Ted Menzies is also the former president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers and the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance.

Menzies says he won’t lobby former government colleagues

New CropLife head says he will focus on dealing with other countries, farm groups and the food industry

Former cabinet minister Ted Menzies brushes off accusations that he intends to use his political connections as president and CEO of CropLife Canada to influence former colleagues. Menzies recently resigned as MP for the southern Alberta riding of McLeod to succeed Lorne Hepworth, a former Saskatchewan agriculture minister, who retires next year. CropLife represents Canada’s


Teachers see a much different dynamic in their classroom compared to 25 years ago, says Alison Delf-Timmerman, Treherne-based home economics teacher in the Prairie Spirit School Division and board member of Manitoba Association of Home Economists (MAHE).

Province promises long-overdue update of home economics curriculum

Curricula used to teach classes such as family studies and foods and nutrition in 
Manitoba schools has remained unchanged since the late 1980s

Manitoba home economists are applauding a provincial plan to give the home economics curriculum a long-overdue update. The current one is 25 years old, said Alison Delf-Timmerman, a board member of the Manitoba Association of Home Economists, which has been asking the province to freshen up the curriculum. “It definitely needs updating,” she said.“We’re very



Report cites concerns related to the “normalization” of processed and packaged foods” and concerns that the next generation’s food choices will be limited because they lack confidence to prepare food.  photo: thinkstock

New report says improved food literacy key to a healthier life

Conference Board of Canada says too many people can’t understand nutrition labels, 
make a meal in their kitchen, or stick to a food budget to reduce waste

Improved food literacy would improve the health of Canadian adults and children, says a new report from the Conference Board of Canada. The number of books, television programs and websites dedicated to food — not to mention diets — continue to multiply, but our understanding of food isn’t necessarily getting better, says the 46-page report.

Chinese state media kick into high gear to ease GMO food fears

China’s state media are working overtime to persuade the public that genetically modified food is safe, apparently softening up the population for a policy switch to allow the sale of such food to ensure its 1.35 billion people have enough to eat. In the past 30 years, China’s urban population has jumped to about 700


A Diamond Food’s Pop Secret microwave popcorn box is seen illustrated in New York, November 8, 2013. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration November 7, 2013 proposed banning artificial trans fats in processed food ranging from cookies to frozen pizza, citing the risk of heart disease.  
photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Popcorn makers could face long, expensive road to lose trans fats

Microwave popcorn makers could face a long and difficult task ridding their snacks of trans fats, if a U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposal to ban the additives goes into effect. Just ask Orville Redenbacher. Redenbacher’s, a division of ConAgra Foods Inc., spent six years changing its leading line of popcorn, company scientists said Nov.

The beer economy in Canada supports one out of every 100 jobs in Canada, a Conference Board of Canada report says. photo: thinkstock

Beer drink of choice among Canadians

If you’re an average beer drinker in Manitoba, a new report pegs your consumption at about 240 bottles a year. That’s the fifth-highest per capita consumption of beer in Canada and slightly higher than the national average 235 bottles, according to a new report from the Conference Board of Canada. From Farm to Glass: The


ProAction aimed at quantifying quality

Piles of paperwork won’t be the result of a new program that tracks dairy practices and biosecurity, as efficiencies are sought

Manitoba dairy producers are pushing ahead on a national initiative to distinguish Canadian milk products as being among the best in the world. The new initiative, called proAction, will encompass the Canadian Quality Milk program, as well as issues related to animal care, biosecurity, traceability, and environmental sustainability. It will also allow for concrete measurement

Guebert: Why don’t farmers trust consumers?

Henry Ford heard the jeers for years before his horseless carriage remade culture forever. Orville and Wilbur Wright were called birdbrains before their dreams carried them over a North Carolina sand dune and mankind to distant galaxies. They had thousands of predecessors. Archimedes was thought to have a screw loose. The Vatican saw Galileo as