Letters to the editor – November 14, 2024

Pandemic bill poses food security threat Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act, passed third reading in the House of Commons on June 5. The Senate has passed first reading of the bill and second reading is in now in debate. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture addressed the controversy of the legislation in response […] Read more

Food prices have increased by 27 per cent since 2019, and 84 per cent of respondents of a recent survey cited food as the expense that has surged most within the past year.  |  Getty Images

Food sentiment report shows inflation pressure

Survey finds that Canadians continue to seek cheaper options in the grocery store as they grapple with food inflation

Glacier FarmMedia – The rate of inflation has slowed in Canada, but a report from a major food research institution shows prices have a major effect on what goes into consumers’ grocery carts. The Canadian Food Sentiment Index, released Oct. 10 by Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, said Canadians have changed shopping habits significantly in […] Read more

The Canadian Dairy Commission said the authors of a recent report claiming Canadian dairy producers wasted up to 10 billion litres of milk since 2012 came up with these numbers using unverifiable assumptions. | Getty Images

Dairy dumps on waste report

REGINA — Critics say a study claiming Canadian dairy producers waste billion of litres of milk each year is based on incorrect assumptions. The study co-authored by Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Benjamin Goldstein from the University of Michigan and Thomas Elliot from Aalborg University in Denmark said Canadian producers wasted between […] Read more


A recent study said 6.8 billion litres of milk has been discarded since 2012. That could have supplied the annual dairy intake for 4.2 million Canadians. | Getty Images

Dairy sector raises questions about milk dumping report

REGINA — The Canadian dairy sector has questions about a new report that says milk producers are wasting an extraordinary amount of milk and losing billions of dollars when they dump surplus production. The study published in Ecological Economics said 6.8 billion litres has been discarded since 2012. That could have supplied the annual dairy […] Read more

A recent study, published in Ecological Economics, said 6.8 billion litres of milk has been discarded since 2012. That could have supplied the annual dairy intake for 4.2 million Canadians, it found. | Getty Images

Report finds 6.8 billion litres of milk discarded since 2012

Study says milk dumping should be illegal and calls for more transparency on how much surplus is produced and wasted

REGINA — Canadian milk producers are wasting an extraordinary amount of milk and losing billions of dollars when they dump surplus production, a new study has found. The study published in Ecological Economics said 6.8 billion litres has been discarded since 2012. That could have supplied the annual dairy intake for 4.2 million Canadians, it […] Read more


The Canadian Food Sentiment Index: October 2024, released Oct. 10, is based on responses from more than 3,000 Canadians. | Screencap via cdn.dal.ca

Food cost cuts deep in consumer food report

Glacier FarmMedia – A new bi-annual report from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab reveals that food price inflation is forcing Canadians to significantly alter their shopping habits. The Canadian Food Sentiment Index: October 2024, released Oct. 10, is based on responses from more than 3,000 Canadians. Food prices have increased 27 per cent since 2019, […] Read more

Livestock groups had asked that phrases in Bill C-293 such as “regulate commercial activities that can contribute to pandemic risk, including industrial animal agriculture” and “phase out commercial activities that disproportionately contribute to pandemic risk, including activities that involve high-risk species” be changed, but the wording remained in the bill that the House of Commons passed in June.  |  File photo

Pandemic response bill worries livestock groups

Industry says Bill C-293 contains ill-defined terms and heavy-handed language that unfairly targets animal agriculture

Glacier FarmMedia – A federal bill that purports to protect Canada from the next pandemic is drawing fire from the agriculture sector. In a recent editorial titled “Is Bill C-293 Canada’s ‘Vegan Act?’” Sylvain Charlebois, director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, said the bill “represents an unprecedented governmental intrusion into personal dietary choices and […] Read more

A university researcher tells MPs he can’t correlate the carbon tax to rising food retail prices, but he is concerned about its cumulative effect.  |  Getty Images

Remove carbon tax throughout the food chain: professor

University researcher tells House agriculture committee that Canada’s food security could be at risk if it isn’t competitive

REGINA — The head of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University says the carbon tax should be removed from all players in the food chain. Sylvain Charlebois told the standing agriculture committee he had recommended this earlier, during testimony at the finance committee. He said the tax should be paused “for all companies related […] Read more


The food bill for a family of four is estimated at $16,297.20, an increase of $701.79 compared to 2023. | Screencap via cdn.dal.ca

Report sees Canadian food inflation fading

Canadian food prices are expected to rise between 2.5 and 4.5 percent in 2024, according to a new report. “It is probable that Canadians will continue to experience the strain of food inflation compounded by increasing costs of housing, energy and various other expenditures,” according to Canada’s Food Price Report 2024. Related stories: Grocery code […] Read more

The introduction of Bill C-56 came three days after innovation minister Francois-Philippe Champagne met with the chief executive officers of the five major grocery chains in the country to discuss how to stabilize food inflation. | File photo

Ottawa introduces grocer legislation

Ottawa last week moved to amend the Competition Act, focussing on the grocery businesses, as part of its effort to combat the rising cost of living. The introduction of Bill C-56 came three days after innovation minister Francois-Philippe Champagne met with the chief executive officers of the five major grocery chains in the country to […] Read more