This report summarizes a series of projects undertaken by staff and students in the Department of Rural Economy which examine various socio-economic aspects of chronic wasting disease and its effect on a range of stakeholders in Alberta. The four projects included exploring impacts on the cervid...

Livestock industries are significantly affected by changes in consumer behaviour. In order to add value to meat and livestock production, many firms and farms are supporting the development of new products – these products can differ by credence attribute, by degree of processing and by...

The competitive landscape in retailing has changed over the past decade. Moreover, the degree of product differentiation has been increasing: households are able to choose between an increasing number of store brands and national brands of similar products. The value added meat market is no...

Latest data on the diet of Canadians from the Canadian Community Health Survey reveals that the diet quality of Canadians needs improvement. Within this paper predictors of diet quality in Canada are identified based on two cross-sectional data sets from the Canadian Food Expenditure Survey. To...

In light of recent food safety crises and international trade concerns associated with food or animal associated diseases, traceability has once again become important in the minds of public policymakers, business decision makers, consumers and special interest groups. This study reviews studies...

Over the past few years, there has been growing global interest in the link between food and health. This paper provides a review of some of the recent literature describing these linkages. The first section provides an overview of findings that link the consumption of fruits and vegetables,...

The organic industry in Canada is growing and Alberta organic grain producers have expressed a concern that the marketing system for organic grains in Alberta is poorly organized. This poorly organized system may hinder producers from optimizing market potential. This paper assesses different...

Tax policy has been proposed as a possible instrument for reducing the incidence of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases. This has become popularly known as the "fat tax" approach. Also, physical access to energy-dense, nutrition-poor food items has been suggested as a causal...

The Canadian egg industry has introduced a number of specialty eggs, including Omega-3, organic, free run/range, vitamin enhanced and vegetarian over the past few decades. These eggs are generally sold at prices higher than the ‘normal’ egg and there has been little analysis of the consumer...

The Canadian chicken industry has operated under supply management since the mid-1970s. Canadian consumer preferences for chicken have grown dramatically since then possibly in response to concerns about health and the levels of fat and cholesterol in red meats. However Canadian consumers are...