Canola, gold on a few fronts?
Can the Prairies reap rewards from new veggie burgers?
The “veggie burger” has become the icon for a continued advance in food science to create new markets for Prairie field crops. Many more breakthroughs are coming down the pike. Research is pursuing a wide number of field crops with the goal of extracting their components of oil, protein and starch. The ability to take the basic building blocks of nutrition and turn them into palatable, even familiar, tastes and textures, has enormous implications for the world supply and agricultural trade.
The question is, where will the further processing of these field crops take place?
Few agricultural areas are better positioned than the Canadian Prairies to take advantage of the demand for protein-rich field crops.
Will the Prairies gain the economy of the long-hoped for value-add food industries, or will these field crops be shipped out in bulk for processing elsewhere? Clearly, the logistics of the value-added processing of field crops is a major consideration for plant location.
The 24th Fields on Wheels conference examines what is at stake, and whether, or not, the Canadian transportation system encourages value-added activities to locate here. The program opens with welcoming remarks from the Province of Manitoba and the University of Manitoba.
The first session begins with a presentation on the plant-based protein revolution by a nationally-known expert in food economics, Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University. This is followed by a discussion of processing plant location and new developments that are coming on-line. The lunch features a presentation by a Board Member of Protein Industries Canada, the new Innovation Supercluster.
In the afternoon, attendees will join in the discussion of grain supply chain logistics with speakers on truck, container and bulk handling developments.
The Fields on Wheels conference brings together representatives from all segments of the grain industry from farmers and grain buyers, to railways and ports, to discuss the latest developments affecting the future of the industry. You should participate in this packed day if you are a stakeholder to this critical industry, whether as a producer or a logistics service provider, a policymaker, regulator, academic or a customer.
What: Logistics and Value-added Processing of Field Crops: the Veggie Burger Revolution
When: Friday, November 1, 2019
Where: Four Points South Hotel, 2935 Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg