I read with interest the article titled Food Terrorism Poses Threat to Agriculture from the Jan. 20, 2011, issue. I would have to ask the question – who is actually putting the health and safety of the public at risk? The mentally ill people who would knowingly poison or taint the food to harm unsuspecting consumers or the industry giants that are systematically eliminating the small farmer and concentrating our food supply into smaller and smaller distribution centres?
If we did not have huge factory farms and processing plants we would not have to worry about such large impacts from someone tampering with the food such as the incidents that Mr. Hutchinson refers to.
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The fear mongering of risk to the agricultural industry from terrorism is a red herring as far as I am concerned.
In fact, the real threat to public safety seems to come from the industry itself.
Take for example the recent recall of 380 million eggs over 17 states by Wright County Egg of Iowa owned by Jack DeCoster, who has been a constant violator of regulations and has paid millions of dollars in fines since 1996 for human rights, environment, industry standards and animal abuse violations.
All of which are just the cost of doing business for this billionaire.
What about the Maple Leaf listeriosis outbreak of 2008, which was linked to four confirmed deaths and countless other illnesses across Canada.
Most recently the B.C.E. coli 0517 strain investigation. The company Pitt Meadows Meat has solved this problem simply by dropping their federal licence for a provincial licence, which does not require testing for E. coli.
Now that legislation certainly is meant to protect the consumer, or do I mean the industry? These are just the most recent and public recalls. There are many more that I could list.
My point being that the so-called “terrorists” are the least of my worries. I fear more from the dollar grabbing industry leaders who daily put profits before the consumer and now want laws put in place to protect their already secretive and fear dominated practices from the scrutiny of public opinion.
Remember, when you vote to take the rights away from one group of people you are ultimately voting to take away your own rights.
I feel since the consumer is the one paying for their exorbitant profits we have the right to know how our food is being raised, treated and processed.
The comment about animal welfare activists and the video of the downed cow serves only as a masked insinuation that concerns for animal welfare in the industrialization of farming are a threat against the food safety of the world.
What the factory farming industry is really afraid of is the loss of profits once the truth becomes commonplace and the public demands that consumers, workers, the environment and animals all be treated with the respect they deserve.
My response to Mr. Hutchinson’s statement, “Be careful who you hire and if you are in charge, know your business. You will be held responsible.” is to advise everyone to support your local farmer and buy local. If you really want to avoid the fear of being poisoned by “terrorists” remember you get to control the industry practices three times a day with every meal that you eat!
Theresa Nolet,Okanagan Falls, B.C.
