Class Action Rally

[kato]

You might want to take the part that says "We know all about the devastating consequences of BSE. We have been living with them for over five years. " to read "almost seven years". How sad is that?

I think right now, whether we do one thing or another, what we really need to do before anything can happen is get back on the radar. Whatever it takes to get a presence will do, because if people start to pay attention, and listen, then the media picks it up, and with any luck it starts to snowball. Our numbers are so low, and we are so far off the scale of importance in this country that it's scarey.

The brutal fact is that until the state of affairs we are living with every day becomes common knowledge all across the land, we will be ignored. If it means rallies, or protests, or a very public court battle, it doesn't really matter, as long as it gets noticed. We have to be noticed, or the most brilliant solution ever dreamed up is not going to happen.

Acknowledging a problem is the first step to solving it, and so far no one outside of the cattle business has acknowledged a darn thing. And boy, will they miss us when we're gone.

[kato]

Oh ya, and as for the money, the government could start by setting aside the almost a billion dollars in unspent Agristability money from last year alone. I bet within a couple of years, with the money they set aside for this program that doesn't get spent, they'd almost cover the whole cost.

What does that tell us?????

[burnt]

Well kato, getting support for this industry has never really been about affordability but rather a lack of will to make it happen.

As a small-time supplier of a hardware product mainly into the farming business, I have seen first hand what happens when agriculture's primary producers get a bit extra cash flow from a better crop or marketing year.

Also, finding the proper mechanism to trigger the funds into the producer's hands is a bit of a trick with the pressure to have the program remain in the green category.

It is routinely made clear that we have a group of mouth-breathers south of us who have nothing better to do than ooogle their Canadian counterparts to watch for any opportunity to deliver another kick in the crotch if they think they can get away with it. For some reason oldtimer/willowcreek/toiletpaper (take your pick of his nom de jour)comes to mind.

What thoughts have others had on the construct of a program to deliver the funds required in the short term to stay afloat in the absence of a true marketplace? Or is this question a misdirected concern?

[rkaiser]

Transcending tradition. The second part to this story --- after we get the money... Okay I'll back up for just a moment. Getting the money. Kato's agristability thing has a lot of merit but what about how we have subsidized the consumer of this country for years with negative cash flow at almost every level.

The $300.00 a piece that GF speaks of if we take 10 billion out of government (the people's) pocket is cheap if we tell them the rest of the story.

We are going to use this money to listen to the consumer and give them what they are asking for. We are going to help them and be conscious of their needs.

If any of you have not watched the movie "Food Inc." yet watch it. It is in the top five in North America for most watched movies in 2009. These people are our customers and we need to listen them.

This lawsuit is not about blame --- it is about responsibility... The governments responsibility, the consumers responsibility and most of all --- our responsibility to transcend a tradition to focus on profit and money in the food (beef)industry rather than our grassroots purpose to feed people with consciousness and respect.

[kato]

The main message consumers need to get is that the independent family farm is the one thing standing between a future where all their food is either imported or produced in those factory farms they are so disturbed by.

Do they want their beef produced by salaried employees hired by corporations who want to produce cheap at any cost, using whatever means necessary with no regard for anything past the next quarter's profit statement? By corporations who take the profits out of the rural economy, or even out of the country?

Or do they want their beef produced by people who live on the same land their cattle live on, and have a personal stake in the future of that land, and those cows? People who take the money from their operations and spend it locally, and keep it in the country?

It's their choice. It's our job to let them know that they have a choice.

[Happytrails]

Amen kato. The biggest challenge I see society facing is bridging the disconnect between food producers and the urban masses. About 19 out of 20 people are not involved in food production. We must try to get them interested in where their food comes from. Otherwise their priorities are not going to be farming friendly.

[kato]

From what I hear from people at the farmer's market, they are interested in where their food comes from right now. What they don't know is what else they can do about it, other than come and buy tomatoes from me. Lots would like to take that next step, but aren't sure what that would be.

The local food movement is gaining momentum, and has some very committed people promoting it. I think that if people like all of those who visit this forum really got out there and made an effort to connect with those people, we could make some changes.

We don't all have to start hauling beef off to the farmers market, but we can do lots to help fuel a demand for local sustainable beef that would help all of us. If people begin to realize just how spectacular that beef we all eat is, that has been processed the old fashioned way in the local abbatoir, they will start to ask for it at the store.

Those requests are what will drive the whole thing. It all follows the money, and if retail was to realize the potential market, it might help to start to turn things around.

Local beef needs the "cool" factor, and I don't mean the kind of cool that we've been dealing with.

[kato]

I should add the fact that in my mind, local can include anything from the farmer down the road, to beef from the whole of Canada.

[TheBadger]

If anyone is seriously organizing some kind of rally,
providing it's not on a Monday or a Tuesday, I will
certainly do my best to attend.
I have interviewed Mr. Pallett and have the utmost
confidence in his research and perhaps his most
intriguing quality – his passion for this case and the
issue at its heart.
In fact, if he's willing, I hope to do an update in the
near future as I have started my own newspaper
with a wider audience and believe the topic
warrants frequent attention.
I can be reached at sheri@thebadger.ca or at 306-
628-4349.
Good luck!

[dluther]

I wonder if McDONALDS is seving CANADIAN BEEF BURGER at the OLYMPICS!