertilizer) on their wheat, canola and soybean fields.

How AI could help farming become more efficient and sustainable

At Nature Fresh Farms in Leamington, Ont., there’s something new amid the rows of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and strawberries.

Using thousands of sensors in every greenhouse, artificial intelligence technology is helping the farm optimize aspects like lighting, irrigation and harvest timing.

“We wanted to use technology to help us grow more, have a better-tasting vegetable, and just do more in general,” said Keith Bradley, vice-president of information technology and security at Nature Fresh Farms.

The technology from Intel and Dell is helping the farm be proactive instead of reactive, he said, increasing the yields of its crops and reducing its use of power and water. It's even helping employees have a better work-life balance, he added.

Nutrien no longer pursuing Geismar clean ammonia project

SASKATOON - Nutrien says it's no longer pursuing its Geismar clean ammonia project as part of a move to simplify its portfolio and focus on its core assets.

The company made the announcement in a press release ahead of its annual investor day.

The Saskatoon-based company announced last year it was suspending the project after a period of unprecedented volatility in fertilizer markets.

It also announced at the time it was indefinitely pausing a planned ramp-up in potash production.

Canada aims to protect cattle industry as U.S. avian flu outbreak spreads

CALGARY - As an outbreak of avian influenza in dairy herds south of the border continues to spread, Canadian officials say they are doing everything they can to protect this country's livestock industry.

Since March — when a highly contagious strain of A(H5N1), or bird flu, was first discovered in dairy cows in Texas — a total of 68 herds in nine U.S. states have confirmed cases of infection.

Last week, a third human case of the virus was identified in a dairy farm worker in Michigan.

So far, not a single case of the disease has been found in Canadian cows. But the possibility that it could show up here is real, said Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director of animal health programs for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Scientists are on a quest for drought-resistant wheat, agriculture’s ‘Holy Grail’

CALGARY - Plant biologist Marcus Samuel has been working for more than a decade to improve the climate resilience of crops.

At his research greenhouse at the University of Calgary, he uses cutting-edge gene editing techniques to produce hardier varieties of plants able to withstand temperature fluctuations, floods and frosts.

But while he has worked on canola, peas and other crops, perhaps the most elusive and exciting part of his work is the quest for drought-resistant wheat.

"It is definitely the Holy Grail. I think this has been one of the hardest things to crack," Samuel said.