Statement from ministers of International Trade and Agriculture and Agri-Food on U.S. repeal of Country of Origin Labelling

Mar 02, 2016

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of International Trade, and the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, today issued the following statement in response to the United States amending its Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) regulation:

“Canada is very pleased that the U.S. has passed a law repealing discriminatory labelling requirements for beef and pork, and that today the U.S. Department of Agriculture amended the relevant regulations for this change to take effect. We are now reviewing the amendment.

“The World Trade Organization found COOL to be inconsistent with the United States’ international trade obligations, as it discriminated against Canadian cattle and hogs.

“This is a tremendously important development for our farmers and the economies of both our countries.”

Source : Government of Canada

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.