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Are Chicken Prices Unreasonably High? A Cautionary Tale

Mike von Massow

Jan 6
5 min

Are Chicken Prices Unreasonably High? A Cautionary Tale

There has been an uproar about chicken pricing due to a twitter post by a CTV News Reporter. In the post she has a photograph of a...

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Are Retailers Driving Food Inflation Through Profiteering?

Mike von Massow

Jul 24, 2022
4 min

Are Retailers Driving Food Inflation Through Profiteering?

I often get questions from friends and media when issues emerge. The Toronto Star published a story last week saying that retailer...

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Mike von Massow

May 18, 2022
4 min

Another Look at Food Inflation Numbers

Statistics Canada released the food price index for April 2022 and the news continues to be concerning. Year over year food prices have...

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Mike von Massow

Apr 20, 2022
4 min

Can Governments Control Food Prices??

The rhetoric around inflation generally and food prices specifically is growing louder. It is a point of emphasis for politicians,...

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Will Your Steak or Burger Be a Victim of a Cyber Attack?

Mike von Massow

Jun 4, 2021
2 min

Will Your Steak or Burger Be a Victim of a Cyber Attack?

The news this week that JBS, one of the largest meat processors was hacked was being subject to a ransomware attack has generated many...

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Squeezing Processors Will Lead to Higher Prices and Less Choice

Mike von Massow

Oct 28, 2020
3 min

Squeezing Processors Will Lead to Higher Prices and Less Choice

Food retailers are getting a lot of attention lately related to increases in supply chain fees imposed on their suppliers. These fees are...

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Circumstances Creating Opportunities for Direct to Consumer

Mike von Massow

Oct 26, 2020
2 min

Circumstances Creating Opportunities for Direct to Consumer

Our food system has adapted remarkably well to the pressures of the COVID pandemic. We have also seen some adaptation to the change in...

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Mike von Massow

Oct 9, 2020
2 min

The Turkey in the Coalmine?

We continue to see rising new COVID case numbers in Canada as the long predicted second wave washes over us. Governments have asked...

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Why we aren’t running out of food during the Coronavirus pandemic

Mike von Massow

Apr 28, 2020
4 min

Why we aren’t running out of food during the Coronavirus pandemic

This article was originally written by Mike von Massow and Alfons Weersink for the conversation.com on April 27th, 2020. The original...

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Mike von Massow

Apr 15, 2020
3 min

In a COVID-19 World, is Local Better?

Our food system has weathered an unprecedented demand shift and shock over the past month. Overall, we have come out of it reasonably...

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Mike von Massow

Apr 6, 2020
5 min

Farming in the Era of COVID-19

We are experiencing unprecedented disruption to normal life and commerce in order to flatten the pandemic curve due to COVID-19. Physical...

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A Thought on Dumping Milk During COVID-19

Mike von Massow

Apr 3, 2020
4 min

A Thought on Dumping Milk During COVID-19

I received a sad text from a friend of mine who is a dairy farmer. They are being asked to dump milk as the processors to whom it is...

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Mike von Massow

Mar 23, 2020
3 min

COVID-19 and our Food System

We are living in extraordinary times. Many provinces and states have shut down virtually all non-essential commerce. People are working...

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Andrew Baynham

Mar 9, 2020
2 min

Yet Another Plant-Based Burger

The Impossible and Beyond Meat Burgers are here to stay and Cargill's response to create their own version proves it. The successful...

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Is the “Meat” and “Milk” Battle Worth Fighting?

Mike von Massow

Dec 13, 2019
2 min

Is the “Meat” and “Milk” Battle Worth Fighting?

There has been considerable debate about using the words “meat” or “milk” to describe plant-based alternatives. The battle has spread...

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"Do-Gooder Derogation" and why Omnivores Lash out Against Meat-Minimalists

Mark Wickson

Nov 7, 2019
4 min

"Do-Gooder Derogation" and why Omnivores Lash out Against Meat-Minimalists

I finally got around to listening to Mike's two "Talking to Vegans" podcasts earlier this week (sorry it took so long, Mike). There were...

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Farmers' Markets: Not just about the food

Molly Gallant

Nov 4, 2019
5 min

Farmers' Markets: Not just about the food

Over the past 10 years I have, along with many others it seems, become increasingly enthusiastic about farmers’ markets. This enthusiasm...

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Molly Gallant

Oct 24, 2019
4 min

Is self-checkout on its way out?

At the end of every trip to the store, we are faced with two checkout options. The first is to step right up to a self-checkout machine,...

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Too Sweet, or not too sweet? A sugar tax, is the question

Molly Gallant

Oct 10, 2019
7 min

Too Sweet, or not too sweet? A sugar tax, is the question

Thanks to endless headlines about the topic many of us are likely aware of the health risks associated with the excessive consumption of...

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The variability and nuance in craft beer

Andrew Baynham

Sep 12, 2019
4 min

The variability and nuance in craft beer

The revolution of craft and microbreweries has been well documented by beer enthusiasts around the world. It has mirrored the local food...

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RELATED PROJECTS

Considering the complexity of food, it is no surprise that conversations about it can be broad and diverse. In order to better understand how people think about food, Mike is involved in several projects. Learn more about each project below.

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH SUSTAINABLE RESTAURANT PROJECT

Our team is a group of students, faculty and community partners that are committed to working towards a more sustainable future for the restaurant industry. Every year we hold a forum, bringing prominent speakers to the University of Guelph to discuss issues in the Canadian Restaurant Industry.

Learn More

foodFOCUS

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BLOG

Keep up with the conversation here.

RELATED PROJECTS

Considering the complexity of food, it is no surprise that conversations about it can be broad and diverse. In order to better understand how people think about food, Mike is involved in several projects. Learn more about each project below.

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH SUSTAINABLE RESTAURANT PROJECT