Burnett on Markets: Global grain stocks offer false sense of food security

Burnett on Markets: Global grain stocks offer false sense of food security

In event of production shortfall, 60 per cent of available stocks would never be available to market

The economic parallels from the COVID-19 epidemic are quickly changing from comparisons to the recent financial crisis in 2008-09 to the Great Depression. My parents and grandparents lived through the Depression and it did have many impacts on their everyday lives. The main symbol of the Depression-era mentality was the two enormous chest freezers in

Golden Rice grain compared to white rice grain in screenhouse of Golden Rice plants.

Philippines approves genetically modified rice

Critics say ‘Golden Rice’ hasn’t received adequate scrutiny on safety and nutrition

The Philippines has approved genetically modified “Golden Rice” for human consumption, but its approval may be premature, the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network said in a news release Dec. 20. The country hasn’t approved the crop for cultivation, but if it does, the grain could be the first genetically modified rice grown in the world, the


Iraqi men carry a coffin of a demonstrator, who was killed during anti-government protests, to bury at the cemetery in Najaf, Iraq on Oct. 7, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Alaa al-Marjani)

Iraq replaces state grain agency’s chief

Baghdad/Dubai | Reuters — Iraq, a major Middle East wheat and rice importer, has replaced the head of its state grain buying agency, government sources and a document showed on Tuesday. Naeem al-Maksousi was replaced by Hassanein Mahdi Elwan, a document reviewed by Reuters showed. The reason for the replacement, which comes after a week




Rice farmers in India.   PHOTO: KEVIN KRAJICK

Swapping crops

Growing crops other than rice could save water and improve nutrition

Researchers say the best choice for some developing countries may be to rethink the types of crops they’re growing. A paper by researchers at Columbia University, published recently in the journal Science Advances, examined the situation in India and found plenty of challenges based on its widespread cultivation of rice. It’s a water-hungry plant that’s

Higher carbon dioxide levels could negatively impact the nutritional value of rice, an important crop to many lower-income countries.

Rice’s nutritional value decreases in higher CO2 concentrations

Researchers examine how climate change can impact dietary quality of crops

Rice grown at higher carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, like those possible later this century, has lower nutritional value, according to a recent study. Notably, some varieties of rice seemed to react differently to increased levels of CO2, say the study’s authors, showing relatively smaller decreases in nutritional value. The finding that rice’s nutritional quality can

grain train canola field

CN car fulfilment dropped in weeks 11 and 12

However, the company says it is bringing more crews and power online to pick up the pace

CN Rail is still struggling to fulfil grain car orders in Western Canada, according to statistics collected by the Ag Transport Coalition (ATC). A CN spokesperson says the company is committed to meeting grain company needs. To that end CN has ramped up hiring and this quarter will add another 250 new crew members, Kate


Italian pastas. (RussoTiesi.com)

Italy demands origin labels for pasta, rice

Rome | Reuters — All packets of pasta and rice sold in Italy will have to include labels of origin showing where the produce was grown, the government ruled on Thursday, a move aimed at protecting local farmers. The agriculture and industry ministers signed a decree ordering the new labelling policy, saying it would run

Humans have been farming rice far longer than originally thought.

New origins for farmed rice discovered

The new finding helps shed light on when and why humans first became farmers

Rice farming is a far older practice than we knew. In fact, the oldest evidence of domesticated rice has just been found in China, and it’s about 9,000 years old, about 4,000 years before the earliest previous estimates. The discovery, made by a team of archeologists that includes University of Toronto Professor Gary Crawford, sheds