Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 20, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba Focus a9 Fin i in i m m ii 2001 livestock stewardship initiative livestock common ground possible sustainable development can be designed to Benefit no producer by de to Yuchniewicz in March the government of Manitoba formally announced its livestock stewardship Initia Tive with the aim of ensuring the sustainable development of Manito Bas livestock sustainable development Means taking account of environmental and social con As Well As economic a livestock stewardship panel was appointed in june 2000 with a Man Date to seek the views of Manitoban on the expansion of the livestock Industry in the panel released its entitled finding common ground in the report contained an analysis of issues raised during the panels pub Lic its conclusions and some 40 recommendations to govern ment and some of the key conclusions were i Public apprehension about intensive livestock operations Ilos is driven by several factors experiences in other jurisdictions the occasional local horror Story Over application of manure rather than a Walkerton Type the perception of insufficient monitoring of Ilos and declining familiarity with what is happening on i the government is seen As the custodian of Public interest in the envy the Public needs to be confident that government is ensuring that things Are being done and must have Access to information to be assured of i current regulations and guidelines for for the most Are Ade quate monitoring and enforcement Are until adequate monitoring is in we wont know the extent of the Impact of Ilos on Manitoba i manure is a valuable Capa ble of replacing expensive inorganic fertilizer and improving the and should not be treated As a the addition of an Ilo to a Grain farm can increase its environmental and economic soundness by recycling chiefly nitrogen and phosphorus from the i location care Ful selection of the site of an Ilo is a first defence in protecting the local minimizing odour complaints and reducing health an advertisement by Manitoba pork in the Winnipeg free press March 10 stated that the members of the livestock stewardship panel concluded our Industry is meeting its environmental responsibilities such a statement is a stretch of the panels and requires some we made a number of observations in the report that would suggest the need for More analysis As Well As some specific improvements in Ilo prac Yves Logne associated press livestock production can be designed to meet environmental concerns of Neighbours and times before such a statement could be made with for exam ple i generally the negative effect of specific Large livestock operations on water Quality has not been scientifically cumulative Likely from various sources including other agricultural Are producing deteriorating water Quality for the Assiniboine River and Lake i inadequate monitoring of current livestock and cutbacks in the 1980s and 1990s to both Federal and provincial government water Quality monitoring programs have left us in the situation of not being Able to adequately assess the water Quality effects of Large livestock the current level of monitoring and the system for coordinating and reporting monitoring results Are insufficient to give the Public Confidence that the current intensification of agriculture is environmentally a recent study by duh Engineer ing indicated that the level of knowl Edge regarding manure management among hog barn operators needs As does compliance with manure management the panel went on to make a num Ber of recommendations directly Rel Evant to these observations i government should focus substantially increased resources human and financial on the intensive live Stock Industry in Manitoba to pro vide enforcement and techno logical assistance that can accommodate the present scale of the Industry and anticipate its i capability to undertake comprehensive analysis of the potential Impact of new or expanded Ilos upon both local and larger area environments should be enhanced imme a Lon term study should be initiated on the behaviour and Quality of water including nutrients and pathogens running off Fields in a natural state and those fertilized with livestock manure inor Ganic and that this research be tailored to demonstrating the results to the i the livestock Industry and Provin Cial government should reexamine and increase their communication and Extension efforts to heighten the awareness of improved technologies and management approaches derived from research and develop i Manitoba pork should coordinate the development of a state theart hog production site and manure handling facility to test the latest techniques to improve sustainability of the hog Industry and improve the in barn such a site would play a vital role in technology trans Fer to current and prospective hog producers and education of Munici pal councils and the general we Are pleased that Manitoba pork endorses our recommendations for More continued manure sustainability and communication same if this sup port is converted to Concrete the pork Industry May in due course be justified in resting on its commitment we Are convinced that common ground can be found for sustainable livestock development in it will require a commitment by the provincial government and the live Stock Industry to Deal with Many concerns about the Impact of live Stock on Manitoba environment and Rural it will also require a greater willingness on the part of opponents of the livestock Industry to recognize that sustainable livestock develop ment is not inherently we believe our report contains recommendations and suggestions that can be used by All to find this common de to Yuchniewicz was chairman of the livestock stewardship panel and writes on its Piffl Ifill the free press welcomes letters from they must include the authors address and Telephone number letters May be letters to the 1355 Mountain r2x fax email just say yuck to pm foods the Canadian biotechnology advisory committee a body that gives advice to government on a Broad Range of biotechnology matters has recently launched consultations specifically on the regulation of genetically modified As far As i can its press release was not picked up by the it is Odd that with some very Clever Public relations people on the it has not been Able even to draw attention to itself in the year and a half since its let alone encourage genuine Public How can the Cubac claim the ability to represent the values of canadians when canadians barely know of its existence and its function defies com prehension compare this with the daily attention new zealand Royal commission on genetic modification has received in that the press release Speaks Only of the first phase of consultations a series of workshops to be held across Canada in and acceptance of input by web site phone and mail until april dont blink or you will miss the what the next phase will they dont seem to be but clearly it is a carefully managed which is Good reason to be because managed dialogue is manipulated in special danger of being ignored is the gut reaction i think it is fair to most people have to the very idea of genetically engineering plants and animals the feeling that it just int and we be tampering with these i am sure the gut reaction is the same for canadians As it is for people in other but we probably find it harder than some to express our concerns without feeling silly about resisting so called it is if we Are not to repress our collective a colossal that we make every Effort to understand far from being signs of these feelings Point to the most Basic and Theo logical if you questions about the relation of human beings to along with generalist scholars if there Are any should recognize their responsibility to help articulate these metaphysical concerns in Public and to validate their Central place in the the left to will not do that Ordinary people Are often More attuned to the fundamental questions than Are the experts can be seen in the results of the consultation in new zealand where written submissions Are gradually being posted on the i took Only a Quick but the ratio seems roughly 10 to 1 and very strongly pursuing pm not that this is a num Bers but again and again Indus government and science Are told plainly that you just dont do these things to plants and and that new sealanders just dont want to live in a pm the Maori have taken a position of Zero tolerance on behalf of the living things under their protect i Hope that canadians will be Able to respond to our consultations with As eloquent a i am sure they if conscientiously Given the whether the right people would understand that word is another Gordon Marce Winnipeg what Price on life of disabled infants these Are the All the babies who died while undergoing open heart surgery at the health sciences Centre in 1994 were profoundly by their cardiac abnormal so much that their life expectancy without surgical intervention could be measured in weeks or an appreciable num Ber of these babies were also suffering from Downs syndrome even with out their cardiac would have been unable to live a Normal life and would have been entirely dependent on the care of those near and dear to the parents of these unfortunate and also the grandparents and other family were understandably distressed and anxious to know what happened in the operating room and the intensive care they in modern clo nothing could restore these babies to their yet a thorough airing of the causes of their demise would serve to warn others of the limitations of surgeons and other health professionals in the Complex Field of paediatric cardiac despite a detailed investigation by the Hospital itself in which shortcomings were acknowledged and blame Laid at the door of certain the relatives of the deceased claimed this was not enough and lobbied for a judicial closure could Only then be after an extremely lengthy judicial when All the questions posed by teams of lawyers were finally it has now become evident that in the opinion of the has not yet been Are we to assume that the word clo sure in reality Means monetary compensation if what Price Are we to place on the life of an infant who would have died in a very Short Span even without surgery is such a life Worth the same As that of an infant who Suc Cunt bed while undergoing surgery for a minor ailment such As inflamed ton Sils or an inguinal hernia and who otherwise would have lived a healthy productive existence to a Ripe old age Roger my Winnipeg Public education better than prosecution How ironic that David Matas should whine about having to validate the holocaust in court Banning hate March if he had been less successful in legislating prosecution of hate tobit pamphleteer and tin pot and there is no end of them would not have the publicly funded National exposure that prosecution now pro Vides How that he labels those who oppose this censorship As free speech he flatters himself that he is not a censorship advocate because he targets Only hate speech and a few other Cen sors never censor Only what they dont is a censorship fundamentalist there is another Public education makes prosecution Unne Ces having done it for i can Tell you it works its a great Deal More work although perhaps no More expensive than courtroom but Broad social change is achieved and no martyrs Are Chris Vogel Winnipeg doonesbury by Garry Trudeau go change is my 6ranp daughter ;