This was not good news for the food industry.
The fact that people are dying from consuming food purchased at a supermarket REALLY says we need to clean up our food industry and farming practices (where meat production is concerned). We currently have a Conservative government which is basically owned by Big Beef, and won't lift a finger to do so. This is reflected in the Conservatives EASING OF TESTING via Health Canada, and cutbacks to funding.
Once again, rural Alberta's interests come before Canadians', or Canadians' health.
Canada needs a ban on meat products being fed to meat products... Yeah, that's right... Right now, big commercial feedlots are feeding mashed up cow parts to the same cows that give you steak and hamburger... Mmmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, tasty! Science has shown that diseases like mad cow and Creutzfield-Yakov (spelling?) are caused and spread by the consumption of infected nervous tissue of diseased animals. We let this practice continue. Why? Because the industry like bigger, fatter cattle hopped up on hormones, steroids, and antibiotics. Could this possibly be good for us? We're seeing the results.
Recently, we've seen that links have been established between Crohns Disease, and beef - particularly seeing a related organism being passed between infected cattle. We also know for a fact that infected cattle have entered the Canadian food chain. Europe has a ban on harvest of cattle with the Crohns-like illness (which European scientists HAVE linked to Crohns in humans). The Harper government - even after repeated warnings from scientists - has done nothing. Well, "done nothing" is a little extreme... They did do something - they cut funding to the testing agencies. Sounds like a pretty clear answer back to those scientists, doesn't it?
The bottom line with this government is, they will not bring about any changes that may (or may not) negatively impact the cattle or oil industry in their Alberta heartland. The fact that there is more money in organic farming - especially if the government steers Canadians to such a healthy diet - does not register with these people. They are fans of the giant multinational factory farms, and the meat-like substances they produce.
The MNC-farm lobby (Cargill, AMD, etc.) is HUGE in Canada.
The Conservatives are their best friends... We're seeing the results.
Pity.
(The attached image is from the "almostamerican" blog)
2 comments:
No cuts nor changes have been made to Inspection funding/guidelines. Liberal rules still apply.
A 'leaked' doc that was presented TO Cabinet, not FROM Cabinet, has not been acted upon, no cuts to funding.
btw, that proposed funding cut, if Cabinet approves, will be reinstated to Inspections for 'improvements' to the system.
Listeriosis was discovered quickly by the plan Minister Clement put into action, when he was health min, during SARS.
Kudos to Tony, this outbreak would have been far far worse without the SARS plan.
The fact that the Conservatives are serious about the cutbacks - even though we haven't reached the level of thoroughness we need - is a huge problem. In typical conservative fashion they want to practice "slash-and-burn" politics with anything they don't like (hey, Western Farms get unnecessarily "held up" in sales of beef is we worry about consumers), while increasing spending to epic proportions on anything to do with their "childhood wet-dream issues", like war, corporal punishment, abortion (the anti-choice side), and "big stick" financing in general. And, of course, they still manage to end up with record spending levels beyond anything previous PMs ever did.
But, thanks for your scripted, "straight from the PMO" excuse for their planned course of action. Post something when they change their minds... Oh yeah, they won't, because in their little world, they are always right - especially Big Brother Harper - Il Duce himself. He is the perfect model of Il Duce isn't he? Always trying to be the tough guy. Portly to the point of comedy. Bungling his attempts to mimic his "big brother" in the field of warcraft. He is an anachronism, and a fool wrapped up in his own dream world, with machinations of being the "commander in chief".
Delusional grandeur... that's what Harper is all about. Wonder when his Abbyssinia's coming?
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