The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
The year in food
Major food-related stories of 2020
The year 2020 was as unusual as they get, with no shortage of stories. Some flew under the radar because of the pandemic, but this list is based on how some food-related topics will probably have long-term implications, whether they were related to COVID-19 or not.
10. The apparent end of Tim Hortons’ identity crisis
For a few years, the iconic Canadian brand had clearly lost its bearings. The wellknown restaurant chain still has a long way to go, but 2020 may have been the first year of a turnaround story.
Alex Macedo, the former president, left in March, with barely anyone noticing. For years, its marketing and product development groups were simply out of touch with what was happening out in the field and in stores. But that changed this year. Should be interesting how things unfold in a hopefully calmer 2021.
9. Singapore became the first country to allow labgrown meat to be commercialized
This may seem like a farfetched idea right now for Canadians, but it is likely just a matter of time before these products come to Canada. How they will be regulated is still a mystery, but the cost to produce synthetic meat in labs is probably lower than doing it conventionally, and without the slaughter and massive environmental footprint. This is going to pose a challenge for the livestock industry.
8. The hero pay debacle
It was not handled well in the spring by grocers. Increasing wages only to cancel it in June pointed to how ill-designed these programs were. Canadians came to realize that essential jobs in the food sector are occupied by underappreciated, underpaid personnel. But food retailing is all about high volumes of sales with very low margins. A 10 per cent salary increase will make many stores unprofitable.
Recognizing the hard work of front-line employees is critical, but it cannot be done permanently with current business models. Sobeys, Walmart and other chains have opted to bring back lockdown bonuses, which was the appropriate language to use.
A good comeback.
7. The apparent divorce between Mcdonald’s and Beyond Meat
While Mcdonald's recently announced its Mcplant products to be rolled out in 2021, Beyond Meat, the darling of plant-based diets that was working with the fast-food chain for a while, was not even mentioned in the news release.
Mcdonald's resigned its commitment to the fundamentals of agriculture, a big deal for our farming community. Beyond Meat essentially learned the hard way that its “better than beef” rhetoric makes the company a liability. Mcdonald's made that crystal clear.
6. The sudden rise of e-commerce in the food industry
Online shopping has made the entire supply chain more democratic and accessible. Everyone can sell to consumers now, including farmers, processors and farmers markets.
We have seen the food industry commit to the incredible sum of more than
$12 billion in investments over five years to support online strategies. When the year started, barely 1.7 per cent of food sales in Canada were conducted online. By the time we have finished with 2020, that will have more than doubled, and almost half of Canadians intend to buy food online regularly after the pandemic.
5. The collapse of the foodservice industry
The consequent pivoting amid successive lockdowns was painful to watch. We started the year spending about 36 per cent of our food budget on food consumed outside the home. In April, that went down to nine per cent. By mid-summer, it likely went back up to about 25 per cent. But most restaurant operators are realistic; business will not return to what it was any time soon.
4. Farm-gate waste
Because of disruptions created by the pandemic, millions of litres of milk were dumped, millions of perfectly healthy farm animals were euthanized across the country, and lettuce and mushrooms were disposed of due to lack of labour. The waste was unbearable and incomprehensible.
Most Canadians were confused and had no idea what to think. Farmers were not to blame, but our lack of focus on processing as a country was. As the social contract between the food industry and consumers is being redesigned, farmers will need to be ready.
3. Telecommuting, cooking, gardening and how we became more domesticated
Getting people to stay home created a tsunami of changes. Working from home got us closer to our own kitchen, which, in turn, changed our relationship with food. Most of us cooked, and almost 20 per cent of Canadians started a garden this year. Many got to experience life without restaurants, if only for a while. Only time will tell if our new habits stick.
2. Black Lives Matter
Amid the massive movement ignited by George Floyd's death, Pepsico. opted to change the name and brand image of its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup. Other food companies followed suit. As in other sectors, food marketing clearly ended a racismcharged chapter in 2020.
1. Panic buying during the first wave of the pandemic
This is an easy pick for the top spot. Beyond the ridiculousness of toilet paper hoarding, the impact of empty shelves was immense. Many Canadians would have experienced the emotions of food insecurity for the first time. Since then, behaviours and even policy have been affected by the powerful images of bare grocery store shelves. Truly a moment in time.
It's always difficult to make such a list, but this year's was one of the easiest to write in decades.