Abattoirs - Death by Regulation

Once again Bruce on the Bruce has hit the nail on the head, this time I will just post some extracts but I think you will get the point. Government regulations are indeed killing our ability to provide local produce to our citizens whilst at the same time they tell us to support small suppliers by shopping local. For what, sausage from China? Read on!

Kelvin Arnold of Sullivan’s Butcher Shop in Wiarton told a crowd at a meeting in Elmwood Wednesday night that some of the provincial meat industry inspection regulations are “physically impossible” for him and other small butcher shop and abattoir owners, “and extremely costly.” Arnold says he’s spent more than $75,000 in the last three years trying to comply.

“But there’s no way you can question the rules, or not do what they want,” he added. “They’ll just shut you down.”

Stricter regulations are destroying small abattoir across Ontario, threatening also the farmers who use them and reducing opportunities for people to buy local food, said Barb Klages, a member of the Malcolm Women’s Institute, who spearheaded the organization of the information meeting.

Sullivan’s shop is spotless you can eat off the floors. The meat he sells is outstanding! He knows what he is doing. Sooner or later the Government is going to push him a little too far and he is going to shut down. Then where will we get sausage? Canada Packers, you know that company that made half the country sick a couple of years ago while mishandling the products they produce and have the gall to call it sausage!.

Don’t know of anyone getting sick from Sullivan’s shop!!  Fifteen years ago, Ontario had more than 900 businesses to process meat and poultry. Today, there are about 130.

Paisley-area farmer and NFU spokesman Grant Robertson called small abattoir “the small jewel in the food system who must be protected” and I say lets protect them!

Judy Trimble of Desboro, a farmer who sells directly to consumers from her farm, admitted the loss of local small abattoir “may end our enterprise” after 22 years of selling “what consumers want — lean, fresh, smaller portions of beef cut just the way they want. Small abattoir owners have outstanding skill sets . . . for them it’s a calling, not a job. When we lose them, we all lose.”

Bill Murdock and Larry Miller had better get off their fat asses and deal with this. If it isn’t stopped and stopped now there won’t be any small butcher shops left.

Its my sausage BACK OFF GOVERNMENT!!!

I agree entirely however neither Bill nor Miller will have any effect against all them city folk who think their sausage comes from a factory and beef grows in the back room of the grocery store from demanding more & more regulations that only the big corporations can afford to adhere to!