Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Why Is the World Taking Farming For Granted?

Anyone listen to the swinecast podcasts? One the other day featured a guy talking about all the stuff ready to hit the meat industry.

1. now meat takes too much water
2. meat takes too much energy
3. food in the US is too cheap
4. the US uses up too much of the worlds resources (this one's old)
5. we eat too much and we should be vegetarians
6. hsus is getting church's on board with their message
7. we are running out of water, energy and they'll probably find a way to say we're running out of sunlight.

Of course the solution is for us to grow more vegetables and have people give up in town jobs to work in the fields - I can see that happening - not. Maybe it's just a symtom of the type of leadership now and they'll be a significant backlash that stops it in it's tracks, but it feels like 'they' have more traction than ever.

It seems like everything we worked hard to achieve like food previously only available at a king's table know available to everyone cheaply is now a bad thing. Oh yeah, everyone is losing money producing pork and beef right now for these ungrateful consumers...


Does anyone else see it like this?

Views: 102

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wayne Black on August 28, 2009 at 1:44pm
I hear yah loud and clear!
This past weekend a non-farmer who was touring our farm commented about how bad meat was due to the antibiotics and mistreatment. They want to buy organic produce and meat because their perception is that it is safer. A couple comments was "you do not let your children run in the field when you spray but you let them eat the produce that has been sprayed." Uhm - yeah! Then they carry on stating that there is so much chemical in the soil and within the produce... "You have no quams with feeding you children non-organic food?" Nope. I encourage it. "As long as it is Canadian." Then the lightbulbs started up again.
Yeah - there are some issues about meat and non-organic foods but with all the regulations we have in this country I do not see why we would be concerned about perceptions from activist groups in other countries. It is similar to the "food scare" last year that had some consumers fired up. Did anyone see empty store shelves in Canada? Did anyone go hungry because the food was not there in Canada?
We are not running out of water or energy - other countries are. Hence the reason they are buying our water.
Not saying we should stand in the hot shower for 30 minutes....
Permalink Reply by Joe Dales on August 29, 2009 at 2:52am
Hi Wayne: Consumers think that way because mass media is giving them some info like in Food Inc....

I have not had the chance to see the following movie but here is the trailer and a review from one of our western Canadian farmers from our Agri-ville.com website....


DaretoDiffer Said
"The movie/documentary had some points, especially about Monsanto but all of its puffed up pious outrage didn't go anywhere and I was wanting to respond often with "And your point is .....? The guy from the American Corn Growers who popped up a lot in the film, seemed to be in the employ of the anti-farm business theme of the piece. With friends like this, who needs the urban commentators. And Eric Schlosser the main commentator and author of Fast Food Nation, is not a journalist but an author/commentator with an axe to grind. A real poster boy for PETA. "


The issue is that it is easy to sensationalize our food because consumers do think it is important to them...

Agriculture needs to realize that it has to tell it's side of the story. Groups like AgCare and OFAC are doing the best they can to get the message out but really don't have the budgets of Hollywood or Time.

Big challenges,

Joe
Permalink Reply by Wayne Black on August 29, 2009 at 5:09am
You are correct Joe. When we have a choice between organic, local, imported (whether it is labelled is another story), natural, sugar free, fat free, cholesterol free... instead of the choice between food or no food, we obviously do not have a food shortage. It is easy to "sensationalize" because of this. It was mentioned on Thursday (Aug 27) about Babe the movie and Bambi - makes a person not eat meat.

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

How University of Iowa dropouts built a global ag tech company

Matthew Rooda began working in the swine industry at a young age. First, he helped his grandfather on a family farm, and later he worked with his father, who managed a commercial farm in Iowa. When it was time for college, he enrolled at the University of Iowa with plans to study genetics and biotechnology, and eventually planned to go to medical school to become an obstetrician. When Rooda met with the medical school admissions committee at the University of Iowa, he was told that he had to be different to stand out. He thought back to the experiences he had working on farms. Rooda told the committee he had experience with vaccinations, birthing assistance and management on farms. “They said, ‘That's exactly what we're looking for,’” he said. His junior and senior years of college, Rooda worked at nursing homes and he noticed more connections between farming and health care. He saw how nursing homes used technology and management practices to weed out inefficiencies in their car

MU Extension tackles persistent labor shortages in hog production

University of Missouri Extension specialists are working with the swine industry and temporary visa holders to help recruit, retain and develop agriculture professionals needed to address ongoing farm labor shortages. The TN visa program was established in 1994 under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The “TN” designation, short for Treaty NAFTA, refers to a professional nonimmigrant classification now governed by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. TN visas allow U.S. employers to hire specialized agriculture professionals from Mexico and Canada. Unlike programs such as H-2A, which focus on seasonal farm labor, the TN visa program supports year-round professional positions. That’s an important advantage for swine operations that require consistent staffing, says Magdiel Lopez, a livestock specialist with University of Missouri Extension who leads the project funded through checkoff dollars from the National Pork Board. TN visa holders typically meet specific educationa

Swine fever deaths surge in Spain amid fears of new virus strain

Spain has recorded a surge in the deadly African swine fever sweeping Catalonia as authorities bring in drones and helicopters to help contain the outbreak. The region’s department of agriculture announced on Monday that a further 18 wild boar have died from the highly contagious disease near Cerdanyola del Valles, bringing the tally up to a total of 47. The ministry said that the rise was due to wider testing in hard-to-reach areas, explored by air over the Christmas holidays. It emphasised that it was an “accumulation” of cases reported, and not a “sudden” spike. Spain ramped up containment efforts in December, bringing in sniffer dogs and the military to help track the spread. More than 620 boars have been analysed in recent weeks, with around eight per cent testing positive for the virus. Researchers believe the ‘Bellaterra’ variant could be a new mutation, after it failed to match with any samples held locally. The local government has downplayed the theory that it could have

Swine Innovation Porc unveils 4 Advancing Swine Research projects

Swine Innovation Porc is pleased to announce four research projects under its Advancing Swine Research Call for Proposals, a national initiative designed to strengthen the resiliency, sustainability and competitiveness of Canada’s pork sector. Supported by the Pork Promotion and Research Agency, the projects announced represent the first set of approved investments under a highly competitive, industry-guided research call. Additional approved projects will be announced as partner co-funding decisions are finalized. For the four projects announced, SIP will invest up to $488,347, mobilizing up to $1.18 million in total project funding to advance innovation across priority areas including housing systems, animal health, energy efficiency and product quality. “SIP is proud to lead this national research effort that channels research investments into meaningful, targeted impact for producers and processors,” said Mark Ferguson, chair of SIP. “This call delivered exceptional proposals fr

Pork producers address USDA's New World screwworm response

The National Pork Producers Council submitted comments on the USDA's draft response plan for a New orWld screwworm detection in the United States. NPPC's feedback addressed areas of the response including movement controls and movements to slaughter, treatment and physical examinations, among others. NWS is a flesh-eating parasite from female flies that lay eggs in wounds on warm-blooded animals, including pigs and people. According to USDA, animals that recently have given birth, suffered an injury, or had a surgical procedure such as tail docking or branding are most vulnerable. Even tick bites can attract NWS flies. The disease has moved from South America through Central America and into Mexico over the past few years, with a case recently being identified in cattle a few hundred miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. It is endemic in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and some South American countries. In May, USDA closed the U.S. southern border to imports of cattle from Mexi

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service