Charlie,
As Black Conventional Oil reaches $100/barrel, the whole economy changes!
Biofuels News
November 1, 2007
Today's agricultural pioneers break ground with solutions sown in science and technology
By Tom Van Dusen
Still-fresh federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz revealed to delegates at an Ottawa conference this week he's experiencing little trouble latching on to the new mantra of Canadian agriculture.
"When my grandfather built his farm, his hands were on the plow handles," Ritz told a crowd of about 300 people gathered at the Congress Centre. "Today, the pioneers in agriculture use microscopes and computers."
Ritz picked the right place to show off his new-wave prowess: He was speaking to the 3rd annual Agri-Food Innovation Forum, where the theme was "The Business of Green Solutions."
"Happily, as this forum shows, we've put the days of hewers of wood and drawers of water behind us," he said.
With as much agriculture being conducted these days in boardrooms and research centres as in the fields, the forum was all about new technologies and opportunities in food production which are not only profitable, but environmentally beneficial.
'Fresh ideas'
"Innovation can be defined as fresh ideas that create value," said co-host Dr. Gord Surgenor, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies which is working hard to supplant certain traditional auto parts with ones made of farm crops.
With escalating oil prices and global warming, the forestry and agriculture industries are being challenged to provide more than food, feed and fibre," noted Surgenor, giving as examples creating new energy sources and producing raw materials for new manufacturing processes.
Minister of agriculture and agri-food since last August, the MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask., fit right into the mood of the meeting.
"Today more than ever, science and innovation are key to farmers' profitability and competitiveness," Ritz said.
There's a "paradigm shift" occurring in the business, with new demands from consumers around environment and food safety. The federal government is committed to supporting Canadian researchers and innovators in meeting those demands.
Green solutions
"Farmers First is a bedrock principle of this government," he said, acknowledging the recent throne speech for recognizing "the truth farmers have always known: Stewardship of the land and profitability can go hand-in-hand. Green solutions are part of every farmer's livelihood and they're important to this government."
The throne speech mentioned "Growing Forward," a program which, Ritz explained, lays out the agricultural sector's blueprint for the future, including increasing innovative capacity in order to expand trade on new value-added products based on Canadian commodities.
With farmers in his Saskatchewan riding selling crops to a local biofuel plant, Ritz singled out biofuels as one of the green solutions. Not only are they cleaner burning and renewable, but their manufacture is creating new markets for farmers and new jobs across the country.
He also referred to bio-fibres, bio-plastics, crop-based industrial chemicals and lubricants as being green and renewable replacements for petroleum-based products.
"Over the next nine years, this government is investing more than $2 billion to make Canada a world leader in the development of bioproducts."
Copyright © 2007, Canoe Inc.
Source: OttawaSun
More Related Articles
Study: excessive nitrogen fertilizer depletes soil organic carbon
Researchers: bureaucracy threatens development of sustainable biopesticides
Brazil model could give Louisiana's farmers hope
Filling the hoppers
Australia, no island
Don’t let the GM crop wars obscure the agbiotech vision
Agri-biotech set to boom in India
Brazilian and Angolan companies to build integrated sugar, bioenergy and biofuels facility in Angola
Disclaimer | Contact Us | Sitemap
© Checkbiotech 2007
http://www.checkbiotech.org/green_News_Biofuels.aspx?Name=biofuels&infoId=1603 7
As Black Conventional Oil reaches $100/barrel, the whole economy changes!
Biofuels News
November 1, 2007
Today's agricultural pioneers break ground with solutions sown in science and technology
By Tom Van Dusen
Still-fresh federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz revealed to delegates at an Ottawa conference this week he's experiencing little trouble latching on to the new mantra of Canadian agriculture.
"When my grandfather built his farm, his hands were on the plow handles," Ritz told a crowd of about 300 people gathered at the Congress Centre. "Today, the pioneers in agriculture use microscopes and computers."
Ritz picked the right place to show off his new-wave prowess: He was speaking to the 3rd annual Agri-Food Innovation Forum, where the theme was "The Business of Green Solutions."
"Happily, as this forum shows, we've put the days of hewers of wood and drawers of water behind us," he said.
With as much agriculture being conducted these days in boardrooms and research centres as in the fields, the forum was all about new technologies and opportunities in food production which are not only profitable, but environmentally beneficial.
'Fresh ideas'
"Innovation can be defined as fresh ideas that create value," said co-host Dr. Gord Surgenor, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies which is working hard to supplant certain traditional auto parts with ones made of farm crops.
With escalating oil prices and global warming, the forestry and agriculture industries are being challenged to provide more than food, feed and fibre," noted Surgenor, giving as examples creating new energy sources and producing raw materials for new manufacturing processes.
Minister of agriculture and agri-food since last August, the MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask., fit right into the mood of the meeting.
"Today more than ever, science and innovation are key to farmers' profitability and competitiveness," Ritz said.
There's a "paradigm shift" occurring in the business, with new demands from consumers around environment and food safety. The federal government is committed to supporting Canadian researchers and innovators in meeting those demands.
Green solutions
"Farmers First is a bedrock principle of this government," he said, acknowledging the recent throne speech for recognizing "the truth farmers have always known: Stewardship of the land and profitability can go hand-in-hand. Green solutions are part of every farmer's livelihood and they're important to this government."
The throne speech mentioned "Growing Forward," a program which, Ritz explained, lays out the agricultural sector's blueprint for the future, including increasing innovative capacity in order to expand trade on new value-added products based on Canadian commodities.
With farmers in his Saskatchewan riding selling crops to a local biofuel plant, Ritz singled out biofuels as one of the green solutions. Not only are they cleaner burning and renewable, but their manufacture is creating new markets for farmers and new jobs across the country.
He also referred to bio-fibres, bio-plastics, crop-based industrial chemicals and lubricants as being green and renewable replacements for petroleum-based products.
"Over the next nine years, this government is investing more than $2 billion to make Canada a world leader in the development of bioproducts."
Copyright © 2007, Canoe Inc.
Source: OttawaSun
More Related Articles
Study: excessive nitrogen fertilizer depletes soil organic carbon
Researchers: bureaucracy threatens development of sustainable biopesticides
Brazil model could give Louisiana's farmers hope
Filling the hoppers
Australia, no island
Don’t let the GM crop wars obscure the agbiotech vision
Agri-biotech set to boom in India
Brazilian and Angolan companies to build integrated sugar, bioenergy and biofuels facility in Angola
Disclaimer | Contact Us | Sitemap
© Checkbiotech 2007
http://www.checkbiotech.org/green_News_Biofuels.aspx?Name=biofuels&infoId=1603 7
Comment