Private Meat Sales

[boone]

Cakadu: Good points, and furthermore that scoundrel that is buying junk, cutting and running with the cash is gaining from the positive perception of "Alberta Beef". What happens when you all become painted with 'his' well deserved brush. Loss of confidence and meat sales I'll bet. It is in your general best interest to manage it among yourselves and bring this guy up short.

[boone]

Hopefully all individuals who are selling government inspected beef from their farm or farmer's market or by truck load sales will not be tarred with the same brush as someone who is less than above board.
I know of several families in my area that are selling government inspected beef and are very particular of the product they sell, because they want to continue to develop a good client base.

[cakadu]

Emrald, your example is what we do here as well and I know that many other direct marketers also do that.

The problem with many consumers is that they wouldn't necessarily make the distinction should a less than scrupulous seller cause an outbreak of some sort of food borne illness or heaven forbid, something worse.

Education and awareness of what direct marketers do is key, as is letting the customer know what it is you do on your farm. We tell all of our customers - repeat and new - exactly what goes on from the time the lamb hits the ground to the time it ends up in their freezer i.e. how it is fed, housed, guarded etc.

There is so much potential in direct marketing many of our farm products and most importantly, capturing the value. I am encouraged by the potential.

[cakadu]

I found this on the food safety net and thought it goes a long way to explain why we need to be as diligent as possible. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

We eat and drink our environment
October 16, 2004
Corner Post #352
Farm & Countryside Commentary
by Elbert van Donkersgoed
Last month, fresh sushi was banned in Ontario - maybe. Health officials have formalized rules which require the fish to be frozen first. There's a three-month stay on enforcement. Politicians were quick to respond with talk of a review. The official rationale for the new regulation? -- freezing raw fish is an effective way to remove parasites.
Also last month, General Mills, the second largest cereal producer in the U.S., announced its imminent conversion of all its breakfast cereals to whole grain. Twenty-nine cereals will feature new recipes and packaging as they join Cheerios and Wheaties in the healthier eating aisle. The official rationale for the nutritional makeover? -- the "Whole Grain" label on every box will make it easier for consumers to eat healthy food.
These stories took me back to the seminar series sponsored last winter by the Christian Farmers Federation on the theme: "Out of an Abundance of Caution." We say, "Food is safe for health, farming systems are safe for the environment" and then we load on the regulations, cook up new recipes and retarget the message. At the end of a day of exploring the growing vigilance permeating the food chain, we asked seminar participants: What is driving us to become so cautious?
Throughout the seminar series a total of 370 reasons for caution were recorded. Grouping them resulted in a number of themes for both society and farmers.
Society has become cautious because consumer attitudes and characteristic have changed, society is losing its ability to take risks, the media has emphasized perception rather than fact, trust throughout the food chain has eroded and governments have lost credibility.
According to participants, consumers have become more health conscious, are better educated on the connection between food and health, are more likely to make decisions based on emotions and have become detached from the source of their food. This disconnect between consumers and producers is generating a fear of the unknown (30 %). Society, in general, has become risk-averse in response to globalization, to awareness created by the discovery in Canada of SARS, Avian flu and mad cow disease, to technology such as transgenic modification and in response to the threat of terrorism (29 %). The media blows concerns about the food chain out of proportion through sensationalism and emphasizing the risks, while not bothering with sound comparative facts (22 %). A lack of trust and fear of the unknown was blamed on the anonymity and the lack of relationships between the participants in the food chain (14 %). Government credibility was described as non-existent because they had, for too long, emphasized cheap food (5 %.
Farmers are adopting more cautious approaches on their own farms because of market signals, their own desire to be responsible, fear of liability, the pressure of regulations and a sincere desire to reassure consumers. One of the breakout groups wrote: "We are no longer innocent until proven guilty."
Participants themselves have become more cautious and support various assurance schemes to protect market shares and slim margins, have an edge in the marketplace, be part of "new and improved" products, access premiums, open export markets and meet and exceed standards. They recognized that the concentration of market clout by a few transnational corporations creates competition and access issues that keep them scrambling to keep up with the pace of change (30 %). Participants want to be good stewards. They want to be recognized as proactive, responsible, caring, constantly improving, professional, science-based, accountable, committed to sustainable agriculture and be able to take pride in their production (22 %). Others felt forced into cautious activities to meet regulations, document their due diligence, create traceability and get the few who are careless to meet standards (20 %). One breakout group wrote "have to go along to get along." A number have changed practices out of fear of litigation and nervousness about some of the recent experiences in the Canadian food system such as the discovery of mad cow disease and Avian flu (18 %). Others are participating in documented assurance programs to emphasize the need to maintain consumer confidence in farm practices and products (11 %).
Our growing sense of caution is a response to a simple fact: the human footprint in our environment is growing. We eat and drink our environment.

[cowman]

The government has made all these regulations to improve food safety and then turn around and do everything possible to make them fail?
For example: The recent E Coli outbreak in Calgary? First it was rumored XL, then Centennial meats? I heard later yes it was Centennial meats...but guess what?...Australian meat!!!
Remember the Jack-in-the-Box scandal in Washington State? Again, Canadian meat! Well it turned out to be Australian meat, sold by some Canadian company...and a lot of it was kangaroo!
Why do we bother to try to produce a quality safe product when our government still allows all this filthy foreign product to be sold as Canadian meat?