| A freelance science writer from Egypt speaking at a conference for science journalists helped shed some light on that country’s extraordinary decision to slaughter its entire pig population when H1N1 influenza was first announced earlier this year. Nadia El-Awady, Program Manager with the Arab Science Journalists Association, spoke about the events that led up to the mass slaughter and how the weaknesses in Egyptian media and government contributed to the panic that gripped the country. Continue reading An inside look at Egypt’s reaction to pigs and H1N1  I love bacon – in fact, I’m a fan of pork in general.
And especially right now, after hog farmers have taken a beating over the unfortunately named “swine flu” which was actually really H1N1 influenza, I’m supportive of any efforts to promote it and develop new market opportunities. So I was intrigued when I stumbled across the “10 craziest products inspired by bacon” list on the internet yesterday. Continue reading Ten craziest products inspired by bacon  Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. There’s just nothing like bacon and eggs (and coffee of course!!) to get me set for the day – especially on the weekend or when I’m travelling and have a bit more time to indulge myself.
However, being on the road means the hunt for the perfect breakfast is always on – and often, there’s not much to go on. But I’m looking forward to the results of a new Egg Farmers of Ontario initiative to help me with that. Continue reading Where’s your favourite Ontario breakfast spot?  They’ve finally listened. Yesterday, the World Health Organization announced that they were re-naming what everyone’s been calling “swine flu” to H1N1 Influenza A.
Pandemic frenzy has taken hold as we grapple with this new flu that has emerged. It was quickly dubbed “swine flu” even though it really has nothing to do with pigs or pork – and that misnomer has led to all sorts of misinformation, dubious reports and irrational behaviours in countries right around the world. Continue reading Ending the flu frenzy over pigs and pork  At any given point, there are more animals on the move in Canada than most of us realize.
Livestock – like cattle, sheep and pigs – travel our highways as they move from farm to farm or when they are sent to market. And because our food and farming sector is dealing with the same consolidation issues as many other industries across North America, these animals are spending more and more time on the road to get to where they are going. Continue reading Taking care of animals on the road Do we care if our meat is made in Canada? It soon won’t matter, says a report by a Guelph-based agricultural think tank, because there may not be any.
Continue reading Do we care if it’s Canadian meat? The following column was printed in the Guelph Mercury on September 25 2008. Do we want to eat Canadian food? By Lilian Schaer Harvest is upon us and you can’t go very far without running across someone promoting local food. It’s everywhere – new farmers’ markets and road side stands, festivals and advertisements. Everyone, seemingly, is talking about it and there’s a plethora of new buy local programs for farmers with a dizzying array of requirements for them to meet in order to participate. Continue reading Do we want to eat Canadian food? | |
