Comment: The rise of the once-silent, once-hidden food worker

Workers have more political capital than they’ve ever had and they know it

Workers across the food supply chain are expressing concerns about their livelihood. Recently, workers at the online grocery retailer Instacart went on strike for better conditions and higher wages. Instacart is a symbol of the new gig economy in food – you use a phone app to have someone else pick up your groceries and



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Canada economy seen weaker than expected as supply chain woes weigh

Ottawa | Reuters – The Canadian economy most likely underperformed expectations in the third quarter amid ongoing supply chain woes and a brutal drought, official data suggested on Friday, prompting analysts to forecast the Bank of Canada could move slower on rate hikes. The economy expanded by 0.4 percent in August, missing estimates, and looked

File photo of the Port of Montreal. (Guy Banville/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada concerned about supply chain issues, watching ports ‘closely’

Reuters –– Canada is concerned about the challenges facing global supply chains and is watching the country’s ports very closely, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday. Freeland, speaking to reporters in Washington after meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said she was broadly optimistic about the strength of Canada’s economic recovery


The Andersons Grain Group’s Toledo-area elevator at Maumee, Ohio. (AndersonsGrain.com)

The Andersons to pay debt, invest in core units after rail business sale

Renewable fuels, specialty foods investments considered

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain handler The Andersons plans to use US$550 million from the sale of its rail leasing business to pay down debt and invest in sustainable farming and low carbon initiatives in its core grain and fertilizer units, CEO Pat Bowe told Reuters on Tuesday. Maumee, Ohio-based Andersons sold its rail



In the opinion that led to the settlements, one of the appellate judges who denied Smithfield a retrial, asked a simple question: “How did it come to this?”

Comment: Gambling on the future of food, rural communities

As wealth and power concentrate in the ag sector, the outcomes are getting worse

Three events on consecutive mid-November days show farmers, ranchers, and all citizens where agriculture now is. Event One: On Nov. 18, the Iowa Capital Dispatch, a not-for-profit news website, detailed allegations on how managers at Tyson Food’s hog-killing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, literally gambled on employee lives as the coronavirus took root last April. “In

Comment: COVID-19 and the Canadian food supply chain

Comment: COVID-19 and the Canadian food supply chain

Canada’s food security isn’t threatened but supply chains will see substantial adjustment

Your bread and salad dressing will still be on the shelves, but that does not mean that everything is normal. Food supply chains are long, complex and certainly could be impacted by COVID-19. Fruits and vegetables Imported sources appear to be stable and the refrigerated trucking industry continues to supply adequate transport. It is likely


(Alexey Rezvykh/iStock/Getty Images)

‘So far, so good,’ fertilizer sector says

Fertilizer Canada says vast majority of members have sufficient supplies in place or en route

There shouldn’t be any problems in supplying farmers with fertilizer this spring, says the organization representing manufacturers and distributors. “Our members are set to go,” Fertilizer Canada president and CEO Garth Whyte said in a news release Wednesday. “COVID-19 plans were quickly established at facilities, in conjunction with being declared an essential service, there was

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Beef demand soars as consumers ‘aggressively’ stock up

Surge in sales accompanied by a jump in people looking online for recipes

Canada’s beef demand has been strong during the pandemic. “Unlike previous disease outbreak issues, COVID-19 has not been about food safety or consumer confidence or issues with food products,” Canada Beef president Michael Young said during a recent online town hall. “Beef demand at retail is up 50 to 70 per cent. Consumers have aggressively