"Whats Wrong With Our Food ... The Inconvenient Truths"
Minister Ritz Lifts the CFIA Imposed Poultry Feed Ban in Canada?August 11 2009
Great news for Canada's cash strapped beef producers was announced by Ag. Minister Gerry Ritz today. After over 10 years of Canadian producers being forced into uncompetitiveness with their US counterparts by CFIA's oppressive ruling banning the feeding of poultry manure to livestock it now seems clear that Minister Ritz has abandoned the idea that feeding poultry manure to livestock poses any risk to the animals, or to the consumers of the food products from those animals. As such it would be logical to assume that Canadian livestock producers are now free to feed poultry (chicken, turkey, duck, and goose) litter, feces, manure or whatever you want to call the "toxic waste" that comes out of the back end of these critters. YES -- think of the money you can save on feed costs, and NO do not worry none about the health of the consumers, the Canadian government has huge amounts of $$$ to fund their sick care, and just think how rich it will make "BIG PHARMA"!
For those of you who are new to farming, and for those of you who are literately challenged I
have found this pictorial illustration of the process -- all that you need to know to turn your livestock operation into a dynamic, forward thinking, and hugely profitable enterprise! Yes there may yet be a future for your children in farming, assuming that they do not meet a premature death from consuming the Feces Fed Food that you are producing!GOOD LUCK and May you finally make more money than MONSANTO!
Fine print
Cowboss is not a lawyer, and cannot give a legal opinion -- however that said, it sure seems to me that Mr. Ritz is making it quite clear that feeding feces to livestock is OK in the US, and the Canadian system is equivalent, So feeding feces to livestock in Canada is OK as well despite what CFIA says. Please get legal advice before commencing the feeding of poultry feces to your livestock in Canada!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ministerial Correspondence - Correspondance ministérielle
To: cowboss@ymail.com
Sent: Tuesday, 11 August, 2009 1:12:38 PM
Subject: Your correspondence to the Honourable Gerry Ritz - Quote 131579
Quote: 131579
cowboss@ymail.com
Dear Mr. Cowboss
I am writing in response to your email to the Right Honourable Stephen Harper regarding your concerns about feces-fed imports from the U.S.
I trust that the information I provided to you on poultry manure in my letter of June 5, 2008, was of assistance in responding to your concerns. In addition, Mr. Gary Schellenberger, MP, sent a copy of your correspondence to him on this issue to Ms. Carole Swan, President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), for her consideration and response.
Please be assured that the Government of Canada considers food safety issues to be extremely important. Accordingly, food offered for sale in Canada, whether domestically produced or imported, must meet Canadian food safety standards. The U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection system for meat and meat products is considered to be equivalent to that of the CFIA and, as a result, importation of meat from the U.S. is permitted. Canada and the U.S. employ equivalent risk-based regulatory and policy frameworks to assess food safety and animal health risks. Canada regularly conducts audits of the U.S. meat inspection system to verify the ongoing equivalence of that system with Canadian standards. It is the entire suite of control measures which, taken together, contribute to assuring the safety of food and which are considered in our determination of the equivalence of food safety systems.
I hope that this information is of assistance.
Sincerely,
Gerry Ritz, PC, MP
c.c.: Mr. Gary Schellenberger, MP
Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria Persist in Chicken Manure
By Graham, JP, SL Evans, LB Price, and EK SilbergeldSynopsis by Paul Eubig, DVM
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can persist in chicken manure that is intended for use as a fertilizer on farm fields.
Large piles of aging chicken manure to be used as fertilizer on farm crops can house bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, finds a study from Johns Hopkins University.
The results raise concern that typical storage conditions may fail to keep the microbes from reaching people through contaminated food or drinking water. Poultry manure is not required to be treated before it is applied to farm fields.
Poultry producers commonly use antibiotics to promote growth of the chickens. This can lead to bacteria in the chickens' digestive system becoming resistant to antibiotics. The antibiotic-resistant bacteria are excreted and wind up in the manure – or poultry litter.
The poultry industry in the United States produces an estimated 13 to 26 million metric tons of manure each year. Much of the litter is used as a fertilizer. It is stored in huge piles until it is ready to be spread onto farm fields. Rich in nitrogen, it is also fed to beef cattle and farmed fish.
The study's researchers examined the survival and the antibiotic-resistance pattern of two different types of bacteria, staphylococci and enterococci, in chicken litter. These bacteria are found in the digestive systems of both chickens and people.
Although the bacteria numbers initially declined in the manure piles, some survived and increased in numbers again over the course of the four-month survey.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found throughout the entire four months of monitoring. The resistant bacteria ranged from 0 to 69 percent of the total bacteria, depending on the strain and the type of antibiotic against which the bacteria were tested for resistance.
Composting may be a better choice than mere storage, suggest the authors. Composting more effectively kills bacteria by controlling the storage environment so that high temperatures occur throughout – not just in the middle – of the entire pile.
Further studies will be needed to determine if the resistent bacteria in manure used as fertilizer can wind up in people or if improved storage/treatment methods are necessary.
What Really Happened at Three Mile Island and ChernobylEnergy Efficiency: clean energy's less popular cousin
Timing of toxic exposures crucial to disease Hat Tip CowBoss
DURING their early age, humans are most vulnerable to even small amounts of environmental toxins. What’s more troubling is that some of the effects of these exposures may only be seen or felt much later on in life.
This was the observation of Dr. Irma Makalinao, pharmacy and toxicology specialist and professor at the College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines, during a recent Philippine College of Physicians health forum.
Green Spaces for the Metropolis
A green space can range from a few square meters to a few hectares. The idea is to keep the space well planted, using organic methods only, and allowing nature to take its course. That is the logic I used when we set up the mini-forest in our village. We planted the trees close together to simulate a forest environment, and then left nature to weave its magic. Pretty soon we had a combination of tall trees and small saplings in a small space of a few hundred square meters, providing an attractive base for other flora and fauna to take root in.
Paranaque folk hit TRO on water project
MANILA, Philippines – Some 2,000 angry residents of BF Homes subdivision in Parañaque City held a rally early Saturday, opposing a court order which has indefinitely suspended the installation of water lines to their homes.
PWCC used to supply BF Homes with water in the ’60s but stopped after 10 years when its deep wells dried up.
TREEHUGGER
Fiji Water: The Earth-Friendly Choice for Military Juntas Everywhere
A recent exposé in Mother Jones called “Fiji Water: Spin the Bottle” confirmed my common sense notion that drinking bottled water shipped from the South Pacific is a silly and wasteful idea. It also added myriad other reasons to not to drink Fiji Water.The author of the article Anna Lenzer was in the country when martial law was declared and was the subject of police intimidation. Amnesty International reports of Fijian freedoms, “there is a very strong military and police presence….[and there] is a constant and intimidating reminder that the new military regime will not tolerate dissent and will follow through on the warnings it has issued to critics."
In a response to Lenzer’s article, the Fiji Water website claims of their relation to the recent political turmoil:
We bought FIJI Water in November 2004, when Fiji was governed by a democratically elected government. We cannot and will not speak for the government, but we will not back down from our commitment to the people, development, and communities of Fiji.
Besides conveniently sidestepping the specious circumstances that this “democratically elected government” came into power (i.e. through a 2000 coup), the company not speaking out about recent activity by Iloili et al appears like a self-preservationist strategy for a company that enjoys tax-free status.
In a rebuttal to the response to her article, Lenzer notes the contradiction between the company’s touts of being a socially progressive company and its “no comment” policy on the junta’s recent crackdown. She makes a good point saying:
It’s worth remembering that there aren’t very many countries ruled by military juntas today, and Americans prefer not to do business with those that are. We don’t import Burma Water or Libya Water.In a previous TreeHugger article, Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network stated it as plain as possible about Fiji water and all bottled water: “Bottled water is a business that is fundamentally, inherently and inalterably unconscionable. No side deals to protect forests or combat global warming can offset that reality.”
The difficulty Fiji Water and many other greenwashers is they believe their own rhetoric. With Fiji Water, there seems to be a sacrosanct idea that bottled water is essential. It is not.
Bashas' seeks to shut 14 more stores in state
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