The following article was printed in the Waterloo Region Record on September 30 2008.
Farmers aren’t to blame for rising food prices
By Lilian Schaer
The global food crisis is starting to hit home. Even here in Ontario where a strong farming sector produces an abundance of top quality food and exports much of it to other countries, [...]

It was an all-too-familiar tune and one that most in the international audience could strongly relate to.
The President of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry for Styria (one of Austria’s nine provinces), Gerhard Wlodkowski, talked to us about his organization’s activities last night – and chief among them was raising public awareness about how [...]

Guelph Mercury, August 01, 2008
Lilian Schaer
The global food crisis is starting to hit home. Even here in Ontario where a strong farming sector produces an abundance of top quality food and exports much of it to other countries, higher food prices are becoming a fact of life.
The growth of renewable fuels — especially ethanol whose [...]

The food vs fuel debate is raging in Canada these days as consumers face rising food prices around the world. Some are pointing the finger at biofuels, in particular ethanol, which is made mostly from corn. This corn, the argument goes, is corn that should be going to feed people, and not cars.

The record-high prices for soybeans, corn and wheat brought about by the ethanol craze are a boon to long-suffering Canadian grains and oilseed farmers who have struggled in recent years. But what’s good for some farmers spells economic disaster for others as the high prices drive up the costs of livestock feed for cattle, sheep [...]