

Singapore approves sale of lab-grown meat in world first
U.S. maker says cultured meat's clearance may set template for future approvals
Singapore | Reuters — Singapore has given U.S. start-up Eat Just the greenlight to sell its lab-grown chicken meat, in what the firm says is the world’s first regulatory approval for so-called clean meat that does not come from slaughtered animals. The meat, to be sold as nuggets, will be priced at premium chicken prices […] Read more

Dittmer: The short and long of it
Free Market Reflections with Steve Dittmer
Randy Blach, CattleFax CEO, gave the Texas Cattle Feeders Association an update on U.S. market and industry conditions during an unprecedented year in history. The corn supply looks strong this year, with ending stocks up 13.9 per cent. Beef cow numbers were up slightly in 2019 but will end 2020 down by around 375,000 and […] Read more

Tighter timeline set for dairy farmers’ trade pact compensation
Feather sector compensation pledged with $691 million in programs
Compensation to Canada’s supply-managed farmers, to offset domestic market share dealt away in two recent free trade pacts, will now move more quickly to dairy farmers — and will take the form of new programs for feather sectors. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Saturday announced $1.405 billion in compensation, as pledged in August last […] Read more

ADM, InnovaFeed to build world’s biggest insect protein plant in Illinois
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain trader and processor Archer Daniels Midland and French biotech company InnovaFeed announced plans on Thursday to build the world’s largest insect protein plant at Decatur, Illinois. The announcement comes amid rising global feed grain prices and tightening supplies, and as more companies work toward reducing the carbon footprint of […] Read more

Irritated trade partners push back on China’s coronavirus food tests
Canada rips testing as 'unjustified trade restrictions'
Beijing/Geneva | Reuters — Major food-producing countries are growing increasingly frustrated with China’s scrutiny of imported products and are calling on it to stop aggressive testing for the coronavirus, which some say is tantamount to a trade restriction. China says it has found the virus on the packaging of products from 20 countries including German […] Read more

JBS gears up for U.S. and Brazil expansions
Brazilian meat giant reiterates plans following strong Q3 results
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Food processor JBS SA reiterated plans to grow production capacity in Brazil and in the United States after posting strong third quarter results, executives said in a conference call to discuss earnings on Thursday. CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said 12 of the company’s plants in Brazil were being expanded, as JBS […] Read more

Quebec poultry packer to shut ex-Maple Leaf plant
Giannone to close Drummondville facility
The new owner of an antibiotic-free poultry processing plant in the Centre-du-Quebec region is set to shut the plant next week after a “thorough review” of its condition. Volaille Giannone announced Friday it will close the former Avicomax plant at Drummondville effective Nov. 6, after having bought it from Maple Leaf Foods in July for […] Read more

JBS to seek damages from founders
Brazil shareholder vote a win for Brazil's BNDES
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Shareholders in JBS SA on Friday cleared the way for the Brazilian food processor to sue its own controlling stakeholders and certain former managers, a rare victory for shareholder activism in Latin America’s largest economy. The vote was a win for JBS’s top minority shareholder, national development bank BNDES, which […] Read more

Former federal ag minister Don Mazankowski, 85
Long-time Alberta Tory MP deemed a 'minister of everything'
A private memorial is planned for long-time Alberta MP Don Mazankowski, whose work in the cabinets of prime ministers Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark included a stint as Canada’s minister of agriculture. Mazankowski, the MP for the east-central Alberta riding of Vegreville from 1968 to 1993, died late Tuesday at age 85, his family said […] Read more

Dairy farmers press feds on compensation promises, again
Canada’s dairy farmers are again calling on the federal government to make good on its promise to compensate producers, after giving up market share of the supply-managed industry to more foreign competitors through trade pacts. The Liberal government, most recently in its Sept. 23 speech from the throne, has told Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) […] Read more