Rhetoric vs. Reality. A Tale of Self-Deception.

by Larry Powell

It is a common human trait to embrace nature - or at least the notion of nature - in our everyday pop culture and in the ways we portray our civilization to others. Animals abound in TV and print commercials as they obviously strike a chord within the customers who buy the "stuff" being advertised. Not a strong enough chord, however, for us to actually preserve the habitat they need for their survival; and that you and I may well need for our own emotional wellbeing. 

An Eleven Year-Old Boy Sets Us Straight (Video)

New Project in Manitoba, Canada, Provides Information to Farm Operations Switching to Loose Sow Housing

Government of Manitoba.

Screen image from 'Crated Cruelty, Canada's pork industry 

animal abuse exposed' website. A Mercy For Animals Canada 

undercover investigation that took place in 2012 looked into animal 

abuse at Puratone, one of the nation's largest pork producers located in Arborg, Manitoba.

Hog producers will benefit from research on switching from gestation stalls to loose sow housing as a result of a pilot project underway at a Maple Leaf Foods barn near Steinbach, Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced today. 

Canadian Wheat Board Prepares for Corporate Takeover

CBC News

Wheat field. Larry Powell PinP photo.

Foreign multinational could assume control without reimbursing Canadian farmers, taxpayers. Story here.

Canada’s Wheat Exports Dogged by Quality Complaints

Manitoba Co-Operator

Buyers of Canadian wheat are increasingly complaining about quality ever since Ottawa changed how its biggest crop is sold and inspected, raising the risk the world’s third largest exporter will lose sales to rivals such as the U.S. Details here.

Dozens of Lawsuits Filed Over Syngenta's Release of GMO Corn Seed That China Refuses to Buy

Winnipeg Free Press

Agrochemicals giant Syngenta is facing a growing number of lawsuits challenging its release of a genetically modified corn seed that China had not approved for import, with losses to farmers estimated to be at least $1 billion. Story here.

Federal Scientists Muzzled by the Office of the Canadian Prime Minister

Manitoba Co-Operator

Stance on antibiotic issues hard to pin down. Story here.

Larry Powell PinP photo.