It’s been a frenetic few days in the world of Canadian food news. Farmers have been fuming over Canada’s hopes to reduce emissions, right-wing extremists have been revolting over a pub posting photos with the Prime Minister, and Canadians have been rallying to support Canmore Pride after an appalling act of transphobia.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however; a new generation of farmers appear to be cropping up in Manitoba, while Restaurants Canada dolled out praise for a few provinces who are working toward liquor policy progress.
If any of the aforementioned stories are news to you, allow us to catch you up in this week's ICYMI.
Valbella doubles down on damage control
Following a whirlwind of backlash from Canadians in response to a disgusting transphobic email, Valbella Gourmet Foods has been attempting to regain its community’s trust—and business—by releasing a series of apologetic statements.
Though the statements have been criticized by many as mere lip service from the "cancellation playbook", we can only hope that the appalling event can serve as a teachable moment on the importance of education, inclusivity, and equity in the workplace.
Visit CBC News for an update to the original story.
Manitoba is now home to the highest number of young farmers in Canada
Statistics from a recently released census of Canadian agriculture revealed that Manitoba is now home to the highest number of farm operators under the age of 35 in Canada.
Although the sector still faces many challenges that continue to force people out of the business, statistics also show that the percentage of women operating farms in Manitoba has also grown significantly over the last five years, which is a cause for encouragement in an otherwise arduous time for the industry.
Head to CBC News for the full story.
Farmers fuming over proposed fertilizer emissions cap
The federal government recently proposed a new plan to cut back on the amount of nitrogen Canada emits, but farmers, ranchers, and both the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments have expressed concern that the impacts of such measures would be “catastrophic”.
According to those against the proposal, the only way to achieve the emissions target would be to significantly reduce their output, while others have pointed out that a number of technological breakthroughs have been made within the last decade to assist in that very matter.
Find the full story at CTV News.
P.E.I. pub faces severe backlash from right-wing extremists
P.E.I.’s Lone Oak Brewing has been facing severe backlash from anti-liberal keyboard warriors after posting a picture of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on its social media accounts.
While having lunch at the recently-opened P.E.I. pub, Trudeau took pictures with various staff and customers. Lone Oak shared a few of those photos on social media, and within a few hours they received thousands of comments and phone calls with negative, vulgar, and profane comments.
Find out more from CBC News.
Restaurants Canada’s releases restaurant report card
Restaurants Canada published a special COVID-19 edition of its annual Raise the Bar report this week evaluating how liquor policies are impacting the foodservice industry’s road to recovery.
Grades were handed out to each province reflecting their liquor policy progress, with Alberta earning the highest marks with a B+ and Saskatchewan receiving a near-failing grade of C-.
Find the full report at Restaurants Canada.
