PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – Dennis McIntosh is a flax grower on a mission.
Last week, he drove his Harley Davidson motorcycle from his farm in Melfort, Sask. to Portage la Prairie, Man. in hopes of meeting some scientists working in the field of nutraceuticals.
For a decade, McIntosh has been working with University of Toronto researchers on projects exploring how flaxseed can help prevent and treat breast cancer.
He also provided the flax to use in trials with lupus sufferers.
“In terms of scientific understanding, in terms of crossing new frontiers, this work is exhilarating,” McIntosh said. “But in terms of financial pressures it puts on my business, in terms of pressures on my personal time, it’s not very exhilarating.”
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McIntosh didn’t find the people he was looking for at the news conference in Portage, but said he was glad to hear more about a new network designed to bring together players in the area of nutraceuticals.
“The rest of the world recognizes these opportunities,” he said. “In some respects, we’re far behind.”
Nutraceuticals are foods or components of foods that have medical benefits. For example, wheat germ is rich in Vitamin E, and cranberry juice helps prevent urinary tract infections.
The secretary of state for Western Economic Diversification announced a $1 million loan for the Canadian Nutraceutical Innovation Centre and Network, to be based in Portage.
Jon Gerrard said the network will include food processors, universities, the medical community and government. It will work to develop, assess and market nutraceuticals.
“Most of us would rather eat a food than pop a pill,” said Gerrard, adding that nutraceuticals already outsell pharmaceuticals in Europe.
The potential market is $250 billion per year in the United States alone, Gerrard said.
The chair of the advisory committee for the centre said farmers have a lot to gain from the project.
“I think success in nutraceuticals is going to offer more markets for existing products and markets for perhaps alternative crops to diversify the cropping base of Western Canada,” said Larry Milligan, vice-president of research at the University of Guelph, Ont.
He said the centre will promote only products with scientific evidence backing up health claims.
Milligan said the centre will likely cost about $3 million per year to run. In order to quickly become self-sustaining, it will likely charge users fees for its services.
