Pushing Canadian beef, ice wine, and lentils

CANADA marked its 150th year with a celebration of its agricultural products, namely its beef ( branded as Canada Beef, with its own international institute) in a small cocktail event in Enderun Colleges on March 8.

Dishes like roasted rib eye, oxtail tortellini, burgers, and peppered beef with watercress dressing were served to guests, along with wines from Canada, most notably a Canadian ice wine, made with grapes harvested only in winter which results in a highly sweet and refined wine. Because of its harvesting methods, the varietal can get rare.

Cattle raising has had a long history in Canada, with its roots stretching beyond the Confederation. “Canada, from its inception... we’ve been known as producers of agricultural products, plus forestry, plus mining products as well,” Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines John Holmes told BusinessWorld. “It still remains an expertise.”

“Our industry, we think, is a good fit for the Philippines. Highquality, environmentally friendly, grain-fed,” he said. He acknowledges a lot of competition from other countries in the search for dominance in the world market, listing other nations such as the US, Argentina, and Brazil. “So what’s the niche [for us]? Often, the niche is grain-fed, organic, if you will, or free-range, because... these industrial complexes that produce this beef, almost like a factory, is of less appeal, and we’re