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

Okanagan Farmers Face NDP-Created Water Crisis ~~ BC Conservatives

Okanagan farmers are facing a water crisis as government-imposed restrictions threaten to kill their crops and destroy one of B.C.’s most important agricultural industries. In perhaps the most water-rich province in the country, our farmers have been left high and dry by the NDP government. For nine weeks, Okanagan and Shuswap farmers have proposed solutions, only to be met with NDP foot-dragging. Now forest fires have come to these regions as they are simultaneously reckoning with a water crisis that has been made worse through years of government inaction. Vernon-area farms have lost 70 percent of their water, while Kelowna and Summerland growers face severe restrictions. This situation is unacceptable and cannot continue. Ian Paton, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, said the NDP is once again forcing farmers to pay for its own failure to plan. "Farmers and ranchers must be listened to when decisions affecting their livelihoods are made, and under the NDP, they aren’t," said...
Post a Comment
Read more

BC Conservatives Point to Warning Signs in BC’s Economy

While Canada posted modest job gains in July, warning lights are still flashing in British Columbia. Youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, leaving too many first-time jobseekers shut out of the workforce. BC also lost 3,400 public administration jobs in July, likely as temporary Census positions ended. “BC's jobs divide remains stark. Unemployment is far higher in business-driven communities like Kelowna (9.3%) and Abbotsford-Mission (8.3%) than in Victoria (5.0%). Government should be focused on creating the conditions for private-sector investment and job growth,” said Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission and Shadow Minister for Economic Development. “We need an economy where young people can find work, businesses can hire, and every region has the opportunity to prosper.” This comes as BC faces five straight quarters where more businesses are closing than opening, an NDP cabinet rift over job-creating projects like Tilbury LNG, and fresh signs that even the province's to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Todd Stone says, “One and Done” -- No need to fill in Question 2”. Respectfully, he and his fellow BC Liberal MLAs are wrong

From Todd Stone, to Tracy Redies, to John Yapp, to Jane Thornthwaite, to Doug Clovechok, to Mike Bernier, to Lorne Letnick … the list of BC Liberal MLA’s all singing from the same song book goes on and on as their united voices all say, “Vote One and Done".   Let me say this … they, along with supporters of the BC Liberal Party are WRONG!   Even IF you do support retaining our current system of  and have no wish to change to some form of Proportional Representation, it IS vitally important for you to vote on Question #2!   Despite the Liberals trying to persuade us differently, there is indeed plenty of information on the vote , and it is from an independent source – Elections BC.   There you’ll find pretty much everything you need to make an informed choice about the different voting systems, and the different rules for each … including how voters cast their ballot, how votes are counted, and how votes translate into seats in the l...
6 comments
Read more

Labels

Show more