Notice something different with this year’s edition of the Canadian Who’s Who of the Poultry Industry?
Notice something different with this year’s edition of the Canadian Who’s Who of the Poultry Industry?
Rather than having the Who’s Who as a separate magazine, we’ve combined our annual directory with our August issue to allow those of us working on it some much-needed time off in the summer. It still contains all of the information that it has in the past, starting on page 40, as well as news, new products and Jim Knisley’s “All Things Considered” column (page 126).
As always, included are farmer profiles, and this year we have a great lineup for you. Farmers, like those reading the magazine, are a testament to a system that works and how farmers and the agricultural industry adapt to remain efficient and meet consumer needs.
Although trade issues at the World Trade Organization have quieted down this summer, as an industry we must continue to make our governments realize the benefits of supply management, and the benefits of Canadian-produced agriculture.
Since H1N1 came to the forefront in late April, the swine industry in this country is battling an unprecedented crisis. Incorrectly labelled the “swine flu,” H1N1 has been responsible for a 20 per cent drop in hog prices in a two-week period, and in Ontario alone it’s been estimated that the swine industry lost $8.4 million in one month.
A very moving letter from Southwestern Ontario pork producer Teresa Van Raay urging all Canadian consumers to understand what’s at stake if the pork industry is decimated brings to light some very important issues that the average Canadian consumer, as well as all levels of government, needs to understand.
In her letter (available on our website under our blog section), she writes that just as things were starting to look brighter for pork producers – after three years of losses and re-mortgaging of assets just to survive – the fact that U.S. pork can be imported into Canadian grocery stores because they can supply it at a discounted rate is adding fuel to the fire. The irony is, Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) set out by the U.S. hampers the ability of Canadian producers to export live animals to the U.S., yet our grocery stores readily accept U.S. product.
Although the pork industry became too reliant on export markets, she is right in trying to inform consumers that they are wrong to assume that pork they buy at the store is Canadian and in calling for the government to educate Canadians on what agriculture means to the country’s economy and well-being, and have truthful labeling on food products.
However, savvy marketing has led consumers to believe that some grocery store chains promote Canadian product. Case in point: In late June, the CFIA announced the recall of beef products sold under the President’s Choice (PC) label sold at Loblaws affiliates. The reason? Possible E. coli contamination at the source – a processing plant in Colorado!
I’m confident that PC brand shoppers assumed that “PC” meant Canadian. In the last year, Loblaws head Galen Weston Jr. has been touting “local” products at his stores. I guess Mr. Weston doesn’t think Canada has a beef industry – another industry hit by reliance on export markets, U.S. policy and overzealous media.
Print this page
