TAX INCREASES
We have not changed our land base and our taxes have gone up 60 percent in three years. I don’t know if we are targeted or if all other ratepayers have gone up that much. If we all went up 60 percent why do the rural municipalities and schools need that much more money? I wish the RM would have a spring ratepayers meeting so we could ask these questions and get answers.
Several years ago when the government of Saskatchewan wanted larger RMs, I made a public statement stating I wanted larger RMs as there was too much petty politics and it was a “little boys club.”
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Worrisome drop in grain prices
Prices had been softening for most of the previous month, but heading into the Labour Day long weekend, the price drops were startling.
Two months later we were handed a tax notice for $3,700 over and above our regular taxes for a small business we ran on the farm, the first in the province for our type of business. I still think we need larger RMs and I’m taking a chance when writing this but hope we have freedom of speech; so far we haven’t.
Warren Iverson
Glaslyn, Sask.
SOIL EROSION
Re: Soil degradation poses serious threat to global ag (WP Dec. 18/14)
I write this as more of a disappointment of the choice of the article than a criticism of the actual article.
Obviously soil erosion is real and concerning. I would think most of your readers farm the prairies where conservation tillage is widespread. The benefits are obvious; the late Dr. Guy Lafond was a pioneer in promoting and documenting it. Easily a recognizable name to prairie ag writers.
The alarmist text saying chemical-heavy farming is increasing erosion is false, quite the opposite. I will not attempt to condone nor condemn the use of chemicals in modern farming. That is best left to each individual who is able to make an educated decision how it impacts soil. On my type of soil (think black) comprehensive tillage did cause erosion. Those who farmed before me did not have the tools I have.
Organic production improperly done could increase erosion. I’m sure modern organic producers are aware and follow techniques to avoid it.
No mention of urban sprawl is mentioned in the article, it is a huge concern on this continent. The Thompson Reuters Foundation could well, with their global reach, spread the word about conservation tillage.
I would also encourage Canadian farm writers to showcase the carbon sequestration and soil conservation methods prairie farmers are practising. I hope Canadian farm journalists have colleagues in foreign countries they could share information with. Publish an article Lafond would be proud of and share it with them.
Bruce Wilmot,
Carnduff, Sask.
WHO TO BELIEVE?
The story “Canola industry in fight against bad information” (WP Jan. 15) is what one would expect paid industry spokespersons to say. That’s what they are paid to do. But, contrary even to what Dr. Dean Ornish writes, the work by lipid chemists whose careers are the study of fats and oils, shows that seed oils, and particularly canola oil, are not only lacking in healthful ingredients, but may actually contribute to metabolic diseases in humans.
One such lipid scientist, Dr. Udo Erasmus, who perfected the cold press method of extracting flax oil and retaining all the nutrients in that seed, summed up these facts in his book Fats that Heal and Fats that Kill.
“Let us briefly summarize what happens from a nutritional point of view when oils are made. We begin with a seed that is a rich source of essential minerals, essential vitamins, essential fatty acids, fibre, lecithin, phytosterols and health promoting minor ingredients.
During processing, all the protein and fiber is lost, in addition to lecithin, phytosterols and those minor health-promoting ingredients. Most of the minerals and vitamins are removed and some essential fatty acids are destroyed.
In addition, processing introduces toxic molecules resulting from the breakdown and alteration of fatty acid molecules. Fully processed oils are the equivalent of refined (white) sugars, and can therefore be called “white” oils. Like sugar, they are nutrient deficient sources of calories, but in addition, they contain toxins that are not contained in sugar.”
Seed oil people who rely on the likes of Ornishes and other “diet dictocrats” should pause and reflect on the valid findings of the lipid chemists like Erasmus. Even the prestigious Canadian Medical Association announced findings that (vegetable oils high in omega-6 linoleic acid but low in omega-3 a-linoleic may be) contributors to heart disease. The reason is that the few essential oils that are left are oxidized, and oxidation and inflammation, sugar and stress are the chief contributors to heart disease.
I’ll stick with butter.
Trevor Jones,
Fairview, Alta.
CUT USE OF PLASTICS
Perhaps you remember reading about the woman who tried quite successfully to cut back on the amount of plastics in her life. She did quite well until she tried to find a non-plastic toothbrush. She could only find one that was made of pig bristles.
If you don’t remember that very efficient woman maybe you remember reading how turtles that live off-shore from tropical islands have a difficult time swimming to shore to lay their eggs because they have become entangled in plastic bags. Some people throw plastic bags just everywhere. Plastics have become of concern to society.
Joyce Nelson, an award-winning journalist, has written an article based on scientific research justifying that concern. Her article, “Plastics are destroying life in oceans and lakes,” was published in the April 2014 edition of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: The Monitor.
Nelson quotes many scientists, including Dr. Peter Ross, a world-renowned scientist who has been hired by Vancouver Aquarium’s Pollution Program as its leading scientist and program head. Ross has found that the ocean off B.C.’s coast has microplastics the size of coffee grounds. These microplastics are often eaten by micro marine organisms mistaking these microplastics for plankton. The micro-organisms starve to death. Larger marine organisms eat these smaller organisms.
There is a possibility that these microplastics can be passed through the food chain to humans. The chemicals used in making plastics are damaging to the human endocrine system even in very small amounts.
Plastics are photodegradable but not biodegradable. Plastic bags and plastic water bottles are found in lakes and oceans and are therefore causing a huge pollution problem.
Micro beads, microplastics found in household toiletries such as facial scrubs and toothpaste, are slipping through water treatment plants. According to Joyce Nelson we would be better off using baking soda and almond meal than using more abrasive cleaners which contain tiny plastic organisms.
In January 2014 the state of New York passed legislation prohibiting the production and distribution of beauty products containing microplastics less than the size of millimetres.
The good news is that in two year’s time Johnson and Johnson, The Body Shop, L’Oreal, and Colegate Palmolive will be stopping the use of microbeads containing microplastics in the production of their products.
On the other hand the battle is with fracking entering the picture. Many beverage companies such as Nestle, Pepsi and Coca-Cola are using ethylene derived from fracking of shale oil because it is cheaper than natural oil. All of this simply adds to the pollution problem.
The city of Hamilton, Ont., in early 2014 passed an antifracking resolution promoted by the Council of Canadians. The Council of Canadians opposes fracking because of the large amount of water used in that operation and because of the amount of carbon that fracking produces, its impact on human health and the possible damage that fracking has on drinking water.
According to the Pacific Institute 2,000 times the amount of energy is used to produce bottled water as is used to produce tap water. In 2012, 50 billion bottles of water were produced with 40 billion bottles used in the U.S.
The Saskatchewan Games are being held in Estevan in 2016 and are going green. One item that the committee is promoting is having water refilling stations everywhere during the course of the games. The hope is to save the use of 100,000 bottles of water.
Peggy Durant,
Saskatoon, Sask.
