(Dave Bedard photo)

Food sales grew but margins tightened in 2022, FCC says

Modest further growth expected this year

Food and beverages sales increased in Canada last year, even as margins hit an historic low and consumers chose Canadian less. According to the latest FCC Food and Beverage Report, released Tuesday, sales increased 11 per cent to $156 billion in 2022. These gains came largely from higher export values and strength in the grain […] Read more

Here are just a few of the fats you can use for cooking. Pictured are (left to right) coconut oil, butter, olive oil in a carafe, pork fat, a jar of toasted sesame oil and schmaltz.


Don’t fear fat in your food

First We Eat: Fats are a prime nutrient source and serve more than one role in the kitchen

“What do you think of when you hear the word schmaltz?” I ask my husband Dave. He hesitates for half a heartbeat. “Soppy, sentimental writing or music,” he says. Dave’s a retired journalist, a card-carrying lover of edgy jazz and R&B, fan of hardbitten detective and police procedural TV shows and writer of lean short […] Read more


Photo: Getty Images

China to buy more homegrown soybeans for reserves

State-owned firms urged to prioritize domestic soy

Beijing | Reuters — China will step up buying of domestic soybeans by state reserves to encourage farmers to keep planting the crop, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday, as Beijing continues to push for greater self-sufficiency in oilseed. China started to increase soybean planting a year ago amid worries about its heavy reliance on […] Read more

(RyanJLane/E+/Getty Images)

Meat lobby says U.S. voluntary label rule could spur trade action

Ottawa to review Washington's proposed 'Product of USA' rule

U.S. meat industry lobbyists say Washington’s proposed new rules governing voluntary ‘Product of USA’ or ‘Made in the USA’ labels would “impose the same standard” as that country’s now-defunct mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law — and frustrate U.S. packers who import Canadian meat or livestock. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Food Safety and […] Read more


Around 20 per cent of Mexico’s corn imports from the U.S. are white corn, used to make food products such as tortillas. (Bhofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. demands formal trade talks with Mexico over GMO corn dispute

U.S. says new rules a breach of CUSMA

Chicago/Washington | Reuters — The United States requested formal trade consultations with Mexico on Monday over U.S. objections to its southern neighbour’s plans to limit imports of genetically modified corn and other agricultural biotechnology products. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced the request for technical talks after months of informal discussions with Mexican officials over […] Read more

Exacting cooks know it’s important to choose the right tool for the task.

The mettle of metal cooking pots

First We Eat: It matters what your kitchen pot is made of

Metal matters, as surely with knives and kitchen pots as any other farm tool. As we speak, a pot of split pea soup burbles on my gas range in a pot of enamelled cast iron. I feel safe about leaving it on its own. Much safer, say, than leaving our new kitten, Hercule, on her […] Read more



Once properly seasoned, woks are ready to prepare mouth-watering meals like this.

How to wok the talk

First We Eat: The distinctive wok toss isn’t just an art. It’s also science

I received a wok and cookbook recently. The 14-inch wok has a long wooden handle and a looped helper handle on the opposing side. The book, The Wok: Recipes and Techniques, is by J. Kenji López-Alt, a cook, an MIT-trained scientist and architect, and author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science. His […] Read more


A delectable panettone, ready to eat.

Perfecting panettone

First We Eat: Patience is required to make this classic Italian bread, but it’s worth the time and effort

Panettone is the Armani of sourdough, a tall, tender, airy dome garnished with raisins and candied citrus, sometimes glazed with chocolate. Complex and subtle, it is immensely popular in Italy and around the world. Making panettone is a patient multi-day process, which may be why so many Italians buy theirs. But it’s worth it, in […] Read more

File photo of a cornfield in Mexico. (Roberto Cabrera/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexico opens door for GM corn in feed, industrial uses

U.S. 'disappointed' in Mexico's new decree

Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico on Monday scrapped a deadline to ban genetically modified corn for animal feed and industrial use amid trade tensions with the United States — but retained plans to prohibit use of the GM grain for human consumption, as well as the herbicide glyphosate. The move, approved in a government […] Read more