Food Insider

Lia Moody is worried. Worried about layoffs. Earlier this month, faced with soaring cases of COVID-19, B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry mandated the closure of nightclubs and banquet halls, and put additional restrictions on restaurants and bars. It’s the latest hit to an industry still battered by the pandemic — and winter is coming.

Eventually, most B.C. livestock is slaughtered into meat. But where? It’s a question that’s plagued farmers, ranchers, abattoir owners, and B.C. politicians for almost 20 years. A question the pandemic has dramatically thrown into focus.

Canadian consumers wasted two kilograms of food a week before the pandemic. Not anymore. That’s according to a survey released earlier this month by Love Food Hate Waste, an international campaign working to reduce household food waste, which found Canadians are wasting less food since the pandemic started.

The path from pasture to plate for B.C.’s 22 million farm animals might soon get easier. Earlier this month, the provincial Ministry of Agriculture released an intentions paper outlining proposed changes to slaughter and meat processing regulations. It’s the latest step in a process to make local meat more available — and increase British Columbians’ food security.

“Farmers are the ultimate stakeholders when it comes to food systems,” Aabir Dey said. “They assume virtually all the risk when it comes to putting food on our table. They do the majority of the work. They’re the most impacted by all kinds of decisions related to agriculture. To exclude them from all of the essential production processes of agriculture just doesn’t make sense.”

Stephanie Torrey sometimes designs obstacle courses. Obstacle courses for chickens. The avian games were part of a recent study co-led by Torrey, an assistant professor of animal science at the University of Guelph, that found making chickens grow slower was better for their well-being — but came at a high cost.

Food can stop climate change. Sort of. The path of food from farm to fork and beyond is responsible for between 21 and 37 per cent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Food is cheap. So cheap, it’s hurting the planet. Food systems — the paths meals take from farm to fork and beyond — are among the largest anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs). They don’t need to be: A report published last week found changing how we grow, use, and dispose of food could significantly reduce emissions.

Paul Natrall misses balmy, busy, bustling evenings serving bannock at summer festivals. That's been the norm for the Squamish Nation chef and food truck owner who specializes in Indigenous fusion cuisine. Since he opened his business in 2017, Natrall — better known as “Mr. Bannock” — has been a popular fixture at festivals and other gatherings across B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

Canada had extra cheddar in July. About 42,000 tonnes of it. That’s not unusual. The sharp, hard cheese — and a statistical benchmark for the federal government — has a long history in Canada’s almost $7-billion dairy industry. A history that’s key to understanding modern-day dairy politics.   

Last Thursday, Terry Boehm breathed a sigh of relief. The Canadian Seed Growers' Association, which represents 3,500 seed growers across Canada, voted against a proposed merger with four other seed industry organizations. It was a decision Boehm, a farmer and Saskatchewan representative for the National Farmers Union, hopes will protect farmers' independence — and the integrity of Canada’s farms.

In British Columbia, livestock is controversial. Especially killing livestock. The problem is hitting small-scale meat farmers particularly hard, Julia Smith, president of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association and a rancher, said. They’re pinched between a regulatory maze that’s decimated both local abattoirs and the small livestock farms — and skyrocketing demand for local meat.

Julia Smith is lucky. Her pigs have a date with the butcher. That was far from guaranteed, says the Merritt, B.C. rancher and president of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association. B.C. abattoirs and butcher shops are in short supply, Smith explained, limiting the availability of local meat in the province — and recently announced changes to provincial abattoir laws might not do much.

Even in a pandemic, seeds germinate, livestock grow — and farmers keep working. That rhythm, vital to Canada’s food supply and rural economies, belies the uncertainty farmers face from bad weather, markets — and now, COVID-19. It’s an uncertainty advocates hope will ease with changes to the Canada Emergency Business Account announced Monday.

Flying 250,000 bees across the Pacific is complicated. Especially in a pandemic. It’s a challenge Rod Scarlett knows well. When most international flights stopped in March, thousands of queen bees were stranded abroad.