Strategy The Topic At EG&S Panel Discussion

Adecade ago, the notion of paying landowners for the services they provide in maintaining wetlands and critical habitats was so radical that few thought it would ever gain traction among the public or politicians. Now, with the concept firmly established, the only obstacle going forward is funding. “Ten years ago we could barely get people

Economic Growth Comes With A Price Tag

“A country could cut its forests and deplete its fisheries, and this would show up as a positive impact on gross domestic product, without registering the corresponding decline in assets.” – MATT MCCANDLESS Avisitor from Mars might observe that despite their appearance of extreme cleverness, humans as the dominant species on this planet have invested


“…And This Is My Garden”

“This connects the community and the school, and it is the hands-on commitment and the ownership that really draws the kids in and draws the families in.” – KATHARINA STIEFFENHOFER, Winnipeg FI LMMAKER OF “…AND THIS IS MY GARDEN.” The pepper plants are up in Mrs. Woitowicz’s classroom in Wabowden. So are the tomatoes. Planted

Be Bold, Not Balanced

B y most accounts, the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council’s 2010 annual meeting was well attended, full of new members and democratically run. Those are all signs of a healthy organization – at least on the surface. So why the hard feelings? A former director went home bitter after the nominating committee did not renew her


An Alternative Solution To The Cattle Crisis

I suggest we have been suckered into export dependency and are now trapped on a treadmill of keeping more cattle to make up for declining margins. Many people have been pondering the question of whether there is a future for beef production in Canada. We are continually told that there is light at the end

The Jacksons – for Apr. 1, 2010

The 21st day of March is rarely a good day for a barbecue in Manitoba. Even Gretna, the unofficial hot spot of the province (some would say of the entire country) is often downright cold and unpleasant on the first day of spring. And in a normal year, there is liable to be several feet


Food Makers Support More U. S. Control Of School Food

Four major food and beverage makers announced support March 18 for legislation expanding U. S. control over snacks sold at schools and allowing the government to ban junk food from campuses. It would be the first crackdown on school snacks in three decades but the compromi se stops short of proposals, made in the past,

Noxious Or Necessary?

Phosphorus is not an evil pollutant – in fact it is a foundational building block for the DNA and RNA of all living things, even viruses, and is absolutely necessary for plants to capture energy of the sun through photosynthesis. “A reporter asked me a year ago, ‘Is there a substitute for phosphorus?’” said Flaten.


Agri-Food Exporters Caught In Ocean Shipping Shortage

Agri-food exporters are among the groups caught in a shortage of ocean shipping capacity that threatens Canada’s economic recovery, warns a Montreal freight forwarder. The dearth of export container capacity from Canadian ports “is more harmful to the recovery of our economy than the high value of the loonie,” says Jean-Paul Gobeil, director of international

Flax Is Fabulous For Food

“Nobody else in the world can do it – take the oil, put it in a bottle and keep it stable for the period of time that we can.” – JIM DOWNEY Ask Jim Downey, CEO of Brandon-based Shape Foods, why he’s so energized and the former deputy premier and Progressive Conservative MLA for Arthur,