PODCAST · education
Food Focus
by Michael von Massow
Food Focus is a platform with the intention of providing opportunities to discuss, challenge and learn about topical issues of interest in the food system. Recorded in offices, over Skype or maybe even over a drink – these conversations happen wherever Mike can put down his digital recorder and chat with experts across the food system.
Episodes
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When Groceries Get Expensive: Separating Fact from Frustration with David Ortega
Mike speaks with leading food economist David Ortega about the causes of food price increases. They also talk about what isn't causing food price increases. This is the first of two conversations with Dr Ortega.
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Genetics Can Help Create a Lower-Emission Dairy Cow - Dr Christine Baes
We've all heard of the emissions footprint of the dairy industry. What we hear about a lot less is how much the industry is doing to reduce that footprint. Di you know that some cows are genetically predisposed to emit less - significantly less. And genetic progress is cumulative and permanent.…
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Are Government Grocery Stores the Solution for Food Affordability?
On this episode Mike talks about the what, why, and why not of government owned grocery stores. While the idea may sound appealing, there are real challenges and other approaches are likely better to help consumers deal with high grocery prices.
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An Inflation Primer: How High and Why
We are hearing a lot about inflation lately, but do we understand what it is? More importantly do we understand why its happening? In this episode, Mike talks to Dr Trevor Tombe, Professor of Economics and the University of Calgary. They talk about what's happening with inflation and why it is so...
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Is Micro-Algae the Future of Alternative Protein?
Have you ever left a pail of water sitting and come back to a green and soupy mess? Did you think it looked like food? No? Maybe you should have. Yonatan Golan, the President of Israel based Brevil, says that micro-algae is future of sustainable protein and his company has a technology to produce...
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Is Your Grandmother's Recipe Ready for Prime Time? Bringing New Food Products to Market
Have you ever thought that your old family recipe would be a hit on grocery store shelves? Do you have any idea how that might happen? In this episode Mike talks to Derek Vella, Director of the Guelph Food Innovation Centre, about the process for bringing a new product to the market. He talks…
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Milk from Farm to Family
In this episode Mike talks to Jenifer Tilton Flood, whose family milks 1,700 cows in Maine. We talk about what happens on a dairy farm - the joys and challenges of farming. They also talk about the farm's relationship with the processor - a coop - they sell their milk too. Jenni has a unique...
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Building a Farm Based Food Business - Challenges and Successes
Farmers are managers first and foremost. They need to build their businesses to ensure long term success. Many farmers get bigger. Others find a market niche. Increasingly we are seeing farmers start processing their production to increase the value they earn per acre. In this episode, Mike talks...
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A Look Back to Better Understand the Future of Animal Agriculture
Technology is advancing at an amazing rate. You might not think that looking at the history of animal agriculture would provide much insight into how we might think about gene editing and other technology in the future. Mike's guest this episode, Will Wright, an animal historian at Augustana...
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The COOP Model In Agriculture - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Coops have been a common model in agriculture and food, giving producers a stake in the processing and input sectors. What are coops and what makes them different from a "regular" business? In this episode Mike speaks with Michael Barrett, a self described coop evangelist and President and CEO of...
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Reflecting on a Career in Dairy Processing
Michael Barrett is retiring as the President and CEO of Gaylea - a dairy processing cooperative. Mike sat down with Michael to reflect on his career and how he got there, the change he has seen in the industry, and what he sees coming for the dairy industry in the future.
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Do Animals Feel? A Discussion on Animal Sentience
What do animals feel? Mike has a discussion on sentience with Dr Georgia Mason, Director of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare. We make individual and societal decisions on seafood and livestock product consumption based on our perceptions of animals. Georgia provides an overview...
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From Farm to Food Service: A Unique Perspective on the Restaurant Business
Jenn Christie grew up on a farm and worked for most of her career in agriculture. In 2020 (yes the pandemic year) she and her partner opened a restaurant (Bonfire on Queen in Paisley, ON). In this episode she talks with Mike about the surprises, the successes and the struggles (they opened after...
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Changing What we Teach to Prepare Students to Contribute to a Changing Food System
The food system is undergoing profound change. Technology, climate change, COVID, and consumer demand are all driving changes to how food is produced, the structure of supply chains, and, most importantly, what people are choosing. In this episode Mike speaks with Rene Van Acker, the Dean of the...
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How is Your Food Literacy - with complete audio track
What do you know about the food you eat? What should you know about the food you eat? Do we have the skills to make good choices? Do we have the skills to make good food? In this episode, Mike talks to Alicia Martin, a PhD student in the Department of Geography who studies food literacy. We talk...
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How is Your Food Literacy?
What do you know about the food you eat? What should you know about the food you eat? Do we have the skills to make good choices? Do we have the skills to make good food? In this episode, Mike talks to Alicia Martin, a PhD student in the Department of Geography who studies food literacy. We talk...
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Do We Have an Environment for Women to Prosper In Agriculture?
Jen Christie is our guest this episode. She and Mike talk about the challenges women often face in farming or agriculture industries. Its not only an issue of equity, but in an industry starving for staff its also an issue of supporting the future. What can and should we do better to allow women…
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Not Your Grandmother's Garden
In this episode Mike speaks to Kyle Oakley who produces apples and fresh vegetables on their farm near Thornbury Ontario. They talk about the farm, selling direct to consumers, and the challenges that COVID brought. This farm produces lots of vegetables incorporating new technology - not at all...
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Chasing Unicorns: A Discussion with the Rare Young Farmer
After a hiatus to recharge, the Food Focus podcast is back. Everyone has a picture in their head of what a farmer looks like. In general, that picture isn't of a 20 something young Bachelor of Commerce graduate. While an aging demographic is the reality in farming, there are actually young people...
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The War in Ukraine is Being Felt Across the Food System
The war in Ukraine is a humanitarian disaster caused by an unjustifiable aggression by Russia. The world is focused, rightly, on the impacts on the Ukrainian people. There are, however, ripple effects of the disruption of the Ukrainian agricultural economy being felt across the world. Wheat...
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Conflicting Incentives? An Economist's Perspective on GHG Emissions Reductions in Crop Production
In this episode Mike speaks with Dr. Alfons Weersink, Professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph, about GHG emissions from crop production. Alfons provides a perspective on the economic returns to fertilizer application and the…
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Reducing GHG Emissions from Crop Production
There is considerable discussion about reducing emissions across the economy. Mike's guest this week suggests that there are real ways to reduce emissions from crop production without dramatic disruptions in production and that we continue to learn more about approaches. Dr Claudia Wagner-Riddle...
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High Heels and Canola Fields: Bridging the Gap from Farmers to the Public
Mike's guest this episode is Lesley Kelly. Lesley talks about her farm, her path to farming, and her efforts through social media and blogging to help the broader public understand farmers and farming better. She also talks about some of the challenges of engaging broadly through these channels....
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Harvesting Hemp's Huge Potential as a Crop
For many the word hemp is synonymous with cannibis. The truth, however, is that hemp is a plant that grows without THC (the pyshchoactive ingredient in cannibis) and has a wide range of uses - from food to industrial fibre. To help draw back the curtain on the mystery of hemp, Mike chatted with…
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The Next Supper - A Conversation with Corey Mintz on the Future of Restaurants
The pandemic has been tough on everyone but it has been especially tough on restaurants. While change for the industry was inevitable, this significant shock may catalyze some significant changes going forward. Food writer Corey Mintz has written a book - The Next Supper: The End of Restaurants…
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Labour Shortage or Good Job Shortage? Why Are Restaurants Struggling to Get People?
As we are getting a bit more freedom (whether temporary or permanent) and venturing back into restaurants, we hear a lot about labour shortages. Why are restaurants struggling to find people to work? Is this novel and due to the pandemic or is it a broader systemic problem. Bruce McAdams and...
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Challenges to Making Animal Welfare Improvements
In this episode, Mike chats with Dr Beth Ventura about animal welfare. Beth is a teaching professor in animal welfare and behaviour at the University of Minnesota. She studies the science of animal welfare - understanding how animals are doing and what they prefer - but also some of the…
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To Label or Not to Label - A Discussion on GM Foods
Labelling foods with genetically modified ingredients has been a contentious debate. Some argue labelling is unnecessary and causes undue alarm. Others suggest consumers have a right to know. There remains a question as to whether it matters to consumers and whether labels will make any…
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A Real Vertical Farm - Making a Difference in a First Nation Community
The Opaskwayak Cree Nation has built a small smart vertical farm in Northern Manitoba. The technology is very cool but the impact on the local community is what really caught my interest. Vertical farms are not some sort of futuristic pipe dream but real and practical production systems that are...
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Farmers Are People Too - And We Need to Work to Understand Them Better
Farmers are people too. Economists traditionally assume that farmers will behave rationally and maximize profits. The truth is there are many things that influence farmer decisions in adopting new practices, products, or technologies. That's the point Dr Ellen Goddard made in her Presidential...
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The Modern Dairy Vet - A Partner in Food Production
In this episode of Food Focus, Mike talks to Dr Kelly Barratt a dairy veterinarian in Ontario. Their conversation ranges from the role of a veterinarian in modern dairy production, how she became a vet, the joys and challenges of being a female veterinarian, and the critical issue of on farm…
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A New Food Frontier - A Discussion on Cellular Agriculture
Cellular agriculture is not a concept you hear about every day - but it soon might be. You've heard about lab grown meat. We can also produce some dairy proteins using genetically modified yeasts. Technological innovation is allowing a wide variety of food products and ingredients to be produced...
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What Eggactly is Going On? Understanding Animal Welfare in Laying Hens
We hear a lot of different descriptions of egg production - cage free, enriched housing, free run, free range - but what does it all mean? How should we be making choices? It seems as though the industry is struggling with it as well as the Retail Council of Canada just rescinded a cage free...
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Confessions of a Used Sunlight Salesman
Brian Alexander grows grass in Kansas for a living. Mike wanted to chat with him because many say he is farming regeneratively. We are hearing more and more about regenerative agriculture and many of us aren't sure what it means. In this episode Mike talks to Brian about what he does and why he...
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Farmers And Carbon - Talking Both Taxes And Credits
Food Focus is back after some technical issues and the recruitment of a new producer we will be posting regular episodes again. In this episode I speak with two researchers from the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph. We talk about how carbon…
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Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat - A discussion on our conflicted relationships with animals
Mike had a conversation with Hal Herzog as part of a seminar for the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph. They talk about how we think about different animals differently, why it happens and what it means.
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Fraberts Fresh Foods - Keys to Thriving as a Small Player in Grocery Retail
How does a small family run grocery store thrive in the era of big box grocery retail and ongoing consolidation? In this episode, Mike speaks with Jackie Fraser of Fraberts Fresh Foods about how they differentiate in the market by selling local and developing a relationship of trust with…
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Dairy and Palm: What We Know, What We Don't Know, and What We Need to Know
This is the podcast version of my second YouTube discussion with experts on the dairy and palm issue. I visit with a dairy farmer (Andrew Campbell), a dairy nutritionist (Mike Steele), and a veterinarian (Stephen LeBlanc) about what is happening, what we need to understand better, and where we go...
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A Primer on Palm Oil and Dairy
Palm oil has gotten a lot of attention lately, particularly in the context of dairy feed. This video presents and discussion with three experts from the University of Guelph and highlights what palm oil is, why it is used in the food industry, why and how it is used in dairy nutrition and how it...
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Building Networks - Why Rural Broadband Matters
Many of us take internet connectivity for granted. For some, however, in rural communities even simple things like streaming a Netflix program is frustratingly unpredictable. This affects not only leisure time but also critical economic and social functions. Running a business is impossible…
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Cooking as Therapy with Chef Pam Fanjoy
This is the second conversation that Mike had with Chef Pam Fanjoy. The focus on Pam's culinary therapy program that provides both cooking skills and mental health and life skills support. She uses a kitchen as a context for an activity to help people relax and be somewhat distracted while…
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Episode 50 - Chef Pam Fanjoy - A Different Kind of Food Business
This is the 50th episode of the Food Focus podcast. We're exited to hit this milestone and look forward to talking to many more people about a wide variety of issues related to food. This episode is the first half of Mike's conversation with Chef Pam Fanjoy. She talks about her food business...
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An Overview Of Pork Production In Canada
In this episode Mike talks to Ken McEwen about Canada's pork industry. The Canadian industry represents 6% of farm cash receipts and we export between 60 and 70% our our production. This is a profoundly important segment of our ag sector and many people don't have any idea of how it works. They...
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Apocalypse Cow? What is the Future of Meat?
Mike chats with Dana McAualey about the future of meat. We are seeing more and more restaurants offering plant based burgers (most recently McDonalds and the McPlant). Singapore recently approved lab grown meat for human consumption. Are the stars aligned for the end of traditional livestock...
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Digging Into Dirt Part 2: Making Soil Healthier and the Question of Sequestration
This is the second half of Mike's conversation with Angela Straathof on soil. In the first half they spoke about why soil is important and what soil health means. In this episode they talk about improving soil health and the potential for carbon sequestration or carbon capture as a revenue source...
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Digging Into Dirt II: Making Soil Healthier and the Question of Sequestration
This is the second half of Mike's conversation with Angela Straathof on soil. In the first half they spoke about why soil is important and what soil health means. In this episode they talk about improving soil health and the potential for carbon sequestration or carbon capture as a revenue source...
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Digging Into Dirt I: Intro to Soil
In this episode, Mike has a conversation with Angela Straathof, a soil scientist with the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association. This is the first half of a longer conversation. They talk about why we should care about soil and how its so much more than just dirt - in fact Angela says we...
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Bully Buyers? A Perspective on Retailer Supply Chain Fee Increases - MiniPod
We are hearing more and more about large food retailers increasing the charges they put on suppliers. These are the costs of doing business with these retailers who provide access to a large share of the consumer base. In this mini-pod Mike provides a perspective on what these fees do in the…
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Having the Critical Discussion of Mental Health in Ag
Mental health is a topic we need to bring to the fore; in agriculture and everywhere. During ag mental health week, Mike spoke with Jason Medows, host of the mental health focused Ag State of Mind podcast, about the issue and how to help. Jason has a unique perspective as a farmer, a pharmacist,...
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Food Security in the Pandemic - Income Rather than Availability
In this episode Mike speaks with Evan Fraser, Director of the Arrell Food Institute on the issue of food security. We've seen food security issues worsen during the pandemic. They talk about why that is and what we might do about it to lessen the impacts of food security in North America and…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Food Focus is a platform with the intention of providing opportunities to discuss, challenge and learn about topical issues of interest in the food system. Recorded in offices, over Skype or maybe even over a drink – these conversations happen wherever Mike can put down his digital recorder and chat with experts across the food system.
HOSTED BY
Michael von Massow
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Food Focus have?
Food Focus currently has 88 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Food Focus about?
Food Focus is a platform with the intention of providing opportunities to discuss, challenge and learn about topical issues of interest in the food system. Recorded in offices, over Skype or maybe even over a drink – these conversations happen wherever Mike can put down his digital recorder and...
How often does Food Focus release new episodes?
Food Focus has 88 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Food Focus?
You can listen to Food Focus on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Food Focus?
Food Focus is created and hosted by Michael von Massow.
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