Tie-ups, turkeys and Timbiebs
Top food stories of 2021
sylvain.charlebois@dal.ca @scharleb
Last year was challenging again for most of us. It was also an incredibly difficult year for people in the food industry, from farm gate to plate.
Most headlines related to the food industry had to do with supply chains, labour, forced closures due to COVID-19 and other operational entanglements. But we also need to celebrate what the industry accomplished. Producers, processors, grocers and restaurants have kept us food secure. This was no small feat, given how complicated and prolonged this pandemic has become.
While 2020 showed us how our food supply chains can be resilient, 2021, unsurprisingly, showed us they can experience fatigue. This was to be expected, as we approach the end of the second year of the pandemic. Despite some ruptures, our food supply chain kept on going and we should expect the same in 2022.
Here’s a list of the most intriguing food-related stories in 2021.
SUEZ CANAL
We don’t think of canals very often, but the pandemic made us acutely aware of how global food distribution works and how bottlenecks can become a problem overnight. When the Ever Given, a 400-metre container ship, blocked the
Suez Canal in March, the world was focused on it for six days. According to estimates, the incident cost about $400 million US an hour, but the impact on Canada’s food systems was minimal.
TIMBIEBS
One Tim Hortons marketing campaign surprised a few observers. The Canadian chain is licking its lips after asking Justin Bieber, the Canadian megastar, to create three Timbits flavours. The success of the campaign brought in a legion of younger customers, which was sorely needed.
It was a unique approach for Restaurant Brands International. After a slew of major mishaps after it acquired Tim Hortons a few years ago, the holding company is finally showing signs of understanding its roots.
RETAIL CODE OF CONDUCT
Many consumers cannot appreciate how much grocers overpower food manufacturers and suppliers. Australia and the United Kingdom were facing similar issues and produced a code of conduct to stop grocers from bullying the rest of the supply chain by charging unjustified fees and implementing unreasonable transactional terms.
Last year saw the creation of a federal “code of conduct” committee co-chaired by Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Quebec’s agriculture minister, André Lamontagne.
A code could help with food inflation challenges and reduce the possibilities of collusion. Despite the fact progress has been slow, the creation of a committee was good news.
BAKERY DEAL
One of the largest bakeries in the country, which was caught in the bread price fixing scandal that lasted 13 years, was sold to another Canadian company. With this deal, Loblaws is very much focused on food distribution. But with more consolidation could come higher bread prices.
TURKEY TALK
Consumers are accustomed to periodically seeing empty shelves. Most of us have adjusted our expectations. But the most ridiculous story was with turkeys. Canada just cannot run out of turkeys as the commodity is supply managed. Stocks can be low in parts of the country, but that would be it.
DAIRY COMMISSION
Few Canadians are familiar with the Canadian Dairy Commission, a Crown corporation responsible for making sure dairy farmers make a decent living. Every year, it calculates how much farmers should get for their milk. Many were shocked to learn it was recommending an 8.4 per cent increase in 2022 for milk and 12.4 per cent for butterfat, probably due to the palm oil scandal in
March.
These rates are the highest in more than 50 years. Canadians should expect their trip to the dairy section to get more expensive.
P.E.I. POTATOES
Two farms in Prince Edward Island discovered a contagious wart on potatoes. Despite scientific protocols implemented by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canada imposed an embargo on Island potatoes going to the United States.
Bibeau claimed the United States would have issued a countrywide embargo if nothing had been done. Speculation suggests trade related to electric vehicles had more to do with the misfortunes of potato producers.
The year reminded us that science always takes a back seat to trade politics.
FOOD WORKERS
Food workers received even more public sympathy and became more political in 2021. Many food manufacturers in Canada and elsewhere offered substantial wage increases and better benefits to employees to either avoid or end labour disputes.
Nabisco’s labour dispute attracted actor Danny DeVito to advocate for workers. In Canada, Olymel, Exceldor, Cargill and others are offering higher wages and signing bonuses to make the sector more attractive.
CLIMATE
Mother Nature has a way of reminding us who is in charge. But 2021 brought more than its share of dramatic climate events.
On June 29, the temperature in Lytton, B.C., reached 49.6 C – the highest on record in Canada. In November, the Fraser Valley and other parts of British Columbia were devastated by atmospheric rivers, which destroyed livestock, crops, roads and railways, reminders that our food systems are highly vulnerable to climate change.
INFLATION
Food inflation was up by four per cent by September, and we expect another challenging year in 2022, according to Canada’s Food Price Report.
Higher input costs, global supply chain woes and labour challenges are mostly responsible.
Food prices should go up, but wages are not following. According to the United Nations, Canada is ranked 24th in the world for food affordability and could drop in 2022. Food bank use will grow.
Last year’s top story was panic buying. It could happen again, but we should be grateful it did not occur in 2021 and remain thankful for what the food industry is doing for us every day.
Sylvain Charlebois is professor in food distribution and policy, and senior director of the AgriFood Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.