The pest problem Across Canada and around the world, farmers must contend with hungry pests to grow a successful crop. In fact, there are more than 30,000 species of weeds, 10,000 species of insects and 50,000 diseases that can impact agricultural production. Any one of these types of pests have the potential to damage or even destroy a crop. Globally, farmers already lose up to 40 per cent of their crops to pests and diseases. The greater the crop loss, the less food and feed there is for our hungry world. And at a time when we are facing a global food security crisis, we cannot afford to hav ..read more

Quebec consumers want to know that the food they’re eating is safe to consume. It’s unfortunate that a recent La Presse article missed an opportunity to combat misinformation and reassure Quebec families that they do not need to be concerned about any trace amounts of pesticides that may be found on their foods. Pesticides are a tool farmers use to grow healthy, abundant crops by protecting them against insects, weeds and diseases. Both organic and conventional farmers rely on pesticides, all of which are stringently regulated in Canada. Health Canada is responsible for ensuring all pesticides ..read more

Quebec consumers are fortunate to have access to a wide range of fruits and vegetables, and have confidence that they are safe to eat and feed to our families. While pesticides tend to be a headline-grabbing topic, what’s often missing from the story is important context. Pesticides are an important tool farmers sometimes use to protect their crops from insects, weeds and diseases. Without them, there would be a lot less locally grown food available for Quebec consumers. Canada has one of most rigorous scientific evaluation processes for pesticides in the world. More than 300 scientists at Hea ..read more

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) aim to free the world from hunger, poverty and inequity while tackling the challenges of climate change. An agenda that ambitious requires a “whole of society” effort as indicated by the Government of Canada — and Canada’s agriculture sector, including the plant science industry, is more than ready to do its part. The SDGs stem from the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2015, when Canada and 192 other UN members signed onto that framework, 2030 seemed reasonably far in the future. Now it’s just seven years away. Fortunatel ..read more

The recently announced pesticide ban in Montreal, which encompasses both domestic and agricultural products, is scientifically unjustified and undermines the credibility and the public’s trust in Canada’s strong science-based regulatory system. This politically motivated decision stands to negatively impact Quebec farmers and consumers. Both agricultural and domestic pesticides offer safe and efficient ways to address a variety of pest problems for which no or very few alternatives exist. In agriculture, pesticides are a critical tool for farmers that help them safely and sustainably grow food ..read more

As the world descends on Canada for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15), we have a critical opportunity to shape a path forward for the global protection and enhancement of biodiversity. There are many complex factors that impact biodiversity with agriculture being an important one. Growing food and feed has an impact on biodiversity, there’s no question. But as we as a planet collectively tackle the challenge of how to feed a population set to hit 10 billion by 2050, we’ll need to lean into sustainable productivity growth in agriculture. We will need to grow more food while sim ..read more

We hear a lot about regenerative agriculture these days, but everyone has their own definition of what this term means. Some of these definitions focus too closely on practices and not on outcomes. At the end of the day, it’s all about soil health. I would define regenerative agriculture as any approach to farming that ensures the soil remains in as good or better health than when you started farming it. It’s a spectrum of activities and tools focused on an outcome, rather than criteria to be met. Whatever the definition, improving soil health is a goal we can all stand behind. Soil is the hea ..read more

Canada has one of the most robust pesticide regulatory systems in the world. It’s a system that is held up internationally as a gold standard for its science-based underpinnings. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) puts the protection of human and environmental health at the forefront of its decision making, while ensuring that safe and effective pest control products get to market in Canada to support the important work farmers do to grow our food. In the context of the current dialogue both domestically and internationally around food security and sustainability, we must ..read more

Before any new pesticide comes to market it goes through years of testing to make sure it is both safe and effective. Most of this research is done by companies trying to bring new products to market. The question is often asked about whether companies themselves should be doing this research. Here’s the simple truth: good science is good science, no matter the source. High quality data in any industry need to meet certain standards to be considered usable. Data generated by companies are often misconstrued as untrustworthy but whether data are generated by governments, academics or individual ..read more

Each spring, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) out of the United States releases a list called the Dirty Dozen. Popular fruits and vegetables are ranked based on their levels of pesticide residues and presented as a ‘guide’ to consumers. The 12 crops with the highest amount of pesticide residues are labelled the Dirty Dozen, while the 15 with the lowest amount are called the Clean Fifteen. The Dirty Dozen list leads to fear and confusion for consumers around fruit and vegetable consumption. The EWG itself notes the importance of consumers eating more fruits and vegetables and the benefit t ..read more