02) FARMERS, CONSUMERS, WORKERS PAY FOR FEDERAL POLICIES
By Kimball Cariou
New revelations keep emerging about the XL Foods tainted beef scandal, as recalls of contaminated products expanded nearly every day during late September and early October.
For example, there was a delay in getting data from the Alberta slaughterhouse at the centre of the largest beef recall in Canadian history.
That was the word from Canadian Food Inspection Agency president George Da Pont, speaking on Oct. 3 to reporters in Calgary together with Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. Shortly after Da Pont's admission, a federal government staffer cut the news conference short.
Da Pont said the CFIA asked for information from XL Foods on Sept. 6, but there was a delay in getting a response. Tests in the U.S. raised further alarms, but the plant continued to operate until the Inspection Agency closed it on Sept. 27.
After visiting the XL plant in Brooks, Alberta, Ritz said the facility would not reopen until inspectors certify that Canadians are not at risk. The reopening was initially expected almost immediately, but then kept getting delayed.
As the Globe and Mail's Andre Picard pointed out in an Oct. 8 commentary, "XL Foods... the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which oversees the monitoring and enforcement of food safety regulations, and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who is ultimately responsible for food regulation, have distinguished themselves with foot-dragging, the uttering of half‑truths, cowering in fear, and inappropriate beef boosterism."
After routine testing revealed E.coli 0157 in meat produced at XL Foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture halted shipments, but the CFIA first determined "there was no risk to consumers." The CFIA did not issue an alert to consumers until Sept. 16, days after the first illnesses were reported.
After Gerry Ritz's Oct. 3 news conference was cut short, he attended a Rotary Club luncheon, where he said of his beef entrée: "I don't know where it came from. I don't care. I know it's safe."
XL Foods said nothing until Oct. 4, when it posted a statement on an answering machine, saying: "We take full responsibility for our plant operations and the food it produces."
But as the E.coli 0157 outbreak spreads, it becomes more and more apparent that soothing words are just not good enough.
Federal agriculture and trade policy created the conditions that led to the massive recall of beef from stores, homes and restaurants across Canada due to E.coli 0157 contamination.
That's the view of the National Farmers Union (NFU), which opposes the massive concentration in the meat packing industry and increased self‑regulation of a few high‑volume, high‑speed processing plants. These developments, says the NFU, are due to policies that help the biggest companies increase profits and market share in pursuit of global competitiveness, by allowing them to reduce costs for meat inspection.
"Cattle farmers are already feeling the effect of the closure, as prices for fat steers and cull cows have already dropped by 20% and 30% respectively," says Glenn Tait, NFU Board member from Meota, Saskatchewan. "This sudden and unpredictable loss of income may well wipe out our 2012 profits. As farmers, we have done nothing wrong, but we are paying the price for XL's inability to run a clean plant and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's inability to enforce food safety standards."
The XL Food plant processes about 30,000 animals per week,
with Cargill, the largest packer, processing slightly more. About 80% of Canada's beef is processed in Alberta, mostly at these two operations. With Alberta's capacity virtually cut in half, a backlog is developing at cattle auctions, driving prices down. The NFU warns that many cow‑calf producers, the foundation of Canada's beef sector, may soon suffer serious losses, compromising their capacity to continue raising cattle.
Neil Peacock, National Farmers Union Board member and cattle producer from Sexsmith, Alberta, remembers the 23 deaths and 57 illnesses from the 2008 listeriosis crisis at Maple Leaf Foods, and asks "Isn't this XL Foods situation just more evidence that Canada's food safety, security and sovereignty is in danger?"
While farmers wait for the CFIA and XL Foods to re‑establish clean and safe processing, they must feed their cattle longer and incur extra costs, or else sell sooner at reduced prices. The food safety risk was taken by XL Foods, says the NFU, but the costs of that risk are being borne by consumers who have gotten ill from the tainted meat and farmers who cannot sell their cattle for the price they had expected.
The 2,200 workers at XL Foods are also paying the price for corporate and government policies. Largely immigrants from Sudan and other African countries, they are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The crisis affecting the industry could soon have a major negative impact on the workers and their families.
Some XL employees have told the media that food safety was regularly jeopardized inside the plant. The UFCW's Tom Hesse says the union has heard about management's a general lack of concern for food safety issues, such as clogged cleaning equipment.
Workers also say that if they take the time necessary to sterilize their knives between cuts, they can't keep up with the workflow demanded by the company. Employees have described witnessing unhygienic behaviour, including failure to wash hands properly, and wearing contaminated clothing into clean areas. Management allegedly turns a blind eye, refusing to stop the production line when such problems are found.
"(The workers) are saying that XL is more concerned with the numbers they can produce rather than the safety of the workers or the safety of the product," according to Hesse.