Recently, some politicians have been reminding voters that the cost of living is too high and food is too expensive. Having represented farmers (milk, beef and, in general, farm organizations, both English and French), I am reminded that all farm organizations kept close watch on the price of the food baskets in Canada, the U.S.A., and several other countries in different corners of the world. When you adjust the value of the U.S. dollar to the Canadian dollar, the price of a U.S. food basket and a Canadian food basket are almost identical.
We also watched when Food Freedom Day was each year. It’s been a few years since I’ve explained what Food Freedom Day is. You add up all the take-home pay in a country and subtract the taxes. Then you add up the total cost of groceries purchased in that country and divide that by the number of days in the year. With those two numbers, you can see on what day the average wage earner’s total cost of food for the year would be paid for if all their disposable income was used for food. In 2024, Food Freedom Day in Canada was February 9, the same date as for 2023. It is usually a day or two earlier each year, but both fuel and machinery parts have increased in price this year. If the same formula is used for Tax Freedom Day, you will find that it is much later, in the summer. Canada and the U.S.A. have the lowest cost of food in the world when it is compared to take-home pay.
Recently, since an outbreak of bird flu in the U.S.A., American border patrol reports that seizures of eggs being smuggled into the U.S. has surpassed seizures of fentanyl. A food specialist at Dalhousie University often takes swipes at Canada’s supply management system for marketing milk and eggs. Even with the recent egg smuggling from Canada to the U.S.A., we never noticed a shortage of eggs in Canada. Supply management has a cushion built in that lets producers avoid both shortages and surpluses in Canada. Several times, the president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada and several dairy farmers, including my son, have had to re-educate that food specialist both by phone and publicly on national TV.
Many years ago, before the Soviet Union fell apart, Gorbachev and our old agriculture minister, Eugene Whalen, were very good friends. Although the farmers in the Soviet Union were growing great crops, grocery shelves in the stores were often empty by noon, while piles of farm produce rotted in the fields because an efficient delivery system for food and grains was just not there. Gorbachev wanted to visit several grocery stores in Canada when visiting Whalen. Eugene let Gorbachev pick out the stores in case Gorbachev thought that Whalen had arranged for the shelves to be loaded at a showcase store. After they had visited several stores from western Ontario to Ottawa, Gorbachev was amazed at the amount and quality of food in every store. Whalen had also planned a fishing trip for the two of them in the Pontiac, but Gorbachev was called back to Russia before they got the Pontiac fishing trip in. For several years, it has been a priority for every farm organization in Canada to educate both the public and our politicians on Canada’s food security. The safety, quality, and adequate supply of Canadian food is a priority both for our consumers and our farmers.
Not every country in the world has the same regulations as we have on safety, quality, and dedication to keeping an adequate supply to feed our nation. Ever since food shortages in Europe during WWII, the European countries have sworn never to be short of food again. Just before the Canadian parliament was prorogued, there was a bill on the table to reinvestigate the safety of some of the chemical herbicides and insecticides that had not been reviewed for many years. When our government reconvenes, we hope that a bill that directly affects our food safety will be dealt with immediately.
Remember that April 28 is the deadline to vote for your choice of candidate. If you don’t vote, don’t complain after!
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
