The Rural Voice, 1998-05, Page 49Pork producers got drawn into the middle when the George Morris Centre' s
report on competitiveness in the packing industry was used as a weapon in the
battle between Maple Leaf Foods and its union.
analysis reports like the Grocery
Trade Review, Canadian Cattle
Buyer, and Canadian Chicken
Market Review, available by
subscription.
Director of Economic Research,
Dr. Larry Martin, served on the
federal Agri -Food Competitiveness
Council from 1991-94, and recently,
has been involved in mediating a
solution to problems that came up in
the cattle industry, when downsizing
resulted in fewer meat inspectors.
Competitiveness is the criteria
against which any developments,
technology issues, or market
conditions are measured, and is the
basis for analysis. The Centre's
position becomes clearer from an
examination of their literature.
n an editorial in a newsletter
dated Summer 1995, Dr. Martin
begins:
"As we listen, especially in
Ontario just now, to the whiners who
either don't see the point in reducing
government deficits or only see it if
someone else takes the hit ..." and
continues, "... of course, profligate
govemments like the one we just had
here in Ontario, that add further to
the debt by running up huge annual
operating deficits, simply make the
problem worse ... one thing I can
find no tolerance for is the charge
that the guys who are getting us out
of this mess are the insensitive,
uncaring bad guys. The bad guys are
the ones who got us into it."
A press release dated January 22,
1998 and authored by Market
Analyst Kevin Grier begins:
"The Canadian chicken industry
took a brief look at capitalism and
market forces and decided they did
not like what they saw. If this
(national allocation) agreement is in
fact signed, it will be another in a
series of backward moves towards
the bad old days of more centralized
control and less reliance on market
forces."
He concludes with a warning:
"If the producers and processors
really think there is a future for this
industry, then the new system should
be abandoned and the true bottom-up
approach should be re -instituted."
It's no secret that many farmers
would disagree with the Centre's free
market approach.
"Marketing boards are the
backbone of the Canadian farming
industry," states Paul Fdwards of
Hagersville's Lowbank Farms, a
poultry producer/processor, and it's a
sentiment that is echoed by many
others.
"We sometimes have to take
uncomfortable positions," acknow-
ledges Dr. Amanor-Boadu.
At issue seems to be the role of
the farmer/producer, and
consequently, the nature of farming
itself. At the George Morris Centre,
the farmer is just another
"organization" in the agri-food
business, along with the processors
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