Social media: Lending credibility to marketing in the digital age

Just being good isn’t enough. Being special can elevate products like canola oil to new levels and increase sales

Low in saturated fat and high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids canola oil, offers clear health benefits to consumers. But marketers can’t expect the product to sell itself — they need to grease the wheels. Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist, author and consultant spoke at the Canola Council of Canada’s convention in Washington, D.C. about



Potential Fantastic For Flax, Boosters Say

Flax, it seems, is the forgotten crop. Canadian acreage is declining and when farmers do grow the blue-flowered oilseed, it’s often the last crop to be planted, usually with fewer inputs than the rest. But boosters see lots of potential for flax because of its health attributes and mega-star endorsements. “When you have Oprah calling

Deep-Fried Foods Can Fit In Healthy Diet

Although people have been “trained” to think that low fat equals healthy, we actually need some oil in our diet. Oil is made up of three kinds of fatty acids. Based on their chemical structure, oils are a combination of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Our body can’t make the polyunsaturated fats found in

Omega-3 Beef Trial Falls Short

Beef researchers hoping to emulate omega-3 enriched pork, poultry and eggs by adding flax to cattle diets are finding it’s easier said than done. In order for beef marketers to slap a Health Canadaapproved label on beef touting it as a source of the “good” fat that helps prevent heart disease and stroke, the meat


Early-Spring Delicacy Rich In Nutrition Too

“The fiddlehead’s total antioxidant activity is twice that of blueberries.” – DR. JOHN DELONG Fiddlehead greens, the young, tightly curled fronds of the indigenous wild ostrich fern (Matteucia struthiopteris), are a delectable spring vegetable and rite of the season. Fiddleheads as a food source have been well known to Canada’s First Nations for many years.

Field Testing For A New GM Flax Is Put On Hold

We’re not going to do anything that’s illicit. But I think research has to go on.” – RANDALL WESELAKE AUniversity of Alberta researcher has bowed to pressure from the flax industry and cancelled plans to conduct plot trials on a genetically modified flax this spring. Randall Weselake, the University of Alberta professor developing the new

Do Horses Need Extra Fat?

carol shwetz dvm Benefits of flaxseed supplementation include stimulation of the immune system, relief from arthritis, reduction of inflammation, and improved skin and hair coat. Feeding sources of fat to horses is currently one of the most fashionable topics in modern horse-keeping nutrition. This is a rather peculiar topic since natural horse diets are very


Building A Better Burger

Canadian scientists say they can “build an even better beef burger” by taking advantage of new knowledge about healthy components found naturally in beef. There is growing evidence for the health benefits of these fatty acids, such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and omega-3. “We’ve learned a lot about the health benefits of fatty acids

Prairie Orchard eyes Chinese market

The folks at Max Pro Feed Ltd., were watching with interest as consumers were beginning to snatch up omega-3-enriched eggs and other foods containing the beneficial fatty acid a few years ago. They wondered whether consumers would go for omega-3-enriched meat too. If so, how could it be produced? And was this an opportunity for