Does eating pork 'sweep away the dirt'? Thursday, April 3, 2014 Many South Koreans subscribe to the traditional belief that eating pork helps cleanse the body of pollutants. Korea AgraFood magazine reports that, after doing a particularly dusty piece of work, many South Koreans will eat pork to "sweep away all the dirt in the throat."The South China Morning Post cites this old belief as the driver behind a 32 per cent increase in pork belly and leg sales in the first week of December, when air pollution in Seoul reached a level three out of six. South Korean media call the smog that drifts east from China an "air raid," and inhabitants are increasingly concerned about its hazardous effects.Unfortunately, there is no scientific proof that eating pork will actually help. At least it's not as harmful as jamming cigarette butts up your nose, another bogus cure that The New York Times reports is spreading over the Chinese Internet.Meanwhile, the smog in China is so bad that Bloomberg News reports Chinese pilots at domestic airlines must now be qualified for blind landings before they can fly into the country's 10 most congested airports. BP Pulling savings from the air Behind the Lines - April 2014
Group calls on Health Canada to make labels mandatory for gene-edited pork Tuesday, March 10, 2026 An advocacy group of farmers and environmental organizations wants Health Canada to implement mandatory labelling on pork from gene-edited pigs. Earlier this year, the federal agency approved the sale of gene-edited pigs as food. The pigs are resistant to Porcine Reproductive and... Read this article online
Global Conflict Drives Major Surges in Commodity Markets Monday, March 9, 2026 A major international conflict the war in Iran has disrupted trade flows, pushing energy and grain prices sharply higher. On the weekly Ag Commodity Corner+ Podcast with Commodity Strategist Abhinesh Gopal shared the markets made sharp moves in the week of March 2 to 6, after a rapidly... Read this article online
Alberta Beef Producers forming traceability group Monday, March 9, 2026 A livestock organization in Alberta is forming a working group to explore the federal government’s proposed traceability changes. A March 5 statement from Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) indicates the organization’s delegates passed a resolution at the most recent AGM supporting this group’s... Read this article online
Canada invests in youth ag employment Monday, March 9, 2026 The federal government is investing in the future ag workforce. On March 5 at the Atlantic Council Cereals and Oilseeds conference, Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald announced $27 million over two years in AAFC’s Youth Employment and Skills Program. This program, originally launched... Read this article online
SARM Calling for Stronger Rural Emergency Funding Friday, March 6, 2026 The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is calling on provincial and federal governments to strengthen funding and partnerships that support emergency response services across rural Saskatchewan. Rural municipalities playa major rolein protecting communities during... Read this article online