food

Saturday October 17, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 17, 2020

Determined voters endure long lines to cast early ballots in historic election

October 2, 2020

Thousands of people, some braving hours-long waits, glitches and politically motivated obstruction, are flocking to cast early ballots and writing the story of a pandemic-era election that may change how America votes.

Heavy turnout at early voting centers in Georgia and Texas comes as many voters elsewhere take advantage of mail-in ballots, defying President Donald Trump’s misleading attempts to cast the election as the most corrupt in history. Another of the President’s many misinformation efforts — his claim that the Obama administration spied on his team — suffered a serious blow on Tuesday when it emerged in a Washington Post report that a Justice Department probe into one key aspect of the conspiracy theory will end without even a public report.

The candidates should have been making last minute preparations for the second presidential debate on Thursday night. But a drama initiated by the President’s diagnosis with Covid-19 caused the cancellation of the event after the President refused to take part in a virtual version — then demanded the reinstatement of the clash when he recovered.

April 30, 2020

Instead, Trump and Biden will take part in dueling town halls on NBC and ABC respectively. The arrangement may be a disservice to voters since they will only have one final chance to see the candidates on stage together on October 22. But given the President’s constant interruptions in the first debate, the format may actually allow a more forensic examination of each candidate’s positions. It is also certain to trigger the former “Apprentice” star’s obsession with television ratings.

Inspirational scenes of eager voters, in some cases in Georgia waiting eight hours to exercise their democratic rights, reflected enthusiasm on both sides at a raw moment in US history at the tail-end of a tumultuous presidential term.

Voters are facing the most difficult circumstances imaginable given the health emergency. Confidence in the election is also being challenged by court battles in a handful of states arising from apparent GOP efforts to complicate early balloting that Democratic voters prefer. There are also infrastructure problems — for example the registration portal in Virginia crashed on Tuesday on the last day when citizens can sign up to vote. 

Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden mostly concentrated Tuesday on winning votes rather than on how they will be counted. (CNN) 

 

Saturday August 10, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday August 10, 2019

To reduce global warming, people need to eat less meat: UN report

Global meat consumption must fall to curb global warming, reduce growing strains on land and water and improve food security, health and biodiversity, a United Nations report on the effects of climate change concluded.

Although the report stopped short of explicitly advocating going meat free, it called for big changes to farming and eating habits to limit the impact of population growth and changing consumption patterns on stretched land and water resources.

Plant-based foods and sustainable animal-sourced food could free up several million square kilometres of land by 2050 and cut 0.7-8.0 gigatonnes a year of carbon dioxide equivalent, the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said.

“There are certain kinds of diets that have a lower carbon footprint and put less pressure on land,” Jim Skea, professor at London’s Imperial College, said on Thursday.

The IPCC met this week in Geneva, Switzerland to finalize its report which should help to guide governments meeting this year in Chile on ways to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“The IPCC does not recommend people’s diets … Dietary choices are very often shaped or influenced by local production practices and cultural habits,” Skea, who is one of the report’s authors, told reporters in Geneva. (National Post) 

 

Thursday June 20, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 20, 2019

Scheer’s climate pledge is nonsense, just like Trudeau’s

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer’s long-awaited climate change plan means the Tories will now join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals in lying through their teeth leading up to the Oct. 21 election.

May 2, 2019

Scheer’s 60-page plan released Wednesday, which does not include a carbon tax, says the greenhouse gas reduction targets agreed to by Trudeau under the Paris climate accord in 2015, “are Conservative targets and our plan will give Canada the best chance at reaching them.”

Scheer has to say that because Trudeau’s targets used to be Stephen Harper’s targets and Scheer previously said he supports the Paris accord.

But in the real world Scheer’s plan, containing 50 initiatives, has as much chance of hitting the Paris targets as Trudeau’s, meaning somewhere between slim and none and slim just left town.

This as evidenced by the fact Scheer’s plan contains no timeline or deadlines for actually achieving the Paris target of reducing our emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.

That means Trudeau and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will spend the election denouncing Scheer for not having a plan to meet the Paris targets.

Of course, they will ignore the fact the federal environment commissioner, nine of 10 provincial auditors general, the United Nations, the federal government’s own studies and the Parliamentary Budget Officer, say the same thing about Trudeau’s plan. (Toronto Sun)

April 11, 2018

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an icon of progressive politics who has promised to “put a price on pollution”. Last week, to much applause, he proposed a ban on single-use plastics. On Monday night, his government declared a national “climate emergency.”

He is also now the public face of a Canadian plan to expand a pipeline that would triple the amount of crude oil that moves from the Alberta tar sands to the Pacific Coast for shipment around the world.

Such is his dilemma — and Canada’s.

Trudeau’s Liberal government announced Tuesday it will push ahead with the stalled Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, $5.5 billion project that has long pitted the country’s energy sector against the concerns of environmental and some indigenous groups.

December 1, 2016

Trudeau, announcing the decision at a news conference in Ottawa, pledged that every dollar earned from the pipeline will be used to fund projects to power Canada’s transition to clean energy.

“We need to create wealth today so we can invest in the future,” he said. “We need resources to invest in Canadians so they can take advantage of the opportunities generated by a rapidly changing economy, here at home and around the world.”

The move will be welcomed by the country’s struggling oil sector and the many Canadians whose fortunes are tied to it. Landlocked Alberta produces four-fifths of Canadian crude but struggles to get it abroad, and so must settle for selling at steep discounts against global benchmarks — hitting the province hard.

But many Canadians have protested the expansion proposal out of concern for oil spills and the continuing promotion of climate-changing fossil fuels. They question whether this is the moment to increase Canadian shipments of oil.

Trudeau has been left to walk a tightrope between the two sides, taking heat from both as he limps toward a federal election this fall. (Washington Post) 

 

Wednesday May 22, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 22, 2019

Alberta beef producers carefully watch Beyond Meat veggie burger complaint

Beef producers in Alberta are carefully watching an ongoing complaint from their Quebec counterparts.

The complaint’s target? American veggie burger company Beyond Meat.

March 15, 2001

The company has swept into Canadian headlines, advertising a plant-based, meatless burger that mimics beef. It hit the news, to great fanfare, when sold at A&W fast food restaurants, and is now available at various grocery chains.

The vegan company hopes to tap into the meat-eater market because the burger more closely tastes like beef than standard veggie patties.

The Quebec Cattle Producers Federation filed a formal complaint with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week, arguing Beyond Meat has no right to advertise their product as “plant-based meat.”

Alberta Beef Producers and Canadian Cattleman’s Association, which is based in Calgary, have announced their support for the complaint.

“If they’re saying, ‘We’re selling plant-based protein,’ we don’t have any issue with that at all. That’s not misleading at all. That’s very clear what consumers are getting,” Alberta Beef Producers executive director Rich Smith told the Calgary Eyeopener.

January 16, 2019

“When they start introducing terms that they’re using in a comparative way and sometimes in a negative way in their advertising, then that’s where we think it’s unfair and misleading to to our industry and to consumers.”

Beef producers in Alberta are carefully watching an ongoing complaint from their Quebec counterparts.

The complaint’s target? American veggie burger company Beyond Meat.

The company has swept into Canadian headlines, advertising a plant-based, meatless burger that mimics beef. It hit the news, to great fanfare, when sold at A&W fast food restaurants, and is now available at various grocery chains.

The vegan company hopes to tap into the meat-eater market because the burger more closely tastes like beef than standard veggie patties.

The Quebec Cattle Producers Federation filed a formal complaint with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week, arguing Beyond Meat has no right to advertise their product as “plant-based meat.”

Alberta Beef Producers and Canadian Cattleman’s Association, which is based in Calgary, have announced their support for the complaint.

“If they’re saying, ‘We’re selling plant-based protein,’ we don’t have any issue with that at all. That’s not misleading at all. That’s very clear what consumers are getting,” Alberta Beef Producers executive director Rich Smith told the Calgary Eyeopener.

“When they start introducing terms that they’re using in a comparative way and sometimes in a negative way in their advertising, then that’s where we think it’s unfair and misleading to to our industry and to consumers.” (CBC) 

 

Wednesday January 23, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 23, 2019

New food guide set to challenge prominence of meat, dairy industries

Health Canada unveiled a radically new food guide Tuesday that eliminates food groups, encourages plant-based foods over meat and dairy products, and is likely to force changes across the country’s agricultural industry.

December 13, 2018

“I see the food guide as a challenge for many industries,” said Simon Somogyi, a University of Guelph professor studying the business of food. “How they adapt will be of interest.”

Meat enjoyed a dominant position in the previous food guide, with a meat-and-alternatives category and a recommended two to three servings daily for adults depending on their sex and age. It now features much less prominently. The new guide encourages people to “eat protein foods,” but choose those that come from plants more often.

March 18, 2016

It’s a win for plant-protein farmers, like those growing beans, chickpeas and lentils, but a potential threat to meat producers.

Somogyi believes consumers will favour high-quality beef when they choose to consume red meat, and farmers will likely want to shift to producing niche products.

If Canadians eat less meat, there may be opportunities to export to Asian markets, where a middle-class consumer wants safe, high-quality cuts.

“If the Canadian beef sector can provide that then their future looks bright,” Somogyi said.

The industry may also want to collaborate with plant-protein producers, said Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor who researches food. (Source: CBC)