It's All About CFO

On reading CFO's Annual Report for 2014, you quickly learn who is the star of the show in CFO's eyes:  it's CFO.  To me, the public and the consumers should be front & center, not CFO.  Perhaps that is why CFO and I don't see eye to eye on many topics.

I previously did a word cloud on a CFO document in June 2013 when CFO announced they were going to look at improving their Cost of Production (see Blog Posting Congratulations CFO!).  In that document, COPF (Cost Of Production Formula) had the lead and starring role at center stage, and CFO was way back in the pack, a mere Extra in the crowd for the performance.

Word Cloud for CFO's Annual Report for 2014.  The
font size is proportional to the frequency of occurrence.
Guess who is most important in CFO's mind?  If you
magnify the image, you can barely see "consumer" in
the microprint font size, located 6 lines above the "F"
in "CFO", just below "management".

In yesterdays posting (see CFO's Mission & Role ).we discussed CFO's wrong headed and misleading corporate Mission.  At least in CFO's self declared Mission and roles, they admit that they are stewards.

In other words, CFO is a trustee, charged with the duty of properly serving the best interests of their beneficiaries:  the Ontario consumers of chicken.

Today, we do another word cloud on CFO's Annual Report for 2014.  Click on the image for a bigger version, or download a pdf copy here

As a parent, I try to keep in mind, and teach my kids that this world isn't all about me, nor my kids.  It seems CFO hasn't yet learned that lesson.  CFO wants to star in their own movie, then tries to steal the show, thereby ruining the movie for everybody else, including the audience.  That's why "CFO" is in the biggest font size in the Word Cloud to the right.

If you click on the Word Cloud image at the right, and maximize the magnification, you can barely see the microprint where "consumer" is a mere extra in CFO's movie, pushed to the wings, barely on the stage at all.

Other important words like quality, continuous improvement, affordable chicken, expectations, etc. are either totally absent, or you need an electron microscope to see them because the Word Cloud font used is so small.

To me, the consumer should be the star of the show, placed center stage.

Would you donate to a charity where the charity's CEO acted like a rock star who could never get enough publicity for himself?  Those beneficiaries whom the charity is trying to help should be the focus of attention, not the narcissistic CEO.

CFO needs their wings clipped, and maybe a liitle more.

I believe it should be the same for CFO and all of the other Supply Management Mafia.  The consumers are #1, not CFO.

It's about time that the narcissistic CFO learned this lesson that CFO isn't the most important organization in the world.  Perhaps CFO needs their wings to be clipped so they come back down to Earth with us mere mortals.

Perhaps OFPMC, if they were doing their job in the best interests of the public, should get out their wing clippers and snip off some of CFO's proud peacock plumage.

If and when that occurs, it's going to be a very strange world.  I can't wait to see the sight of a bald, bare ass CFO running around the barnyard.

Are Small Flockers Special &/or Arrogant?

Do Small Flockers need to admit to our arrogance, and our assumption that we're special and privileged?  Why do Small Flockers assume that our grievances are important enough to be considered for attention and solution?

Agri007 and Better Farming have both pointed out the upset felt by Restaurants Canada ("RC") at being snubbed by Ontario's Farm Product Marketing Commission ("OFPMC").  After decades of stonewalling and abuse by Chicken Farmers of Ontario ("CFO"), OFPMC is seeking input from all stakeholders about the current system for calculation Cost Of Production ("COP") for broiler chickens in Ontario.

While OFPMC has asked for input, why are they stonewalling Restaurants Canada and others on the historic data on the COP system, and the current proposals on the table?  It appears that OFPMC is asking for input because it is a politically correct step to take, but OFPMC really doesn't want the input, and won't use it to determine the COP solution eventually imposed on everybody.

Perhaps this is the same as Stalin asking for any comments and suggestions on how he might improve his performance at leader of USSR.  You must have a death wish if you raised you hand in that room.

Restaurants Canada represents more than 30,000 businesses (eg.  restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and their suppliers) throughout Canada.  The members of RC have more than one million employees; 80,000 locations; and 18 million customers a day.  RC has been active for 70 years.  In other words, RC is big and important.  Perhaps they are bigger and more important than the #ChickenMafia.

Why then, is RC being ignored by OFPMC?

Can this be explained by #ChickenMafia being exclusively about chicken, and therefore their voice carries greater weight when it comes to COP for broiler chicken?  This exclusivity is contrasted with RC being a broad, multifaceted group where chicken is just one of hundreds of issues that face RC and its members?

RC has questioned the fairness of #ChickenMafia policies in the past.  In August 2013, RC sent a letter to OFPMC about the reduction in the FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) imposed on CFO and their chicken monopoly. That letter doesn't seem to have been answered by OFPMC in any substantial manner.  OFPMC is taking a hands-off, laissez-faire approach, letting CFO do as they please.

In RC's 2013 survey of restaurant menu trends, locally produced white meat, organic poultry, and free-range poultry were all top issues in the latest trends.  Sounds like Small Flockers may have many things in common with RC and its members.  Of course, #ChickenMafia can't discuss any of those RC issues, as the #ChickenMafia fall far short on serving any of those demands by RC's customers.

If RC gets stonewalled and ignored by OFPMC and others in the #ChickenMafia, is it any wonder that I and Small Flockers' plight gets the cold shoulder from the #ChickenMafia?

If RC is ignored and dismissed, do Small Flockers assume that they are a higher priority?  Is this proof that Small Flockers are as arrogant as the #ChickenMafia?

No, I don't believe Small Flockers are special.  Just because Small Flockers are small and just 1.5 years old, doesn't mean we need to abandon our cause.

Yes, Small Flockers case is close to impossible.  All great struggles are near impossible at first.  That's what makes them a "great struggle".

Small Flockers need to be patient, for this unfair, unjust, illegal stripping away of our rights and freedoms will not be solved in the short term.  We need extreme stamina.

RC's Dave Barlow spent more than 10 years fighting against the unfair and disabling Supply Management Systems for chicken and dairy, finally making progress with access to TRQ chicken and lower tariff cheese.  Can Small Flockers expect faster response to our needs?  I doubt it.

Our cause, like RC's related cause, is just.  That is why the #ChickenMafia feels they must deny, distract, dissuade, and deter all complaints and questions against SM.  If one threat is allowed to be seen and then pulled, the entire SM garment will unravel and disappear before our eyes.  The #ChickenMafia would be standing naked before us, soon scoffed at and ridiculed for its scrawny chicken legs.

Everything must be resisted, attacked, or ignored, or the #ChickenMafia risk everything.

 

Bring it to the Poor

Yesterday's Blog posting showed the health consequences of unaffordable food prices created by the #ChickenMafia and #EggMafia of Canada inflating food prices by up to 300% .

In the last 24 hours, I have been privately attacked with malice and spewing venom for yesterday's Blog posting; far more so than anything else I have posted here in the last 8 months.

I wonder why?  Is it that yesterday's posting hit a nerve for these #ChickenMafia and #EggMafia members and their supporters?

Perhaps so.

They accuse me of smearing their good reputation with pseudo-science, rumor, wild accusations, and make-believe. I have been told to drop this Blog and get a real life.  They feel that I am so far into outer space that I have no credibility whatsover, and therefore get rejected as a quack and nut job, which then ends up painting the #ChickenMafia and #EggMafia as the more reasonable and moderate parties around whom all Canadians should rally and defend.  My critics say that I am a fool, and therefore a tool for the #ChickenMafia , pushing people to join forces and defend those whom I attack in an unreasonable manner.

Very interesting.  Thanks for your feedback.

Well, here are some more facts from the government and university academics who have researched the subject far more than I.  I focus for the moment with Metabolic Disease, but there are many similar indicators; all of which point to the same culprit:  excess carbohydrates.  Perhaps you will believe them. 

Metabolic Disease for men in Southern Canada.  I guess they thought
Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut aren't important enough to study.  Too bad.

The graph above is 1986 - 1992 data analyzed by Queen's University for men showing as much as 22.4% of them have Metabolic Syndrome.  Note that ON, SK, NB, NS, and NL are the worst off.  Men are worse off than females, so I focus our attention there, but you can click on the link above and see the whole report.

As income increases, prevalence rate of
Metabolic Disease consistently decreases

For those who are better educated, they
consistently have lower rates of Metabolic Disease

Still not convinced this is a real problem that needs a real solution?  They also show that it seems to be consistently correlated with income level, as shown in this graph.

The higher the education you achieved, the lower the risk of Metabolic Disease.

Still not convinced?

Here is data showing that Metabolic Disease is related to education level.  Note the similar relative heights for the three bars, the same shape for all regions of Canada.  This is a Canada-wide issue.  I assume it would be the same or worse for Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut.

I have no proof, but I'll suggest that poor education makes it hard to find a good paying job.  Without a good paying job, it's hard to afford the gouging monopolistic prices charged by the #ChickenMafia and #EggMafia, so you are forced to dumb-down your food purchases to what you can afford, which usually means an excess of carbohydrates.

There is solid scientific proof that too many carbohydrates tends to cause you to have low energy as your body thinks it's nutritionally starving and therefore needs to conserve energy in spite of too many calories from too many carbs.  Poor nutrition in the past causes you to eat more carbs (ie. you can never get enough of what you don't really need), compounding the problem.  The low energy you feel causes a more sedentary lifestyle, further compounding the problem.  Over eating of carbs and less exercise primes you for Metabolic Disease.  See Dr. Lustig, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of California; and Director of Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH) Program, and his series of UCTV videos on The Skinny on Obesity

Still not convinced?  Here is  is some more info from Public Health Canada for 2007 to 2009.

Canadians and their scores on the
5 precursor diagnoses that make up Metabolic Disease for 2007-2009

This data is 4 years old.  Guess what, it's probably much worse today, and gaining speed like a runaway train.  Canadians know what happens with runaway trains, don't we?  This will not end well.

Somebody needs to do something about the #ChickenMafia and the #EggMafia, and soon.  I'm doing my part, for I have brought this issue to your attention.  Now it's your turn to do something.

What will you do today to help?

I hope this is adequate for you to agree that these are not wild rantings and baseless accusations I have posted in this Blog.

If you have alternative facts by credible, unbiased sources that you wish to use to counter Small Flocker's position, then type it up, send it to me, and I will post it here unedited, then we can have some balanced discussions of both viewpoints.

If instead, you just want to be angry, or stubborn, or don't want to listen to facts, then I think that goes to prove one of my other points I have made against the arrogance and hubris of the #ChickenMafia , #EggMafia , and their supporters.