Agriculture
Glimpse into the Future of Food
From the Brownstone Institute
Is your food making you sick?
Suddenly, the fact that food is making us sick, really sick, has gained a lot of attention.
When Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced he would suspend his presidential campaign and campaign for President Trump on August 23, both he and Trump spoke about the need to improve the food supply to regain America’s health.
The same week, Tucker Carlson interviewed the sister-brother team of Casey and Calley Means, coauthors of the #1 New York Times bestseller Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health. Their thesis, borne out by thousands of medical research studies, is that food can make us very healthy or very sick. The grocery store choices many Americans have made have led us to unprecedented levels of diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic and neurologic diseases that prematurely weaken and age us, our organs, and our arteries.
There is a whole lot wrong with our available food.
- Chemical fertilizers have led to abusing the soil, and consequently, soils became depleted of micronutrients. Unsurprisingly, foods grown in them are now lacking those nutrients.
- Pesticides and herbicides harm humans, as well as bugs and weeds.
- Some experts say we need to take supplements now because we can’t get what we need from our foods anymore.
- Subsidies for wheat, corn, and soybean exceed $5 billion annually in cash plus many other forms of support, exceeding $100 billion since 1995, resulting in vast overproduction and centralization.
- We are practically living on overprocessed junk made of sugar, salt, wheat, and seed oils.
And that is just the start. The problem could have been predicted. Food companies grew bigger and bigger, until they achieved virtual monopolies. In order to compete, they had to use the cheapest ingredients. When the few companies left standing banded together, we got industry capture of the agencies that regulated their businesses, turning regulation on its head.
Consolidation in the Meat Industry
Then the regulators issued rules that advantaged the big guys, and disadvantaged the small guys. But it was the small guys who were producing the highest quality food, in most cases. Most of them had to sell out and find something else to do. It simply became uneconomic to be a farmer.
The farmers and ranchers that were left often became the equivalent of serfs on their own land.
Did you know:
- “Ninety-seven percent of the chicken Americans eat is produced by a farmer under contract with a big chicken company. These chicken farmers are the last independent link in an otherwise completely vertically integrated, company-owned supply chain.”
- “Corporate consolidation is at the root of many of the structural ills of our food system. When corporations have the ability to dictate terms to farmers, farmers lose. Corporations place the burden of financial liability on farmers, dictate details of far.”
- ” Corporations also consolidate ownership of the other steps of the supply chain that farmers depend on — inputs, processing, distribution, and marketing — leaving farmers few options but to deal with an entity against which they have effectively no voice or bargaining power.”
When profitability alone, whether assisted by policy or not, determines which companies succeed and which fail, cutting corners is a necessity for American businesses — unless you have a niche food business, or are able to sell directly to consumers. This simple fact inevitably led to a race to the bottom for quality.
Look at the world’s ten largest food companies. Their sales are enormous, but should we really be consuming their products?
Perhaps the regulators could have avoided the debasement of the food supply. But they didn’t.
And now it has become a truism that Americans have the worst diet in the world.
Could food shortages be looming?
If it seems like the US, blessed with abundant natural resources, could never suffer a food shortage, think again. Did you know that while the US is the world’s largest food exporter, in 2023 the US imported more food than we exported?
Cows are under attack, allegedly because their belching methane contributes to climate change. Holland has said it must get rid of 30-50% of its cows. Ireland and Canada are also preparing to reduce the number of their cows, using the same justification.
In the US, the number of cows being raised has gradually lessened, so that now we have the same number of cows that were being raised in 1951 — but the population has increased by 125% since then. We have more than double the people, but the same number of cows. What!? Much of our beef comes from Brazil.
Pigs and chickens are now mostly raised indoors. Their industries are already consolidated to the max. But cows and other ungulates graze for most of their life, and so the beef industry has been unable to be consolidated in the same way.
But consolidation is happening instead in the slaughterhouses because you cannot process beef without a USDA inspector in a USDA-approved facility — and the number of these facilities has been dropping, as have the number of cows they can handle. Four companies now process over 80% of US beef. And that is how the ranchers are being squeezed.
Meanwhile, efforts are afoot to reduce available farmland for both planting crops and grazing animals. Bill Gates is now the #1 owner of US farmland, much of which lies fallow. Solar farms are covering land that used to grow crops — a practice recently outlawed in Italy. Plans are afoot to impose new restrictions on how land that is under conservation easements can be used.
Brave New Food
That isn’t all. The World Economic Forum, along with many governments and multinational agencies, wants to redesign our food supply. So-called plant-based meats, lab-grown meats, “synbio” products, insect protein, and other totally new foods are to replace much of the real meat people enjoy — potentially leading to even greater consolidation of food production. This would allow “rewilding” of grazing areas, allowing them to return to their natural state and, it is claimed, this would be kinder to the planet. But would it?
Much of the land used for grazing is unsuitable for growing crops or for other purposes. The manure of the animals grazing on it replenishes soil nutrients and contributes to the soil microbiome and plant growth. “Rewilding” may in fact lead to the loss of what topsoil is there and desertification of many grazing areas.
Of course, transitioning the food supply to mostly foods coming from factories is a crazy idea, because how can you make a major change in what people eat and expect it to be good for them? What micronutrients are you missing? What will the new chemicals, or newly designed proteins, or even computer-designed DNA (that will inevitably be present in these novel foods) do to us over time? What will companies be feeding the insects they farm, when food production is governed by ever cheaper inputs?
It gets worse. Real food production, by gardeners and small farmers or homesteaders, is decentralized. It cannot be controlled. Until the last 150 years, almost everyone fed themselves from food they caught, gathered, or grew.
But if food comes mainly from factories, access can be cut off. Supply chains can break down. You can be priced out of buying it. Or it could make you sick, and it might take years or generations before the source of the problem is identified. How long has it taken us to figure out that overprocessed foods are a slow poison?
There are some very big problems brewing in the food realm. Whether we like it or not, powerful forces are moving us into the Great Reset, threatening our diet in new ways, ways that most of us never dreamed of.
Identifying the Problems and Solutions
But we can get on top of what is happening, learn what we need to, and we can resist. That’s why Door to Freedom and Children’s Health Defense have unpacked all of these problems and identified possible solutions.
During a jam-packed two-day online symposium, you will learn about all facets of the attack on food, and how to resist. This is an entirely free event, with a fantastic lineup of speakers and topics. Grab a pad and pencil, because you will definitely want to take notes!
The Attack on Food and Farmers, and How to Fight Back premieres on September 6 and 7. It will remain on our channels for later viewing and sharing as well. By the end of Day 2, you will know what actions to take, both in your own backyard, and in the halls of your legislatures to create a healthier, tastier, safer, and more secure food supply.
See below for a summary and for the complete program.
Author
Former Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz wonders who’s really in control
Canadians have been watching with increasing anger and outrage. The world has been watching with disbelief that a once great democracy could have become a petty dictatorship where the rule of law is ignored by a government agency – and hence, by the federal government itself – that believes it has impunity from the law and is above that law.
I have been writing about the disaster unfolding in Edgewood, BC for six months now. The problems began almost a year ago at Universal Ostrich Farms with an outbreak of what was believed to be avian flu. The crisis erupted when the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the RCMP invaded and occupied the farm almost four weeks ago. The death squad came to kill 399 ostriches. They expected no opposition. They got plenty. Then the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to consider the farm’s appeal of a recent decision by the federal court to allow the “cull” to continue despite there being absolutely no reason for doing so. As has been noted, the CFIA steadfastly refuses to test the ostriches for avian flu.
The court ordered a stay of execution.
The CFIA has brazenly but systematically taken over this farm and is doing everything to impair the health and end the lives of the remaining birds.
 |
It made perfect sense since the birds are healthy and have been for well over 260 days.
But the CFIA has ignored the court’s order and continued with an unofficial, piecemeal execution of the ostriches. The herd has diminished by perhaps 100 birds since the CFIA was given “custody” of the birds and the farm owners have not been allowed to feed or care for their ostriches and have instead had to trust the CFIA to do that. It was obvious from the start that these bureaucratic goons were doing anything but and in fact were cruelly mistreating the birds because, after all, they think this court order is just a temporary setback. So not only is the evidence of cruelty mounting, it is becoming obvious that the CFIA is continuing to kill the birds and remove their carcasses from the farm in dumpsters.
 |
Former Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz was also an ostrich farmer at one time in his busy life. He was also minister for eight years during the administration of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and he knows how the CFIA works – and doesn’t work. He has been following the saga at Universal Ostrich Farms very closely.
 |
“I think it’s become a debacle. The world is watching, and there’s no accountability for anything that’s being done out there. There’s a stay before the Supreme Court, but while that stay is in place, the CFIA has moved ahead with impunity to do whatever they think they’re going to need to do in the end. And I think that’s just morally and ethically wrong … They’ve gone way beyond any kind of budget capacity. They’re outspending anything I’ve ever seen them try to do,” said Ritz
“They’ve gone sideways again, and no one is calling them to task. There’s a number of people on social media. No one in the mainstream, other than, you know, “This Hour Has 22 minutes” that did a skit the other day, which I found was completely tasteless and offside. Well, that’s what they do, but at the end of the day this is a science-based organization, and I don’t see any science here. They have an opportunity to test the birds, and they refuse to do that.”
“I think it’s become a debacle. The world is watching, and there’s no accountability for anything that’s being done out there,” said Gerry Ritz
The video evidence of the neglect, maltreatment and cruelty is abundant. The CFIA has not only banned the family farm of Dave Bilinksy, Karen Espersen and her daughter Katie Pasitney from feeding the ostriches, these thugs are reluctant to do that task for them and the birds are clearly not just hungry but starving. The CFIA should have been charged weeks ago for violating basic animal cruelty laws. They should also be held accountable for treating an order from the Supreme Court of Canada with the same seriousness as an order at a fastfood restaurant.
 |
The CFIA has even occupied an adjacent farm simply because they wanted to build a road that would allow them to bypass the protesters on the farm and continue to do their work in secret. They have established an execution pen of hay bales inside a fenced-off area of the farm that the farm owners cannot enter. Katie and her family have lost control of their livestock, their farm and their livelihood. The CFIA is conducting its clandestine and dirty work with complete impunity. No one has been charged with cruelty, they operate above the law and control the scope of work performed by the police.
So, while the farm waits to discover the decision of the Supreme Court, time is potentially running out for the ostriches. When we learned that the court would not be responding for at least two weeks after Thanksgiving, it seemed like a good omen. Two weeks to continue to consolidate public opinion against the slaughter. Two weeks to demonstrate that this form of government overreach was not just directed at one farm or one herd of ostriches but against all farmers, all property owners, anyone who has a dog or a cat at home. The CFIA has brazenly but systematically taken over this farm and is doing everything to impair the health and end the lives of the remaining birds.
 |
There may not be a single ostrich left by the time the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the case or not. It may be a moot point and a decision without any purpose because the CFIA might have already disposed of all the ostriches, without any fear of legal consequences.
This story would be sufficiently tragic if it were only about the invasion and occupation of a family farm and the completely irrational and unnecessary decision to kill almost 400 ostriches. But it is about much more than that. It is about the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney having no respect for private property or the livelihood of farmers.
Ritz says it’s a toss-up between whether the CFIA has become a rogue agency or an agency following the orders of rogue federal government. “ think a little bit of both. Human nature tends to let you run wild if no one’s looking over your shoulder.”
“I cannot, for the like me, understand why SPCA aren’t screaming, you know, a lot more pushback than we’re seeing. Certainly they’re continuing to move ahead full steam, even while the Supreme Court decides whether they have this. [They’ve] decided to hear it, I understand, but at the end of the day, there’ll be nothing left to hear by the time they get there.”
This story would be sufficiently tragic if it were only about the invasion and occupation of a family farm and the completely irrational and unnecessary decision to kill almost 400 ostriches. But it is about much more than that. It is about the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney having no respect for private property or the livelihood of farmers. It is about a sanguinary government agency that has virtually nothing to do with public health but everything to do with killing animals. It is about the absolute refusal to the CFIA to test the birds for avian flu because the CFIA does not want to be caught in a lie or admit that herd immunity is far more effective than the vaccines that big pharma wants to sell and the Liberal government is clearly benefitting from.
This story is about your family farm, your house and backyard being occupied by the government with a trumped-up “warrant to search.” It is about your farmyard animals or your dog and cat being seized and killed by the CFIA because they say it is necessary. It is about a ravenous federal government not just “stamping out” healthy ostriches but stamping out basic liberties in Canada.
 |
Combined with the Carney government’s obsession to censor social media, confiscate a myriad of firearms from law-abiding gun owners who are largely farmers and establish a digital ID, the tragedy at the ostrich farm is about how a country that used to respect the rule of law and democratic protocol has slid into authoritarian rule that far too few Canadians tried to stop. We know the Carney government is heavily invested in avain flu vaccines that were purchased from the UK’s GSK. Is Mark Carney personally invested?
 |
Sources: https://x.com/TIME/status/
Does Ritz think this is all about doing the bidding of big pharma?
“Well, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I mean, when the chips start to fall on one side of the table, you really have to be conscious of where they’re piling up. And in this case, there’s a lot of unanswered questions. I just don’t understand how this has gotten as far as it has without some of those things being addressed,” he said asking, “Why are they refusing to test these birds?”
He noted that the cost of testing was about $100,000 when there were 399 birds still alive. “Now there are fewer. Why that would be an impediment when they’re probably spending that per day with everything they’re doing? Would that not be the ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card for the CFIA and the RCMP to back away and say, ‘Hey, we’ve tested them. Now everything’s fine. We’re good,’” Ritz continued.
“So why they won’t test baffles the crap out of me, and that’s where, as minister, Heath MacDonald should step in and say, ‘Just get it done.’ It takes a few minutes per bird. They’ve already got the system to line them up and run them through. So why aren’t they doing that? I just can’t believe that they’re passing up this opportunity to build the science unless there’s someone calling the shots behind them who doesn’t want the science revealed.”
This article supplied by Troy Media.
Canada’s agri-food sector powers $90 billion in exports and one in nine jobs, yet it’s missing from the fed’s flagship infrastructure agenda
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “nation-building” strategy may boast big wins for energy and infrastructure, but it sidelines one of Canada’s greatest economic assets: food.
His first five flagship projects—the LNG terminal in Kitimat, a small modular nuclear reactor in Darlington, the $1-billion Contrecoeur container terminal east of Montreal and mineral developments in B.C. and Saskatchewan—send a message that Ottawa is ready to build. But for all their ambition, they overlook the sector that feeds the country, powers $90 billion in exports and supports one in nine jobs.
Canada is one of the world’s great breadbaskets—reliable, safe and absurdly productive. The agrifood sector isn’t just farms and tractors; it’s one of the most advanced, innovative ecosystems we’ve got. And yet, among Carney’s first round of “nation-building” moonshots, food didn’t even get a seat at the table.
Sure, the expanded port in Montreal will help grain and processed food shipments. And yes, stable nuclear power might one day shave energy bills for processors and greenhouse growers. But these are trickle-down perks—not the kind of direct investment the sector actually needs. Food deserves its own spotlight.
This oversight isn’t just symbolic—it exposes real pressure points that threaten the entire system. Take Western Canada’s beef-packing bottleneck, for example: a few mega-facilities dominate the sector, so when one gets gummed up by a strike or shutdown, it sends shockwaves through the entire supply chain. Farmers are left holding the bag—and consumers feel the hit. Expanding and decentralizing capacity would help, but that’s just scratching the surface.
If Carney wants to prove Canada can be a food power as much as an energy one, we need projects with the same heft and urgency as those just announced. To match the ambition of Carney’s energy and infrastructure plans, here are five food-sector nation-builders that would move the dial:
1. The Prairie Gateway Grain and Pulse Terminal—a rail-linked export hub in Saskatchewan or Manitoba—would get lentils, peas, canola and wheat to global
markets fast. Think Contrecoeur, but for the Prairies.
2. Protein Supercluster 2.0 would string together state-of-the-art processing facilities to transform raw commodities into premium plant proteins, canola oil and biofuels. A second-generation government-backed innovation corridor, it would help Canada move from raw exports to value-added, export-ready, job-creating production.
3. A National Plant and Animal Science Campus, inspired by Wageningen University in the Netherlands—a world leader in agricultural research—would centralize the kind of next-gen crop science, livestock genomics and climate-resilient breeding Canada will need to compete in the decades ahead. Call it moonshot science; we’ve been staring at the ground too long.
4. Northern Food Sovereignty Corridors, featuring investments in greenhouses, vertical farms and logistics, would reduce reliance on overpriced imports and bring fresh food, and economic independence, to northern and Indigenous communities. It would also move reconciliation from speech to action.
5. A Digital Food Traceability Network would use blockchain and AI to track food from seed to supper, slashing waste, boosting consumer confidence and giving our exports a transparency edge in an increasingly picky global market.
Carney’s five projects are a solid start. They prove Canada can think big. But a real strategy needs to feed people as well as power them. Agriculture can’t remain the forgotten cousin in economic planning.
The point isn’t to downplay the importance of energy or mining. Mines and reactors may fuel prosperity but it’s food—and the infrastructure, science and innovation behind it—that will secure it. Canada’s real strength lies not just under the ground but in the fields, labs and refrigerated supply chains that keep our plates full and our trading partners coming back for seconds.
Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor and researcher in food distribution and policy. He is senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast. He is frequently cited in the media for his insights on food prices, agricultural trends, and the global food supply chain.
Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country.
Disabled Canadians increasingly under pressure to opt for euthanasia during routine doctor visits
Petition threatens independent school funding in Alberta
No Exit Wound – EITHER there was a very public “miracle” OR Charlie Kirk’s murder is not as it appears
Busting five myths about the Alberta oil sands
-
Business2 days agoThe painful return of food inflation exposes Canada’s trade failures
-
Business19 hours agoTrans Mountain executive says it’s time to fix the system, expand access, and think like a nation builder
-
Business2 days agoCBC uses tax dollars to hire more bureaucrats, fewer journalists
-
National2 days agoElection Officials Warn MPs: Canada’s Ballot System Is Being Exploited
-
Business2 days agoPaying for Trudeau’s EV Gamble: Ottawa Bought Jobs That Disappeared
-
Alberta2 days agoCoutts border officers seize 77 KG of cocaine in commercial truck entering Canada – Street value of $7 Million
-
Bruce Dowbiggin2 days agoIs Roundball A Square Game? Sports Betting Takes Another Hit
-
Alberta1 day agoPremier Smith sending teachers back to school and setting up classroom complexity task force