national
farmers union
national
farmers union
HOWE ISLAND, ONT.-
The federal government's ban on the sale of the bovine growth hormone is a victory for Canadians, our farmers, and their cows, said National Farmers Union Ontario Co-ordinator Peter Dowling. With this decision, our government is showing some leadership on the world scene.The NFU has fought against the approval of this hormone, known as BGH, for over 10 years. In the mid-1980s when we first heard of this drug, farmers knew instinctively that it was not good for cows, Dowling said. Consumers told us loudly and repeatedly that they did not want milk tampered with.
Dowling, a dairy farmer, noted that it was the persistence of Canadian opposition to the genetically engineered hormone that helped the government finally reach the right conclusion and ban BGH from Canada.
Among those who contributed to keeping the drug out of Canada are farmers and consumers, the Health Canada scientists and their union, the Parliamentary Committees that looked at the issue, the researchers and investigative reporters who dug for the facts, the National Farmers Union, the Council of Canadians, hundreds of other organizations, and many thousands of individual Canadians.
The Gaps Analysis Report by Health Canada scientists, and the Senate Agriculture Committee hearings in the fall, revealed the inadequacies of Health Canada's review of BGH. When it was shown that the science on this drug was highly questionable, they had no other choice but to ban it, Dowling said. The drug company Monsanto may protest, but the facts are clear and the issue is settled.
The National Farmers Union will continue to work with other groups to expose the flaws in the Canadian and international regulatory systems for food, drugs and bio-engineering.
Good wholesome food is what farmers want to produce, for our families and for the consumers of our products. The ban on BGH is a great victory for all of us, Dowling concluded.
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