Send Emails for NS Turkey Trauma

All readers of this Blog are respectfully requested to send an email to the government of Nova Scotia, asking them to back off the destruction and persecution of small flock turkey farmers and their supporting services in Nova Scotia.

We became aware last week of the repeated attacks upon small flock turkey farmers.  See Blog postings Turkey Trauma and Turkey Talk for Nova Scotia.

To help you get started, I have drafted a quick start.  It is better if you customize that draft so that it eactly matches for facts and feelings.

Click on the following link.  It will open your email program, then you can modify to suit.  Feel free to use any of the info that was in my email to these NS politicians (copy & paste at will).  See:   My previous email


Email the Government of Nova Scotia on Trauma Inflicted to Small Flock Turkey Farmers


* * *
The following is the text of the email I sent on 2015/05/11.  Borrow freely, as you please, to use in your email.
* * *
To: Nova Scotia's Premier, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Health, and MLA for Pictou West

I would like to support the continuation of small flock turkey growers in Nova Scotia, and the supporting infrastructure, such as Larkin Bros. PEI who raise turkey poults for NS turkey growers, and Gordon Fraser's 35 yrs. as a butcher shop-abattoir in Milbrook NS.

After being contacted by News 95.7 in Halifax this morning, I did a posting on our Blog (see http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.ca/2015/05/turkey-trauma.html), and a radio interview with Sheldon Macleod on News 95.7 FM radio Halifax NS.  I am glad to see the growing quantity and passion of support for small flock turkey farming in Nova Scotia.

I was also able to get a friend to get Nova Scotia some additional coverage too:  http://agri007.blogspot.ca/2015/05/larkin-bros-banned-by-nova-scotia.html

Hopefully this will soon be on the CBC National News, or equivalent.

Unfortunately, the "official, approved" system for commercial turkey production under Supply Management and/or Provincial/Federal Meat Regulations, in spite of best efforts and intentions to the contrary, puts everybody's life at risk; whether from bacterial contamination, Superbugs created from improper use of antimicrobial drugs, inferior nutritional quality of the resulting meat, or unaffordability.

In my experience, the Supply Management System, whether in NS or elsewhere in Canada, usually wants to hide behind the "food safety" smoke screen.

University of Guelph, CFIA, and other studies have repeatedly shown that 30% to 80% of retail chickens are significantly contaminated with deadly bacteria.  I assume similar problems with commercially produced turkeys under Supply Management.   A butcher with a sharp knife is often better than an expensive, high speed poultry processing machine usually used by the commercial factory farms and processors under Supply Management.  For manual evisceration done properly by a farmer or butcher, the resulting meat will often have 96% less bacterial contamination than the commercially produced meat (see http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.com/2014/02/hope-for-mega-meat-manufacturers.html ) .

There is a world-wide health crisis, and Canada is included in that crisis.  There are now more obese people in the world than the under-nourished.  Small flock turkeys in Nova Scotia can be (and is) a significant part of the solution to that health crisis.  In Nova Scotia, health care eats up about $4.5 billion of the province’s $9.5 billion annual budget; a whopping 47.4% of the NS provincial budget.

Many studies now indicate that up to 75% of human disease is caused or contributed to by poor nutrition, which includes poor eating habits.  Unfortunately, this can't be simply solved by "eating healthy".  For example, a hundred years ago, the potato was a rich source of Vitamin A and C, and many trace nutrients.  Not today, as the typical potato has lost almost all of its Vitamin A, lost 47% of their copper, lost 45% of their iron and lost 35% of their calcium.  It isn't just the potato that has suffered this terrible fate.  Many fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, and other foods are becoming more and more depleted.  For commercially produced chicken, there is now more fat, and the fat Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio has totally flipped to the unhealthy side in the last 50 years (Ref: BANT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/may/15/foodanddrink.shopping3 ). In other words, the good food isn't so good anymore.  Foods high in carbohydrates are now known to be addictive, and often result is a positive feedback loop, causing us to consume more of what is not good for us.  Blis point food research by large corporations and very powerful individuals (commonly called "Big Food") has purposefully (or inadvertently at least) caused the creation and marketing of foods that are more and more addictive.

All of this has been caused (or taken advantage of) by Big Food who are focused (exclusively, or nearly so) on maximizing their profits, regardless of the societal costs.  Seeking profits by corporations is what their government's charter and incorporation bylaws requires them to do, so it is no wonder that they do so.  Unfortunately, there are insufficient constraints on this inbred search for profits.  One of the indirect consequences of this profit seeking by Big Food is the slow evolution from locally produced food on local, family farms toward huge factory farms run by (or terribly influenced by) huge corporations.

In short, Big Food is directly and indirectly causing your provincial health budget to explode, and cruel suffering to be inflicted on millions of Canadians, including almost a million people in NS.  There are some indications that Big Food is somewhat aware of the terrible impact of their actions, but they choose to do little to nothing to remedy the situation.

One particularly gruesome example of Big Food is the Supply Management System in Canada for table eggs, hatching eggs, chicken, turkey, and dairy; a system which has been around for about 50 years.  It was created by the Federal and Provincial governments so as to help the farmers, so they can better provide the necessary food to Canadians.  The monopolies created by the governments and delegated to these industry sectors as a self-regulating and self-policing system has slowly evolved away from its intended focus on the greater good for the public.  It is now used as a weapon against Canadians.  For example, eggs in Canada are about 52% more expensive than in the USA.  Cheese and milk are 38% to 100% more expensive in Canada.  These are bad enough, but chicken is between 50% to 300% more expensive in Canada; king of Big Food's kleptocracy.  Farmers get some of this unfair and excessive profit, but it is mainly other players in the Big Food cartel who are the gluttons feeding on the consumer's pocketbook through these exorbitant prices.

Health Canada studies show that on average, 7.6% of Canadian families can't afford the food they need to feed their families; as high as 28% in Nunavut.  If Canadians can't afford the food they want and need, they are forced to buy what they can afford; which means even lower quality food.  This has a direct causal link to their subsequent poor health, and the extra health care services you are subsequently required to provide, and the extra bills taxpayers eventually have to pay.  Diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's Disease are just some of the diseases linked to poor nutrition; most of which are seeing world-wide pandemics in incidence and prevalence rates, in both Canada and around the world.  It is estimated that if the current trends continue, diabetes alone will consume 100% of the total health care budget by 2045.

In the 1950's Canada was one of the best in the world for chicken FCR.  Today, New Zealand chicken farmers are the best with an FCR of 1.38 (versus Canada's 1.72), which places us 24.6% behind the world leaders, wallowing in mediocrity.  FCR directly affects price of chicken, so that a bad FCR puts Canada at a 14.8% price disadvantage with foreign chicken producers (if we assume non-FCR costs are similar, and since feed costs are 60% of the total cost of production; 0.6*1.246+0.4*1.0= 1.148= 14.8% price disadvantage for Canada).   Here is the background info on the poor FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) that the 2,700 fat, dumb, & happy multi-millionaire chicken farmers in Canada have done to almost destroy the Canadian chicken industry.  http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.ca/2013/03/why-not-export-canadian-chicken.html

The commercial poultry growers have also been doing weird things with drugs and chemicals.  See Frankenstein Chicken:   http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.com/2013/04/choose-frankenstein-chicken-or.html

In Ontario, we estimate that 430,000 new jobs can be created by allowing Small Flock farmers to have just 10% of the provincial chicken market, producing local food, and helping the rural economy.  If we assume the same ratio for NS, you could create 29,700 new jobs for NS via small flock farming and local food.  (see http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.com/2014/03/430000-new-jobs-for-ontario.html ).  That could be achieved with the stroke of a pen by the NS Minister of Agriculture, with 30 days notice.  No expenditure required.  How's that for job creation cost & speed?

There will soon be 10 Billion people on this planet as the current population demographic holes fill in over the next 50 years or so.  The world needs more food, and Canada could supply a significant part of it.  Unfortunately, we are blocked by Big Food, especially Canada's Supply Management System.  For example, Canada is currently in last place (7th out of 7) of the OECD nations for chicken exports; a mere 1.4% market share of this Billion dollar export market.  If we changed Supply Management, we could slowly improve, catch up with the rest of the world, and eventually provide up to 50% of the OECD market.  At that level, Canada would have to produce 5 times more chicken than what we do today.  That would be Billions in additional GDP for Canada, and thousands more of good permanent jobs, reducing your Nova Scotia unemployment rate, as well as Canada's overall.  We can't do that today because Canada's Chicken Mafia is content with the continued raping and plundering of innocent Canadians, rather than exporting.

The Feb. 2014 Iveny Report (One Nova Scotia) noted that a crisis currently exists in NS, especially for rural areas, and recommends agriculture, local food, and exporting food as viable solutions.  Small flock turkeys in Nova Scotia are an example of the recommended solutions.

Since your NS political predecessor and your provincial political neighbours created this Frankenstein monster of Supply Management that repeatedly attacks Canadian consumers and small flock poultry producers, I believe it is the politicians who are responsible to rein in this out-of-control Big Food monster.  Since it is better to start with the root cause rather than the symptom, that is why something needs to be immediately done, first and foremost, about the Supply Management wing of Big Food, as this is the worst of the worst.

If you seek documentation to convince you of the statements and allegations made here, please feel free to visit our Blog where I have documented and explained these chronic sins against Canadians by Big Food, the Chicken Mafia, and the Egg Mafia (see http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.ca ).

You will have to convince and enjoin your Cabinet colleagues to act in unison with you on this important issue.  If you or your Cabinet colleagues ignore, doubt and fail to verify, delay, lose your perseverance, or forget about this issue, then thousands of people (some of them your constituents), will suffer the cruel consequences.

As to your NS citizen Mr. Gordon Fraser, who is currently being attacked by the Turkey Mafia, if Mr. Fraser wants to help small flock turkey producers by continuing to provide turkey abattoir services, as he has done for the last 35 years, in an ecologically sustainable, efficient, safe, clean, and nutritious manner, I think it is paramount for the Nova Scotia government to find some way to convince, encourage, or force the Nova Scotia branch of the Turkey Mafia to consult and accommodate him in some reasonable manner (and all other small flockers and local abattoirs of a similar nature)  in their current supply management system.  Similarly, we must permit small flock farmers to continue obtaining turkey poults from Larkin Bros. in PEI, and other local food endeavors to thrive; in spite of the entrenched Big Food monopolists, and the swarming of their lobbyists in the back halls and offices of government.

Beyond the current Turkey Trauma in Nova Scotia, here is how we suggest the overall Supply Management system be improved: 

http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.ca/2013/03/10-steps-to-success2.html
and
http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.ca/2013/05/climbing-out-of-our-sm-hole.html
and
http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.ca/2013/05/draft-plan-for-ending-canadas-supply.html

Thank-you for your prompt attention and consideration of these important issues for immediate resolution by your government.

--
Glenn Black   President
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada
c/o 576 Firehall Rd.    P.O. Box 101
Providence Bay ON P0P 1T0
Phone (705)-377-4039
Email:   cdn.small.flockers@gmail.com
Blog:    http://canadiansmallflockers.blogspot.ca

Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to communicate, discuss, and advocate for the civil rights and important role that small flock poultry farmers can play (and should play) in Canadian Society.