If you think food prices are increasing at a much faster pace than what Statistics Canada suggests, you’re likely not imagining it. For a few years, many Canadians have suspected that the federal agency was either underestimating our food inflation or there was some lag between what was going on at the grocery store and […] Read more
Stories by Sylvain Charlebois
Grocery buyers paying COVID-19 tax
Canadians’ ballot decisions in the Sept. 20 federal election will likely differ depending on what they care about. But since everyone eats and most of us try to manage a limited food budget, the most important electoral issue will likely be inflation. Or at least it should be. Everything is costing Canadians more, including food. […] Read more
Farm merges with food retail spaces
Canadians have started to notice that grocers have begun to sell plants in miniature greenhouses. We’ve seen gardens on rooftops, vertical farms close to stores and even some selling gardening equipment to gardeners who are shopping for food. The farm is essentially merging with food retail spaces. We’re slowly witnessing the rise of the “grow-cer.” […] Read more
Food industry must tighten security
Meat processing giant JBS recently paid out a US$11 million ransom following a cyberattack, according to reports. Most of its meat-packing facilities, including the one in Brooks, Alta., remained idle for a few days. Most of us link the concept of cyberattacks with information technology companies, governments and media. But experts have warned the food […] Read more
Carbon tax poses risk to consumers
COVID-19 has affected 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 the carbon tax […] Read more
Here’s why things will never be the same at the grocery store
More than five months into the pandemic, we can start to see how life will look on the other side. Food is getting more expensive. We expect prices to increase by four percent. Additional costs these days are too much to absorb for farmers, processors and distributors. Financial results were impressive for the first few […] Read more
Food sector recalibrates as Canadians flee larger cities
Canadians seem to want to flee urban centres. The food industry will need to keep a close eye on the trend. As well, real estate markets are overheating in regions outside of major cities. Recent real estate reports suggest sales are up 20 percent in many rural markets and prices have increased by at least […] Read more
Expecting more from gov’t a mistake
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture really set the bar high with its recent $2.6 billion aid request. When a federal program barely worth $252 million was announced, the disappointment felt throughout the farming community wasn’t surprising. The funds were indeed underwhelming and won’t be enough to get some of those producers to stick around. Many […] Read more
Food profiteering unusual in Canada
Even if they really haven’t had good reason, many Canadians have felt food insecure lately. Access to food has been a concern. Affordability is certainly a close second. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, consumers have occasionally taken to social media to report inflated prices by retailers. Even though the accusations were warranted in […] Read more
Red meat debate has been one-sided
For a few years, we’ve been force-fed the notion that red meat and processed meat products threaten our health. But the protein war between the livestock industry and plant-based supporters has taken an interesting twist. In 2015, the World Health Organization went as far as to say that processed meats were carcinogenic, adding them to […] Read more
