Meat Inspection Regulations MIR BC 1 Meat Inspection

Meat Inspection Regulations (MIR) - BC 1

Meat Inspection Regulations (MIR) - BC Stipulates üonly meat from livestock slaughtered in provincially or federally licensed facilities can be sold for human consumption & üall animals slaughtered in licensed abattoirs must be inspected both before & after slaughter Effective from September 30 2007 2

Annual Animal Transportation Death Toll Up to 3 m animals found dead when unloaded at Canadian abattoirs : - ü 2 m broiler chickens; 400, 000 egg-layers; 20, 000 turkeys; 17, 000 pigs & 500 cattle 11 m animals declared unfit for human consumption after arriving diseased or injured: - ü 8 m broiler chickens; 3 m egg-layers; 200, 000 turkeys; 80, 000 pigs & 8000 cattle Ref- BC SPCA/Canadian Food Inspection Agency © December 10 2008 The Vancouver Sun 3

What Are The Risks Of Farm Gate Meat Sales? Ø Officials have NOT demonstrated locally produced meats pose a public health risk & Ø have confirmed that no data available on the instances of food borne illness attributable to local farm gate meat sales Ref North Report 4

IMPACT OF THE MIR ON SLAUGHTER CAPACITY – Ref - North Okanogan Regional District (RDNO) Brigitt Johnson On Average 97 Producers Responded - 22 Years of Experience 5

BEFORE MIR Ø 8 custom slaughter businesses servicing RDNO Ø 6 fixed plants also provided cut & wrap services Ø 2 on farm slaughter including 1 mobile 6

AFTER MIR 4 of the custom abattoirs closed Ø lost custom processing conservatively estimated at 1850+ beef; 2775+ pigs; 3000+ lambs & 3000+ rabbits Ø the economic value of the lost production conservatively estimated at $4, 635, 250. 00 Ø 7

& Then There Was 1 provincially licensed plant that processed custom beef & lamb 8

Does It Get Worse? Ø Ø Ø ý A producer spent 18 years establishing 2000 head of African sheep Participated in disease & pest resistance research with several Canadian universities Had established a niche market - selling high quality Halal slaughtered lamb & beef No processing currently exists for this market served by on farm slaughter 9

Economic Impact On Small Producers ýLoss of farm status ýReduced revenues & profit margins ýHigher slaughter costs & ýReduced production Ø 97 producers served over 2, 669 customers Ø 42% expected to lose farm status & another 20% were unsure 10

More To Slaughter Less Capacity 90% of respondents said they experienced a lack of slaughter capacity after MIR compared to 26% before MIR 11

Of 97 Producers Asked ý ý ý 2 had to destroy animals - unable to slaughter them for sale - in 1 case this represented over 500 animals 17 had animals they were unable to slaughter – beef, pigs, bison & lamb 58% said they had reduced the number of animals they raise & another 19% were uncertain 77% attributed the reduction directly to MIR 12

What Cost Government/Codex Control ý ý Reduced production 26 producers reporting lost combined livestock sales revenue of over $236, 000 “We will lose our farm status unless we find an alternative to poultry production” “We will have to develop a new customer base & incur start up costs associated with any new business. The farm equipment we have for poultry production will be worthless” 13

PRODUCERS PROVIDE A TOUCH OF REALITY 14

Chicken Producer “We are unable to get farm status on the property we purchased because of the regulations” “Our taxes will increase substantially along with water costs etc. We produced chickens & pork & had a ready market for any we could produce” 15

Poultry Producers The average loss $9, 000. 00 16

Mixed Producer “We will lose farm status” “We don’t have an alternative” “We are in the ALR but don’t have much flat or productive land & are not irrigated so are limited as to what we can grow” 17

GIVEN the CHOICE If you have stopped producing (meat animals) would you consider going back into production if your preferred processing was available at a cost comparable to preregulation prices? Yes 96% No 4% 18

Producer Comments To Ponder 19

FORMER PRODUCER “What is going on in BC with the regulatory changes is effectively eliminating the small scale grower from the system. What the regulatory changes are doing when I think of them to some depth from a processing business development point of view is making the risks as well as the preliminary & ongoing costs too great” 20

FORMER SHEEP PRODUCER “I had 110 ewes in Langley & maintained 58 ewes in Kelowna since 1999. I sold all my lambs locally & could have sold more if I had them. In the fall of 2005 I sold off all my sheep as there was no way I could operate under the draconian & ridiculous new meat regulations introduced by our Provincial government. There are no qualifying slaughter houses in our area & it is not economical to transport the lambs to the Fraser Valley” 21

PRODUCERS KNOW Consumers/voters want ü Humanely treated animals ü Low stress ü Low numbers ü No antibiotics ü Free range 22

ABBATOIRS RISKS ý Large numbers of animals processed ý Mixing animals from different farms ý Increasing the number of people handling the meat ý More people consuming the meat greater number affected if a problem ý Recalls involve tons not pounds 23

PRODUCERS pointed out The implementation of MIR contradicts other Provincial government policies Ø climate change initiatives Ø efforts to reduce fuel consumption & vehicle emissions Ø promotion of green & sustainable communities Ø buy local campaigns Ø food security 24

The Provincial Medical Health Officer - 2005 Annual Report “Buying locally produced food also makes it easier for consumers to trace exactly where their food comes from & how it is produced improving confidence in the safety of the food system” 25

FORMER LIVESTOCK INVESTIGATOR “The government would like you to think this is a big problem. To my knowledge we never had a problem with farm gate slaughter or animals taken to local abattoirs” 26

The Requirements Continue l If farmers cannot maintain fresh eggs at 4 o. C they cannot leave their eggs out for sale l New BC regulations – Vendors at Farmers Markets must submit applications, recipes and completed lab tests before they can sell their food at the market 27

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS IG Farben headquarters during World War II 28

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS – A DIP INTO HISTORY ý ý ý WWII IG Farben supplied steel for railroads that took prisoners to concentration camps IG Farben was the single largest donor to Hitler’s election campaign Company manufactured the gas used to exterminate prisoners & Conducted experiments on prisoners After the war 24 of company’s top executives found guilty of war crimes Company broken up into smaller companies Bayer among them 29

ONE EXECUTIVE Fritz ter Meer After being released Fritz ter Meer reviewed what had happened & concluded that although the Holocaust had failed there was another way to control the population 30

Fritz - “He who controls the food controls the world” Fritz went to his contacts at the UN & presented his idea & received their support & Codex was re-born 31

MODERN CODEX - FOR A COUNTRY TO STAND UP TO CODEX IS RISKY Ø Ø Ø Started in 1962 by the UN & backed by the World Health Organization Imposed by World Trade Organization Sanctions If a member country is not Codex compliant & there is a trade disagreement the Codex compliant country has always won 32

WHAT’S CODEX FOR? To control the international trade of food guided by corporate interests which include: pharmaceutical pesticide, biotechnology & chemical industries ý To establish food safety guidelines to protect consumers? ? ? ý 33

MOST OF THE FOOD CONSUMED IN CANADA IS COVERED BY CODEX ý This commission aims to take choice away & put power into the hands of corporations ý Codex is in 176 countries including US - Canada – UK & China 34

NUTRITION – We are what we eat There are 2 Codex committees which address the nutritional aspects of food 1 is headed by Dr Rolf Grossklaus Quote “NUTRITION IS NOT RELEVANT TO HEALTH” Codex committee on Nutrition & foods for special dietary uses Bonn Germany November 3 -7 2003 35

NUTRITION ý Grossklaus is the same doctor who declared nutrients to be toxins in 1994 ý Grossklaus owns the Risk Assessment company that assesses the toxicity of nutrients 36

SO WHAT’S IT BASED ON? l Napoleonic law which states that anything not explicitly permitted is forbidden l If Codex is implemented even vitamins could be considered illegal because most have a level of toxicity – but so do drugs!!! 37

WHO BENEFITS? l l Pharmaceutical companies: if you can`t access healthy foods - vitamins or supplements - illness will force consumers to allopathic medicine The top ten profitable companies Fortune 500: - pharmaceutical companies - virtually recession proof 38

BILL C-51 ANOTHER CODEX RELATED MANEUVER? 39

WATCH THIS SPACE Bill C-51 was defeated last year but has been re-written into another bill currently being reviewed for Parliament - called C-6 40

WHO REALLY BENEFITS? ý ý Chemical companies Monsanto forced Iraqi government to pass a law FORBIDDING seed saving Now all seeds have to have the Terminator gene Don't forget the Saskatchewan farmer who almost lost his farm because Monsanto seeds blew onto his farm & they found out about it 41

CODEX DEFINES - FACTORY FARMING Outlined in a footnote in the organics section of Codex: “Factory farming refers to industrial management systems that are heavily reliant on veterinary & feed input not permitted in organic agriculture” 42

BIG BROTHER Ø Ø In US a system has been debated by Congress & Senate that would require all farm animals to be micro chipped for identification Bureaucratic nightmare especially for small farmers - directly linked to Codex so don`t think it won`t happen here! 43

BIG BROTHER l l All livestock will be identified individually Small mammals or poultry by herd or flock - bees by hive This law is being fought vigorously in the US as it impacts on everything from 4 -H showings to breeding of animals 44

WHAT TO DO? Help Be The Change You Want To See l l Eat Local Food Know the organic farmers & support them Be a voice – to your MLA & MP & neighbours & Be aware & educated about what is going on in your own country 45

WHAT ELSE l Take the opportunity for input Codex alternative guidelines are being written & can be accessed at: www. healthfreedom. USA. org l There is also a petition on this website 46

WEBSITES FOR MORE INFO ü ü ü www. healthfreedomusa. org www. codexalimentarius. net www. who. int - food safety www. 4 dr-rath-foundation. org more info on Farben`s activities during WWII You tube has the video on Codex broken into smaller increments for easier digestion Google: Ian Crane - Rima Eharbow MD Fritz ter Meer - Codex Alimentarius 47