UN calls for more efficient livestock

World meat consumption will rise 73 per cent by 2050 Milan / Reuters / Livestock farms should use natural resources more efficiently to meet ever-growing demand for meat and dairy products in a way friendly to the environment, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Dec. 14. Global meat consumption is projected to

Letters – for Nov. 17, 2011

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China To Become World’s Top Farm Products Importer

BEIJING / REUTERS China will become the world s largest importer of agriculture products in five to 10 years as the country faces pressure from shrinking farmland and other constraints on production, a top government think-tank researcher was cited by local media as saying. Cheng Guoqiang, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the

“Free Your Milk” Campaign Launched

Over half of Canadians think dairy products are too expensive, according to a recent survey by a restaurant and food services association. The current system is making Canadian milk and cheese less attractive and less affordable for everyone, said Garth Whyte, president and CEO of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA). The survey conducted


Slow Food:

Taking cows to pastures high in the Italian Alps and then making cheese by hand in a nearby tent while the milk is still warm may all seem a bit too much like unnecessary drudgery in an age of high-tech agriculture. But for a group of 14 makers of the rich Italian cheese Bitto Storico,

British Energy Firm Sees Potential From Stale Pork Pies

Major British independent oil firm Greenergy sees its future as an exploration company, but one that hunts for fuel in piles of stale pork pies and cakes rather than under the ground or from food crops. The refined oil product wholesaler is still investing in the embattled European Union biodiesel sector, aiming to utilize ever


In Brief… – for Sep. 15, 2011

Dryness dims Argentine wheat outlook:Much of Argentina s wheat belt is getting dry, with frosts hampering the healthy development of 2011-12 crops in some northern areas, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said last week. Without moisture on surface soils, the outlook for wheat yields is gradually deteriorating in the western crop belt, the exchange said

Australian Trade Minister Supports End To Single Desk

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has a new high-profile ally in his quest to end the Canadian Wheat Board s (CWB) single desk Australian trade minister Craig Emerson. The Australian Wheat Board s export monopoly ended in 2008 and Emerson said it has been a great success. The Australian experience has been unambiguously good, he said


School Lunches Are Not Cool (Enough)

Tests of more than 700 preschoolers’ packed lunches found that fewer than two per cent of the meats, vegetables and dairy products were cool enough to be safe, according to a U.S. study. One in six U.S. residents gets food poisoning every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but

Study Finds Supply Management Superior To Free Market

Despite frequent criticism from free market advocates, Canada has been well served by supply management of milk, according to a new study. In recent years, dairy prices outside Canada have soared and then plummeted – leaving many producers unable to pay their bills and creating headaches for governments, according to a study prepared by Prof.