Author (#31): March 2009 Archives

Did anyone else see the research that proved reading a daily paper (a daily paper, not Grainews), but reading a newspaper every day could cause premature blindness, and in 95 percent of cases, leads to death.

Yes, it is fact proven by a research team from the University of Manyberries, Alberta that those people who regularly read a daily newspaper will die. In the same study they found people who also eat carrots will die, and anyone raised on mother’s milk will die. I was a bit alarmed until I went online, and found a few more details near the end of the report, which showed the average age at mortality was 90.

The point of this is to emphasize how thoroughly disappointed I get at times with the daily media – not just newspapers, but radio and TV as well. Their shallow and often sensational treatment of news causes me to shake my head. And I use to work for some of those organizations.

Case in point this week was a major headline in the Calgary Herald, and likely the story appeared in other daily papers as well “Eating red meat raises risk of death: study”. The subhead “limit of 500 grams per week urged by cancer society”.

The study findings themselves, may be valid and even some of it you wonder about, but the main point is the presentation and treatment of the story. The words you remember are “eating red meat” and “death”.

Fortunately many consumers will see that headline, say, ‘oh, ya, I’ll bet there will be another study next week, that says eating three burgers a day will add years to your life’, and then turn the page and move on. But there will be some who will remember ‘red meat and death’ and buy more chicken (not that there is anything wrong with chicken or pork, I enjoy that too).

But the problem for me is that with this story, or in the days following, the newspaper didn’t bother to look at the other side of the issue. What is the health risk of eating beef?

Accepting the fact that if we eat or drink too much of anything it can harm or even kill us, the fact is in the average Canadian diet there is no health risk. Ron Glaser with the Beef Information Centre in Calgary points out that the highest level of meat consumption, which prompted the health concerns in this U.S. study is at least twice what the average Canadian consumer is eating.

“Beef is a tremendously nutritious food source,” says Glaser. “It contains 14 essential nutrients the human body needs, it fits all guidelines set out in the Canada Food Guide, and eight cuts of beef including lean ground beef, qualify for the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation Health Check program. So beef does fit into a healthy diet.”

Glaser notes the Canada Food Guide recommends one to three servings per day of meat or meat alternatives, with one serving equaling 75 grams of meat (total for a day for adults is 75 to 225 grams per day per person). On average Canadian consumers eat about 78 grams of meat per day, which is just over one serving.

But the facts of the situation get glazed over in favor of reporting “red meat and death”.

Yes, I am bit biased because I work in the agriculture industry, but I am disappointed because I also work in the media. And this reporting and headline writing to me is just lazy and sensational. Comments in a column or an editorial are one thing, but the journalism school I went to which was just next to the dining hall on The Ark, drilled home the point there are two sides to every story. (Or maybe it was my mother who told me that, but regardless, it is a point all journalists need to remember).

I am not sure what to think about plans by a Toronto company to launch large scale corporate farming in Western Canada. My first thought is to protect and promote the family farm, but there again I have talked to lots of producers in recent years who operate family farms that are 15,000, 20,000 even 30,000 acres or more. So perhaps size in itself does not necessarily constitute ‘corporate’ farming.

According to a report on Canada News Wire (CNW), Sprott Resource Corp. of Toronto is planning to launch One Earth Farms. The company will invest $27.5 million to establish operations, fund working capital and support initial growth. (See the full report at: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2009/04/c5715.html

The initial minimum target is 20,000 hectares (about 50,000 acres) in the first year. And with access to large tracts of First Nations’ farmland it will position One Earth Farms to become the largest, most efficient farm in Canada.

Three principles behind this project are Larry Ruud, a Vermilion, Alberta area farmer and partner in Meyers Norris Penny (he’s also a Viterra director); Blaine Favel, a former grand chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations; and Fred Siemens a former president and CEO of the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange.

This could be a specialized venture that puts unused tracts of Reserve land into agricultural production. And that is a good thing. But then I also have this vision of a company that buys up entire counties in Alberta and a bunch of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan and Manitoba as it begins its march of corporate farming across Western Canada.

Mega Global Farms is on your doorstep and you either have to sell out or be squeezed out by this corporate giant. It is so big it can buy Roundup for $1 per litre, has a fleet of 400 combines, 800 80-foot wide Morris air drills, and recently bought a subsidiary company known as CP Rail. It operates at such an economy of scale that it can make a nice profit on $5 canola. What Mom and Pop operation can compete against that?

But I am letting my imagination run away with me on that scenario. There is really nothing in the short news item I read that even suggests One Earth Farms is a bad thing. Maybe I just watch too many movies. Did any else see There Will Be Blood?

There is some aspect of this proposal that makes me wonder if this is the start of Costco-ization of Canadian agriculture. Is that a bad thing? It is just a sign of the times? You look at the corporate world and how many companies that were around 10 years ago still have a neon sign out today?  Mega Global Manufacturing has bought most of them out.

I just think of all the flack Hutterite Colonies have received over the years for buying up private farms, driving up the price of land, taking away the support of local stores and schools, and the list of criticisms go on.

One Earth Farms may be the best thing to happen to Canadian agriculture, but only time will tell. With world population expected to double over the next 30 years or so, and with that an increasing demand for food, any projects that can bring good arable farm land into food production is a good thing. At the moment it is just a plan on paper. And we’ll have to see what happens if or when they actually get their first low-disturbance opener in the ground.

-30-

The Canadian agriculture industry, from producers through to processors and food retailers, needs to be operating at least one step ahead of consumers, says an expert on North American consumer trends.

Phil Lempert, also known as the Supermarket Guru, speaking to the Canola Council of Canada in Toronto this week, says the agriculture and food industry has to anticipate consumer needs and provide the type of products and services consumers will be demanding over the next five, 15, or 30 years.

While he was talking to canola producers, marketers and processors the message applied to all those involved in primary agriculture through to the food retailer level.

While more details of his talk will be carried in an upcoming issue Grainews, here are a few of his key points.

• Healthy food products will become even more important to Baby Boomer consumers
• Major grocery chain stores will get considerable smaller (about 10,000 square feet vs. 60,000 or 70,000 square feet)
• Personal electronic devices such as cell phones and other scanners, will make it possible for consumers to scan bar codes on products, and learn about production practices, compare product prices between stores, and where applicable even be able to see a photo of the farmer who produced the particular product.
• Consumers will be more interested in bargains.
• More will shop with coupons
• An aging population will be more conscious of spending and eat out less and eat home more.  Fast food restaurants will likely be relatively secure, but mid-price range restaurants will be at risk.

Looking ahead to trends in 2050, Lempert says the world will need twice the food, but it will be produced on half the land base, and both air and water will be considerably dirtier. It will important for agriculture to dramatically reduce its environmental footprint. The industry will also need to respond to climate change.

And he says all farmers will have to make money from farming. The economy cannot be such that producers will have to say they sold land for urban development just to survive.

Friends on both sides of the country, who have really nothing to do with agriculture, recently sent me a copy of a circulating email they had received which calls for a boycott of McDonald’s Restaurant because the Canadian division of the company is buying ground beef from South America.

The campaign, which was supposedly launched by a London/Windsor-area Ontario resident, also notes his alarm that all Canadian beef producers have to sign statements at the auction mart saying they will “never feed our cattle any part of another animal. South Americans are not required to do this…”

This may be a misguided consumer, or the whole thing may be a hoax, but it certainly has got wide distribution. The jist of the email is to support the Canadian beef industry, which is good, but the content contains misinformation. There has been a ban on feeding animal protein to ruminants since at least 2003, so I’m not sure where this “signing a paper” thing comes from.

McDonalds is certainly aware of this campaign, and in checking around the industry I sourced a letter from Jeff Kroll, senior vice-president, national supply chain, for McDonalds in Canada who says:

“This email is a hoax,” writes Kroll. “We currently source 100 percent of our beef from farms and ranches right across Canada and have no plans today to purchase any beef from South America. In the past we’ve purchased small quantities of beef from New Zealand, Australia and the United States, but have always sourced the vast majority of our beef from Canada.

“The first email on this topic originally surfaced in the U.S. in 2002 – at that time referencing the Texas Cattle Feeders Association – and it has resurfaced again in 2005, 2007, and again in 2008. McDonald’s representatives in the US have spoken with the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and they deny any association with the email. In 2009, a Canadian version emerged that’s practically identical to the one that originated in the US.

“McDonald's Canada remains one of the largest purchasers of Canadian beef, and we are proud supporters of the Canadian beef industry,” says Kroll.

Now, on the other hand, my wife may have other reasons why she would like me to boycott McDonalds. It has something to do with getting into what Conway Twitty called ‘those tight fitting jeans’. Not hers, mine. Unfortunately on me it isn’t pretty or sexy.

However, I believe this is no time to be shallow. I think for the sake of helping to support Mr. McDonald and his burger business, I have an obligation to keep buying those Angus burgers at McDonalds. It is the least I can do for the economy and my country.