rsomer,
Your arguments about not testing every animal for BSE and siding with the americans makes sense untill we are sitting alone with a case of BSE. If it was just science based, then the US should have opened the border to Canadian beef a long time ago. Obviously there is politics involved also. The only reason that the americans don't want us to test, is so that the asian countries will cave in and allow US beef to enter untested. The consumers will not pick up the increased costs of testing and the producer will have to absorb it all. This makes total sense to a US beef producer.
However in Canada we have had BSE positive cases. The rules are different for us. We should be testing, so we can ship beef to these other markets. It will also not hinder our access to US markets. We will have the science and a clean bill of health. As Canadians are commited to testing more an more animals we are bound to find more cases of BSE. The obvious answer is to either test none at all or test every animal. I think it is a little late to test zero animals, since we have had a positive case. If we start testing every animal and the US should find a positive case of BSE in their herd, we will be at a competive advantage in suppling overseas, mexican, and possibly more of the US market.
Canada relies so much on exporting our own beef, that we would fools to not start testing 100% of the herd so that we can minimize the impacts of finding more BSE animals.
If the US had opened their borders to our beef already, then it may have made sense to stand behind them and not test. We are being played. It is time for Canadians, to stand up on our own 2 feet for ourselves. The americans are not always right. Just look at the Iraq deal, I was initially ashamed that we were not sending support. Now I am damn glad we did not go, as the whole thing looks like a case of the school yard bully. This BSE thing sure looks to me like the bully deal also.
We either have to increase demand or reduce supply to solve our beef crisis. Reducing supply is the quickest and simplest, but will mean producers will lose a lot their income now and in the future, so increasing demand is probably the most logical.
If the asian market will guarantee that they will accept our beef if we test them all then, we should be doing it quickly. A test run could be done from slaughter plant to make sure the sales will happen.
The producer owned packing plant is an idea of no merit. It will not survive and no more meat demand will come from having another plant. For those who say it will increase sales, show me in writing the purchase orders for beef not already being serviced by canadian beef. Make sure these are long term orders, not just ground beef purchasers, who flip flop there orders around the world based on the cheapest price.
Our own packing plant will do nothing for help when Canada discovers another 2 or 3 cases of BSE. The packing plant idea is a short term solution to packer price gouging and nothing more.
Your arguments about not testing every animal for BSE and siding with the americans makes sense untill we are sitting alone with a case of BSE. If it was just science based, then the US should have opened the border to Canadian beef a long time ago. Obviously there is politics involved also. The only reason that the americans don't want us to test, is so that the asian countries will cave in and allow US beef to enter untested. The consumers will not pick up the increased costs of testing and the producer will have to absorb it all. This makes total sense to a US beef producer.
However in Canada we have had BSE positive cases. The rules are different for us. We should be testing, so we can ship beef to these other markets. It will also not hinder our access to US markets. We will have the science and a clean bill of health. As Canadians are commited to testing more an more animals we are bound to find more cases of BSE. The obvious answer is to either test none at all or test every animal. I think it is a little late to test zero animals, since we have had a positive case. If we start testing every animal and the US should find a positive case of BSE in their herd, we will be at a competive advantage in suppling overseas, mexican, and possibly more of the US market.
Canada relies so much on exporting our own beef, that we would fools to not start testing 100% of the herd so that we can minimize the impacts of finding more BSE animals.
If the US had opened their borders to our beef already, then it may have made sense to stand behind them and not test. We are being played. It is time for Canadians, to stand up on our own 2 feet for ourselves. The americans are not always right. Just look at the Iraq deal, I was initially ashamed that we were not sending support. Now I am damn glad we did not go, as the whole thing looks like a case of the school yard bully. This BSE thing sure looks to me like the bully deal also.
We either have to increase demand or reduce supply to solve our beef crisis. Reducing supply is the quickest and simplest, but will mean producers will lose a lot their income now and in the future, so increasing demand is probably the most logical.
If the asian market will guarantee that they will accept our beef if we test them all then, we should be doing it quickly. A test run could be done from slaughter plant to make sure the sales will happen.
The producer owned packing plant is an idea of no merit. It will not survive and no more meat demand will come from having another plant. For those who say it will increase sales, show me in writing the purchase orders for beef not already being serviced by canadian beef. Make sure these are long term orders, not just ground beef purchasers, who flip flop there orders around the world based on the cheapest price.
Our own packing plant will do nothing for help when Canada discovers another 2 or 3 cases of BSE. The packing plant idea is a short term solution to packer price gouging and nothing more.
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