As for milk, the darling of Eastern Canadian agriculture, precision fermentation could wipe out Canada’s dairy industry within 15 to 20 years, according to reports. A greater plurality of proteins will require more modest agricultural production. You can understand where this is all going.
The production of fish and seafood in aquaculture could also double within the next few years, giving more protein options to consumers. There’s also cultured meat, or other technologies that require fewer resources. Some of the land will obviously be repurposed and given over to other crops, but the pressure to grow crops for livestock could drop significantly over time. According to Statistics Canada, about 15 million acres are used to produce these three crops for livestock in Canada - an amount of land almost the size of New Brunswick. According to the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada, 80 per cent of the barley, 60 per cent of the corn and 30 per cent of the wheat crops grown in Canada are used to produce grains for livestock. Let’s look at three types of crops: barley, corn and wheat. Major field crops include all varieties of wheat, barley, corn, oats, rye, canola, flax, soybeans, dried peas, lentils, dried beans, chickpeas, mustard seeds, canary seed and sunflower seeds.
Last year, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian field crop production reached 114,041 kilotons. In Canada and around the world, agricultural land devoted to the production of food for livestock is substantial. Given higher meat prices, retail price differentials between vegetable and animal proteins are much less significant than a few years ago. Younger generations are interested in a protein that is more sustainable, simpler and less expensive. This figure could therefore exceed $48 billion in a few years, a huge progression that marks only the start of a new trend.Īnd don’t let Beyond Meat’s current troubles fool you. This market is estimated at around $23 billion now. According to a report by the Market Data Forecast group, the plant protein market on the planet could double by 2026. Most Canadians will certainly continue to consume meat, but in smaller quantities for all kinds of reasons. A real transition to plant proteins is shaping up. With our collective craze for plant-based proteins - and the eventual arrival of emerging technologies like precision fermentation and cultivated meat that will shake up our plates - protein will mean something quite different in a few decades. But consumers’ habits are changing, slowly but surely. And the greenhouse industry, expanding at a rapid rate, allows increased efficiency of our spaces.Īlso, our debate on farmland protection is based on the premise that consumers will continue to consume in the same way for years to come. There are now technologies allowing us to repurpose land and make our acreage more efficient. First, many loudly proclaim the impossibility of creating agricultural land. Two reasons often motivate governments to protect farmland. Beyond this, however, our approach to protecting farmland may have to change forever. It’s a real point of tension, and an important debate.
While some demand greater access to agricultural land for city dwellers - especially since COVID has pushed many to seek space or land far from major cities - others want to protect our land from real estate speculators.