Heat trapped by greenhouse gases is raising ocean temperatures faster than previously thought, U of California. Credit: Public domain.
The public needs to be made aware that the factory hog industrycontinues to damage Manitoba's environment. Experts Say:"Let's Face It. Manitoba's hog industry is destructive to the environment says experts,and the return of small scale, mixed operation farming is needed to combat the influence of industrial hog operations in the province. You can't raise animals in factories and be environmentally benign says Joe Dolecki, professor of environmental economics at Brandon University.Eva Pip, a biology and aquatic toxicologist, formerly at the University of Winnipeg,points to manure phosphorus run-off as the main contributor to the algal bloom problem in Lake Winnipeg. If you have 10,000, 20,000 or more hogs just in one operation, that's all completely raw, untreated waste….that's the equivalent of a small city. In traditional agriculture,pigs are only one aspect of a mixed farming operation,meaning that manure is easily recycled back on to the fields and utilized, without excess problems. In Industrial hog agriculture you have so much waste that it is impossible not to end up polluting. Pip added.This hog industry is a meat exporting business. Manitoban's consume about 6% of their production. The rest is shipped away, leaving us and our water sources to deal with all the waste and pollution that is produced and left behind. Is it… Hog Industry economics vs: 'The health of Lake Winnipeg and Manitoba waters'? Think about your answer very carefully, before you commit a response.
I think the headline here is the increase in hog numbers - not the industry's interpretation of those numbers. Of course, Manitoba Pork needs to be mentioned in the story, But I wonder why the industry's response has been given top billing, while the concerns of Hog Watch are played down? Keeping things in perspective, we still have more than twice as many hogs in the province as people. Considering each adult animal produces four times the waste of a human, just how can it be that the pollution problems created by hog waste, cited by the Clean Environment Commission some years ago (which led to the moratorium on new hog barns), have magically disappeared so that industry expansion can now proceed safely? The simple answer is, of course, they have not. Also, by my calculation, if our human population had increased by the same rate as hog numbers over the same period, we'd have at least a hundred thousand more people living in our province than is now the case.So the simple but important questions that remains are these - just how much is enough? And what does "sustainability" really mean?
What does "sustainability" really mean? Here is one answer.Brandon University professor,Joe Dolecki, speaking from the perspective of economics tellsit this way: “Sustainable development means that we can continue, as in the past; to rape.pillage and plunder the environment; we just call it something nice so that we can feel good about what we’re doing”. unquoteTo-day, caring people are continually in conflict to save their communities, their health, theirway of life and to preserve precious water sources, along with the environment.Why? one might ask. Why have governments deserted their obligations to uphold and protectwhat we must have to sustain ourselves and the unborn generations.?Does all this sound familiar? It should. To-day’s governments have lost sight of principles and with no integrity whatsoever for the public good. They blindly march in ‘lockstep’ tothe demands of industry, under the guise of development.Ignoring and not showing any gratitude or respect for what matters most; our environment,our water sources, and taking care of what we should be thankful to have, for our sake andthe sake of future generations.The end result: = “Economic Disaster”And when we complain of these actions, their cavalier responses and attitude are a spectaclethat flouts the very core of our cherished democracy.
Post a Comment