national
farmers union
national
farmers unionGANANOQUE, Ont.-"Consumers and governments need to understand that farmers' survival is vital to everyone," said Peter Dowling, Ontario Coordinator for the National Farmers Union, after its regional meeting this past week. "Action is crucial or today's crisis will worsen. Big corporations will end up owning everything, prices to consumers will go sky-high, and food safety and quality will plummet," he said.
That was the clear message both from the speakers at the meeting and from the farmers who attended. These gatherings, one near London and the other at Westport in eastern Ontario, focussed on the theme "Farm Issues are Food Issues."
"Some farmers came with proposals for action, but others have almost given up," Dowling reported. "Things are pretty desperate out there on the farm. Urban people may not realize it yet, but that's bad news for them as well."
A prime example is the hog crisis. "Corporate mega-barns and exports aren't the answer, they're part of the problem," Dowling said. "Pork hasn't gotten any cheaper for consumers, but farmers who raise pigs are right on the edge. Our members want a pooled stabilization plan and orderly marketing to ensure they can pay their bills and feed their families. The National Farmers Union has been proposing those policies for years, and where they've been implemented, they work for everyone."
The ban on Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) was a major topic at the meeting. Two of the speakers were closely involved in the long fight to keep the drug out of Canada: Richard Lloyd, former Regional Secretary for the NFU in Ontario, and Kari Flecker, who worked with the Council of Canadians on the issue. The third speaker was professor emeritus Joe Cummins of the Genetic Department at the University of Western Ontario, who warned against genetically modified foods. All three stressed the importance of the precautionary principle in questions of food and environmental safety, and pointed to the dangers of corporate control of research, production and regulation of our food.
"Our victory on BGH has shown that farmers, consumers and scientists working together are a political force," Dowling concluded. "But that has to be just the beginning. Farm issues are food issues because we produce the food that everyone eats. Saving Canada's family farm is the only way to food security, food safety, and environmental sanity. We have to do that together."
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