April's Spotlight Series
Canadians have greater influential buying power over the foods we consume than ever before. We’re also having a greater disconnect to our food than ever before. Misinformation and trust issues involving the Ag sector are increasingly difficult to navigate for industry, farmers and consumers alike.
Sustainability is one area of growing scrutiny in which farmers and industry leaders can provide assurance and transparency to support consumer confidence.
In February of this year, the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food provided funding to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture to support the Ag sector’s efforts to boost sustainability and build public trust.
The Canadian Agri-Food Sustainability Initiative (CASI) was created to establish a portal for sustainability sourcing, plus run several pilot projects, surrounding support for Canadian agriculture sustainability efforts. CASI will provide Canadian farmers and processors an online national platform to proactively meet the growing demand for proof of sustainability from customers and benchmark their efforts with existing sustainability programs and connect them to potential clients both at home and abroad.
Ultimately, the Canadian Agri-Food Sustainability Initiative will support Canadian food producers’ use of label claims about the safety and quality of their food products. This will be a single window for data on the sustainability of the Canadian agri-food supply chain and provide a forum where producers and processors can share information and connect with new networks interested in sustainability. This initiative will also serve as a hub to benchmark and track the sustainability of the Canadian agri-food industry compared to international standards.
This new initiative will be an efficient avenue to connect farmers to programs that serve as criteria to receive environmental funding, providing farmers a bridge to resources which will help fund their critical environmental efforts.
To learn more about sustainability and agriculture visit our Sustainability Lab: