(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

Humanitarian aid provided by Palestinian Arabs is distributed at northwestern Syria’s Deir Ballut and Muhammadiyah camps near the Turkish border on Feb. 13, 2022. (Photo: Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Reuters)

Pulse weekly outlook: Earthquake to have little effect on pulse markets

Such disasters don't often blow back on agrifood commodity costs

MarketsFarm — The earthquake that devastated parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday last week, taking the lives of more than 40,000 people, may not have a major effect on pulse markets, according to one analyst. Jon Driedger from Leftfield Commodity Research in Winnipeg said that while natural disasters like an earthquake can take on […] Read more


Mixed greens are gaining popularity in both menus and markets.

Tips on growing leafy greens indoors

First We Eat: Get a head start on salad days of summer

To most of us, salad is the ultimate summer fare. We wait all year for freshly harvested salad greens, making do through fall, winter and early spring with the robust and sturdy greens of those seasons, but summer means salad. We love the tenderness, the crunch, the colours and the very idea of lettuce. It […] Read more

Delicious fresh apples picked in late September 2022 from the same Kerr apple-crab tree that has produced a bountiful crop annually for more than 30 years. If trees could talk, what memories and stories they could tell.


My amazing Kerr apple-crab tree

Singing Gardener: Plus a useful breathing technique to help you sleep

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, then it sounds reasonable that two apples a day are even better. Yes — apples are on the agenda of words today and I’ll tell you about my amazing Kerr apple-crab tree. While I was a youth at home, it was common for friends or neighbours […] Read more