British Columbia: Food Production Superpower?

Jun 12

Guest: Lenore Newman

On this edition of Journal, a look at our food industry and how it is affected by the US President’s on-again, off-again, and maybe on-again tariff threats.

Prime Minister Carney has said our relationship with the United States will never be the same again as a result of this major politically driven trade dispute. Canadians must now rethink our defense policies: our supply chain vulnerabilities, our jobs, and our food security. Do we even have food security if over half of our agrifood imports come from the United States?

Does this need to be the case? What can we do to change that around? Can we grow or process more of our own food? Are we using our land and resources to the best advantage? Are there innovations that we should embrace with an open mind?

Dr. Lenore Newman is one of Canada’s top experts on food security. Currently, she is director of the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley, where she holds a Canada Research Chair in food security.

As early as 2019, Lenore was part of BC’s Food Security Taskforce that presented to premier John Horgan and his government their recommendations on how we could improve our situation. Did anything come of that report?

Recently, she contributed to a Canada Research Council document called “The Next Course,” which enthusiastically makes the case for Canada to become a “living lab where the world’s food future is born.”

Dr. Lenore Newman joins us to explore the opportunities Canada has to enhance our own food security.