Hog Watch Manitoba News October 2002 |
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Who
Is the Department of Environment Really Protecting? Who Is the Department of Environment Really Protecting? In the homes and corner stores around the village, citizens are asking,
"Who is the Department of Environment really protecting?" The citizens of Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, New Brunswick are deeply aggravated by the deterioration of the protection provided by the Department of Environment and Local Government. Three years ago, citizens were promised, and conditions of the operating license assured, that only state of the art methods, the best equipment, and new technology would be used at the Sainte-Marie-de-Kent hog factory operation. But today, without any warning, citizens awoke to huge tankers speeding through the village. All day, until after dark, liquid hog feces and urine were sprayed in a 2 metre high by one metre wide plume in the air from behind a tanker truck and dumped on area fields. This is an infraction of the conditions of the operating license meant to lessen the effects on air quality and citizen's health. This spraying method is clearly a step backward and has the community appalled. This will make a bad situation worse as over four million gallons are dumped on the hills on both sides of the Bouctouche River. Families have been forced from their homes. They must find alternate accommodation, or, they are prisoners in their own homes. Life in the village and surrounding area is under siege. To add to these concerns, water-testing results of surface runoff performed in the spring, summer and fall of 2001 by the Department of Environment and Local Government have not been released to the community. This is another promise made and broken by department officials. Who does the New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government really protect and serve? What would it take for that someone to be us?
Association for the Preservation of the Bouctouche Watershed Web: http://www.mondata.com/action
Environmentalists' report urges federal regulation of large-scale manure
dumping Canadian livestock produced 164 billion kilograms of manure in 2001, enough to fill Toronto's SkyDome stadium twice a week, says the report. Titled It's Hitting the Fan: the Unchecked Growth of Factory Farms, the report was released yesterday by Environmental Defence Canada. It warns that without national safeguards, people who live near such farms face a growing risk of getting sick or even dying from water tainted by bacteria from the animal waste. "If governments continue to unconditionally support factory farms, we see another Walkerton," said Burkhard Mausberg, the Toronto-based group's executive director. "They are not farms at all, but under-regulated industrial operations." Water tainted with E. coli from farm animal manure was responsible for killing seven people and making 2,300 others ill in the rural Ontario community of Walkerton in May of 2000. Regulating the growing number of factory farms, some of which contain up to 70,000 cattle or 30,000 hogs, is too important to be left to individual provinces or municipalities, the report says. The federal government must step in with national standards to prevent manure from polluting water. The report also calls for a ban on the non-medicinal use of antibiotics and growth hormones in livestock. It recommends a more open approval process for what producers prefer to call intensive livestock operations. "Right now we have a hodgepodge of different regulations across each province," Mr. Mausberg said. "It is our view that every Canadian has the right to equal protection from environmental pollution." It is difficult to estimate the number of factory farms in Canada, the report says. In Alberta, any farm with over 300 animals is considered an intensive livestock operation. In Manitoba, the number is 400. New Brunswick doesn't define ILO and Nova Scotia leaves the matter up to individual communities. Thanks in part to the North American free trade agreement, Canada's livestock industry has grown rapidly as producers tap into U.S. markets. In 1941, there were 8.4 million cattle and six million hogs in Canada. By 2001, there were 15.6 million cattle and 14 million hogs. Those figures are expected to grow. Alberta alone has a long-term hog production target of 12 million animals. Aside from water quality, people who live close to factory farms also worry about the odour caused by the methane, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gases that waft from the manure. Murray Marsh, a grain farmer who owns 120 cattle on his spread near Carstairs, Alta., wonders how a proposed factory farm expansion only a few kilometres from his front door will affect his two young daughters. If approved, the operation will handle up to 18,000 cattle at one time. "I'm concerned about how it will affect my family," Mr. Marsh said. "The huge magnitude of it. Is it going to impact human health?" Alberta recently stripped municipalities of the power to say no to such projects. Instead, provincial regulators handle factory farm applications even though it is the government's stated intention to increase livestock production. Livestock groups such as the Canadian Cattlemen's Association reject the call for the federal government to get involved in regulating the industry. Provinces and communities are in the best position to set rules for intensive livestock operations because they can tailor regulations to their region, said Dennis Laycroft, executive vice-president of the association. "This is blatant sensationalism," Mr. Laycroft said from Calgary. "We have such vast differences in conditions across the country. We have good, sound, science-based systems." Mr. Laycroft also took exception to the report's contention that factory farms threaten the health of Canadians. "The people who raise livestock raise their families where they raise livestock. They are as concerned about the environment as anyone out there." Federal Environment Minister David Anderson was not immediately available
for comment on the report. New
report exposes risks of Factory Farms Toronto - No new Factory Farms should be built in Canada until the federal government establishes standards to protect human health and the environment, says a new report released today by Environmental Defence Canada. The report, It's Hitting the Fan: the Unchecked Growth of Factory Farms in Canada, was released at the beginning of the Canadian Agriculture and Food Celebration, a month-long campaign sponsored by federal and provincial governments to highlight the agricultural industry. "It's difficult to celebrate the good things happening in agriculture, like the growth of organic food production, while governments stand by and watch Factory Farms foul our land, air and water," said Burkhard Mausberg, executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, a national organization that works with grassroots groups across Canada to protect their environment and health. It's Hitting the Fan outlines the emerging public health and environmental concerns surrounding Factory Farms: families living near Factory Farms face health problems from methane, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and other toxic gases released by large liquid manure pits. The Canadian Medical Association recently called for more research into the health effects of Factory Farms, and expressed concern about their rapid growth; Factory Farms keep animals in confined, crowded, often inhumane conditions. The large populations of animals in close quarters increase the potential for disease, leading Factory Farm operators to feed animals large quantities of antibiotics. This practice can lead to more drug-resistant strains of bacteria, and pollute surface and groundwater. Antibiotic residues in animal products pose a health risk to humans. "If governments continue to unconditionally support Factory Farms, we could see another Walkerton," said Mausberg. "They are not farms at all, but under-regulated industrial operations. They should meet established national health and environmental standards, just like other factories." Environmental Defence is calling for a national ban on Factory Farms until the federal government establishes standards to protect the environmen and human health, including: regulations to prevent manure from polluting water bodies; ban on non-medicinal uses of antibiotics and growth hormones; inclusion of Factory Farms in the National Pollutant Release Inventory, the federal government's pollution reporting program; open and transparent approval process for Factory Farms, with financial and technical support to help citizens participate; passing of Bill C-15B, legislation to update the Criminal Code concerning
cruelty to animals. "All across the country, people are saying 'no' to Factory Farms," said Joe Dolecki, spokesperson for the Concerned Daly Ratepayers, a community group that fought a Factory Farm in Daly, Manitoba. "Yet, governments continue to put profit ahead of public health and the environment." The report highlights the dramatic changes in farming practices over the last 60 years: the number of farms dropped from 732,800 in 1941 to 246,923 in 2001 - a decrease of 66 per cent - while the number of cows increased by 86 per cent and pigs increased by 130 per cent; the ratio of pigs and cattle per farm has risen from 20 to 120 per farm over the same period, an increase of 600 per cent. "Factory Farms are the Big Box stores of rural Canada," said Mausberg. "They're drastically changing the landscape of farming and threatening long-standing, independent farmers." It's Hitting the Fan: the Unchecked Growth of Factory Farms in Canada is available on Environmental Defence Canada's food safety web site: www.foodwatch.ca/report.htm About Environmental Defence Canada Founded in 1984, Environmental Defence Canada (www.edcanada.org) gives Canadians the tools and knowledge they need to protect and improve the environment and their health. Environmental Defence Canada was previously known as the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund. For more information, please contact: Editorial
- Change the rules Hog farmer Henry Penner will not be charged for a catastrophic spill of liquid pig manure near MacGregor last July. The tank, which burst open spilling four million litres of pig poop on the ground, was made of rolled steel too thin to contain its weighty load. It was not old, but because it was built in 1997 it was not covered by regulations that have been written and tightened up since and so Mr. Penner did not break the rules. Clearly, the rules need to be changed. The rules that regulate pig operations have been changing, particularly since 1998 and in response to increasing tension between the farms, which have been growing in size and number over the years, and the people living in and around the communities where they locate. But that growth has been taking place over the decades -- there are 1,668 hog operations, most with 500 or more sows -- and the rules on how tanks are constructed do not cover the many that were built prior to 1998. The rules need to be changed not to ensnare farmers, but so holding tanks that may, like Mr. Penner's, be inadequate for the job are replaced sooner rather than later. If those tanks cannot hold the liquid manure, if they can buckle under metal fatigue even after five years of use, as in this case, then they too pose a threat to the land, water and perhaps public health. Farmers with aging tanks should be given a reasonable amount of time to replace them, or bring them up to par with the latest regulations on construction. It would be folly to let those farmers wait until a spill reveals that yesterday's equipment is too old, indeed. Today, those farmers are sympathizing, no doubt, with Mr. Penner's bad luck, but since no charges have resulted, there is little compulsion to protect themselves from similar misfortune. The conservation and agriculture departments are treating the MacGregor
spill as an extraordinary event. True, it is the only one of its kind
recorded to date, and that is a good thing. But Manitoba cannot rely on
chance to keep it that way. The rules must be changed. Ottawa
urged to ban factory farms in Canada Environmental Defence Canada (EDC) said no new factory farms should be built until Ottawa establishes standards to protect human health and the environment. "It's difficult to celebrate the good things happening in agriculture, like the growth of organic food production, while governments stand by and watch factory farms foul our land, air and water," said Burkhard Mausberg, executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, a national organization that works with grassroots groups across Canada to protect the environment. "If governments continue to unconditionally support factory farms, we could see another Walkerton. They are not farms at all, but under-regulated industrial operations. They should meet established national health and environmental standards, just like other factories." The EDC suggests that people living near large-scale commercial farms face increased health problems. And the group charges that animals on factory farms are kept in confined, crowded and inhumane quarters. The EDC is calling on Ottawa to establish regulations to prevent manure
from polluting water sources, ban non-medicinal uses of antibiotics and
growth hormones and include factory farms in the National Pollutant Release
Inventory, the federal pollution reporting program. Crackdown on antibiotics on farm animals OTTAWA-- A federal science panel is calling for a crackdown in the use of antibiotics on farm animals. The panel says antibiotic-resistant bacteria is developing in humans because of what we eat. Scientists say animals fed with antibiotics have become breeding grounds for resistant bacteria that can be passed to humans. "There is a growing international consensus that antibiotic use in animals has a significant impact on resistance in some human infections," said Scott McEwan, the chair of the advisory committee set up by Health Canada. Farmers use the drugs to fight infection and promote weight gain. The panel made several recommendations: 1. antibiotics for animals should be available only by veterinarian's prescription, not over the counter as it is now 2. improved surveillance to measure the use of drugs in animals 3. Health Canada should assess each drug used in agriculture measures should be implemented to stop the use of unapproved drugs given to animals There have been previous warnings about the amount of antibiotics given to animals in North America. The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report last year that said the use of such drugs in chickens, pigs and cattle is having an effect on human health. Shiv Chopra, a scientist at Health Canada, said he agrees with the union and fears that the situation in Canada is getting worse. The department has set up a national surveillance system to detect the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Chopra says more should be done to restrict or abandon the use of antibiotics in farm animals. The New England Journal of Medicine also called for a ban in the use of antibiotics in animals. The journal cited several studies saying the practice was causing health problems in people. Farmers contend it will take longer for animals to grow without the use of drugs and consumers will eventually bear the brunt of additional production costs. Consumers can protect themselves. Cooking meat thoroughly kills the bacteria as does washing your hands and work surfaces after handling meat. Written by CBC News Online staff Copyright © 2002 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved No
charges planned in hog-manure spill The province won't charge the owner of an intensive hog operation near MacGregor over a July spill that sent four million litres of liquid hog manure seeping into the ground. Al Beck, the Conservation department's manager of environmental livestock program, said the investigation concluded that metal fatigue was responsible for the ruptured storage tank. Beck said the tank was constructed of rolled steel sheets that were too thin to contain the liquid hog manure. The tank had been lined with a glass-like material but the tank split open because the steel couldn't support it. Beck said that the tank construction wouldn't have complied with current regulations, but since the storage tank was built in 1997 -- the year before the regulations came into force -- how it was constructed couldn't be considered an issue. "The owner did nothing illegal," Beck said. The July incident about four kilometres north of the village of MacGregor was considered by a senior Conservation department official as the province's worst liquid manure spill. The spill contaminated two wells on the site and spread fears that adjacent wells also may have been contaminated. The farm property and the hog operation are both owned by a Winkler man, Henry Penner, who also owns the farm equipment dealership Little Morden Service. Initial reports described the rupture as "a catastrophic failure" and that the tank's outer steel shell had "peeled back like a banana." aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
ANTIBIOTIC
RESISTANCE MUST BE ADDRESSED, GROUP SAYS It also wants a national surveillance system and an education program to inform farmers and veterinarians about the risks of resistance. Dr. John Conly, a professor of medicine and microbiology at the University of Calgary, was cited as saying the higher costs would stem largely from the need to prescribe "more potent and expensive" drugs. The stories say that the Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance capped a weekend conference in Ottawa involving 130 human and animal health specialists by calling for a national action plan to better control the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Among other things, the plan calls for research on new drugs, better monitoring of the problem, an enhanced campaign to stop doctors from prescribing unnecessary antibiotics and the "prudent" use of antibiotics on animals because of the threat to human health. Conly, the committee chairman, was cited as telling reporters at a news conference yesterday that the country could return to "a pre-antibiotic era" if it runs out of options for treating individuals. Later in an interview, Conly cited tuberculosis and salmonella-linked dysentery as examples of ailments that show increased resistance to the current crop of antibiotics. The committee also targeted antibiotic use in animals. Dr. Scott McEwen, chairman of a federal advisory committee that studied the impact on human health and safety associated with animal uses of antimicrobial agents, was quoted as saying, "There is a growing international consensus that antibiotic use in animals has a significant impact on resistance in some human infections." The committee recommended "prudent" use of antibiotics with animals, and urged consumers to support those efforts. There are no statistics on the agricultural use of antibiotics in Canada but studies in the U.S. and Europe suggest it exceeds human usage. In some intensive livestock operations antibiotics are routinely given to animals, whether they are sick or not, to enhance their growth and weight gain. The panel says Health Canada should assess each drug used to enhance growth and rapidly phase out those that could cause problems in human therapy. Efforts to curb antibiotics use in humans have been under way for years. In 1997, a Canadian campaign was launched to cut the number of antimicrobial prescriptions for respiratory infections by 25 per cent. A reduction of about 15 per cent has been achieved. Antibiotic resistance in Canada is much lower than in the United States, but is rising on a parallel path. In September, at least 30 babies at the Vancouver Children's Hospital were placed in isolation after some tested positive for an antibiotic-resistant bacterium. In some parts of Eastern Europe resistance has
become so severe that patients with tuberculosis can't be treated.
Farm groups say they will support measures to deal with the issue, but
expressed concern about competitiveness and costs. Martin Rice, executive
director the Canadian Pork Council, said antibiotic use in the pork industry
is already being curtailed. "Producers have become quite attuned
to the expectations of the public that these products won't be used any
more than they are required to be used to have a healthy animal population."
Rob McNabb of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association said antibiotics are
not used to promote growth in beef cattle. Existing laws permit hog nuisance Winnipeg Free
Press The criticism by Manitoba Pork Council chairman Marcel Hacault of Robert Kennedy Jr.'s recent comments in Winnipeg (about the damage occasioned by intensive livestock operations in other parts of the world and their potential for similar harm here, Free Press Letters, Oct. 8/02) is unpersuasive. For starters, Mr. Kennedy has no vested interest in the hog industry's fate in Manitoba, one way or the other, whereas Mr. Hacault and his Pork Council clearly do. So, prima facie, which of these two gentlemen might you choose to believe? Second, the hog-lobby's stale mantra that we have "laws and regulations" to protect against its industry's abuses is nonsense. Thousands of residents in small towns and on farms across Manitoba are complaining constantly about the adverse effects of neighbouring hog factories, and it is absurd to suggest that these expressions of unhappiness would continue to be welling up if there were regulations in place to address their source. There is no provincial law to prevent the set-up and operation of a hog factory adjacent to a neighbor's residence. There is no law requiring a hog factory owner to compensate neighbors for the nuisance effects of his operation. There is no regulation requiring hog factory operators to treat their raw hog sewage or to prevent them from surface-dumping it on cropland, from where it can then flow into drainage ditches and other waterways. As well, once a hog operator has received municipal clearance to build his factory, he's pretty well scot-free to ignore those regulations that are in place because we have no effective enforcement agency. What's more, as was revealed in local media reports a week or so ago, provincial regulators don't even know where 20 per cent of hog sewage lagoons are located, which makes a joke of any claims that they are monitoring and controlling the industry. Finally, Mr. Hacault hasn't even got it right when it comes to his assertions about the hog industry's benefit to the economy. As Larry Solomon of the Urban Renaissance Institute has pointed out, for each dollar of profit generated by the agriculture industry in Canada, taxpayers and consumers fork out $3.53 in the form of government programs and handouts and excessive food costs. Thus, hog exports, which account for three-quarters of Manitoba's production, subsidize affluent consumers in countries like the U.S. and Japan. In other words, it's a net loss to us. Underscoring this point is the fact that Mr. Hacault and his Pork Council are at this moment seeking more financial aid from the provincial government to stave off the bankruptcies facing many of Manitoba's hog factory owners as a result of current low pork prices. The hog industry was begging for similar help four years ago, and will almost certainly be coming to government cap in hand at four-year intervals into the foreseeable future. Not only would we be right to question the robustness of an industry that can't stand on its own feet, but we would also be on track to question the sanity of any government willing to shell out tax dollars to support a shaky, inefficient industry that contributes to social restiveness and pollution. BOB HOLLOWAY
Farmers
win case against Iowa hog producer The award is believed to be the largest against a livestock-confinement operation in Iowa and could be the largest in the nation. "This sends a message that these factory farms have got to clean up their act," said Hugh Espey of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, an organization that opposes large-scale hog confinements. The lawsuit was filed two years ago by Doug and Karen Blass, James and Susan McKnight, John and Jan Hendrickson, and Gary and Melissa Langbein. The four couples sued Iowa Select Farms, one of the nation's largest commercial pork producers. They alleged that the company's Sac County hog confinement produced offensive odors, noxious gases and excessive flies. The case was decided Wednesday by a Sac County jury, which awarded the eight plaintiffs $1.06 million in compensatory, or actual, damages, plus $32 million in punitive damages. Thomas Lipps, the plaintiffs' attorney, said the punitive damages appeared to be based on his contention that Iowa Select Farms willfully and recklessly located a 30,000-hog facility on a 640-acre parcel of land without regard to its impact on neighbors. During the trial, an expert witness for the plaintiffs testified that one hog produces the same amount of excrement as three to five people. Lipps said that meant the farm was producing the same amount of waste as a city of 90,000 to 150,000 people. All the plaintiffs were farmers, he said. Representatives of Iowa Select Farms did not return calls Tuesday and Wednesday. Last year, an Ohio jury awarded $19.2 million to 21 property owners
who sued a large-scale poultry farm because of environmental issues. According
to the
Hovorka
defeats Gendreau in Piney, Manitoba Marvin Hovorka narrowly edged out incumbent Luc Gendreau last night in the race for reeve of the Rural Municipality of Piney. The rural municipality in the southeastern corner of the province has been the scene of some bitter battles over the expanding livestock industry, particularly regarding hogs. Gendreau, who was elected reeve in a byelection earlier this year, was part of a group against large hog barns. "I'm very disappointed in the outcome of the election," said Gendreau, a longtime member of the Concerned Citizens group of environmentalists. He said he believes the election of Hovorka could pave the way for increased livestock production. Hovorka could not be reached for comment last night. He received 704 votes, compared to 604 cast for Gendreau. Two years ago, the council of the RM of Piney instituted a moratorium on any new large livestock developments over 400 animal units. However, some farmers claimed the municipality went too far, saying that the public was misinformed about environmental dangers and that it would hamper economic development. Although Gendreau was turfed by voters, the four incumbent councillors
-- Earl Sawka, Harold Grawberger, Barbara Zailo and Alana Schoenbach --
were all re-elected. Hog
sector grows fastest here Manitoba leads the country in hog industry growth, according to data released yesterday by Statistics Canada. While the number of hogs being raised in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and B.C. declined from Oct. 1, 2001 to Oct. 1, 2002, the industry in Manitoba jumped by just over seven per cent. Other provinces experienced modest increases, with Saskatchewan logging the second speediest growth at 4.4 per cent. Ken Sigurdson, president of Hogwatch, said Manitoba has continued to welcome new, large-scale hog operations while other provinces and U.S. states have begun to turn away from the controversial industry. Quebec -- once a hotbed of hog farming -- recently announced a two-year moratorium on new swine operations to give the province time to assess the impact of the massive barns on the environment. In the past year, the number of hogs being farmed in that province decreased 0.4 per cent. According to StatsCan, a total of 2,832,000 hogs were farmed in Manitoba over the last year. The increase in hog farming in Manitoba is a continuing trend. Between 1996 and 2001, the hog population grew by 42.9 per cent in the province in response to increased pork demand in North America and the expansion of the Maple Leaf plant in Brandon. But environmentalists are worried the growth is happening too quickly and too little attention is being paid to hog farming's impact on waterways and soil. "We're an easy mark,'' said Sigurdson. "There are not many places left in North America where you can dig a hole in the ground and fill it with raw sewage. Manitoba has sent the message that we're open for business, but I say it's dirty business." Janet Honey of Manitoba Agriculture said hog operations are among the most valuable agricultural industries in the province. Last year, the industry was valued at $860 million in Manitoba. leah.janzen@freepress.mb.ca
Groups
don't want manure spread on land Poplarfield residents and the Peguis First Nation are trying to stop the spread of hog manure on Crown land above an aquifer. Joe Leschyshyn said about 10 people turned out to a meeting at the Poplarfield Community Centre yesterday. Manitoba Conservation regional director Brian Gillespie had agreed to attend, but cancelled after learning that Leschyshyn had invited other people and broadened the scope of the meeting. Manure from a Puratone barn is being spread on land about six kilometres southeast of Poplarfield with the approval of the farmer leasing the land. The same rules apply to Crown land as to private farms. Leschyshyn claims the land, where he used to graze cattle when he was young, does not have enough soil over top of the bedrock to prevent manure leaking down into the aquifer. A Manitoba Agriculture employee said manure spread in the nearby bush a few years ago raised concerns, but the rules have since been tightened. Manure can only be spread on crop or grazing land now and applicants must test the soil and submit a manure management plan. Leschyshyn said his group will demand a meeting with Conservation Minister Steve Ashton. Last updated: October 24 2002 |