Hog Watch Reps Caution Government Ministers to Treat Industry Expansion With Caution - Lake Winnipeg Health at Risk

Hog Watch Manitoba

(Winnipeg May 17) - A citizens group which monitors the hog industry in Manitoba, has cautioned the provincial government, if it goes ahead with its apparent plans to expand production, not to repeat the mistakes of the past. In a recent meeting with three cabinet ministers, Hog Watch Manitoba  (HWM) reminded them how “technical review committees,” which used to “oversee” the construction of both hog barns and lagoons designed to hold the waste, overlooked errors in the planning. These errors were so serious, they eroded both the public’s trust of the industry and in government policies relating to it.

HWM is deeply concerned about the Consultation paper recently released about proposed changes to the Livestock Manure and Mortalities Management Regulation. Fred Tait, member of the HWM Steering Committee, says “We fear that if implemented, it will simply enhance the mistakes of the previous administration.”

HWM urges the government to implement the recommendations made by the Clean Environment Commission(CEC) in their 2007 report on Environmental Sustainability and Hog Production in Manitoba. “The CEC recommended reviews of the phosphorus application provisions in manure and further research into phosphorus in soils which has not been done” says Vicki Burns of HWM.  “Why are we using taxpayers’ money to fund the Clean Environment Commission if we’re not going to pay attention to their recommendations?” she asks. "The health of our lakes, including Lake Winnipeg, is at risk."

The cabinet ministers at the meeting were, The Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Sustainable Development and Minister of Indigenous and Municipal Affairs.

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For further information contact:

Fred Tait – 204-252-2153

Janine Gibson – 204-434-6018  creativehealthconsulting@gmail.com

Vicki Burns - 204-489-3852 or   vickiburns@mts.net

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My New Book-"Artemis Flies to the Rescue"

by Ingrid Alesych. Read more here.

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by Larry Powell

Is the potent "trio" of war,  climate change and religion taking a toll on the world’s most vulnerable? Famine, drought and food insecurity have plagued Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, even before the outbreak of open warfare there in 2015. Since then, thousands have died in the conflict. Millions more face famine and imminent death from drought and starvation.

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As in much of the rest of the world, religion and war are paramount - at the pinnacle of what it apparently means to be "human." This photo depicts a Yemeni fighter praying (in the 1960s.) Photo by Dr. Ulrich Middendrop

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Almost three thousand people are sick and 51 have died of cholera. It’s an acute form of diarrhea caused when people ingest food or water contaminated by the cholera bacteria. If left untreated, the disease can kill within hours. These pathogens are “more likely to spread” in a world made warmer by manmade climate change. And recent heavy rains (said by experts to often be a product of a changing climate), have washed filth from uncollected waste into rivers and streams. Climate change is often named by UN and aid officials as a factor in the widespread droughts in Yemen and Africa which have lead to crop failure, malnutrition and death.

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It is reassuring to know there are people like this who, instead of going into the world to deny climate science, thwart efforts to combat it, or to "smite" enemies and bow down to imaginary beings in the sky, actually help victims of those who do.

l.p.

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Dear Larry -

We just witnessed history.

Yesterday’s BC election was a MAJOR breakthrough for Greens. The BC Green Party have re-elected their leader, Andrew Weaver, as well as two new MLAs. Sonia Furstenau has won in Cowichan Valley, and Adam Olsen has won in Saanich North and the Islands.