B.C. election: Here's what the parties are saying about farms, fisheries and hunger
In the last week ahead of a provincial election, what promises have the three major parties made on the future of B.C.'s food?
A national school lunch program would solve more than hunger, advocates say
School meal programs should be more than a meal — they should anchor school curriculum and root kids into their school, advocates say.
Environmental impacts of free trade deal with Brazil ignored by review, advocates say
An environmental assessment of a proposed trade deal between Canada and the Mercosur countries ignores major environmental and human rights violations in Brazil, environmental advocates say.
Vancouver farmers markets look back — and ahead — after pandemic summer
COVID-19 didn’t stop Brad Bennick from finding eager customers for his new water buffalo gelato at Vancouver’s farmers markets this summer.
These simple farming techniques can curb greenhouse gas emissions
Saving our climate — and the future of food — could be as simple as planting fields of clover or putting cows to pasture on wheat fields in winter.
Feds tell California growers to prove their lettuce is free of E. coli
Unprecedented federal import restrictions on romaine lettuce and salad mixes from California’s Salinas Valley point to problems in the U.S. agricultural system, which supplies British Columbia with more than half of its fresh vegetables, Canadian food safety researchers say.
Here's how bears and farmers can live in harmony
It’s easy to see why farmers and grizzlies might not get along: the bears love dining on cornfields, silage silos and compost piles — and once they’re used to an easy meal, they can be dangerous.
Feds urged to walk away from Brazil trade deal because of fires, climate concerns
Canada is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with Mercosur countries, including Brazil, which would open Canadian markets up to Brazilian beef and soy.
Mason jars in short supply after pandemic summer
A professional jam-maker needs fruit, sugar and Mason jars to put them in. Until this year, the jars were the least of Geneviève Blanchet’s concerns.
Blueberries could be next in line for U.S. tariffs
Canadian blueberries are big business — big enough they might be next in line for U.S. tariffs.
A 1930s-era federal agency helped farms recover from an ecological crisis. It's time for a replacement, advocates say
Environment Canada predicts the upcoming decades will transform Canada’s climate, forcing farmers to re-evaluate everything from which seeds to buy to which pastures their livestock graze. That’s a huge challenge for farmers with no time to pore over scientific studies and models charting how the climate crisis will transform their land.
DFO salmon decision shuts hundreds of First Nations out of consultations, experts say
As a child, about 300 wild salmon, carefully packed into a chest freezer after each fishing season, sustained Kukpi7 Judy Wilson and her family for the year ahead. “We had one freezer for salmon, one freezer for wild meat, and my parents had a ranch farm. We were independent,” said Kukpi7 Wilson, now chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
B.C. seed growers reaping sales surge thanks to the pandemic
COVID-19 has had unexpected beneficiaries: B.C.’s small-scale seed growers. The B.C. Eco-Seed Co-op, a co-operative of roughly a dozen seed farmers in the province, saw its sales skyrocket.
Buying food online? Farmers are paying to make that possible — and it might put them out of business
Walmart is huge. And it's getting bigger. In July, the retailer and grocery chain announced a $3.5-billion expansion into e-commerce. It's an expansion suppliers say they’re forced to pay for — even if it might put them out of business and shake Canada’s food supply chains.
B.C. harvests 196,000 tonnes of fish a year. Most of it is exported and that's a problem, advocates say
James Lawson catches fish. Fish that rarely feed the B.C. coast. He’s not alone: Roughly 85 per cent of seafood caught in the province is exported, yet B.C. fish harvesters can’t get their catch to local markets — and the provincial government is doing little to change that in plans to increase food security post-pandemic.