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Home My WebLink AboutLucknow Sentinel, 2009-05-20, Page 4Page 4 - Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, May 20, 2009 P.O. Box 400, 619 Campbell Street, Lucknow, Ontario, NOG 2H0 phone: (519) 528-2822 fax: (519) 528-3529 www.lucknowsentinel.com (kik 6 Publisher, Advertising Manager: Pat Livingston lucksentads@bowesnet.com Editor: Garit Reid lucksented@bowesnet.com Office Administrator: Ruth Dobrensky Subscription Rates advance: Regular $30,00 plus GST Senior $28.00 plus GST • PUBUCATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40064683 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 7656 RETURN LE CANADIAN ADDRESSES 'PO CCULATiON DEPT. P.o. Box 400 Lucknow, ON, NOG 2H0 For any nod -deliveries or delivery concerns, please call 519-528-2822. e-mail: lucksent@bowesnet.com `We acknowledge the financial support of the GOvernMent ofedmida, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs." Changes of.address, orders for subscriptions, and undeliverable copies (return postage guaranteed) are to be sent to The Lucknow Sentinel at the address indicated here. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the por- tion of the advertising space 9cc upied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of The advertisement will be paid at the applicable rates. The Sentinel is available on microfilm at: Goderich library, 52 Montreal Sheet Goderich, N7A 1M3 (from 1875) Oode ric lib cry+ c@huroncorinty.ca and Kincardine Library, 727 Queen Street, Kincardine N2Z 1Z9 (from 1875 to 1900 & 1935 to 1959) N MEDIA Aon• What is the real problem? Dear Editor, Pigs are taking the rap for the glob- al outbreak of swine flu, but the pan- demic was never their fault. Influenza is a social disease, ` and this pandemic is a social phenomenon. We're in the thick of it now and public health agen- cies around the world are doing their best to nize suffering and limit deaths. But. if we take the time to under- stand the social ecology gY of influenza we will be better equipped to prevent future occurrences. Because swine flu is merely the latest symptom of a chronic economic disease character- ized by corporate control of food pro- duction, exploitation of workers and peculation and financial speculation .._..animals, aggressive global trading. g� In Mexico as in : Canada and the Unitedhog States, :roduetion under- went p went massive stmcturai change over the last 25 years owing to new policies designed to ramp up production, shift it to vertically integrated corporations, and sell our :product to other counties cheaper than they produce it them- selves. Cominttnities once self-reliant in foodroduc tires are now dependent p on imports. Globalization remodeled agriculture into agribusiness, and food became a mere comm o ty on world markets. In the past, :most : North American hogs were raised on family. farms dis- -persed throughout the countryside. Hogs were butchered on farms or at local abattoirs and regional packing plants. Supply and demand were pret- ty much in balance, and there was lit- tle export,. US -based Murphy Farms (bought out by Smithfield during: the 1990s) was the first company to start raising hogs indoors using an assembly line approach. The company grew, and; quickly gained more and more market share. Soon othercompanies were emulating the Murphy approach, and factory farming of hogs took off. The new production model arrived in Quebec around 1994 and spread to the rest of Canada thereafter as federal and provincial policies: and regulations were amended to encourage its expan- sion. Where once a large hog farm boast- ed 100 sows, 5,000 -sow opeTations producing tens of thousands of hogs per year soon became the norm: Smaller outfits went bankrupt. A few small diversified farms continue to : raise smaller numbers of hogs for their local markets, but today most pork consumed in Canada comes from fac- tory farms. In fact, Canada , products far more pork than we can eat, so we export roughly half of oyr production. NAFFA:trig8 . ered the same restruc- turingss in Mexico when farm - en ere there were:: forced to=compete with cheap imports from the US. Some grew w bi er and mare industri- - out of business. As alined many o y .. time went on, there as here, the nuns- um size of a commercial hog ` barn grew bigger and .to pursuep bigger. pork Mexico began an export agenda and : companies such as Smithfield Food moved in to take advantage of the country's low wages :- reducing costs while centralizing production in fewer, larger facilities. Without the backing of Canadian; US, and Mexican :policy -makers and the trade agreements they signed, the environment in which this swine flu pandemic evolved would never have existed. The unnecessary deaths caused by this disease are one more cost of the export -oriented cheap food regime that has en hold in North America and around the world. If Canadians are serious about pre- venting the next, perhaps more deadly pandemic, we must adopt food poli- cies that respect the health of workers, the integrity of animals, the skills and, knowledge of small farmers and the meaning of food culture in our lives. Cathy Holtslander Beyond Factory Farming 10 years ago - Afay . 12, 1999 With only 15 days left until voters go to the polls, thecan - dates keeping expanded riding of Huron -Bruce are a hectic pace as, to cover a large geographicarea. The they try ides With the federal riding. newly created riding :cQinc Three Luclatow seniors are recovering . at home from injuries received in a single vehicle accident May 10, 1999. The South Bruce detachment of the CBPP are attributing the cause as a medical problem at the time of the crash. - A request by the Lucknow Minor Hockey Committee - to add a surcharge of $20 per registration, in lieu of fund-rais- ing, und-raisin , was approved by the joint recreation board at its. May 12, 999 meeting. g 120 yam ozo -ay:.17,19,89 .. der adults, t will be .filled with Older ori -1 _ - Lucknow s main sires Monday, May: 29, 1989 as' persons 55 years of :age and better, et ready to walk to the moon and back. Figuratively, that is: By the tune the Town acid Country Seniors walk is over, than 25 miles will have been credited towards .meeting more , . nchallen ��e :of waikiri the the' �lderobtc - Moonwalk natio al g � 476,000 miles. Seven of Ruth Al :S _ ..tt t students took - ;art in the on's musicp Walkerton Ontario Rotary Music Festival held. at Walkerton . - mfile first .week of May, 1989. Heather Alton placed -first in': a class 01 10 with a mark of 87. . - Pinecrest Nursing Home in Lucknow celebrated:: its 15th anniversaryannivetsary hast Saturday with an open house.. A good num- ber of area residents .dropped 1I1to visit and enjoy refres ments. Seacarf ago - May 20O 1959 - Mr. and Mrs. EdwardDexter, natives of England, but es�.. residentsof this community for over 40 years, qui- etly observed their 6► wedding anniversary on Saturday, May 16, 1959. - Dr. M.W.Raithby, veterinary surgeon and Mrs. Raithby a bride of about two o weekshave taken up residence in Lucknow. :Raithby is taking over Dr. Cleland's practice. emember when.... Dear Editor, Planning for your future, no matter what your age is itnportant Advance care ply is about making choices now while you are capable, for your future care, authorizing someone you trust to act on your behalf, and giving them information to make. the choices you want Barb Fox from the Grey - Bruce Alzheimer's 8oeiety ` will ' be at Pinecrest about advance Owning oil May 26 at 2 p.m. She will be able to give direction on how to imple- ment this process. This event is open to family, friends, and the community,: so please feel free to join us. Pinecrest Family Council The students from Lucknow and District Christian School held their annual spring concert for 2005 entitled You've Gotta be joshin' Us.' which Is a children's musical and addresses the sub- ject of pier pressure. lt''s based on certain events in the life of 0l1* per)