While inflation is showing signs of dissipating, food inflation appears to be on a totally different path. Food inflation has outpaced our general inflation rate for more than 12 months. Statistics Canada just announced that the food inflation rate for retail was 10.8 percent and 7.4 percent in food service. Canada ranks third among the […] Read more
Stories by Sylvain Charlebois
Farming is losing to misguided urban politics
Interest groups are weaponizing science to support a narrative that fits their biased view of what farmers should and shouldn’t do
Most Canadians have never been on a farm, let alone lived on one, which makes more than 98 percent of our population agriculturally illiterate. For many Canadians, crop production is an unknown concept. Because of this, it’s relatively easy to use fear to influence public opinion on any food-related issue involving agriculture. Our great rural-urban […] Read more
Food inflation turns into major issue
It hasn’t been good news recently for consumers on a tight budget — and that means most of us. We’ve learned that Canada’s food inflation rate was at a record 9.7 percent in May. Everyone has noticed higher food prices and no section of the grocery store is immune. What’s hitting Canada is a global […] Read more
Some saturated fats are more equal
Health Canada is likely going forward soon with a policy requiring front-of-package nutrition symbols on foods high in saturated fat, sugars and sodium. It should provide clear labels, but one part of the plan is a head scratcher. Health Canada intends to apply the new rules so that prepared food or processed foods, and foods […] Read more
Food sector must up couponing game
The food inflation rate in Canada in February was 7.4 percent, the largest yearly increase since May 2009. With much higher food inflation, consumers are desperate to find new ways to save at the grocery store. In the United States and Canada, consumers are increasingly using food rescuing apps, going for the “enjoy tonight” deals, […] Read more
Sanctions must avoid food insecurity
With war comes economic sanctions. Instead of sending troops to fight the old-fashioned way, wars are fought with money, and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is no exception. The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, the European Union, Turkey and a few more have sanctioned Russia in one way or another. Canada has […] Read more
Shelve ban on unvaccinated truckers
The federal government is pushing ahead with its plan to require all truckers entering from the United States to show proof of vaccination. The plan creates serious problems. Vaccines are the most effective way to reduce risks associated with COVID-19, stop the spread of the virus and save lives. No doubt. But the situation affecting […] Read more
Dark stores part of new food delivery
SkipTheDishes is building 38 dark stores across the country to support its e-commerce renewal. Its strategy includes selling food online like any grocery store. Company chief executive officer Kevin Edwards claims the online food market will be worth $120 billion in a few years. That number is a little ambitious, but many observers believe online […] Read more
Gene editing needs better sales pitch
Health Canada is reportedly likely to treat gene-edited crops differently than genetically modified crops. That would be the right move. It means the oversight provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency would look much like what we see for conventionally bred crops. This issue is obviously far removed from consumers, but it will certainly affect […] Read more
Time to reform the dairy commission
The Canadian Dairy Commission announced recently that farmers will get an unprecedented 8.4 percent more for their milk and better than 12 percent more for butter starting in February. For consumers, this isn’t great news. Milk, butter and yogurt prices will likely skyrocket in the new year. It’s the highest increase since the commission was […] Read more
