Dear Editor,
Consumers across Southern Ontario have been rediscovering the delicious taste and freshness of local Ontario grown foods in increasing numbers the last few years: fresh vegetables, flowers and local meats — things like fresh pork sausages, cornfed beef tenderloins and healthful grass-fed beef. These nutritious and tasty products are all locally produced from neighboring farms where they can visit and see how the animals are grown and treated, and have the satisfaction of showing their children the healthy, happy animals, and the security of knowing where their meat comes from.
Unfortunately the local meat option for our families is going to be history if the current trend continues. Never-ending costly facility upgrades threaten the viability of the local small abattoirs. In my immediate area there are no longer abattoirs in Dungannon, Ripley or Brussels. The government says it’s necessary for food safety, but I have lived in Huron County for 36 years and I have never heard of any meat being recalled from any of them. It has always been from the large industrial plants, running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, where there are regular tainted meat issues and recalls of millions of pounds of meat.
The government needs to change its policy of “one size fits all” requirements for abattoirs. Small abattoirs are different. Their processing scenarios are different, the risk is much smaller, and regulations need to reflect that. I am highly suspicious that this policy is supported by the large packing plants because they know it’s putting the small ones out of business. Its’ all about market access and who’s going to control the market in the future.
I want to preserve the meat processing capacity in our local communities for food access and choice. We need to preserve small meat processing plants for food security here in Ontario ... and there sure won’t be “Homegrown Ontario” meats very much longer at this rate.
Sincerely,
Fran McQuail
R.R. 1 Lucknow
