{"id":484180,"date":"2022-08-11T14:31:22","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T11:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-food-is-so-pricey\/"},"modified":"2022-08-11T14:31:22","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T11:31:22","slug":"why-food-is-so-pricey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-food-is-so-pricey\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why food is so pricey"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e8ebf49068\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e8ebf49068\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-food-is-so-pricey\/#%E2%80%9CWhy_food_is_so_pricey%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Why food is so pricey&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhy_food_is_so_pricey%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Why food is so pricey&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            Canadians can\u2019t think their way out of grocery-store sticker shock, but the way we view food would benefit from a change\n                        <\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_1238686\" style=\"width: 409px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"wp-image-1238686 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GiseleYasmeen.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"399\" height=\"300\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gis\u00e8le Yasmeen is a senior fellow at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In May, Statistics Canada reported that Canadians are paying nearly 10 per cent more for food than they did in 2021: meat and fresh fruit are up by 10 per cent, rice is up by roughly seven per cent and pasta has shot up by almost 20 per cent. This means it will cost an extra $966 to feed the average family of four this year, according to Canada\u2019s Food Price Report.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken boiled down the accelerating inflation of food prices to three C\u2019s: COVID, climate and conflict. Repeated lockdowns, migrant-labour shortages and strained supply chains are being reflected at the register. Last year, droughts in South America devastated countries that provide half of the world\u2019s soybeans, and in Ukraine\u2014often called \u201cthe breadbasket of the world\u201d\u2014the war with Russia is now interrupting harvests of wheat, barley, corn and sunflowers.<\/p>\n<p>Poverty and inequality are the main drivers of food insecurity. When food is consistently treated as a market-driven commodity, you inevitably get the kinds of price volatility that Canadians are seeing at the moment. Access to food should be treated as a right, not a purchasing decision. I\u2019m not talking about flat-screen TVs here; I\u2019m talking about the necessities of life. The best examples of what Canadians can achieve when we expand our thinking are our publicly funded health care and education systems. They\u2019re far from perfect, but these are resources that citizens feel entitled to now\u2014and this was not always the case.<\/p>\n<p>The current grocery sticker shock should be motivation enough for governments to explore public-sector procurement from small-scale, regenerative and organic food producers. It\u2019s easiest to start in hospitals and schools, and Canada could take inspiration from other countries: in 2010, Italy passed a bill that requires schools to use local, organic produce to prepare meals from scratch in their own cafeterias. German public schools began providing students with full, warm meals\u2014not just snacks\u2014as they returned to in-person learning. Currently, Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program. Providing every child, from kindergarten to Grade 12, with access to a healthy snack or meal at school would take pressure off family budgets.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, initiatives are patchwork across the country, but at least provinces have started to invest. Prince Edward Island has its own government-subsidized School Food Program. It\u2019s a pay-what-you-can model that covers two weeks of lunches up to $5 per meal. Many experts think it has the potential to scale. In 2020, Quebec expanded eligibility for its school meal program\u2014previously limited to low-income families\u2014to include all preschool, elementary and secondary students. And Alberta renewed funding for its School Nutrition Program, despite a change in government a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, the food supply chain is dominated by a handful of big, transnational players, from farm to fork. For example, three supermarket chains\u2014Loblaw Companies Ltd., Empire Company Ltd. (which owns Sobeys) and Metro Inc.\u2014earn 60 cents of every dollar that Canadians spend on groceries. Smaller producers, processors and distributors, as well as wholesalers and retailers, stand to benefit from a shift. Half of Canada\u2019s food businesses are micro-enterprises\u2014mom-and-pop operations. It would be good to bolster them with government dollars so they can make a decent living.<\/p>\n<p>Quebec is a good case study. Since the pandemic, there\u2019s been a growing movement within the province to prioritize its own food production. Protecting Canada\u2019s domestic food production is a key piece in controlling food prices, but there\u2019s no magic bullet that\u2019s going to cure the current affordability crisis. It\u2019s crucial for Canada to reduce our dependency on global trade in order to feed our own population. And this will be important long after fruit and vegetable prices return to normal.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>This is part of the Maclean\u2019s Guide to the Economy, which <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared in the September 2022 issue. Read the rest of the package, order your\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/canadianmags.ca\/products\/macleans-september-2022\">copy of the issue<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/secure.macleans.ca\/\">subscribe to the magazine<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/canadianmags.ca\/products\/macleans-september-2022\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1238850 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/SeptemberCover-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"287\" height=\"391\"\/><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/economy\/canadian-economy-guide-2022-food-prices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Why food is so pricey&#8221; Canadians can\u2019t think their way out of grocery-store sticker shock, but the way we view food would benefit from a change Gis\u00e8le Yasmeen is a senior fellow at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia In May, Statistics Canada reported that Canadians are paying nearly&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":484181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/gy_social-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[132264],"class_list":["post-484180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-guide-to-the-economy-2022"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}