Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Parliamentary Ag Secretary Jean-Claude Poissant, at right, visited the Carrefour Alimentaire Centre-Sud in Montreal on June 17, 2019 to formally launch the federal Food Policy for Canada. in 2019 (Photo courtesy Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Feds disburse funds on community food security projects

Since 2019 the Local Food Infrastructure Fund has committed $64.8 million to such projects

Wednesday, federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay announced up to $9.98 million in funding for community food projects through the fifth phase of the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, an outworking of the Food Policy for Canada.




Canada can produce its own sugar. But it doesn’t.

Editor’s Note: Sugar shortage makes for sticky business

How can a strike involving 138 workers at a single refining operation in Vancouver affect the availability of sugar for 11 million Canadians in the four western provinces — and what does this situation tell us about our national food system as a whole? It certainly suggests that our sweet tooth has become too dependent





A seaport grain terminal damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes in Odesa region, Ukraine on July 19, 2023.

Comment: Why Russia pulled out of its grain deal with Ukraine

What does the move mean for the global food system?

The Russia-Ukraine grain deal that has been critical to keeping global food prices stable and preventing famine is now in tatters. On July 17, Russia said it was pulling out of the year-old deal, which allowed shipments of grains and other foodstuffs to travel past the Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea. To make

Photo: Thinkstock

How El Niño threatens emerging market economies

Significant changes to rainfall, or prolonged droughts, could also impact hydropower output, boost food, fuel prices

London | Reuters – Countries around the world are battling heatwaves and floods fueled by El Niño, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that has a 90 per cent probability of persisting in the second half of 2023, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The worldwide impact can be enormous, but the stakes are higher for


'... we are all actively pursuing special offers, forsaking national brands, and gravitating towards more affordable stores.' – Sylvain Charlebois.

Comment: Interest rates affect food choices

Food and shelter are bare necessities and when the cost of one goes up too quickly, consumers cut back on the other

The Bank of Canada has once again increased its benchmark interest rate. Concurrently, a growing number of financial experts express apprehensions about the potential impact of yet another rate hike on consumers. Their concerns are not unfounded. Let us examine the evidence. Undoubtedly, food and housing constitute the fundamental necessities of life. Pertinent data reveals

Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus at Istanbul on Dec. 11, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

UN waits for Russian answer as Black Sea deal deadline looms

U.S. says Russia using grain deal 'as a weapon'

United Nations | Reuters — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is still waiting for a response from Russian President Vladimir Putin on a proposal to extend a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain beyond Monday, a U.N. spokesperson said on Friday. Guterres wrote to Putin on Tuesday asking him to extend the