Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Thu, Sep 10, 2026 06:55 AM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Evan Fraser

Director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph; Professor; Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security, University of Guelph
Evan started thinking about agriculture and food systems while spending summers working on his grandfather’s fruit farm in Niagara. There, he watched his stock-broker grandmother rake in an unconscionable amount of money on commissions from her clients’ investments while the farmers around were letting their crops rot because the cost of harvesting was higher than the cost of importing from the Southern US and Mexico. He decided, however, it was easier to write and talk about farming than actually try to make a living on it so passed on inheriting the family farm, opting instead for grad school. He did degrees in forestry, anthropology and agriculture at UBC and UofT. Since graduating, he worked in a policy institute with the Hon. Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, and began his academic career in 2003 in the UK where he worked on farming and climate change at the University of Leeds. He is the author of approximately 70 scientific papers or book chapters on these topics, has written for the Guardian.com, CNN.com, ForeignAffairs.com, the Walrus and the Ottawa Citizen, and has two popular non-fiction books about food and food security including: Empires of Food: Feast, Famine and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations that was published by Simon and Schuster and shortlisted for the James Beard Food Literature Award. Currently, he is the director of the Arrell Food Institute, holds the Tier I Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and is a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society.

Space Science Series

The food systems that will feed Mars are set to transform food on Earth

Jan 24, 2023 05:32 am UTC| Technology

Could we feed a city on Mars? This question is central to the future of space exploration and has serious repercussions on Earth too. To date, a lot of thought has gone into how astronauts eat; however, we are only...

3 technologies poised to change food and the planet

Feb 20, 2021 12:23 pm UTC| Technology

Agricultures impact on the planet is massive and relentless. Roughly 40 per cent of the Earths surface is used for cropland and grazing. The number of domestic animals far outweighs remaining wild populations. Every day,...

100 days of coronavirus has sent shock waves through the food system

Jun 21, 2020 04:02 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

The COVID-19 lockdown has exposed a large number of problems in the food system. Whether it was the panic buying or workers in meat-packing plants testing positive for the virus, serious concerns have been raised about...

Insects, seaweed and lab-grown meat could be the foods of the future

Feb 04, 2020 12:18 pm UTC| Health

The world is facing a major food crisis where both obesity and hunger are rising in the context of rapidly changing environments. The Food and Agriculture Organization has presented alternative food sources such as...

How digital technologies can help Africa's smallholder farmers

Jul 12, 2019 09:58 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Digitisation could change the game for agriculture in Africa. Thats a key message in a report recently released by an international institution that enhances smallholder farming in African, Caribbean and Pacific...

Canada's new food policy means everyone's at the table

Jul 03, 2019 21:06 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canadas agriculture and agrifood minister, recently announced that, after years of consultations, Canada finally has a national food policy. Developing the policy had been one of the ministrys...

A Canadian food policy moves closer to becoming a reality

Sep 13, 2018 13:15 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law

One of the key commitments the federal government made upon taking office was to establish a food policy for all Canadians. The rationale was simple. Although, or perhaps because, food intersects so many aspects of life...

Economy

Norway Core Inflation Rises to 3% in August

Norways core inflation accelerated in August, reinforcing expectations that Norges Bank may need to keep monetary policy tight and potentially raise interest rates further in the coming months. Data released Thursday by...

German Inflation Accelerates to 2.9% in August

German inflation accelerated in August, adding to signs that price pressures remain elevated in Europes largest economy ahead of key monetary policy decisions in the eurozone. Germanys harmonised consumer price inflation...

Asian Currencies Steady as Yen Holds Firm, Oil Tops $100

Asian currencies traded mostly flat on Thursday as investors remained cautious amid rising oil prices, escalating Middle East tensions and anticipation of key U.S. inflation data. The Japanese yen stayed near recent highs...

Fitch Eyes Japan Budget for Fiscal Discipline

Fitch Ratings will closely examine Japans next fiscal-year budget to determine whether Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi can reconcile her growth-oriented spending plans with the need to maintain fiscal discipline. Jeremy...

ECB Rate Hike in Focus as Oil Tops $100

European and global markets are bracing for another crucial central bank decision as surging oil prices and elevated bond yields intensify concerns over inflation and interest rates. The European Central Bank is expected...

Politics

Trump Expects Iran War to End After U.S. Midterms

President Donald Trump said he expects the U.S.-Iran war to end shortly after the November midterm elections, even as Washington and Tehran intensify attacks and disruptions to key Middle East shipping routes push oil...

Iran Attacks 10 Ships as Hormuz Conflict Escalates

Iran said Wednesday it attacked 10 vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. forces sank five Iranian oil tankers, marking the sharpest escalation in attacks on commercial shipping since the six-month war began. The...

Russian Drone Strike on Sumy Shopping Centre Kills Two

A Russian drone strike on a shopping centre in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two people and injured 20 others, Ukrainian officials said, as attacks continued across the border region. Sumy Regional Governor...

Trump’s Iran War Draws ‘Forever War’ Comparisons

President Donald Trump returned to the White House promising to be a president of peace, but six months of U.S.-Iran conflict are raising concerns that Washington has entered another prolonged Middle East war. As the 25th...

CIA Chief Ratcliffe May Take Bigger Role in Ukraine Peace Talks

CIA Director John Ratcliffe could take on a larger role in U.S.-led negotiations involving Russia and Ukraine as Washington considers changes to its diplomatic team, according to a Financial Times report. U.S. officials...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Huawei, Chinese AI Chipmakers Raise Prices as HBM Shortage Bites

Chinese AI chipmakers, including Huawei Technologies and Cambricon Technologies, are raising processor prices as a global shortage of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) increases production costs and complicates Chinas push to...

OpenAI Agents Used Websites for Unauthorized Communications

OpenAI AI agents used more than 10 previously undisclosed websites to communicate without authorization earlier this year, according to independent researchers and data reviewed by Reuters, raising fresh concerns about the...

TSMC August Revenue Jumps 53% on AI Chip Demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported a sharp increase in August revenue as booming demand for artificial intelligence chips continued to fuel growth at the worlds largest contract semiconductor...

Nvidia Plans 2GW Australia AI Data Center Expansion by 2027

Nvidia announced Thursday that it will collaborate with several Australian data center and cloud computing companies to significantly expand artificial intelligence infrastructure across the country over the next few...

Nvidia-Groq AI Chip Deal Faces U.S. Antitrust Probe

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Nvidias agreement with AI chip startup Groq over concerns that the deal may have been structured to bypass traditional antitrust scrutiny, according to a New York Times report...