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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-09-08, Page 47• S atreat roll, ney he cultute whiel r he antis► Produ Y the leder s and up timal darn 8yd v „The e fat mu pros resit' weigtl SO bort ide of eval eat attle is No are ions tt ohs le un Ma ucel heirl can )(mils ill also he i hey of p arm redu e. beef weekly ging, r wart of 10 rrcass, oekly uflor Mfg AM kc E1 0 GODE RICH SIGNAL -STAR; THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 401! nnam says inexpensive food kes luxury living possible Hannan', president of ntario Federation of lture, spoke Friday at heon at the Canadian nal Exhibition's Iture Day in Toronto. text (in part) of Mr. m's address follows: ow; you hear a lot of fining about -the high of food but, when you the facts, the criticism isn't justified. Because Canada has one of the standards of living in Id. But no one seems . hy! of the main reasons is ever before have ans been able to buy so cheaply. 1947, we spent 25 per - our income,after on food. By 1960, that len to 22 percept and, it's: only 18 percent and ing rapidly in 1977. In for example, it's 26 ; in Britain, 30 per - and in many of the veloped countries; m 50 to 80 percent of comes spent on food. hen you spend that food, you have very eft over for other in Canada, where we end 18 percent of our on food, we have a lot ft over for our second a vacation, or a television, or .to provide more education for our children and that's why we have a higher standard of living in Canada, Certainly not in spite of the cost of food blat primarily because of the cost of food. Because food's so inexpensive, Canadians can afford to buy so many ether things, "It's rather remarkable when you consider the chartge in the food industry over the last number of years,. Look at the . variety of food now! Think of the last time you were in. a supermarket and the row after row of highly processed fotfas, frozen dinners, pizzas, and the fresh fruits and vegetables all year round and then just think how that compares to twenty-five years ago when we were spending_more of_.our_.income on food. So Canadian farmers are 4 providing a greater variety at less cost. "Also consider the rapid growth of the fast food chains, the hamburgers, the fried chicken, the pizza. That's one of the fastest growing in- dustries in Canada and it's followed closely by restaurants. Canadians are eating out more and ordering ' more of their food in and all of that is also 'included in the cost of food. And still the cost is lower than it was 10 or 20 years ago. "And that's not all -- Canadians are also eating more expensive foods. We've doubled our consumption of beef and poultry since 1950. Then an average worker could buy a pound and a half of sirloin with an hour's work; now he doubles -that and gets three pounds. There's no question, Canadians now eat better for less than at any time in their history. STEAK, GAS AND WAGES "I am sometimes asked when we're going to see $1.00 a pound steaks again and my usual answer is that we may see that when we see gasoline going down to 50 cents a gallon or when we see wages down to $1.00 an hour. You see, people forget that food prices are not a cause of inflation, they're a result of in inflation. "Winston Churchill sum- med up the whole thing quite nicely. He was asked once how his wife was and he simply replied: "compared to what?" "Sure, the actual price of food is higher today -- but compared to what? Com- pared to the cost of produc- tion?No! Production costs have risen faster than prices. "Compared to food in other ome on exhibit 50th annual Huron plowing match and machinery demon - will be sponsored by uron Plowmen's tion at Allan Walper's Stephen Township, and Bend: sties begin with the coaching day on' y, September 15 at ,as well as the Junior t2:00p.m. Montique, Jarvis, t head judge for ational Plowing s in Ontario will he the coaches. Expert n, Roy Craig, Caledon ill also offer very coaching advice. ueen of the Furrow ition and all the nine plowing classes and trations will he held main day, Saturday, ber 17, beginning at . Added features will horse shoe pitching, ing as well as ladies' en's nail driving ded attraction at this match will be a tration of the solar system that Mr. and ig barns...... age 12 1 lth of existing herds or ng old barns for new ther barns are par - leaned every two or ars or an "all -in, all - stem is used to clean rn numerous times ar, all waste must he d to be effective." sen organic matter, he barn with water w it to soak for a day. lean with a low - high pressure (800 to nds per square inch to 6895 kilopascals), ray. the barn is clean, disinfectant and allow ry for several days eintroducing pigs. ry Crowley gs"' Landon Liffe Mrs. Allan Wolper use to heat their home. The 50th anniversary of the Huron P4-owrn-en's Association will be celebrated on the evening of October 20 with a banquet, awards night and dance with Ian Wilbee Orchestra supplying the music. Tickets may be ob- tained from directors of the Association. The 1977 International Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Demonstration will be staged on the Greenless Bros. and Sons Limited, and neighbouring farms in Frontenac County near Kingston, countries? No. Canadians spend less of their income on food than almost anywhere else in the world. "Compared to wages? No. The average Worker can purchase more food with an hour's work than he ever could before. "Compared to the profit of other industries? Not on your life! I challenge• you to go down into those stables in the Coliseum today and talk to the beef farmers who are exhibiting those lovely fat cattle this week. They're pot making any return on their investment and they've been making very little for their labour. "So compared to other things, the cost of food has fallen -- not risen. "Let's examine farmers' profits a little more closely, because we must remember that without a profit we will not have farmers. Farmers are businessmen and like any other businessman, they want to make a decent living. "Profits were low during the late 1960's and, primarily because of that, we lost farm land at the rate of 26 acres an hour, It was the OFA that developed that 26 acres -an - hour figure back in 1973. And since then, it's been used and abused and misused by more people than any other figure I can think of. THE 22 - CENT CAPER "Well, I would like to bring to your attention another figure - 22 cents -a -day. This figure, 22 cents -a -day, is going to,.be more important to the history of agriculture in this coytry than was the famous 26 acres -an -hour. ."In the last 10 years, if farmers had taken no profit sand no return on their labour, in other words, if farmers had sold their produce for their out-of-pocket expenses, then each and every Canadian would have saved only 22 cents a day.. That's less than the price of a cup of coffee. "From 1968 to 1972, when we were losing 26 acres -an - hour, the' figure was 14 cents u day.- When you look at 1973 to 1975, the three hest years that Canadian agriculture has had since the Second World War, it rose to s,lightly above 30 cents -a -day. "But that's history now. Where are we in 1977? Well, when you consider inflation, we're right. back to where we were in the late '60's. Farm income was down over 20 percent in 1976 and with the present market outlook, I would say it will he down another 25 percent in 1977, And so that puts the 'cents -a - day' figure for 1977 back to.22 cents -a -day. That's going to mean more disruptions in the agricultural industry, as farmers facing bankruptcy will thrash about trying to produce any item which has any chance of returning them a profit. The pickings look pretty slim right now. UP, DOWN, ALL AROUND "1 think that that figure of 22 cents -a -day should be passed along to the, market research department of the C,N.E• i know they do a lot of sophisticated forecasting about how many people are going to use the various rides and they should be aware of it when they do the forecasts for the roller coasters. Because I do not think they will get many farmers on their roller Thinking of painting? Think CIL. Think PHIL MAIN - HARDWARE Where the prices cannot- be beaten. Fall never looked berrer. And you'll never look or feel better than in Kitten Knits in the seasons latest styles and colours. Classic good looks and machine washability make Kitten Knits the highlight of your wardrobe. Sweater 602 :30.00 Top 154 $32.°o Pant 156 $30, 00 rT- OPEN WEDNESDAYS HOURS: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday PLUS FRIDAY NIGHTS TILL 9 p.m. 11 o SHOPPERS SQUARE Goderich STAN JONI, Bbruse 171 :29,00 .lump Suit 163 :65.00 SHOPPE LIMITED coaster next year. You know • why? It will remind them too much of their incomes. 'But what •about Future? Well, despite problems we're in, I'm tirtiistic. Food prices will but compared to what? "Energy is going up in price; wages continue to go up; the machinery, the fer- tilizer, all of ,.the things that farmers buy are increasing in price at very rapid rates. And you can't expect food to stay at the same price in that kind of economy. But it probably will not rise faster than everything else. Farmers have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to the price of food. "If we have to apologize, it's probably because the. price has been too low and too variable over the last 20 years. We farmers have provided Canadians with 'one of the highest quality and most inexpensive supply of food in the world and all we have received is less than the price of a cup of coffee, 22 cents -a -day from each Canadian consumer." the the op - rise 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1i 1 1 INSURANCE -- George,: T:artl LIFE, AUTO, FIRE AND ALL OTHER LINES 319 HURON ROAD GODERICH S24-7411 DAVE' HAYLOW ELECTRICAL Serving Industrial, Commercial, Residential Needs 524-6038 LET US MAKE YOUR OLD FURNITURE BETTER THAN NEW ' %��' i . COOK UPHOLSTERY ' �� PH. 523.4272 R. COOK Prop, BLYTH _ .,1 : Put your upholstering y�,,' needs in our hands WE HAVE FREE PICKUP AND DELIVERY SERVICE For a free estimate and a look at our newest samples of 11. Aerial CALL f 111111111111 IMO Your complete :, community 1 education centre I 1 Servlhg Huron, Perth Wellmg(on Counties and the RerjionW Mt' '1) 1 't r" of Waterloo O��S�OGA Cck fig rFNCENN' .ralth.campuses al Cambridge Clinton Door' Gu& gh Strarlcuci arc Water,00 in 1977 :fur Tenih Ar1r or,ar) 1J Cc "ac Ir gated a series of sped; Tee( r,n,a Pro; ct m.,:le'e us an e\,en better. Community uduCdtlon ,i'' l re'Credtl0r Cf d',ire Conestoga College Week - September 26 - October 2 * By `,pcci,t1 proc'd't'd'hon COnes'ocr Co' e'_1e Week In K'tchener Wdlur'00 Strdifc,'rt Opening of our New Cambridge Campus Seim'Yr;r'r 25 - Co'ne hep celebrate Fund Raising for our Sports and Recreation Facility unit Ia, 'Ihes Vita Par Cours Opening *Ffr,'uSTrar fOr,1''.,3Ceo Four Tennis Courts assl;iar,Ce of the Cly of Kitchener New Post Secondary Programs *cjr.iprf,C Te(-"r`ii'Idn *13,, ; A•t'»+Inor 1. "V,DE:',; _)'' X1,1,1 iCium New "Get Yourself a Job" Program Women's Education Program * 0 ';:,11 Workshops Ana LE'CT'ure Series Learning Disabilities Project *P' ,:t G'ou;'dm ur'ique'') Ontdr1(1 Northern Study *(Jr_ rtn 'rr? F-1Ur, n Perth WP.Iington Counties South Western Ontario Art * Fr'r,r, l ' ; ,, 1 permaneni Col le(1e COI leton Art Exhibit: "Ten Years of Ontario Art -1967-77" * Mollrlerf t'y �'' K W Art Gd''le'y celebration o> 407ncennlal Tree Planting, Landscaping at all Campuses Coma ,ln(l c-olletle Our Birthday Party SPI)fPn'io' .3() 'he' <' Wo I ho qiv,nq you all the details And vA,0 h01u' Vin ;'''' lie i l'lehraa11()n ;31 the Conestoga Campus r �u na you of the Birthday Party Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology We've got a lot to share 4111111111 1111111111 41111111110 41111111, elm 1 11 11 111 111 11 1 1 11 11