Remembering John Janzen

A great statesman for our industry - John passed away on January 22nd, 2019, in his 92nd year.
Highly regarded by his peers and colleagues in the Ontario and Canadian broiler industry, John worked relentlessly throughout his career to transform the Canadian chicken production and marketing system and identify growth opportunities.
Having started out his career during a time of industry turmoil and distress, John’s persistent efforts to instill an alternative marketing approach not only improved the quality, marketability and profitability of chicken production, it helped to drive consumer demand for and consumption of chicken - making it the strong agricultural food commodity we know and love today.
Those who worked alongside John consistently reference his leadership skills, describing him as “visionary”, “productive” and “charismatic”. The success and strength of the chicken industry in Ontario is most certainly due to the initiatives that John and his peers led on a provincial and national scale.
There is a unanimous view that John was instrumental in pioneering Ontario’s first supply management system for a food product, which, in turn, set a precedent for other food commodities in the province.