You don’t have to go far from the Prairies to see what globalization looks like up close. In fact, it exists right on your farm, in your fields, your bins and your barns.
Farmers don’t need to be convinced that they are an integral part of a global market. Most of what Western Canadian farmers produce gets exported. Other industries and even other regions within Canada might knock Canada’s commitment to the global market, but not many Prairie crop and livestock farmers.
But if you want to see an impressive display of what today’s globalization looks like, just take a gander at the new pea protein plant going into full production in Portage la Prairie. The $600 million facility is being built by the French plant protein pioneer and giant Roquette and the products it creates out of the humble yellow pea will end up in cutting edge products throughout North America and no doubt around the world. There is nothing hotter in the world food industry than plant protein, there’s nothing in the food industry newer than this massive milling and processing plant, and there’s now nowhere in the world you’d be better placed to grow peas.
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That’s globalization and it’s happening right here in a big way. If you want to read more about the plant, read this feature I wrote following a tour I took recently.
If you want to know more about how Roquette is working with farmers and food companies, read this feature I wrote about that.
And if you just want to see really cool drone video of the plant, go look at the clip in the first link above, provided to me by the company.
Globalization gets knocked a lot by both well- and ill-meaning people who highlight its concrete and easy-to-see negative impacts (plants closing, industries withering, jobs lost under the pressure of global competition) and isn’t defended well by supporters who have trouble showing concrete positive impacts. Slightly higher canola and pork prices for thousands and thousands of farmers is hard to show, and doesn’t draw a lot of emotions, but individuals thrown out of work make great TV. Those individuals suffering are tragedies. Improving the lot of thousands and millions of people is just statistics.
For once we have an up-close (to us) example of what globalization does for a world-competitive industry like Western Canada’s farmers. Take a look at it for a moment. This is the kind of thing we hope happens.
