PLANET IN PERIL

By Vicki Burns About a month ago, three thousand, five hundred pigs died horrible deaths in a hog barn fire near New Bothwell, in southern Manitoba. Sadly, it was just the latest in what has become an all-too-familiar occurrence in this province. Trapped in a fiery inferno, the animals would have likely suffocated in the smoke before the flames actually took over. It’s hard to imagine the terror and panic that must have gripped them in those moments. Firefighters battling such disasters say they’re often haunted for a very long time by the sound of their screams. The animals that perished there, bring the total number of pigs to be burned alive over the past decade in Manitoba to 64,000. Surely you’d expect a rational, caring government to respond by immediately tightening fire safety regulations. Instead, it’s doing just the opposite. It’s moving to change building codes to allow for fewer fire alarms, fewer smoke detectors and cheaper fire walls! And surely you’

The New York Times. This week, the World Health Organization — which works globally to improve human health — will meet in Geneva to select a new director general. We have a mission for that leader: take on factory farms, a major threat to health and the environment. Story here.

The Winnipeg Free Press Manitoba's hog population rose by 18.7 per cent between 2011 and 2016, the highest increase in the country, according to Statistics Canada's agricultural census. Details here.

Compassion in World Farming. RELATED: Calls to reform food system. "Factory farming belongs in a museum." 

Portage La Prairie – Hog Watch Manitoba , a group formed in 1999 to monitor the hog industry in the province, is being reconvened due to public concerns. A steering committee has met in Portage La Prairie to make plans for the group’s current work. Many people have expressed alarm at plans by the Pallister government to lift the moratorium on new hog barns, imposed by the previous NDP government in 2006. They fear the Premier’s move to “reduce red tape” will lead to more pollution, threatening our waterways and even human health. Will government do away with rules preventing the spreading of manure on fields in the winter? Winter spreading has been shown to result in more waste escaping into surface water. In 2007, the Clean Environment Commission found that hog wastes spread on fields as a nutrient, “constitute the most serious environmental sustainability issues facing the industry.”   Hog Watch wants the government to explain what has changed since 2007 that would just

Winnipeg Free Press The Pallister government plans to amend regulations governing the safe disposal of hog manure in Manitoba. It released a discussion paper Thursday, kicking off a 45-day public consultation period. Story here.

Editorial Winnipeg Free Press In case you hadn’t noticed, the province has gone hog wild for changes to the pork industry. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator Government tables 'red tape reduction' amendments . Story here.

The Western Producer Manitoba is removing “impractical and costly” regulations in an effort to revive its hog industry. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator Public opposition has not gone away after a decade of no development. Story here.

NewScientist A major menace looms over us. In 2017, many more people could begin dying from common bacterial infections. Story here. A "confined animal feeding operation."  Wikimedia Commons photo.

Dear Premier Pallister: from John Fefchak. I have concerns and am speaking out for the despair of Lake Winnipeg and our precious water sources in Manitoba.

EcoWatch After surveying the damage, environmentalists are expressing concerns after they found flooding at factory farms and coal ash sites fearing toxins could spread through miles of waterways. Story here. Backyard chickens in Manitoba. PinP photo.

Manitoba Co-Operator Backyard chickens in Manitoba.  PinP  photo. Hog manure pits also reported swamped by floodwaters. Story here.

Scientific American A confined animal feeding operation. "Unnecessary or incorrect antibiotic use in...agricultural production has worsened the problem."  USGS photo. Several times a week Brad Spellberg struggles with a difficult decision. A patient stumbles into his emergency room in southern California suffering from familiar symptoms: pressure when she urinates, pain in her side, fever and nausea. Based on these clues Spellberg can quickly diagnose the problem as a kidney infection, but the trouble lies in deciding what he should do next. He knows the patient is hurting and of course he wants to help, but more than his patient’s health hangs in the balance. Story here.

STAT  A strain of E. coli resistant to two last-resort antibiotics has for the first time been reported in the United States. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator More of the bacon people bring home will soon come from an expanded Maple Leaf plant in Winnipeg. Story here.

THE WESTERN PRODUCER A hog farm north of Leroy, Sask., is redistributing its stock after a June 18 inferno demolished two barns. Story here. 

VANCOUVER SUN Three professional hydrologists have told the provincial government that it should immediately impose a full ban on spreading liquid manure above a contaminated aquifer that provides drinking water to several hundred householders in the Okanagan Valley. Story here.

THE WESTERN PRODUCER Applications are expected to increase with lifting of moratorium. Story here.