The General Manager of Manitoba Pork suggests, right or wrong, the opinions of those not involved in agriculture are impacting legislation, regulation and the way food is produced.
Manitoba Pork General Manager Cam Dahl says farmers get frustrated when people who don’t understand agriculture weigh in on how livestock should be raised and crops should be grown but the fact is the opinions of urban Canadians are already impacting what happens behind the farm gate and that impact is only going to grow.
The understanding of what modern agriculture is and how food is produced is really rather limited. And that’s our job, to find the ways to change that. But on the other end of the spectrum is, how influential? Especially in this time of social media, people develop opinions about food and they don’t have to be grounded in science and opinions that aren’t grounded on facts can absolutely change public policy and change legislation. We just have to look at the current campaigns against canola oil or soybean oil. We’ve seen that in responses to genetically modified crops, for example, that deliver food more abundantly and cheaper. We have seen that in things like Proposition 12 in California. We’ve seen that here in the past as well.
There was a time when there was essentially a moratorium in place on the expansion and growth of the industry here in Manitoba. That was due to misunderstandings. Fortunately, we’ve moved beyond that. But the result of that to consumers is higher costs and lower choice. So, it is in the best interest of consumers, it’s in the best interest of and farmers and processors that we get this right.
~ Cam Dahl, Manitoba Pork
Dahl suggests the questions people have about the way their food is produced are important and the answers they get will impact the way we farm.
