New Money Inspires New Idea

Canola. A crop that inspires visions of yellow flowers with a rather interesting smell spreading as far as the eye can see. One that many people associate with margarine, or vegetable oil. However, canola was developed primarily as an oilseed, to produce oils that are manufactured into things people are used to seeing, such as margarine. However, new funding in the industry is going to change that appearance entirely.

New funding to a crushing plant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is going to allow for protein extraction from the canola meal left behind after the seeds are crushed. This will allow the crushing plant in Saskatoon to become the first plant in the world that produces canola protein for use in human food products, instead of just going into livestock feed.

I believe that this is the next step towards helping to solve some of the world hunger issues. True, there is not as much protein in canola seed as there is in, say, soybeans, but there is still some there. And, as some people might forget, having a source of protein that has a different protein profile can help cut down on expensive manufacturing costs. If this technology pans out (which I have a sneaking suspicion it will, one way or another; this is too good of a resource to waste), it could catapult its way into other plants as well. This infusion of protein will help lower food costs around the world, and could be a contributor towards limiting world hunger problems. Not save everyone, true, but even one life saved is more than worth it.

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New Limits on Solar Energy

The Green Energy Act is a movement towards using more renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and crop-based energy. Many new operations have sprung up around the countryside, as you can see new turbines and solar panels being put up as you drive down almost any country road. Talk about ethanol plants has slowed due to the economic downturn, but there is still more talk about switching to cellulose-based ethanol production, which would revolutionize the industry.

Just a few weeks ago, new legislation was passed to restrict the placement of new solar operations. The new law states that no ground-mounted solar operations above 100 kW can be placed on class 1 or 2 land (which, as many people know, is prime land for agriculture). Many people in favour have sprung up in protest about this new law, viewing it as a restriction on an attempt to save the environment.

Now, I have to say I can see both sides of the argument. Seeing as most larger operations must be mounted close to larger power lines (which are mostly situated on class 1 and 2 land) I can see where many people would raise hue and cry over such a law. However, as population continues to rise, the need for food is going to rise exponentially, especially as more developing countries raise themselves out of poverty. Realistically, isn’t a compromise possible? Can’t the solar companies take advantage of areas such as fence lines that aren’t used by farmers anyways? Can’t farmers realize that the need for cleaner energy is going to become paramount?

I think, if we all started to work together a little bit more, we could get a lot more things done, and more efficiently too.

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