The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly affected many of our plans this Christmas. One bright spot is drive-through light displays where we can safely experience the magic of the holiday season from our vehicles. Here are a few options from across the Prairies, keeping in mind that anything could be altered or cancelled on short notice […] Read more
Tag Archives COVID-19 virus
Flexitarians on the rise since COVID-19 struck
Most consumers continue to eat meat, but more of them are doing it less often as they focus on plant-based diets
The number of flexitarians, those who eat less meat than they used to and emphasize plant-based foods, has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July, 16 percent of American consumers described themselves as flexitarian compared to 12 percent at the start of 2020. That’s an increase of 30 percent, as indicated in the Power of […] Read more
Contest winners help cope with COVID
The TEAM column, which can be found every week in The Western Producer’s Farm Living section, ran a contest this fall looking for reader thoughts on how to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners are Beverly Biggeman of Redcliff, Alta., and Tom Shoebottom of Englehart, Ont. Betty Ann Deobald’s column in the Jan. 7 […] Read more
2020: The year food mattered
Farmers often complain about the way people living in cities seem to take our high-quality, high-safety food system for granted. Nobody in Canada worries about starving. Malnourishment is generally the result of bad diet choices, poverty or social dysfunctions, not an inability to find or obtain enough food to survive and be healthy. Why worry […] Read more
Federal ag minister looks back at 2020
D.C. Fraser, Glacier FarmMedia’s Ottawa correspondent, recently talked to federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau about the year that just was. Questions and answers have been edited for length. Q: Looking back at the year, what was the biggest personal challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic for you? A: Trying to identify those who were the most […] Read more
UFA pays bonuses to front-line employees
One of Western Canada’s oldest agricultural co-operatives is not only giving its frontline employees a bonus for helping it weather the COVID-19 pandemic, it has donated more than $140,000 to help rural residents during the crisis. “We want to give back to the communities in which our members live and which we serve,” said president […] Read more
Guelph Cargill plant shuts down temporarily
Beef Farmers of Ontario is calling for the activation of the Ontario Beef Cattle Set-Aside Program with the temporary closure of Cargill’s Guelph beef processing plant. The Cargill Meat Solutions plant will be closed after its processing run Dec. 17, and idled indefinitely, with monitoring day to day for re-opening. There are 57 cases of […] Read more
Gov’t spending helps drive economic recovery
Canada has bounced back from the COVID-related downturn quicker than what is normally seen after a recession
Canada has rebounded from an historic but short-lived COVID recession, says a banker. Canada’s gross domestic product plunged 18 percent in April from its peak in February, making it the worst recession in modern history, said Patrick Lemelin, vice-president of agriculture at National Bank. During a typical recession, gross domestic product may fall in the […] Read more
Snowbird finds a way to head south
Many retired Canadians are staying at home this year, but some have figured out how to make the trip work for them
CAMROSE, Alta. — Despite COVID-19 and a closed border, Gord Johnsen still flew to Arizona for the winter without the rest of the Canadian snowbirds. The warm weather was a draw, but close friends in the community of Gilbert, Arizona, is the real draw. “I have great friends,” said Johnsen, who has travelled to the […] Read more
Meat plant improvements called best option for worker safety
Academic says small-scale meat processors most effective way to improve worker safety, but the system is impractical
Consumer desire for inexpensive food led to creation of large meat-processing plants and that led to conditions ideal for spread of COVID-19. Options to mitigate future outbreaks of COVID or any other infectious disease are threefold, according to University of Manitoba agri-business professor Jared Carlberg: Develop a system of small-scale meat processing facilities. Develop alternative […] Read more
