Canada’s long-awaited “grocery code of conduct” is finally in place, with enforcement powers officially kicking in on Jan. 1.
Will it help lower your grocery bill? Probably not (at least not in the short-term).
Mike von Massow, a food economist at the University Guelph, explained the goal behind the code during a recent interview on our Closer Look podcast.
He also made it clear that when it comes to grocery prices, one factor plays the biggest role: weather.
The high price of beef, for example, is the direct result of dry seasons out west. Extreme weather driven by climate change has also wreaked havoc on coffee harvests in various countries.
"If you could tell me what's going to happen this year with respect to weather, I would give you a much more definitive prognostication about what food prices are going to do," von Massow told the podcast. "I think the new reality is that the prices are going to go up and down more than they have ever before because of less predictable weather — more extreme weather events and more frequently.”
You can watch the full episode HERE.
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