By: Leslie Ballentine, Farming and Food Commentator
There’s lots of talk on the need for science-based policy decisions by politicians at all levels of government. No more so than at the municipal level. The City of Toronto is a prime example of local politicians over-riding both science and experience in making decisions about animals.
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Posted by FFC on November 28th, 2011 :: Filed under
Activism,
Animal care,
RegulationsTags ::
activists,
animals,
regulation
By: Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
There is often confusion among the public on Canada’s laws governing the treatment of animals. That is understandable since animal protection is a mix of federal, provincial, and even municipal laws. Added to the mix, in the case of farm animals, are the varying animal care requirements instituted by the farm and food community in recent years.
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Posted by FFC on August 29th, 2011 :: Filed under
Animal care,
Animal cruelty,
Misconceptions,
RegulationsTags ::
agriculture,
animal welfare,
misconceptions,
regulation
Dan Murphy
(Dan Murphy is a veteran food-industry journalist and commentator in the United States)
Updated: July 11, 2011 - Both sides are carefully calling the agreement between the nation’s egg producers and HSUS leadership a “victory.” For industry, that means that two ballot measures set for November that would have asked Oregon and Washington voters to ban the use of cages in egg production will now be withdrawn.
Why? Mostly because the odds of victory were looking less certain for HSUS.
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Posted by FFC on July 13th, 2011 :: Filed under
Activism,
Animal care,
Chickens,
eggs,
HSUS,
Regulations,
UncategorizedTags ::
activists,
animal care,
animal rights,
animal welfare,
eggs,
HSUS,
misconceptions
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
I am not committed to any particular political party and, like many Canadians, tend to cast my ballot based on election platforms. Not that I necessarily expect them to be honoured, but sometimes party platforms devolve into nonsense.
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Posted by FFC on April 14th, 2011 :: Filed under
Activism,
Innovation and technology,
Organics,
RegulationsTags ::
activists,
agriculture,
Canada,
regulation
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
With a federal election just around the corner, politicians are being inundated with voter requests for new legislation in the next Parliamentary session. One that comes up with regular frequency is legislation dealing with animal welfare. A researcher with the University of Manitoba suggests the legislative approach to addressing public concerns related to the welfare of animals raised for food does not necessarily ensure the welfare of those animals. A viewpoint shared by others.
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Posted by FFC on April 7th, 2011 :: Filed under
Activism,
Animal care,
RegulationsTags ::
activists,
animal welfare,
regulation
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
I am often asked what, if any, laws govern the treatment of farm animals in Canada. On that score there’s plenty to report.
Since 2005, there have been changes to most provincial animal welfare laws. You can see for yourself at: http://www.afac.ab.ca/lawsregs/awlcanada.pdf
Mainly, these have been penalty increases but have also included a few other common changes.
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Posted by FFC on January 26th, 2011 :: Filed under
Animal cruelty,
Regulations,
ResearchTags ::
animal welfare,
regulations,
Research
By Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural enthusiast
January 4, 2011 – It is common for consumers to have questions about farming practices and a farmer’s care for the environment. With an industry as diverse as agriculture, no one (not even those who work in it) can be expected to understand all aspects of it completely. In addition, there are so many different ways to farm that no two farms are ever alike.
The vast majority of farms do have some commonalities. Aside from managing large amounts of work with limited resources and always being expected to produce more from less, the most noticeable similarity is a farmer’s genuine care for his or her animals and for the environment.
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Posted by FFC on January 4th, 2011 :: Filed under
Environmental Farm Plan,
Farm life,
Regulations,
Research,
Sustainability of the family farm
By Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural enthusiast.
December 22, 2010 – During the summer, I attended the Canadian National Exhibition with the Ontario Farm Animal Council’s (OFAC) spokesrobot Oprah. Most of the questions we were asked were fairly general, but there was one comment which has stuck in my mind since then.
It is one I’m sure everyone in agriculture has heard at some point, and if they have not heard it yet, they will soon. While we were on our way to the parking lot at the end of the day, a gentleman stopped us and asked what Oprah was for. I briefly explained that she is an educational assistant sent to events such as fairs and festivals by the Ontario Farm Animal Council, and followed up by telling him who OFAC is and what it does.
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Posted by FFC on December 22nd, 2010 :: Filed under
Animal care,
animal handling,
Animal health,
Barn fires,
Codes of Practice,
Consumers,
Dairy cattle,
Education and public awareness,
Farm life,
Housing,
Innovation and technology,
Regulations,
Research,
Sustainability of the family farm,
Uncategorized
This is an interesting perspective on science and politics. There are lots of parallels between the misconceptions and debates around climate change and those around animal welfare – OFAC.
By Ronald L. Doering
In spite of the media treatment of them, there is nothing that is surprising about the now famous Climategate emails. Surprise could only come from a misunderstanding of the relationship between science, policy and politics. Of course the emails reveal that the climate scientists were affected by policy and political considerations. They had to be. Science, policy and politics are inextricably intertwined. What is surprising is how much our public discourse is still dominated by the quaint utopian view that science and policy can be strictly separated.
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Posted by FFC on January 22nd, 2010 :: Filed under
Activism,
Regulations,
ResearchTags ::
activists,
misconceptions,
regulation,
Research
There’s a lot to think about when moving to the country. Sometimes the reality is very different than the dream although most farmers work hard to get to know their non-farm neighbours and explain to them the processes that must happen for a farm to run smoothly. We like the way this writer from the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder explores this conundrum.
The realities of rural life
The Cornwall Standard-Freeholder
Wed Oct 28 2009
Page: 3
Section: News
Byline: ANGELA DORIE;
Column: Over The Farm Gate
Over the years, the balance of those dwelling and working in rural Ontario has changed… and not necessarily for the better. Presently less than 1 per cent of the rural population are actual farmers as defined by the “Farming and Food Production Protection Act” ( FFPPA) and many conflicts arise between them and the non-farmers.
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Posted by FFC on December 24th, 2009 :: Filed under
Farm life,
Innovation and technology,
Regulations,
Uncategorized
