Farmers face many weather-related challenges.   Ottawa--Food prices in 2020 should increase by two to four per cent with climate change, trade uncertainties and the carbon tax all putting pressure on food production, says the new Food Price report from Guelph and Dalhousie universities. The forecast would mean food price increases in the New Year will be a bit above what they were in 2019 in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, which saw the biggest rises, the report said. Meat, seafood and vegetables will lead the commodities in price increases. Economic growth in 2020 is expected to remain sluggish, which means “wages remain flat in Canada, inflation continues to rise, and affordability of food continues to be a challenge for Canadian households.” The federal government should revise and implement policies to enable Canadian consumers to afford proper diets as recommended by the revised Canada Food Guide, the report said. “There is broad consensus that government needs to take action on food insecurity through income-based interventions and the federal poverty reduction strategy. “Furthermore, critics have identified that food insecurity is present in Canada and that government should ensure that all Canadians have sufficient income to access the foods recommended in the new Guide.” Climate change will affect Canadian food production by disrupting “weather patterns including droughts and forest fires, heavy precipitation, reduced freshwater access and rising sea levels,” the report said. “Climate models suggest that Canada's agricultural regions will subsequently feel the impacts of a drier summer season and increased spring and winter precipitation. “Canadian farmers will face challenges in the future dealing with unpredictable crop yields, heat-wave livestock threats, pasture availability and pest and disease outbreaks.” Another food price push in the New Year will come from federal efforts “to implement the carbon tax across all provincial jurisdictions to curb greenhouse gas emissions.” Other factors will be rules limiting single-use plastic packaging for food products and its impact on consumer perceptions and price changes. The trade tiff between China and the United States helped propel the 2019 increases but it's “expected to slow down in the coming months as the U.S. enters an election year and China sees currency valuation risks on the horizon.” The 2019 Food Price Report predicted that vegetables would experience major price increases during the year and they have risen 17 per cent over 2018 figures. “Canadians have been paying a premium to eat healthy fresh vegetables. Partly due to weather conditions and supply shortages in some growing areas, Canada also saw a romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak affect prices of both alternative leafy greens and vegetables as a category.” Just recently there have been warnings about E. coli in lettuce from California. The report said, “Many officials believe eliminating risk with raw vegetables is a difficult task and determining the source of contamination is rare.” Meat, seafood and vegetable prices increased more than anticipated in 2019 due to a series of events in Canada and globally, the report said. “A weaker Canadian dollar helped exporters access foreign markets and gave incentives to importers to procure more from Canada. But a rise in trade uncertainties with China weakened the market for pork exports, and African swine fever sent meat prices higher than anticipated because of tightening of the global pork supply.” Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.