Letters — for 2012-11-15 00:00:00

Let’s get talking I appreciated the article in the August 30, 2012 edition entitled “Animal welfare – act now, or have someone else do it.” To have producers be proactive to address the concerns of both people in animal welfare groups as well as the purchasing public would be terrific. There does seem to be

TV network wants federal court to hear “pink slime” lawsuit

Reuters / ABC News wants a Federal Court to deal with a meat processor’s defamation lawsuit over reports about lean finely textured beef, a product that critics have labelled “pink slime.” Lawyers for the network filed to transfer the case, brought last month by Beef Products Inc., the leading producer of the product, from of


CFIA temporarily closes XL plant

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has temporarily shut one of the country’s largest meatpacking plants after contaminated beef products, that were distributed across Canada and the United States, are believed to have sickened several people. The operators of privately held XL Foods’ plant in Brooks, Alberta have not done enough to prevent contamination by

Manitobans visit farms for third annual Open Farm Day

A day with the public continues to reap hands-on learning, farm product sales, 
and positive feedback from visitors and participating farm owners

Cars lined driveways and filled up farmyards last Sunday as Manitobans ventured out for another Open Farm Day. This is the third year the province has hosted the day to encourage ordinary Manitobans to get out and visit participating working farms and agritourism ventures. Fifty-one locations were listed in the 2012 guide, including many playing

The Jacksons

He was a big man in every way, both tall and wide, and when he spoke any corner of the café not occupied by his considerable build was effectively filled by the sheer volume of his voice and character. He took only a second, upon entering the room to decide where he was going to


Safeway going crate free

Reuters / Safeway Inc., the second-largest U.S. grocery chain, said May 8 it plans to stop using pork suppliers that cage pregnant sows as part of their production process, a practice animal rights groups have called inhumane. “We think there are more sustainable pork production methods,” said Safeway vice-president of public affairs Brian Dowling, referring

Campaign will highlight local food products

A $3-million jointly funded industry and government campaign supporting local food kicks off April 25

Manitobans can now clearly identify local food on store shelves with the launch of a new Buy Manitoba campaign at Canada Safeway stores in the province. The three-year local food promotion will see 33 stores decked out with sign-age and product identifiers encouraging shoppers to choose the more than 1,000 grocery products, including meat, fresh

Travel, trade and local markets

It was no surprise to learn last week that our federal minister of agriculture has racked up $271,000 in travel expenses since March 2011, the most of anyone in the federal cabinet. But unlike some of his colleagues, whose expense accounts have raised eyebrows among Canadians and howls of protest from opposition critics, we expect


New campaign urges Manitobans to buy local food

Increasing awareness of food products produced and processed in Manitoba and making them easily identifiable to consumers on store shelves and on restaurant menus are objectives of new Buy Manitoba campaign

A new campaign launched in Manitoba this week will urge food shoppers to “taste, smile, repeat,” by discovering Manitoba-grown, -raised and -processed foods and buying them more often. Buy Manitoba is a multi-year awareness and promotion which was to be unveiled at a Canada Safeway in Winnipeg April 26. It will help consumers easily identify

Briefs, March 29, 2012

Safeway to stop buying “pink slime” beef filler washington / reuters Safeway, the No. 2 U.S. supermarket operator, will stop buying the ammonia-treated beef filler critics call “pink slime” because of widespread customer concern. The halt is a fresh blow to use of the ground beef filler, also known as lean, finely textured beef, which