Letters – for Mar. 24, 2011

When “many appeared clueless about what was going on” as cited in the March 10 Manitoba Co-operator,how many of the canola growers invited to stack the largest annual meeting ever, beginning with all the MCGA directors who oversaw the theft of “the now-defunct grain co-operatives,” would have known or answered correctly that Manitoba’s Cinderella crop,

Which One Can Deliver The Goods?

In the March 17 editorial, Business Risk Management, I learned that there is a technocrat named de Schutter in the United Nations heading up a division called Right for Food.


Optimistic Outlook For Seaway

The St. Lawrence Seaway accomplished a remarkable turnaround in 2010 and is hoping to perform even better this year as the North American economy recovers. It wanted to start the 2011 navigation season with a splash so it picked March 22, an earlier- than-usual opening. Then Finance Minister Jim Flaherty selected March 22 for his

Bee Deaths May Signal Wider Pollination Threat

Mass deaths of bee colonies in many parts of the world may be part of a wider, hidden threat to wild insect pollinators vital to human food supplies, a UN study indicated March 10. Declines in flowering plants, a spread of parasites, use of pesticides or air pollution were among more than a dozen factors



Radiation In Japanese Food A Concern

The World Health Organization said on Monday that radiation in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant was more serious than previously thought, eclipsing signs of progress in a battle to avert a catastrophic meltdown in its reactors. Engineers managed to rig power cables to all six reactors at the Fukushima complex, 240


In Brief… – for Mar. 17, 2011

Terminal deal:Richardson International Limited said March 10 it has agreed to buy the North East Terminal grain-handling facility in Wadena, Saskatchewan. The $25-million deal, which also includes crop input facilities at Wadena, Kelvington, Foam Lake and Ponass Lake, Saskatchewan, is expected to close on April 13. The sale hinges on approval by North East shareholders,

Chronic Food Deficit In N. Korea — UN

Impoverished North Korea faces a chronic food shortage following a harsh winter which has affected its harvest, a United Nations official said March 11. Years of mismanaged farm policy and natural disasters in the 1990s resulted in famine that some estimates said killed as many as a million people. “We know that they have had


Eco-Farming Can Double Food Output By Poor

Many farmers in developing nat ions can double food production within a decade by shifting to ecological agriculture from use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, a UN report showed March 8. Insect-trapping plants in Kenya and Bangladesh’s use of ducks to eat weeds in rice paddies are among examples of steps taken to increase food

Libya Turmoil Could Hurt Regional Food Security — UN

The United Nations expressed serious concern March 11 about the impact of the Libyan uprising on food security across North Africa because of the region’s dependency on cereal imports. “The ongoing crisis will likely have a significant impact on food security in Libya and in nearby crisis-affected areas,” the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said