Flip of the Coyne

Save Bill C-474 on April 14! Your new action can stop the biotech industry from defeating this Bill!

Dear Spencer,

Your actions are making a huge difference. The biotech industry has launched a heavy lobbying campaign to stop Bill C-474. Despite this industry pressure, the Liberals spoke in favour of Bill C-474 tonight – but their voice was not strong enough to drown out Conservative opposition, yet. The Conservatives voted against the Bill, but Bill C-474 is not dead yet. The official vote on Bill C-474 will happen on April 14!

Bill C-474 would require that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.” The Bill could stop GE alfalfa and GE wheat.

The industry association CropLife is so worried about the influence of your letters that they have copied CBAN’s campaign, asking their own public to write to MPs as well. (You can have a peek at the copy-cat campaign here: http://www.croplife.ca/web/english/biotechnology/Bill_C-474). We also know that key Liberal MPs have been under a lot of pressure from the biotech industry, including a steady stream of calls to their offices. But your voices are still being heard!

Here are some ways you can make a difference, today:

1. We have set up a new action. You can write an instant letter to Michael Ignatieff, Liberal Party leader from CBAN’s website http://cban.ca/liberalact474 Ask him to make sure all Liberal MPs are present on April 14 to vote in favour of Bill C-474. Tonight, the Liberal Party spoke in favour of a transparent debate on the Bill in the Agriculture Committee but will they vote for the Bill on April 14? (The NDP and Bloc support the Bill.)

2. You can also send your MP another letter from http://cban.ca/474action – Your continued pressure is important.

3. Below is an action alert that you can send around to your family, friends, and around your community. For more information and other action see http://cban.ca/474

4. Please consider supporting CBAN’s work with a financial contribution so we can continue this strong campaigning. CBAN is a small organization that is entirely funded by charitable donations and small project grants. CBAN has limited resources but is up against well-financed corporate giants like Monsanto. Donate online to keep this work going and to help us start our new campaign to stop the GE “Enviropig™” at http://cban.ca/donate

Please join us to stop GE crops from causing untold harm to Canadian farmers.

Thank you for your continued action and support, Best regards

Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network

P.S. Contact me any time at 613 241 2267 ext.6 or coordinator@cban.ca

Published Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Vol. 61 Issue 6 Page A4

Inspect yourself. The Federal government has proposed that poultry processing plant employees would be responsible for policing themselves under the proposed “poultry rejection program.” The program would make processing plants responsible for monitoring the birds as they pass down the line, and according to veterinarians who monitor food safety, the plants would no longer have to publicize the reasons that the birds were rejected.

This is mind-boggling to me. We have an avian flu outbreak in the Fraser Valley, an ever growing peanut recall, and recalls on some products for listeria and our government has turned over the safety of our food system to someone who may have just started working in a processing plant making less than 12 dollars an hour. I just cannot wrap my head around it.

I have been talking about food security and the need for local, sustainable and safe food systems. I have begun to pay more attention to what is happening with our food systems and it is not good. All you need to do is turn on the evening news and you will hear of more health risks due to our factory farm system. Take the peanut recall; it now seems that the peanuts that contaminated the products being recalled were actually turned away at the Canadian border for being dirty and then taken to a plant in the US where they were processed and sent around North America. A handful of dirty peanuts have contaminated millions of dollars worth of products.

Food is a commodity because we trade it, but food is not like other commodities; we cannot live without food. We have allowed our governments to dismantle our agriculture in return for agribusiness. Agribusiness has centralized the means of production and has over processed our food stuffs to the point that when we have a small outbreak or contamination we end up with a large percentage of our system being compromised. Be it lack inspection or new unproven science or genetically modified seeds our food system is under attack twenty four hours a day seven days a week. Small family farms are swallowed up by larger ones that need to produce more to stay competitive and keep costs down so food processors can bring us the newest, cheapest and fastest way to make dinner.

Take a look at the products on the shelves at your local grocery store. How much of it is raw natural food? A bit of produce, some meat, and a bit of dairy and in some places there is natural flour. You can now buy a roast that you take out of your ice cream tub looking container put it in your slow cooker, add water and you’re done. It might have taken a couple extra minutes to add a couple spices and a potato, but a roast is a roast. The difference is the frozen one you buy has preservatives and has been prepared and frozen for you before packaging. I would wager the one you bought from the local rancher and some fresh vegetables would taste better and would only add five minutes to your cooking time. If we have fewer controls in these massive processing plants the chances of things going wrong shoot up drastically. So at a time when our food system is under siege our government has decided to take a page from Wall Street and let the processors police themselves.

Published Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Vol. 61 Issue 5 Page A4

60,000 turkeys from one farm will be killed and disposed of by the time you read this and that number may rise before publication date.  Why are 60,000 turkeys being killed?  There has been another outbreak of Avian Flu (bird flu) at an Abbotsford farm and there are at least 23 other neighbouring farms under quarantine.

It is time that we as a society begin to re-examine our farming practices.  Factory farming has allowed us to mass produce our food, but at the same time, when you have outbreaks of disease you are also losing massive quantities of your food line and the possible spread and mutation of the disease can cause devastating results.  The 2004 outbreak of avian flu saw the destruction of 17 million birds.  17 million!  Of course, not all the birds culled were infected, but officials could not take the chance since bird flu can jump straight from birds to humans with devastating effects.

It seems that these types of outbreaks are becoming more and more common, be it avian flu or another salmonella contamination.  It has become clear that factory farming is failing us.  I will agree that a small local producer will have higher overhead, might not produce as much per acre, but I will argue that local production can meet local demand and can do it in a more ecologically sensitive manner.  This means that in the end the local farmers can feed their community in a way that is sustainable and at the end of the day will help create a stronger and healthier community.

The mass production of food is starting to endanger our food delivery system.  Just think back to last summer when the salmonella outbreak was thought to be from tomatoes.  The tomato supply was completely shut off and the industry was devastated as a result.  In the end it turned out to be something other than tomatoes.  There was also the California spinach incident.  This week it is peanut paste and peanut butter products.  In the end it doesn’t really matter what is infected.  It is that fact that it is happening more and more often and people are dying as a result that is unacceptable.

Our food is no longer local.  It comes from all across the world and we have very little control over quality or growing conditions.  When there is a disruption in the supply line or if there is a health risk our grocery chains’ shelves become bare and we run out of food.  When there are disease outbreaks in livestock we end up losing not only a few head of cattle or a couple flocks of chickens.  We lose a percentage of the entire national production and in many cases it causes shortages and puts the entire food system under stress.  We need to change in order to protect ourselves from disease or other food borne illness but also to protect ourselves from food shortages.  We need to change not only how we produce food but how we think of food.

Published Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 53 Page A4

Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? There is a lot to think about: the financial crunch, Coal Bed Methane, the provincial election and food security just to name a few.

2009 should be a year of political intrigue with the excitement on Parliament Hill. The CBM issue still looms over our community and proves to be a hot button topic in the provincial election. A candidate on the Liberal ticket took her opening salvo on the issue during her nomination campaign calling the “SOS a small pocket of people”. The NDP MLA quickly responded to her nomination and her comments about the SOS in a letter to the editor before the election has been called.

According to recent news reports the federal government is preparing for a $30 billion deficit. If the economy continues to fall we will all feel the pinch. If oil prices skyrocket again next summer we could see food prices jump to prices that will push those already struggling over the edge. The financial situation will not only affect everyday people but will have repercussions on council spending. The provincial government is spending big money but as the economy slows so will government’s cash flow. All of these factors will have ripples that will touch everyone.

With all the doom and gloom on the table it’s time for us as citizens to step up to the plate.

Plant a garden this spring. It will help offset your cost of living not to mention the health benefits of eating fresh vegetables. Plant an extra row in your garden. There is a program in many areas called “plant a row, share a row.” In this program, those who can plant a little extra can donate to a food bank or to those in need.

It’s also time to volunteer. Many of our service groups have a membership that is getting older and there is no new blood. I know many do not have time but if we lose these service groups the community will feel the effect.

As you are planning your New Year’s resolutions think about what you want next year to look like. If you want a better financial outlook, think about ways to save money. If you are concerned about your community think about joining a service group. If you want to cut your carbon footprint think about the 100 mile diet, shopping consciously, gardening or not using chemical cleaners. The main thing is to become proactive in your life. I have come to the conclusion that you need to be the change you want to see. You cannot expect others to do it for you. Getting involved in your community and taking your life by the reigns gives you a feeling of accomplishment like nothing else.

Published Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 51 Page A4

Have you ever got up in the middle of the night, went to the sink and poured yourself a cold glass of water? It’s one of the most refreshing things in the world and it’s something that we take for granted every day: clean, safe water.

We, the people of Princeton, the Similkameen Valley, BC and Canada have seldom had to worry about our water supply. We have always had enough to drink, water our yards or grow our crops, but that is now being threatened. There has been a struggle in our area for a number of years over the proposed Coal Bed Methane or CBM extraction. Some in our community have tried to minimize the efforts of those opposed by labelling them “environmentalists” and by trying to claim that they are “anti-progress”. I am going to tell you today that this fight is about more than environmentalists. It’s about you and me and our future in this valley.

Remember my opening statement about how we have taken our water for granted? There is a reason CBM production has a bad name. It has destroyed water supplies and it has destroyed farmland. Coal Bed Methane is being fought in Alberta by ranchers, in Montana by ranchers and in BC it is being fought by ranchers and people like you.

In our municipal election there was some major opposition against the people who have spoken out against CBM production and now our new BC Liberal candidate has tried to minimize the SOS members by calling them “a small pocket of people.” The SOS has a membership into the hundreds and across party lines. That does not sound like a small pocket of people to me. CBM protest is not about progress or no progress. It’s not a movement to stop job creation, or to keep Princeton small. The protest against CBM is about protecting our way of life. It’s about keeping our water source safe.

The pro Coal Bed Methane lobby would like you to believe that those who oppose CBM are trying to stand in the way of our community’s future. If this was true why is there not a movement to stop the mine from reopening? The people in the SOS and those trying to stop CBM from moving forward are doing so because they have seen the other side of the story. They have heard the stories of ranchers of Montana who can no longer water their livestock. They have done the research and understand that the provincial legislation is not strong enough to protect our community from the harmful effects of CBM production. The people who are opposed to Coal Bed Methane are looking out for you and me. They are fighting it because they want to ensure that we can still get up in the middle of the night and get that nice safe cold glass of water from the tap.

The provincial Liberals in all their wisdom have forced our medical system to the brink. Our operating room is gone. We have a hard time attracting and keeping doctors with our lack of services, and now the provincial Liberals are attempting to do away with our ambulance service with the new Medi-Van program. With the lack of services in Princeton, you have to wonder why anyone would want to move to a remote rural community like ours.

If the medical issues were not enough, try driving our highways and secondary roads. Since the government stopped running the highway maintenance and contracted it out to private contractors, our highways have gotten worse and worse. When you can almost see yourself in the reflection from the ice on the highways you have wonder whom should be held responsible.

Although I would love to blame the guys working on the local road crew, it’s not their fault. It’s not their foreman’s fault. I don’t even think you can blame the contractors themselves. When you are a for-profit company you need to make a profit, but should people be allowed to make a profit on essential services like roads, power, and medicine? Should we allow our government to put our lives in the hands of a for-profit company that depends on making a profit to survive?

We need to demand our elected officials to provide the services for which we are taxed. When it comes to public safety, our governments should not be allowed to play games. We as the electorate should hold our elected officials accountable for their lack of respect for the welfare and wellbeing of the public. We have to remember that we are the bosses here, not the government. They represent us, not the other way around, so when our safety and our health are in jeopardy because of decisions that our officials make, those officials need to be held accountable.