PLANET IN PERIL

Food Safety First Aug 10'11 PLT photo  After decades of protecting consumers against dangerous products, federal food safety inspectors are being pulled out of meat plants that produce for local citizens in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Details here.

Manitoba Co-Operator The federal government has announced a grant of $10 million to Cargill Meat Solutions for its plant at High River, Alberta. Details here.           PLT photo   PLT: While one might welcome the fact that this money will go toward pollution control, it is one more indication that Canada has no plan whatsoever to embrace the "polluters pay" principle. Why should Canadian taxpayers be paying for what Cargill ought to be doing itself? What is even worse - Canada is poised to slash the number of food inspectors  in the name of Harper's holy crusade to hack and slash the deficit. I wonder if the situation described in my earlier blog post, "Cargill Meat Recall in the 'States," will now become even more common here?

Improved forest management needed. 9 August 2011, Rome - Extreme weather events and natural disasters will pose an increasing threat to the world's forests… Details here. PLT photo

By Kim Tingley - OnEarth - a Survival Guide for the Planet - Jul.29/11 These insects may experience emotions similar to our own. Details here.

RAINFOREST Action Network  If TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline is approved, close to 1 million barrels of thick tar sands crude will flow each day at high pressure from Canada through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and all the way to Texas, threatening countless communities and over 2000 waterways, including America's largest under ground water source—the Ogallala Aquifer. Tell President Obama to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline. TAKE ACTION HERE.