Leading the conversation is Meaghan Seagrave, executive director of Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC), a national non-profit focused on growing Canada’s sustainable bio-economy. Based in Sarnia, BIC’s goal is to transition Canada’s chemical and manufacturing sectors away from fossil-based inputs and instead leverage agricultural byproducts to create bio-based products such as alcohols, fuels, acids, and lignin. Seagrave’s vision may sound lofty, but it’s grounded in Canada’s natural Melanie Epp Bio-economic boost Unlocking domestic potential for Ontario grain For decades, Canada’s grain producers have largely played the role of exporters—reliably growing, harvesting and shipping grain to customers around the world. But in today’s rapidly shifting geopolitical and regulatory landscape, the question is no longer just how much grain Canada can produce but what more can be done with it here at home. ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER SUSTAINABILITY 30 strengths. “We’re rich from an endowment perspective,” she says. “We’ve got the goods, but 90 per cent of what we harvest is exported. Yet we buy back finished goods from Europe, from the U.S., to satisfy all of our industry needs. We should be doing that transformation here.” For grain producers, the potential to participate in this shift is enormous. Today’s bio-economy touches everything from renewable fuels and bioplastics to industrial solvents, sustainable construction materials and low-carbon aviation fuel. But in Canada, the market is still in its infancy, hampered by siloed regulation and the lack of a clear national strategy. “The conversation is really big—and it’s intertwined,” says Seagrave. “It crosses line departments, it crosses provinces, it crosses sectors and industries. That makes it incredibly complex.” It also makes progress slow. Projects that would be up and running in Europe often
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