Food and Farming Canada » food safety

Keeping tabs on where the cows are

Lilian — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:12:45 +0000

RFID tags are placed in an animal's ear

Many modern-day pet owners microchip their four-legged companions.

This is to help identify them should they become lost, injured or otherwise harmed in some way.

Farmers are doing a similar thing with their beef cattle.

They’re using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to keep track of their animals as they move [...]

People could use a little reconnecting to the farm

Lilian — Thu, 26 May 2011 12:57:37 +0000

The case of watermelons spontaneously exploding in Chinese fields made headlines recently. This coming weekend marks the annual Rural Romp in Wellington County – a county-wide food and farming open house of sorts. These two events are worlds apart, yet to me, they’re both part of the complex network our global food system has become.

Most Canadian [...]

Testing key to knowing what’s in your water – and protecting your farm

Lilian — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:14:24 +0000

Water testing has long been part and parcel of buying and selling agricultural properties. But knowing exactly what’s in your soil and well water is becoming increasingly important to safeguard both human health and property values.

E.coli O157:H7 is one pathogen that can have serious human health implications but that many people don’t realize may be [...]

Fabulous farming fotos

Lilian — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:05:17 +0000

For anyone writing or blogging about farming, here’s a great resource for you.

One of my biggest struggles is always trying to find current, accurate and available photos to go along with articles or blog posts.

The Ontario agriculture photo library has a wide array of available photos depicting many of the different aspects of farming in our [...]

Unveiling the “real” dirt on Canadian farming

Lilian — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 16:44:46 +0000

Curious about where our food comes from? Wondering about hormones, antibiotics, GMOs and other things linked to modern agriculture? Worried about environmental impacts of agriculture? Looking to connect the dots between the food we eat and our health?

A new national publication promises the answers to all these questions and more as it tackles the issues head [...]

Solving the peanut-free school lunch problem

Lilian — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:34:19 +0000

Over the last week or so of everyone’s back to school preparations, I’ve been noticing a lot of coverage about school lunches and the dilemna of what to send with your kids. I didn’t realize this was such a problem – I’ve been out of school myself for quite some time and don’t have any kids [...]

Reports on pesticide residue may be misleading

Lilian — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:20:41 +0000

We’re in the middle of prime fruit and vegetable season. The heat and sun of the summer bring with them roadside stands, farmers markets and local food stores brimming with fresh, Ontario-grown produce. I, for one, as someone who supports local food production and values Ontario’s farmers, am in my element as I’m revelling in the [...]

Where your Thanksgiving turkey really comes from

Lilian — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:30:32 +0000

Most of us have very little knowledge of where our food comes from or how it is produced. As a result, misinformation is widely circulated in many different forms – so to get to the real scoop on what’s going on, I’m a firm believer that there’s no one better to ask than a farmer himself.

I [...]

Alberta Pork’s H1N1 challenges, responses

Lilian — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:59:08 +0000

This post is a continuation from yesterday’s H1N1 topic that explored Alberta Pork’s experiences at the centre of the H1N1 media storm earlier this year. The information is based on a presentation I attended by Lee Funke of Torque Communications at the recently held Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference in Edmonton.

He outlined some of the challenges [...]

Inside Alberta Pork’s H1N1 war room

Lilian — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:51:17 +0000

It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to be at the centre of a media firestorm unless you’ve actually experienced it. For the staff at Alberta Pork and the communications professionals working with them, the spring of 2009 provided more first-hand experience than they could have ever wished for.

Lee Funke of Alberta-based Torque Communications shared [...]