Some federal budget cuts don’t add up for farmers: CFA

Some program cuts at Agriculture Canada resulting from the 2012 budget aren’t in the best interest of farmers and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is going to press for changes. “Some of the cuts do make sense because they get rid of duplication,” president Ron Bonnett said in an interview. But terminating regional adaptation councils

See the ability – not the disability

Within the first seven seconds of meeting someone, we make over 50 conscious and subconscious judgments of the person we are about to interact with. As the interaction proceeds, our assumptions are proven either correct or incorrect. Very often, when a fully able-bodied person encounters a person with a disability, the disability is seen first


Bison farmer fined

Staff / A McCreary farmer has been fined $1,000 in provincial court for failing to submit his bison herd to Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials for inspection and testing for bovine tuberculosis. Ron Chotka pled guilty and was fined under the Health of Animals Act Dec. 19, 2011, a CFIA release says. Livestock owners are

Chocolate may be good for your waistline

People who ate chocolate a few times a week or more weighed less than those who rarely indulged, according to a U.S. study involving 1,000 people. Researchers said the findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, don’t prove that adding a candy bar to your daily diet will help you shed pounds. Nor did


Do you need a supplement?

Vitamins and minerals have numerous functions in our body. Some people are at nutritional risk and need a dietary supplement more than other people. Pregnant women, breast-feeding women and those capable of becoming pregnant have special nutritional needs. Young children and older adults may also be at nutritional risk. Strict vegetarians, people who smoke and



FAO raises alarm over new foot-and-mouth disease strain

reuters / A new strain of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has hit Egypt and threatens to spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East, jeopardizing food security in the region, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said March 22. There have been 40,222 suspected cases of the disease in Egypt and 4,658 animals, mostly

Judge orders FDA to remove antibiotics from feed

Reuters / A federal judge ordered U.S. regulators March 22 to start proceedings to withdraw approval for the use of common antibiotics in animal feed, citing concerns that overuse is endangering human health by creating antibiotic-resistant “superbugs.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin proceedings unless makers of


Confusion around CFIA budget cuts

Budget cuts at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency won’t weaken food safety protection, says Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “Food safety is a priority for this government,” Ritz told the Commons agriculture committee, adding a big chunk of the planned cost cutting will come from the winding down of the listeria inquiry into the 2008 tainted

Food panel releases first study results

Eating out appears to be a once-a-week occasion for most Manitobans. We have strong views about local food but differing definitions of what “local” means. Most of us have never eaten buckwheat, hemp or flax-based foods. And while a little over 40 per cent of Manitobans buy organic food, an equal number don’t think organic