Environment

Most participants support the principles expressed in this component, but rejecting any notion that agriculture should be singled out as an environmental problem that needs to be fixed.

Areas of Support

The APF complements industry's environmental priorities and investments, and recognizes that some sectors are leading the way in this area.

Participants support the link between sound environmental policy and economic benefit. This link results from new revenue streams provided by environmental services (e.g., set-asides and carbon sinks), and the fact that sound environmental practices can be financially rewarding.

There is support for using financial incentives to encourage good environmental practices.

Areas of Concern

Standards should be applied consistently across all links in the food chain, although they should be sufficiently flexible to account for commodity and regional differences.

There was a strong sense that the cost and responsibility for implementation should not be borne by producers alone. For example, producers should be compensated for implementing legislation that protects species at risk.

The absence of baseline data on water, nutrient management, air quality, etc. makes it difficult to understand the magnitude of the issue and to establish targets against which success can be measured.

Federal, provincial and international environmental regulations must be made consistent. Harmonization of Pesticide Management Review Agency with US regulations on pesticide management was most often cited as a critical example.

• Overview
• General Observations
  
• Business Risk Management
  
• Renewal
  
• Food Safety and Food Quality
  
• Environment
  
• Science and Innovation