Before Christopher Columbus proved it wrong, one of the great myths of history was that the world was flat. The belief the world has only two poles — the Arctic and Antarctica — is another, according to Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. As scientists become more aware of the role ice plays in supplying water
Leader issues stark warning on glaciers: ‘Their fate and our fates are closely intertwined’
Iceland shows that feeding the world doesn’t have to be complicated and expensive
What was once fishery waste is now a profitable product that is helping to increase food security in one African country
Commercial fishermen in Iceland once tossed fish heads and backbones back into the ocean, discarding them as useless waste. Now they earn $70 million annually from shipping them to Nigeria, where women making their living as street vendors sell dried Icelandic fish heads as a cheap source of protein for soups and stews. After the
Lack of consumer acceptance plagues biotech science
World Food Prize laureates say better methods are needed for communicating science to the general public
The greatest challenge feeding the world’s growing population is not about the science needed to boost production, it is convincing the public to accept it, scientists receiving the 2013 World Food Prize said here last week. The three scientists honoured as pioneers of genetically modified crops spent much of their time defending the two-decades-old technologyWhose voice should be heard?
It was hard not to smile last week when one of our African colleagues on a CropLife International tour asked a presenter to address rumours that clothes made from genetically modified (GM) crops will make a man bald and impotent. After all, after nearly 20 years of growing GM crops, the “Frankenfood” angle on the
Editorial: A policy that worked
September 1992 was a damp ending to one of those summers that never was. Farmers were having an awful time getting their crops off and fields cleaned up. I remember it well, because at that time, I lived in a rural area near Winnipeg and I was at home with a newborn in the house.
Genetically modified crop pioneers honoured with World Food Prize
Des Moines, Iowa / As he pulled away from the airport, our driver tells us he’s been warned to keep an eye out for the protesters who gathered the day before to picket against the recipients of this year’s World Food Prize. “And I’m thinking, like, how could anybody protest food?” said Larry, the affable
Manitoba farm writers score big at annual CFWF competition
The Co-operator’s Allan Dawson was among several Manitoba farm writers to win awards at the annual Canadian Farm Writers Federation annual meeting held last weekend in Harrison Hot Springs, B.C. Dawson won silver in the press editorial category for his article “Who has Ritz’s ear,” which published last April. Dawson won gold in the feature
A bold step forward
Manitoba egg farmers have taken a bold step forward with the announcement of their new hen housing policy effective Dec. 31, 2014. As of that date, there will be no new installation of conventional layer cages allowed by the provincial marketing board. Instead, producers who are building or retrofitting barns will have the option of
Sea changes
Market pundits have been talking “sea change” of late, the prospect of monster crops in key production areas of the world this year transforming the market psyche from famine to feast. “No longer will a constant fear of scarcity drive prices. Instead, traders will be battling for market share instead of scrambling for supplies,” said
It’s a local thing
The headlines of late have been all about consolidation, mergers and acquisitions and about the global players like Agrium and Glencore moving in on Prairie agriculture. But there’s been a quiet evolution taking place beneath the radar that has turned into a competitive force on the Prairie farm supply scene. The same day earlier this