It appears that bee populations are dwindling and people are starting to become concerned at the scale of the bee catastrophe.
Many scientists and bee keepers have many theories of what might be causing the decline. These theories range from weather and climate change to pesticide use and over-use to disease, viruses and parasites. None of these theories have been proved conclusively. Perhaps the collapse in bee populations is due to a combination of the above factors.
Regardless of the causes of the collapse, the impact is huge as bees are relied on extensively for pollination of crops such as almonds, strawberries, blueberries and apples. There are estimates that pollination produces $40 billion worth of goods in the US. A reduction in the effectiveness could have a large impact in the amount and quality of food produced and made available to consumers. In some worst case scenarios, the entire food chain could be severely impacted as crops are no longer
I certainly hope that scientists can quickly determine what is causing this bee population collapse so that we can try to slow the losses and protect these valuable and often underrated insects.
No commentsagriculture
Fredericton Junction based Atlantic Dairy and Forage Institute is looking to undergo a $8.5 million expansion in part to research how to improve the quality of milk.
The Institute hopes to examine how the quality of feed impacts the quality of milk which is produced by cows. By determining how the quality of the feed impacts the resulting milk, it may be possible to adjust feed to get milk with desirable characteristics such as lower amounts of saturated fats or omega-3 fatty acids.
No commentsUncategorized
In an encouraging move, the world second largest food and beverage producer Kraft (second only to Nestle) has announced a plan to reduce the amount of sodium in its products by 10%.
There has long been evidence linking high sodium intake with high blood pressure and associated heard diseases but reducing the amount of salt in foods has been a long standing challenge. This is especially true in Canada where a recent study has shown that packaged foods are much saltier than elsewhere in the world.
Hopefully by following the lead of Campbell Soup and now Kraft, food producers will try to reduce their product’s sodium levels and make their products as well as their customers healthier in the process.
No commentsfood processing
Backed by private investors, a company called Cheese New Brunswick have announced that they will be opening a new cheese plant near Sussex, New Brunswick. The facility will create a new hard cheese similar to the popular Reggiano-Parmiagiano cheese from Italy.
Due to cheese labelling restrictions, the cheese cannot be called Reggiano-Parmiagiano unless it comes from a very specific region of Italy but it doesn’t prevent Cheese NB to create a very similar cheese under a different name which has not yet been revealed.
The $10 million plant which is scheduled to commence construction within 6 months, with completion in a year in a half. Due to the time required to age the cheese, it is expected that cheese will not be available on retail shelves for 3 years or so. Cheese New Brunswick has already secured a sufficient milk quota to create the volume of cheese that it expects.
Under optimistic scenario of maximum capacity a maximum of 40 employees will be needed for the Cheese New Brunswick operation.
Overall this is great news for the Sussex area and the agricultural community in New Brunswick. Any operation that uses local agricultural products and hires local people is a positive development. I’m looking forward to tasting this new cheese. I just wish that I didn’t have to wait for three years.
More info:
CBC Information Morning Saint John interview with Cheese NB investor Mario Ruffalo
CBC News – New Brunswick – Cheese N.B. plans $10M facility.
No commentsfood processing
Open Farm Day NB 2009 is set for September 20th.
As in previous years, the New Brunswick Dept of Agriculture, the Agricultural Alliance of NB along with Sobey’s present Open Farm Day 2009. This event, scheduled to take place September 20th, 2009, allows the general public to visit participating farms across the province.
There are several farms showcasing various forms of agriculture throughout the province. Participants range from U-Pick apple orchards such as Everett Farms near Fredericton to dairy and cattle farms such as Riordon Farms in the Acadian Peninsula and from wineries such as Magnetic Hills Winery just outside of Moncton to beekeeping/honey production at Miel-N-Bee Honey in Charlo.
See http://fermenbfarm.ca///uploads//Website_Assets/Open_Farm_Day_NB_Map.pdf for more details.
See also : Open Farm Day 2008 and Open Farm Day 2007
No commentsfarming
Nadeau Poultry Farm a large chicken processor located in northern New Brunswick, has announced a layoff of 175 workers which is approximately half of its staff. The managers of the plant state that the staff reduction is caused by a lack of a supply of chickens to process after its prime chicken supplier and soon to be competitor Westco diverted a large amount of chickens to an Olymel plant in Quebec.
The poultry processing company has been in a long running dispute with competitor Westco over the supply and processing of chickens in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Westco and Olymel have teamed up and are planning to build their own slaughterhouse facility in Northern NB in the near future.
Nadeau is still hoping to get the New Brunswick government to pass a law which prohibits export of chickens for processing. I personally don’t see the provincial government to pass such a bill at a time where it is trying to open up trade borders with its neighbour Quebec.
Update: Nadeau employees have tried unsuccessfully to block shipments of chickens to Quebec. http://an.capacadie.com/actualites-regionales/2009/9/10/le-poulet-de-westco-prend-la-route-du-quebec
It appears that there are still talks to try to resolve the situation according to the premier.
No commentsfood processing
There is a growing concern over the use of antibiotics in animals and how excessive use (or misuse) of antibiotics in animals can lead to reduced antibiotic effectiveness in humans.
Numerous studies and evidence indicate (although not conclusively) that there is a direct link between the use of an antibiotics in raising poultry and human resistance to them. In Canada, a study concerning the use of a third generation cephalosporin antibiotic called ceftiofur in hatcheries matched a rapid increase in human resistance to the drug. Likewise when the drug use was voluntarily withdrawn from chicken hatcheries, the incidences of human resistance to cefiofur.
The antibiotic is injected into the egg prior to a chick hatching as a preventative measure against disease and illness. This allows more chickens to be raised in
The large amount of evidence has led an antibiotic resistance expert Frank Aares to say:
“Taken in context with all the other knowledge we have, anyone still opposing a link between antibiotic use in food animal production and direct human health impact does so for other reasons than science.”
Despite the evidence and the removal of the drug for “off-label use” in Canada and in other countries, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has withdrawn a proposed law which prohibits the extra-label use of cephalosporins. Extra-label use (sometimes referred to as off-label use) is the use of drug for a purpose for which it has not been explicitly approved. In this case, cephalosporin antibiotics have not been approved by the FDA as a preventative antibiotic, it appears to only have been approved for treatment of illnesses in swine and cattle.
It appears that there is a battle being waged between the FDA and ‘Big Chicken’ Over Antibiotics. It will be interesting if the FDA reintroduces a ban in the future or if the big agri-business (and drug makers) have won another round. Large industrial chicken farmers want to be able to use the antibiotic to increase the amount of chickens that they can raise in a given space and reduce the chance of disease spreading through their flocks. Understandable as those goals are, if it puts humans as risk of not having antibiotics be effective when required, I’ll have my chicken sans antibiotics.
No commentsagriculture, food safety
Just when you thought that all McDonalds food is the same…
It turns out that across the world, McDonalds restaurants add localized items some of which become very popular items. These items vary based on local tastes, regional food availability and religious belief which may limit some choices for customers.
McDonalds Menu Items From Around The World
Some interesting items include a McLobster sandwich which is only seasonally available in Atlantic Canada, a Bacon and Potato Pie, the Ebi Filet-o (a fried shrimp sandwich) and McSpaghetti available in Asia. The Middle East has a Chicken Big Mac, a Paneer Salsa Wrap and a Chicken McCurry Pan. Europe on the other hand has McBeer in a few countries such as Germany and Onion rings in a few others.
1 commentmarketing
Part of the problem with the current food supply chain is the disconnect between producer and consumer. Information about where food is grown or manufactured as well additional information about growing techniques or specific manufacturing process are not available to consumers. Even after extensive research, it is often difficult to know where our food comes from. It is easy to disguise products as local and to hide their origins or details concerning their production.
I am currently reading a Twinkie Deconstructed which is dedicated to examining and tracing the origin and method of manufacture of each of the ingredients in the popular cake snack Twinkies. Ever wonder what Polysorbate 60 is? This book drive the point across of how far we have become separated from our food sources and how little information we really have about the food (and food like substances) that we eat.
I’ve already written about pilot programs that use RFID to track food from farm to plate but other initiatives using barcodes could also be effective in tracking food. Several companies including FoodReg and TraceTracker are trying to address issues surrounding traceability of items in the food supply chain. Databases can track origin or specific growing conditions of the food being tracked. For examples TraceTracker and Intel are teaming up to develop a system that allows tracking of halal foods.
Maybe someday I will really be able to tell whether the apples for my apple juice came from the farmer down the road or from some tree halfway around the world.
No commentsFood Labelling, food processing
Earlier this week, the New Brunswick government and Agriculture Canada announced the New Brunswick agreement under the Growing Forward program which will provide up to $24.6 million for New Brunswick farmers, businesses and agricultural researchers for research, development and adaptation of technology in the agricultural sector.
The program which runs from April 1, 2009 until March 31, 2013 provides funding for the research, development, adaptation or adoption of new technology in the agricultural sector in New Brunswick. The goal is to improve the competitiveness, sustainability, profitability and/or self-sufficiency of the New Brunswick agricultural and agri-food sectors. Food safety, tracability and bio-security initiatives appear to also be eligible for funding under the Growing Forward plan.
With major food producers such a McCain and Ganong having a large presence in NB, look for some of them to take advantage of this available funding. Hopefully the small family famers will be able to draw up some projects which allow them to adapt technology in order to become more efficient, competetive and profitable which will ensure their stability and growth.
The costs of the program will be split at a 60/40 ratio between the federal and provincial governments which means a $14.76 million contribution from the federal government to the sector (though media releases like to quote the combined totals for better effect). Contributions through the program will only cover a portion of the research or development program (in most cases up to 50% up to a maximum of $35,000
An overview of the program is available in PDF form at: http://www.gnb.ca/0180/GuidelinesEnablingAgriculturalResearchInnovation.pdf
Growing Forward is a national program developed by Agriculture Canada which plans to spend invest $1.3 billion over 5 years. An overview of the program is available at : http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1238606407452&lang=eng.
Although NB is one of the first province to reach a funding agreement with the federal government, I anticipate that other provinces will follow with announcements of their own in order to get their portion of the $1.3 billion (okay, actually $780 millon) of federal money.
No commentsPrograms