Fewer Sugary Drinks May Lower Blood Pressure

Drinking fewer sugary drinks may help lower blood pressure, U. S. researchers said May 24 in findings adding to a growing body of research supporting cutting back on sweetened beverages. They found overweight people with high blood pressure who drank one less sugar-laden beverage a day significantly lowered their blood pressure over 18 months. For

Holidaying In The North, The Economical Way

Are the fireweed-covered slopes of the Yukon calling you? Do the glaciers and mountains of Alaska beckon? Has the lure of the North taken hold? If you are eager to visit the Yukon and Alaska but hesitate because of the cost, here’s some suggestions that might make it affordable. Last summer my husband and I


Be A Good Judge Of Information Sources

There’s no shortage of nutrition and health information, but not all of it is “evidence based,” and we now have more avenues than ever before for receiving this information. Besides radio and TV, we have things like email, websites, FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter and many others. Unfortunately, nutrition and health info is not always accurately depicted.

Bee Sensitive To Helpful Insects, Urbanites Urged

What do Mount Everest and honeybees have in common? Check out May 29. That was the day in 1953 when Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to successfully climb the world’s highest mountain. Hillary was a beekeeper from New Zealand. This year, May 29 was the day proclaimed by Ottawa,


Responsibility Begins At Home

JOHN MORRISS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR It’s painful to look at the images of birds and other wildlife dead or dying from being coated in oil from the U. S. Gulf oil blowout. That makes it easy to lay blame, as we’re now seeing in the U. S. The government is blaming British Petroleum for lax safety

Telling It Like It Is In Agriculture

Canadian Federation of Agriculture vice-president Ron Bonnett got a rare opportunity on May 18 to explain what agriculture in the 21st century is really all about. And it wasn’t to an ordinary gathering of city folk, but a roomful of young people who could well shape the country’s future. A couple of hundred of the


World Food Safety At Risk From Climate Change: Lewis

“It’s paralyzing to see such hunger. But you can’t compromise on food safety.” – STEPHEN LEWIS Climate change poses a huge danger to food safety, especially in Africa, where many already go hungry, a national food science summit in Winnipeg was warned May 31. “Volcanic shifts” in weather patterns expected in the next 20 to

Renewable Fuels Generate Economic Benefits: Study

“It validates the commitment we made to Canadians.” – GORDON QUAIATTINI, CRFA Anew study for Canada’s renewable fuels industry has found biofuel production contributes major benefits to the nation’s economy. Canada receives a $2-billion-net annual economic gain from the production of biofuels, says the study done for the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association. Biofuel (made from


CFIA Gets A Chief Food Safety Officer

The Canadian government is creating a position of chief food safety officer and named Brian Evans, currently executive vice-president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to the post effective June 28. Evans will remain chief veterinary officer. The May 25 announcement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper also said that George Da Pont, currently commissioner

Red Tape Hurts Farm Competitiveness

Aparl iamentary committee recommends major changes to federal regulations that disadvantage Canada’s farmers against their global competitors. If implemented, the recommendations in a recently tabled House of Commons agriculture committee report could go a long way toward dealing with farmers’ complaints that government fees and red tape make them uncompetitive in the marketplace. In all,