Snowstorms, labour shortages, procurement problems related to some ingredients, or even packaging issues can affect perishable foods, pandemic or not.

Comment: Beware of ‘shelflation’

Compromised supply chains are increasing waste and costs

By now, you may have heard of a phenomenon called shrinkflation. Many companies will reduce quantities without changing the price by adjusting their packaging strategy. It’s been going on for years. It is the illusion of buying the same amount of product when it has in fact shrunk. But when supply chains aren’t working optimally,

A young soybean plant with leaf blistering and cupped leaves due to dicamba drift. Dicamba is one of the most volatile herbicides on the market.

Comment: Doubling down won’t solve weed woes

Dicamba was supposed to solve weed problems – instead, it’s making farming harder

Farmers are stuck in a chemical war against weeds, which have developed resistance to many widely used herbicides. Seed companies’ answer – using more varied herbicides – is causing new problems. In October 2021 I was a guest on a popular podcast to discuss my recently published book, Seed Money: Monsanto’s Past and Our Food


Rising commodity prices, energy shortages, capacity constraints in manufacturing, errors in demand forecasting and rising interest rates are themselves all potential triggers.

Comment: Commodity prices likely to be hit by slowdown before end of 2023

The current price expansion is already getting a bit long in the tooth

Reuters – Prices for a wide range of commodities have climbed to their highest level for seven years or more as drillers, miners and farmers struggle to keep up with booming demand as the economy recovers from the pandemic. Energy prices are at the highest level since 2014 while non-energy prices are the strongest since

The meat section in a grocery store in Selkirk, Man., on Jan. 30, 2022.

Comment: Grocery store shelves are all right

Supply chains are stressed and Omicron isn’t helping, but you’ll still eat

In many parts of the country, Canadians are now reporting a growing number of empty grocery store shelves. It’s happening here, in the United States, and in many other parts of the industrialized world; it’s not just a Canadian phenomenon. Before Omicron, empty shelves were already visible, but few noticed. They were sporadic in the


Comment: In the heat of the night

Staying warm in winter has got a whole lot easier over the years

Of all the daily chores my father performed on the southern Illinois dairy farm of my youth, the most vital to me each winter morning was his rekindling of the banked fire in the tall, round wood stove that dominated my mother’s kitchen 60 years ago. The stove was, no kidding, a Warm Morning model.

“This pandemic has taught us not only about physical health, but also the importance of healthy eating, mental health, social connection and learning for our kids.”

Comment: Canada’s pandemic recovery urgently needs a national school meal program

Canada should join the other G7 countries in funding childhood nutrition

COVID-19 has exposed yet again the critical importance of Canada catching up with other G7 nations by developing and implementing a national school meal program. School meal programs meet a variety of children’s critical needs. For example, Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, now Alberta’s deputy chief medical officer of health, and formerly medical officer of health in


Comment: Manufacturing human organs… with farm animals

Animal production could someday be saving human lives

In an unprecedented surgery, a 57-year-old American with serious heart disease had a heart transplant with a genetically modified pig’s heart. The operation took place on January 7. A few weeks later, the patient is still doing well, reports suggest. This surgery, a first in the world, performed by a team from the University of

We see animal-free dairy as possibly having some environmental and food security benefits, but with some trade-offs.

Comment: Milk, without the cow

Cellular agriculture could be the future of farming, but dairy farmers need help

A new wave of cow-less dairy is hitting the market. In the United States, Perfect Day is using genetically modified fungi to produce milk protein for ice cream at a commercial scale. And pre-commercial companies, like TurtleTree and Better Milk, are engineering mammary cells to produce human and cow milk in laboratories — though these


Comment: Meat and dairy gobble up farming subsidies worldwide

But that’s bad both for your health and the planet’s sustainability

The global food system is in disarray. Animal agriculture is a major driver of global heating, and as many as 12 million deaths from heart disease, stroke, cancers and diabetes are each year connected to eating the wrong things, like too much red and processed meat and too few fruits and vegetables. Unless the world

Nearly 90 per cent of respondents in a recent survey said that food prices are increasing at a faster pace than their income.

Comment: Spooked Canadians at the grocery store have plans for 2022

Inflation is causing consumers to re-evaluate their food purchases

Since the year 2022 is here, it is time to reflect on what has happened this past year and anticipate what lies ahead. Food inflation obviously affected most food categories this year, which is why the last 12 months have been challenging for Canadians both at the grocery store and at restaurants. Canada’s Food Price