January 15, 2022
Letter to the Editor
No public review…
At their annual
meeting in October 2005, members of Nature Saskatchewan, concerned
with the
industry’s inherent environmental and health
threats, unanimously passed a resolution calling for a public review
of all aspects of the province’s industrial hog production. The
resolution was then sent to the government for consideration.
In his December
2005 “thanks for expressing your concerns” letter,
David Forbes, Minister of the Environment, stated that he expects “the
(environmental and health) issues raised in the resolution will receive
consideration as the Green Strategy is developed.” Not a word
about a public review!
This response, in spite of resolutions, passed several years ago by
both the Canadian and American Medical and Public Health Associations,
which also focussed on the environmental and health concerns related
to industrial hog production.
This response,
in spite of the Auditor General’s scathing assessment
of hog farming in Canada contained in the Report on the Environment
released in September 2005 which stated that, since the hog industry
has expanded by nearly 50% since 1981 - shifting from “farm
to factory” - there is potential for hog manure to contaminate
our water, soil and air.
The Report goes
on: “Canadian scientists are still unsure of
the effects that manure from hog farms has on water quality and human
health”; “Environment Canada cannot yet demonstrate that
its compliance promotion (of the pollution prevention provisions of
the Fisheries Act) and enforcement efforts at hog farms are effective”;
and, “the Department (of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) does
not know if its programs (to monitor the environmental impacts of agriculture)
are achieving their expected results.”
Big business/big money continues to run our province, our country,
and our governments. And, the exploitation of our resources continues
to threaten our precious environment and health, and that of our children
- without precaution, without protection from harm.
Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK