By Leslie Ballentine, farming and food commentator
This past year, a University of Manitoba student was inspired by a campus talk she heard by the Ontario Farm Animal Council. So inspired, in fact, that she wrote a thought-provoking article in the student newspaper. Titled: Things you should know before criticizing food production, the article is directed to the students on campus. But I think it should be directed to everyone. And it is food for thought to start the year.
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Posted by FFC on January 3rd, 2012 :: Filed under
Environment,
Family vs factory farming,
Food safety,
Housing,
Innovation and technology,
MisconceptionsTags ::
agriculture,
environment,
Farmers,
food safety,
misconceptions,
technology
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
Turning chicken feathers into ‘green’ plastic is not a new idea. Government and university scientists in the U.S. first began serious research into the possibility years ago. The goal for researchers and plastic manufacturers has been to develop a substitute for petroleum in some plastic products. This year, some technical hurdles have been over-come and this bio-degradable plastic is now being produced commercially.
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Posted by FFC on November 7th, 2011 :: Filed under
animal by-products,
Chickens,
Environment,
Innovation and technology,
PETA,
ResearchTags ::
environment,
Poultry,
Research,
sustainability,
technology
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
According to the numerous trends lists that I have been reading, the buzz around food sustainability will continue to increase, driven by the food industry and retailers like Wal-Mart. This includes social, economic and environmental sustainability – lower greenhouse gas emissions, smaller carbon footprints, fair(er) trade and pricing policies, and responsible production practices. Food manufacturers and retailers now have whole departments devoted to corporate social responsibility. As buyers of farm products they have influence with their suppliers over how products may and may not be produced.
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Posted by FFC on October 19th, 2011 :: Filed under
Retailers,
Sustainability,
Sustainability of the family farmTags ::
agriculture,
environment,
sustainability
The following is reprinted with permission from the Animal Agriculture Alliance in the United States (www.animalalliance.org). For its full collection of Meatless Monday resources, visit http://animalagalliance.org/current/home.cfm?Section=Meatless_Monday&Category=Current_Issues.
The Myth of Meatless Mondays – Alleviating the Consumer’s Conscience Without Affecting Climate Change
Judith L. Capper, PhD, Washington State University
In July, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a report claiming that everybody should eat less meatand dairy products in order to mitigate climate change. It was an interesting report, not least because it recommended that if consumers were going to eat meat, they should choose “meat, eggs and dairy products that are certified organic, humane and/or grass-fed as they are generally the least environmentally damaging”. Working within the sustainability arena, I firmly believe that any production system has a role within agriculture provided that it is environmentally conscientious, economically viable and socially acceptable. However, the EWG’s promotion of organic or grass-fed systems as having a low environmental impact is ironic given that such systems actually have a greater carbon footprint per unit of meat or milk produced compared to their conventional counterparts.
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Posted by FFC on October 6th, 2011 :: Filed under
Activism,
Beef cattle,
Feeding the world,
Global Warming,
Meatless Monday,
Misconceptions,
Organics,
Sheep,
VegetarianTags ::
activists,
beef,
Consumers,
environment,
meatless Monday,
misconceptions,
organic,
Research,
sheep,
Vegetarian
By: Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
I remember my marketing professor telling the class that: “People are motivated by their own interests, not yours.” So that means it’s important to meet their demands and pay attention to their opinions— discerningly.
It’s not that we in the farming and food communities shouldn’t listen to customers or place special emphasis on understanding their wants and needs, concerns and complaints. It’s that we should do so with discretion: Sometimes the customer is just plain wrong.
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Posted by FFC on August 15th, 2011 :: Filed under
Consumers,
Economics,
SustainabilityTags ::
Consumers,
environment,
sustainability
On Wednesday June 29, 2011, Delft Blue Veal Farms (division of Grober Inc.) proudly hosted the event, Harvesting Clean Energy on Ontario Farms
Delft Blue's digester
.
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Posted by FFC on July 20th, 2011 :: Filed under
animal by-products,
Environment,
Manure,
Sustainability,
VealTags ::
environment,
farm tours,
sustainability,
Veal
by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
Food prices are drawing a lot of media attention lately. It seems everything is increasing in price, both at grocery stores and at restaurants. Many different factors have been blamed for these price increases, but regardless of the reason, the outcome is the same. In some cases, food prices rise at the store without any increase for the farmer.
A Manitoba study showed the cost of a week’s worth of groceries for a family of four rose by $6.01 from 2008 to 2009, but farmers received $0.86 less. In 2009, beef farmers received $2.05 for the 600 grams of sirloin tip beef that cost you $9.15 in the store. In 2008, by comparison, the farmer also received $2.05 for the same cut of beef, but you only paid $4.61.
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Posted by FFC on April 19th, 2011 :: Filed under
Economics,
Farm life,
Feeding the world,
Misconceptions,
Sustainability,
Sustainability of the family farmTags ::
Canada,
economics,
environment,
farm,
Farmers,
sustainability
by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
There is a lot of studying which goes into farming.
Many farmers today have a college diploma or university degree. Some even have graduate degrees. Even after school, though, farmers have to constantly update their knowledge to stay on top of the latest research findings and newest technology.
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Posted by FFC on April 12th, 2011 :: Filed under
Dairy cattle,
Education and public awareness,
Environmental Farm Plan,
Farm life,
Innovation and technologyTags ::
animal care,
environment,
farm tours,
Farmers,
technology
By Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
It’s a hot, sunny summer day, and pigs are all out wallowing in the mud, happy as could be. Or are they?
Pigs, when housed outdoors, will use mud to keep cool if necessary. They lack sweat glands (making it impossible to “sweat like a pig”), so the only way they can cool themselves is by getting moisture on their skin which can than evaporate and create a cooling effect. Mud would work for this cooling effect, as does water.
Although pigs are normally associated with messes (“your room is a pig sty” probably being the most common example), they actually like clean environments to live in. Pigs are quite comfortable living in a clean, dry barn with adequate supplies of food and water.
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Posted by FFC on March 1st, 2011 :: Filed under
Animal care,
Housing,
Pigs,
Pork,
Urban Myths,
WeatherTags ::
animals,
environment,
Farmers,
pigs
Food From Greener Pastures
Beef Producers: Stewards of the land, for now and for the future
Kim Sytsma and her husband Charlie of Eighth Line Farm in Ontario, like many Canadian beef producers, work every day to ensure both the land they manage and the business they built are not only sustained, but improved for future generations of Canadians. “It’s my job to leave the land better than I found it,” says Kim.
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Posted by FFC on April 21st, 2010 :: Filed under
Beef cattle,
Canada,
Global Warming,
Sustainability of the family farm,
UncategorizedTags ::
cattle,
earth day,
environment,
meat eating
