by Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate

Storms have always filled me with awe.  I love sitting, safe and secure, in my house or in the barn while the wind howls around us,  snow or rain coming down with no end in sight.  There is always one big fear with storms, though:  what if the power goes out?

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Posted by FFC on May 10th, 2011 :: Filed under Animal care,Farm life,Farm Safety,Innovation and technology,Uncategorized,Weather,winter
Tags :: animal care, animal welfare, Canada, Farmers, Research, weather

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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,Regulations
Tags :: activists, animal welfare, regulation

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by Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and Agricultural Advocate

Many people are familiar with the term “animal rights”, and hearing can bring up images of activist groups on parade.  Animal rights supporters don’t believe humans have a right to use animals for any purpose. Activists are not usually interested in finding solutions but prefer to focus on problems and dramatic examples to generate funds and support.
A term which is heard less often in the general public is animal welfare, although this is the phrase that refers to what farmers and researchers are doing every day.

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Posted by FFC on February 25th, 2011 :: Filed under Activism,Animal care,Animal health,Codes of Practice,Innovation and technology,Sustainability of the family farm
Tags :: activists, agriculture, animal care, animal rights, animal welfare, Codes of Practice

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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

Recent revelations about the circumstances behind a sled dog cull in Whistler B.C. has gotten world-wide attention and has spurred some of agriculture’s critics to capitalize on this attention.  One of several examples was a Vancouver Sun commentary in which the author surmises that the mass shooting of nearly 100 sled dogs is no different than what occurs in animal agriculture on an hourly basis.  Citing a number of activist references and websites, this regular columnist goes on to say that he finds “it curious that we’re justifiably disturbed by the unspeakable act at Whistler yet remain largely complacent about the cruel and completely unnecessary slaughter of other animals.” By misrepresenting  agricultural practices he paints a false picture that demanded a response. After all, if agriculture doesn’t speak-up for itself, who will?

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Posted by FFC on February 15th, 2011 :: Filed under Activism,Animal care,Animal cruelty,Canada,Letters to the Editor
Tags :: activists, agriculture, animal care, animal welfare, Canada, Farmers, misconceptions

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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

People forget that farming is a dangerous profession. I recently read about a symposium in Ireland on the danger of farm animals, in this case bulls. And a study into the situation found that, unlike dogs, no breed of cattle was “safer” than another. Authors of the study reported that when investigating fatal accidents, inspectors often hear that a bull could be considered ‘quiet’ for years and suddenly become ‘angry’ and attack.

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Posted by FFC on February 10th, 2011 :: Filed under Animal care,animal handling,Beef cattle,Canada,Dairy cattle,Farm life
Tags :: agriculture, animal welfare, animals, Canada, cattle, dairy cattle, Farmers, livestock

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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

Some 10 million viewers got a unique opportunity to see inside a large US meat plant this week when The Oprah Show aired a guided tour of one of the world’s largest meat packing plants.  The tour and the Cargill company staff helped to de-mystify a process that is largely mis-understood and maligned.  I have been to many slaughter plants over my agriculture career, but here is a report on the experiences of one first- time visitor at another Cargill meat plant. The author is a nutritionist and not from a farm. Cargill operates plants in Canada as well as the U.S….

I just got back from west Texas where I toured a big industrial beef processing plant and I am still in shock by what I witnessed there. But I am not shocked in the way you might expect based on the negative portrayals of the beef industry that seem so rampant in the media. Rather, I am stunned by how humanely the animals were treated and by the detailed attention given to food safety at every stage of the process.

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Posted by FFC on February 2nd, 2011 :: Filed under animal handling,Beef cattle,Consumers,Food safety,Meat/slaughter plants
Tags :: animal welfare, beef, cattle, food, food safety, misconceptions

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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,Research
Tags :: animal welfare, regulations, Research

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The following is a guest post written for us by Lilian from Food and Farming Canada.

Most of us have very little knowledge of where our food comes from or how it is produced. As a result, misinformation is widely circulated in many different forms – so to get to the real scoop on what’s going on, there’s no one better to ask than a farmer himself.

I had the chance recently to visit with Brent, who raises turkeys on his farm in south-western Ontario, and seized the opportunity to pepper him with questions about one of my favourite holiday meats, turkey.

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Posted by FFC on May 26th, 2010 :: Filed under Animal care,Family vs factory farming,Farm life,Food safety,Poultry,Sustainability of the family farm
Tags :: animal welfare, antibiotics, corporate farming, food safety, Ontario, turkey

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January 6, 2010 – Happy New Year to the readers of this blog. This article was printed in the Toronto Star over the holiday season and we think this columnist got the issue exactly right. Farm animals aren’t pets and they definitely aren’t 4-legged people. And, with only 1 in every 46 Canadians now actively farming, there is a huge disconnect between farmers and consumers. Enjoy the read – OFAC

The annoying tendency to anthropomorphize animals is likely from our lost connection to rural life

by Connie Woodcock, Out There

Toronto Sun, December 20, 2009

When I was a little girl, I fell in love with a series of books about a pig named Freddy and his barnyard friends on the Bean farm in New York State.

I read every one of the 26 books available in my library over and over. I can remember peering at a New York road map in search of fictional Centerboro, the town supposedly nearest Freddy and his friends.

Written between the 1920s and 1950s, the Freddy books disappeared for a while but they were republished a few years ago and there’s even an association called The Friends of Freddy with its own website. I’ve bought several Freddy reprints and reread them still.

I mention this because much as I loved Freddy, Mrs, Wiggins the cow, Hank the horse with rheumatism in his hind leg, and Charles the henpecked rooster, we all grow up and realize there’s no such thing as a talking animal. At least, most of us do.

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Posted by FFC on January 6th, 2010 :: Filed under Activism,Canada,Consumers,Education and public awareness,Farm life,Sustainability of the family farm
Tags :: activists, animal care, animal welfare, Canada, Consumers, Farmers, misconceptions, PETA

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With a growing interest in buying local, there has also been an increased interest by urban residents in growing their own foods and, in some cases, raising their own chickens for eggs. Here’s a fact sheet prepared by Egg Farmers of Ontario that gives you some tips to think about before you get a backyard flock of your own. – OFAC

Urban Egg Farmer: Top Ten List of Chores

There has been a growing interest in raising egg-laying hens in urban environments.

Properly taking care of chickens requires some physical adaptations to a typical backyard, a daily time
commitment to caring for your flock, a lot of preparation, and a great deal of expertise.

If you are considering having a backyard flock of your own, here is an example of a chore list you should expect.

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Posted by FFC on December 24th, 2009 :: Filed under Animal health,backyard flocks,eggs
Tags :: animal welfare, eggs, free range

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