Wheat Growers Makes Submission On Novel Foods Regulations

May 28, 2021

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers have made a submission to Health Canada’s proposed new guidance for the Novel Foods Regulation, focused on plant breeding.

The consultation addresses issues such as gene-editing and the need to better understand the technology needed to address production and environmental challenges.

In a news release, the Wheat Growers say the group is supportive of the recommended changes and believe that efforts in this area will help to address some of Canada’s pressing domestic food, health, and environmental challenges.

Norm Dreger is in charge of stakeholder relations with the Wheat Growers.

"There's going to be better varieties," he said. "They're going to have things like better disease resistance. You might be able to take advantage of certain customers in the market that are looking for things like low gluten, or perhaps they're looking for high fibre...It's offering growers of western Canada, varieties that are going to let them tap into new marketing opportunities."

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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.