Opinion: Keep political bitterness out of Canadian food

Apr 05, 2023

Some things are more apparent than real. If the price of food jumps by 15 or 20 percent due to rising global inflation, it is assumed the difference between today’s price and last year’s price is in someone’s pocket. But whose?

Canadian politicians have an opportunity to explain the components of food prices. The House of Commons has been holding hearings to examine food price inflation in the nation. About 45 people, from grocery chief executives to farmers, have sat before Parliament’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Committee since the end of November.

Each has described their piece of the grocery elephant. But will parliamentarians produce a report that tells the tale accurately and comprehensively?

For agriculture, the outcome of these hearings is a real chance for all Canadians to get a clearer picture of where their food comes from and the systems that take it from field to fork.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.