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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Beyond Cheap Food (Canada)
  • Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 09:53:27 -0700


Corner Post
Farm & Countryside Commentary by Elbert van Donkersgoed
December 8, 2003

The Alberta Barley Commission’s Annual General Meeting last week in Red
Deer, Alberta, gave me an opportunity to get a fresh perspective on prairie
farming and to speak about the need to get farming beyond cheap food, beyond
a narrow focus on the production of bulk undifferentiated commodities.

Alberta’s approach to research and innovation differs from Ontario’s. Some
time ago they turned tax dollars designated for research and innovation over
to an institute at arms length from government and encouraged scientists and
innovators to compete for those dollars. Ontario has long used a direct
contract between the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the
University of Guelph while the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario
provides guidance on priorities. Alberta has now added a research and
innovation strategic framework that targets, on the one hand, a modest
increase in farm gate receipts while calling for sustainable agriculture
with an eye on consumer interest in “natural, wholesome and safe products.”
On the other hand the framework proposes a doubling of economic activity in
the food chain beyond the farm gate in just a decade. The emphasis is not on
“still more raw materials.”

A presentation by the polling firm Ipsos- Reid documented the changing
interests and concerns of Canadians about food. The highlights included:
· The number of consumers who make a meal from scratch everyday is down
to
twenty-seven percent (27%).
· Half of Canadians now hold the food industry, not individual
consumers who
choose foods, responsible for the number of products sold that are high in
fat and lead to obesity.
· Almost half (48%) believe in taxing high fat foods while thirty-nine
percent (39%) believe in financial incentives for those who choose healthy
meals.
· The rising concern about food safety was described as an extension of
the
public’s concern about environmental management.
· There is a growing interest in full disclosure about food, meaning not
just what is in it but also the processes used in preparation. In this
context, organic food is the most watched trend in the food sector.
· Concern about genetically modified food is changing from an
environmental
issue to a food safety issue.
· Younger, better educated and Canadians with higher incomes are the
drivers
of these changes.

The presentation about the Alberta Agricultural Research Institute and the
latest consumer polling provided a great context for my own talk on the need
to get farming beyond cheap food. Food is cheap enough. Going organic is one
option but not for everyone. Gordon Gatward told the CFFO convention late in
November about LEAF Marque, Linking Environment and Farming in the U.K. that
has added six percent (6%) to the gross margin of participating farmers. The
Christian Farmers Federation’s proposal for a small charge on the retail
price of food to fund environmental payments deserves attention. Some
Canadian farmers are accessing higher priced European markets by certifying
with EUREP GAP. This is an internationally accepted standard for exporting
fresh produce to Europe based on good agricultural practices such as
Integrated Crop Management and Integrated Pest Management.
__________
Elbert van Donkersgoed is the Strategic Policy Advisor of the Christian
Farmers Federation of Ontario, Canada. Corner Post has been heard weekly on
CFCO Radio, Chatham and CKNX Radio, Wingham, Ontario since 1997. Corner Post
has an email subscriber list of more than 3,000 and appears regularly on @g
Worldwide Correspondents at
www.agriculture.com/worldwide/correspondents/index.html
<http://www.agriculture.com/worldwide/correspondents/index.html>. Copyright
2003 Terra Coeur. Send requests to print, post on a website or circulate
electronically to elbert@terracoeur.com <mailto:elbert@terracoeur.com>.
To be added to the electronic distribution list of Corner Post send email to
elbert@terracoeur.com <mailto:elbert@terracoeur.com> with SUBSCRIBE as the
message. To remove your name, send email with UNSUBSCRIBE as the message.




  • [Livingontheland] Beyond Cheap Food (Canada), Tradingpost, 12/18/2003

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