LABELLING CATASTROPHE
GMO labelling in America will be “as good as a ban” on freshfruitportal.com.
With 80 percent of all organic food being imported from countries like China, and with 43 percent of it testing positive for prohibited pesticides, we’ve got a huge problem on our hands that must be addressed.
Also, Alan Caruba quotes me in his latest article, “Hating humanity by opposing science,” on RenewAmerica.com — “The real goal for organic activists,” says Popoff, “is to ban GMOs outright the way DDT was banned in 1972.”
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Proactive approach best bet with looming catastrophes
The Pan-Canadian Action Plan on African swine fever has been developed to avoid the worst case scenario — a total loss ofmarket access.
Mischa Popoff,
Greenville, Texas
NEW CASES OF BSE AND CWD
It is no surprise to farmers who suffered through the BSE and CWD crises that new cases are still reported. Even less surprising is that explaining how the victims get sick is difficult.
The answer could be traced to what we read and heard in 2003 when a farmer from England toured Alberta with compelling insight into BSE and CWD. Quotes from the press of that era are revealing.
In April, 1996, The Edmonton Sun ran this headline, “Mad cow disease blamed on pesticide.” Quoting Reuters (Edinburgh), “Excessive use of organo-phosphate pesticide could have caused the epidemic of BSE, a farmer researcher told the International Science Festival.”
The farmer researcher said farmers were required to use phosmet, a blend of organo-phosphates and the base to the drug thalidomide, to combat warble fly infestation.
In November, 2000, The Guardian Weekly concluded a comprehensive report on BSE with this paragraph, “A self-educated farmer may overturn the ‘scientific’ research on the biggest health scandal of modern times.”
This is simplification but a basis for transmissible spongiform enceph-alopathies. TSE is a lack of copper and the prevalence of ferromagnetic metals such as barium and manganese.
In 1997, the National Pollution Inventory listed one eastern Alberta source emitting 114 tonnes of manganese. A soil consultant revealed that some prairie soils are horrendously deficient in copper.
Our soils carry an increasing burden of chemicals, organo-phosphates included.
Reassurances that the science of TSE is sound are not productive. An Alberta scientist used this description, “shoddy scientific censorship.” We are in the age of information. It is tragic to witness the manipulation and suppression of information when fortunes are at stake.
Bill Bocock,
Sturgeon County, Alta.
WHO IS BEING SERVED?
Re: “Mandatory workers comp advised for farm workers,” by Barb Glen (WP Feb. 12).
Dr. Bob Barnetson paints a grim picture of farm workers being left on their own without WCB coverage. Add to that, in Alberta there are no OHS standards, no WHIMIS, no labour standards to provide for rest breaks, a day off, limit on hours worked, no vacation pay, no restrictions on the employment of children, and it gets downright nasty to work on a farm, ranch or feedlot in Alberta.
Juxtapose all that with the fact the aforementioned lack of coverage also puts great risk and liability on the farm employer as well as exacerbate the already acute shortage of labour.
I wonder who is being served here?
Eric Musekamp, President,
Farmworkers Union of Alberta,
Bow Island, Alta.
APPROPRIATE PROTOCOL
Re: “CFIA criticized for plan to delay immediate disclosure of BSE,” Capital Letters column by Kelsey Johnson (WP Feb. 19).
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency takes its responsibility to inform the public, farmers, stakeholders and trading partners of all cases of reportable animal disease in Canada, including BSE, very seriously.
We have a very detailed protocol for reporting all cases of BSE where we inform all levels of government as well as industry. This protocol is implemented as soon as positive confirmatory test results are re-ceived.
Our laboratory confirmed a positive BSE test late Feb. 11. The following day, we announced the find on our website and reported it to key trading partners and industry associations.
We make our decisions and an-nouncements based on fact and sound science. There was, and is, no risk to human and animal health.
Our protocol follows international guidelines set by the World Organization for Animal Health with regard to animal disease reporting.
In addition, we immediately announce all confirmed detections of reportable, foreign, or newly emerging diseases that pose significant health or economic risks.
The OIE recognizes Canada as a controlled risk country for BSE. This case should not affect Canada’s risk status.
I believe that we disclosed the current BSE case appropriately and immediately once it was confirmed. The CFIA’s website is routinely updated around the tenth of every month to reflect all new findings of federally reportable livestock and aquaculture.
Dr. Harpreet Kochhar,
Chief Veterinary Officer for Canada
Animal Health,
Ottawa, Ont.
No way to carry lambs
We have recently bought into the idea of “agvocacy.”
My wife and I moved from the downtown core of a city a little over seven years ago with the simple idea to live better. With a lot occurring between that first move and today’s growing farm we have been learning and observing a few things.
Academically, we read everything we could get, subscribed to The Western Producer and found mentorship in new local friends and neighbours. With loads of idealism, we started farming and I guess our first experience was realizing we may not always treat an animal in a way that would be acceptable to the consumer.
There were many reasons for this, like not knowing other ways to do things, fatigue, poor pens — the list is long.
Anyhow, we have all tried something in farming and not done it in the best way. Our goal on our farm is to do things in the best way we can so if it is not acceptable to the consumer we have to find a way that is.
In this case on page 79 (WP Feb. 12) in the photo feature, “All eyes on new arrivals,” we saw something questionable. We also saw a farmer that runs a good flock, cares for the animals and runs a real business.
But all positive was ruined by one picture that led to the analysis of poor practice with no incident occurring in the past that would promote a change in the practice of carrying newborn lambs.
For right or wrong, the method of carrying a newborn lamb by one leg was something we had to give up the time our city family came to visit.
The evaluation was this: it looks like it hurt, like they were dead, and like it could distress the animal over distance. Could there be any joint damage?
Was there a better way to complete the task?
Our solution was to pick the lambs up gently and place them in a sled/wheeled cart with slatted wood sides so that the ewe would follow them and they would be comfortable and stress would be reduced.
The result is that over distance, it was easier than carrying them and ultimately more efficient because we were able to start moving more than two lambs and two ewes in one trip. The most interesting thing though is that research was not readily available to answer this question.
B. R. Harrington,
Fort St. John, B.C.
NOT IMPOSSIBLE
Some thoughts about the loss of the Canadian Wheat Board pre-2012.
The old CWB sold only Canadian grain. It was branded as Canadian and with its advantages had good markets.
The multinationals sell grain from the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Europe and also some from Canada but it isn’t promoted as a Canadian brand.
Because the big grain companies work on volume they promote the seeding of high yielding varieties and yet the quality of the grain in a lot of these varieties is not up to the Canadian standard that we are known for.
The CWB worked with Canadian grains for the benefit of the Canadian farmer, and all profits went back to the farming economy.
Now the profits of the prairie provinces are going through the multinational companies to offshore shareholders.
We used to hear a lot from the free marketers about all the benefits of getting rid of the CWB. But it appears they got more than they bargained for because we don’t hear from them anymore. If they were happy they would let us know.
We are told we can’t get the old CWB back because of agreements. What are we, a colony of another country? We have our own country and our own government and we should be able to legislate what is best for our own economy.
The U.S. labelled us as hewers of wood and drawers of water and have treated us as such. After the free trade agreement, they gave us a real shakedown with lumber and it was only after prime minister Stephen Harper gave a big write down that we were able to export lumber again at a fair price.
We saw the same thing with livestock (cattle and pigs) with the implementation of COOL, which has cost the Canadian livestock sector billions.
Another resource that is penalized is oil. We have only one (main) market and have to take what they will give us (which is a discounted price).
The same with grain. We used to see high prices in the U.S. and wished we could access that price also. Now with the free market we are still looking at higher prices across the border. What happened?
The assets of the old CWB were paid for with farmer money, but were expropriated by the Conservative government, which is now looking for a large company to partner with to give the “Ritz Board” and all its assets (gained from farmer equity) to. They stated at the breakup of the old CWB that the assets needed to be done away with by the end of 2017.
In the meantime, they are trying to build more facilities to make it more enticing for a takeover.
This has all come out of farmers pockets, to the detriment of the prairie economy.
Bringing back the old CWB or an entity like it is not impossible, it just is going to take some backbone.
Bernie von Tettenborn,
Round Hill, Alta.
