This is an opinion piece and not based on any extensive research, but I want to acknowledge the Dairy Farmers of Canada issue and the alleged animal abuse on a Chilliwack farm. It’s horrible, awful, disgusting and cruel, but now what?
Saputo and Dairyland Canada released a statement and it’s everything I expected them to say, but I want to draw attention to the paragraph which states: “It should be noted all dairy processors are required, under provincial legislation, to purchase their milk through the BC Milk Marketing Board (BCMMB) and we therefore do not have the ability to select the farms from which milk is sourced.”
This is true. The fact is, all dairy farmers within each province (with the exception of Vitala Foods in BC) put their milk in a pool which is then sent to an individual processor. Even organic milk has their own province-wide pool. Dairyland Canada happens to be the largest dairy processor in Canada.
So, just as the statement said, dairy processors have no control over which farm the milk is coming from. They cannot choose the farm. End of discussion… But maybe it should be for discussion? I don’t know how the policy works, but I’m sure some industry members, groups or activists have already rallied for it before.
I’m by no means supporting animal cruelty or doing PR for Dairy Farmers of Canada, but I can’t help but address the opinions and comments to boycott the entire dairy industry. Each to their own (and this is my own), but deciding to go dairy-free or boycotting is not a solution.
“One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel” – exactly what’s happening here. It is completely unfair to boycott dairy products because of this unfortunate incident. There are still many local, small-scale ethical dairy farmers who will suffer as a result of this video and a potential boycott. The livelihood of these farmers is dependent on dairy processors and consumers, and since all their milk is pooled it is hard for anyone to control or know where exactly everything is coming from, but it’s not impossible.
At this point everyone wants their hands clean and all the denials of what was happening on that farm are hard to believe.
I get it. Many people are skeptical. I’ve read many “I’ll believe it when I see it” comments.
Okay, then go see it. Or is it easier to boycott? Go meet the farmers and see for yourself.
Many BC dairy farms are open for visits including Birchwood Dairy, Bakerview EcoDairy, Avalon Dairy, Aldor Acres Dairy Farm, Goat’s Pride Dairy at McLennan Creek, The Farm House Natural Cheeses, and Vitala Foods. And before you write off Chilliwack, don’t forget to check out Happy Days Dairies Ltd before making your decision. I haven’t visited all of them, so I can’t vouch for what I listed, but I’ve seen a few and will make efforts to see more. Don’t be anti-dairy as a solution, but be proactive.
I’m not at these farms every day and I don’t know what happens on a daily basis, but at some point you just have to have faith and not all farmers are created equal. There are good and bad farmers because in the world there are good and bad (or sick) people.
There are still a lot of missing pieces and surely the BCMMB, Dairyland Canada, and dairy farms and farmers in general are under a lot of pressure. What’s happened is a blessing in disguise in the sense that everything will be put under a microscope (let’s hope) and policies will be revisited.
I don’t have a long-term solution, but I encourage research, fact checking, and asking questions before making a decision. Nothing is worse than a misinformed or uninformed decision. I’m not saying I never make them, after all I’m human, but avoid jumping on a bandwagon which causes a trickle down affect where innocent people suffer.
The entire dairy industry doesn’t deserve to be creamed. I don’t want to judge your life decisions, but this is an opinion piece and I can’t help but to raise questions.
Update: Saputo, producer of Dairlyland products, annouced on Monday it was no longer accepting milk from Chilliwack Cattle Sales. Jeff Kooyman, co-owner of Chilliwack Cattle, fired the eight employees caught on tape, invited representatives to visit the farm in person, and is installing security cameras to monitor his staff. He claims he knew nothing of the abuse and there are no charges to date. However, BCSPCA is still investigating the matter.
