Where does your meat come from?

The current problem with Maple Leaf Foods products shows that large meat processing plants are not necessarily safe even with full-time government inspectors on-site. In BC it's now very hard to buy locally produced meat products, especially in areas like the Kootenays.

The Livestock Lost series examines the farming and business of meat, dairy and egg production. It explores the known and unknown dangers of meat production and what people can do to source alternatives to what many would refer to as a cultural staple of the North American diet.

Part I - Slaughterhouses and the Culture of Meat
Toronto author Susan Bourette goes undercover at the Maple Leaf Foods slaughterhouse and processing plant in Brandon, Manitoba. Susan became deeply disturbed at the state in which meat, animals and workers are degraded in this industry. The experience led her to embark on a journey to learn if meat still holds any cultural significance in North America, or if it has simply become an industrial commodity. She titled the product of her journey "Carnivore Chic", because as Susan discovered, meat eating does continue to be a cultural experience in some areas of the continent while in others, meat is once again becoming "cool".

Whether it be food safety, animal welfare, human health and environmental concerns, Canadians are no doubt being presented with every reason to rethink where our meat is coming from. There's just one problem: The availability of meat that one may feel safer purchasing (meat that is healthier, that is more humanely produced and has less of an environmental impact) is not so easy to source. This is especially the case in British Columbia.

In May of 2006, Deconstructing Dinner was the first media outlet to cover the controversial new meat inspection regulations. The topic was revisited in 2007 and will be covered once again as a part of the Livestock Lost series. Prior to October 2007, it was legal for a British Columbian to show up at a farm and purchase meat from a farmer. That choice is no longer afforded to anyone because all meat sold in the province must now be processed at a federally or provincially licensed facility. Many areas of the province are without such a facility and as a result, farmers across the province have been closing up shop and/or considering an occupation change.

Meanwhile, the Province of British Columbia continues to promote local food!

Part II - Local Meat? "Not in My Backyard?"
The second part examines how one community is responding to more restrictive slaughterhouse regulations in the face of increasing demand for safe and humanely-produced local meat.

The narrow Slocan Valley, situated in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, is home to many small-scale farmers raising livestock. The region is one of many in the province without a licensed slaughterhouse -- and any sale of local meat in the area is now deemed criminal, according to regulations put in place in October 2007.

In response, a co-operative abattoir (slaughterhouse) group was formed to ensure that meat can continue to be processed legally in the region. However, the group is now facing opposition from nearby meat-eaters and vegetarians who don't want an abattoir in their neighborhoods.

Part III - Local Meat? "Not in My Backyard! II"
The third installment continues to examine how one community is responding to more restrictive slaughterhouse regulations in the face of increasing demand for safe and humanely-produced local meat.

As of now, it is illegal to purchase locally raised and slaughtered meat within many regions of British Columbia. Our focus on the response in the West Kootenay region of the province provides a great example of how such a project may be received if proposed in other North American communities.

While the critical questioning of any proposed development in a community is indeed a healthy process to undertake collectively, it became clear on Part II that much of the opposition to the abattoir were emotional responses of fear that led to condemning instead of questioning.

Part III presents an even greater focus on one of the most important concerns for any community - water. It was this very concern over water that acted as one of the major setbacks to the slaughterhouse proposed in the Slocan Valley.

http://kootenaycoopradio.com/deconstructingdinner/livestocklost.htm