The Rural Voice, 2003-07, Page 9National Farmers Union -Ontario NEWSLETTER
Ontario Office: R.R. 2, Godfrey, ON KOH 1TO - Phone: 613-273-5545
Email: nfuo@rideau.net Website: www.nfu.ca/on
NFU -0 calls for immediate action to avert loss of small abattoirs
On July 18 NFU -O Perth -Oxford
held a successful meeting in Stratford
to find strategies to stop the loss of
small abattoirs in Ontario. Ontario
has lost approximately 40 per cent of
its small abattoirs since 1991.The
NFU has called for immediate action
by the provincial government to
prevent the further destruction of
small meat processors in Ontario.
The NFU strongly supports
enhanced food safety regulations and
a strengthened inspection system, but
it fears that many of the regulations
being imposed on small abattoirs are
more appropriate to large packing
plants and that inappropriate
regulations are forcing small
operators out of business. Bob
Passmore, NFU member and beef
farmer said, "With sensible
regulations, small abattoirs can thrive
and provide safe, local food."
A number of speakers including
several farmers, OMAF meat
inspector Brian Burdick, Neil
Metheral. a butcher from Creemore,
and Eleanor Kane the founder of the
Stratford Chef School all voiced
concerns about the loss of small meat
processors and the effects on family
farms, rural communities and
consumer choice.
A large contingent of reporters
attended the meeting and the event
was covered by a number of
television, radio and print media.
The NFU -O had invited both Helen
Johns and Head OMAF Meat
Inspector Dr. Tom Baker to present
their views on the situation, but no
acknowledgement was received from
either. Provincial agriculture critics
Steve Peters and Howard Hampton
both sent supportive replies, and
Hampton met with several NFU -O
members near St. Marys prior to the
meeting.
NFU member Bruce Hunter
summed up the meeting saying, "The
very best way to challenge market
concentration is for farmers to create
a partnership with the end users of
their products. My own personal
experience has led me to believe that
the best way to bring agriculture back
into some kind of balance between
producer and consumer is through
direct marketing. Without local
abattoirs, direct marketing and
farmer -consumer partnerships are
impossible."
Just prior to the meeting the NFU
did a national media release
proposing several measures that will
nurture small abattoirs and support
the communities and farmers that rely
on them. These proposals include:
• training programs for aspiring
meat cutters and butchers;
• better treatment of contract
inspectors and reinstatement of
experienced salaried positions
specific to small plants;
• creation of incentive programs
for small plants to meet standards or
transfer ownership and incentives to
start new plants;
• standards and inspectors tailored
to small plants; and
• immediate assistance to plants to
deal with rendering crisis due to BSE.
The NFU -O looks forward to
working with OMAF and other farm
groups in the province to fix the
ongoing crisis in local meat
processing capacity.0
GM WHEAT:
BSE FOR GRAIN FARMERS
Canadian cattle producers are experiencing the devastating consequences of border
closures and market losses that have resulted from BSE. At the same time, the
Canadian government is considering the approval of the grain system equivalent of
BSE: genetically -modified wheat. The NFU told the Standing Committee on Agriculture
that the introduction of GM wheat would undo decades of successful market
development for Canadian wheat, drive down prices, and completely reverse the
Canadian government's stated goal of branding Canadian products as the safest and
highest quality in the world. The customers who buy 82 per cent of Canada's wheat
crop have said that if Canada introduces GM varieties, then they will stop buying
Canadian wheat; GM and non -GM alike. The NFU brief is available at www.nfu.ca
JULY 2003 5