Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Decentralized local markets offer true sustainability, and contribute greatly to our hopes of long term sovereignty

IMAGE CREDIT:  BC Cattlemen's Association

A post from my friend Dave in Williams Lake.

So this year, as has been our habit for many years, we ordered a side of beef from a local rancher. 

We have always been grateful for the care that our ranchers, and their 4H kids, give to raising their animals. And the outstanding quality of product they deliver. As a bonus, we have made some wonderful friendships along the way.

Regrettably, it is getting harder and harder for local producers to afford to raise their animals to maturity and then have them processed and sold in the local market.
 
It's now virtually impossible for them to find a local abbatoir, and have the meat government inspected. Ranchers are forced to ship their animals to Kamloops (200+ km) and then retrieve the meat to deliver to customers. No wonder so many are forced to become cow/calf operations, shipping young animals to massive feed lots. 

Sadly, we all pay more, while the ranchers make next to nothing on the ridiculously obscene consumer beef prices we find in the stores. In addition, our food gets needlessly shipped, over a great many miles, when it could be raised and sold right here at home. 

But I rant.

The crowning cherry on the top of this sundae of stupidity and frustration, today we received this email from our rancher friend:

Hi everyone,

Thanks to the BCGEU strike, which includes the meat inspectors, I will NOT be able to ship your beef this Sunday, September 14. Seems to me that meat inspectors should be an essential service as they are so closely tied with food security.

Needless to say I am frustrated with this situation, but can do nothing but wait until something is resolved. (Our butcher)... will let me know as soon as I can ship and of course I will let all of you know.

I totally agree. Inspection should be an essential service. But, I will go one step farther. It should be readily available in EVERY community.  And, facilities should be established in all communities to encourage the production and sale of local, direct-from-the-producer farm and ranch products. 

I feel the same about finished forest products. But that's a different rant.

In my honest opinion, decentralized, local markets offer true sustainability and contribute greatly to our hopes of long term sovereignty. 

It's my hope that the various governments will make this a priority ... soon!
 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nurses Take Job Action After Years of NDP Neglect

Image Credit:  BC Nurses Union BC nurses have reached a breaking point after years of unsafe conditions, rising violence in the workplace and a government that wouldn’t listen. Now they are on the picket line fighting to be heard. Last week, nurses began job action with a 72-hour strike notice, refusing non-essential overtime and stepping back from non-nursing duties. As of Tuesday, they have escalated to picket lines for the first time in decades. This moment was avoidable. It is the result of years of unanswered concerns from the frontline workers who keep our hospitals running. Nurses have been raising the same concerns for years: unsafe staffing levels, rising violence on the job, and a workload no single person should have to carry. None of it is new, and none of it should have taken a strike vote to get the government's attention. "Nurses are exercising their legal right to job action, but it shouldn’t have had to come to this," said Kiel Giddens, MLA for...
Post a Comment
Read more

British Columbians Still Don’t Know Who’s Paying for NDP’s BC Hydro Deal

The NDP is making billion-dollar promises with BC Hydro, but British Columbians still don’t know who will pay the bill. Last week’s memorandum of understanding isn’t what the federal government and the NDP are making it out to be. It’s an admission that the NDP failed to make the long-term investments needed to keep B.C. powered. Now British Columbians have serious questions about the cost and whether BC Hydro ratepayers will end up paying the price. David L. Williams, MLA for Salmon Arm-Shuswap and Shadow Minister for BC Hydro and Electrical Energy Development , said British Columbians deserve clear answers about the full implications of the Canada–British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement. “British Columbians deserve the full truth,” said Mr. Williams. “This multi-billion-dollar announcement does not answer who pays for cost overruns, who pays for new generation, who carries the risk if industrial customers do not materialize, or whether ratepayers will be forced ...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Government Blames Everyone but Themselves

The federal government has announced new measures to support British Columbia's forestry sector, including $65 million in funding for projects across the province. While any support is welcome, it falls far short of the level of assistance other provinces have secured for key industries. Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer says the NDP government needs to take responsibility for its mismanagement of B.C.’s forest industry instead of trying to pass on the blame. Despite promising to create more jobs in the forest sector, the NDP government has overseen the loss of thousands of forestry jobs and 21 mill closures which have devastated communities. “If Premier Eby spent more time addressing the regulatory issues impacting the forestry sector than he did complaining about the federal government, we would not be in the position we are now,” said Stamer. “And instead of trying to place the blame for mill closures on Donald Trump, Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar should t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more