Is roadkill coming to Canadian dinner tables?

[Tonington]

I'd like to know where the magic money for this program is going to come from. The devil is in the details, and they have given precisely zero indication about how CFIA is going to finance the increased number of inspections, by both inspectors and veterinarians.

 

[CDNBear]

If you asked the farmer to sample it you would know he trusts it. Perhaps the FDA should be required to take some of the products they endorse, same for Monsanto, one product with every meal for leadership and stockholders.

What does the FDA have to do with this thread?

If he placed it on the other side of his fence just as you happened to be passing by, well there is your road-kill.

I like reading your road kill.

I'd like to know where the magic money for this program is going to come from. The devil is in the details, and they have given precisely zero indication about how CFIA is going to finance the increased number of inspections, by both inspectors and veterinarians.

The same way it's being done now. By the farmer/processor.

At the establishments I previously mention, all inspectors are CFIA, paid by the farmer/processor.

 

[MHz]

I'd like to know where the magic money for this program is going to come from. The devil is in the details, and they have given precisely zero indication about how CFIA is going to finance the increased number of inspections, by both inspectors and veterinarians.

If you are on the farrmers land you cannot offer money as that would be income, however if you both go through a 'lost/found' experiebnce outside the fence and you bring your 'found item' in you could barter with it for a 'plate of 'food' that has a 'big doggie bag', you do have to lick the food before it is considered to be 'contaminated' to anybody but you.

 

[Tonington]

At the establishments I previously mention, all inspectors are CFIA, paid by the farmer/processor.

Yes, but CFIA like all other departments is cutting their budgets. Some by 5 to 10% over the next few years. CFIA has already lost inspectors and veterinarians. Their budget has been cut by about $50 million currently. So if the 4000 establishments non-Federally registered establishments want to join the 700 Federally registered establishments, that's an increased cost of asministering the program, but with fewer inspectors and veterinarians. CFIA will need more resources, not less. They partly alleviate this by allowing private veterinarian practitioners to inspect the animals ante-mortem, but that to most people would seem like a conflict of interest, when the vet is pocketing the fees from their customers.

When the resources aren't there to deliver the program, and when there are clear conflicts of interest, that's where problems arise. Ideally I don't have any problem with a fit animal being killed and then shipped to the processing facility. Ideally.

 

[JLM]

Is roadkill coming to Canadian dinner tables?

Ottawa - The Conservative government intends to change regulations to allow animals to be killed on the farm before being processed for human consumption. The opposition New Democratic Party says this will lead to roadkill being sold to Canadians.

As stated on its website, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for safeguarding food, animals, and plants to enhance the health and well-being of Canadians, the economy, and the environment. Under current regulations animals must be alive when they are shipped from a farm to a federal facility in order for the animal to eventually be processed for human consumption. The government is proposing a change to the regulations to allow the shipment of dead animals. The government says this will only be done in limited circumstances and food safety will not be compromised. The Official Opposition says the change will result in loopholes that will have Canadians eating roadkill. Yesterday the NDP released a statement entitled, Conservative changes will allow roadkill on your table. Accusing the government of gambling with the health and safety of Canadians, Malcolm Allen, the party's critic for Agriculture and Agri-food, said,

First the Conservatives will let private inspectors monitor meat, and now they're essentially allowing road kill-ready meat into the food supply. Even scarier is the fact that we won't know how long animals have been dead before processing—or even that the meat will be inspected at all.
​

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz called the NDP statement "ludicrous and misleading." The minister was quoted in the Toronto Sun as saying,

The NDP know full well, despite their outrageous rhetoric, that the proposal will not reduce food safety in any way. Only the NDP would stoop so low as to mislead Canadian families with hopes of getting media attention.
​

As reported by CBC, CFIA also takes issue with the NDP's release. Tim O'Connor, an agency spokesman, said dead animals will only be transported under very limited circumstances. An animal that is injured or too violent to transport will be allowed to be euthanized and transported only after approval by CFIA. And if CFIA does approve, the euthanasia must be carried out by a veterinarian who must certify not only the date and method of killing, but certify the animal is safe for human consumption. This seems to exclude dead animals found on farms as well as roadkill. John Masswohl of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association calls it a win-win situation. Currently if a steer is injured there are two choices; transport it while injured or put it down and dispose of it. He also told CBC that diseased and dead animals are not considered under the proposed regulations and doesn't know where the NDP got the idea that those animals were being considered.

Is roadkill coming to Canadian dinner tables?

Better than having it go to waste, eh?

 

[CDNBear]

Yes, but CFIA like all other departments is cutting their budgets.

Irrelevant, the inspectors at the sources highlighted in the OP, and by my self, are paid by the farmer/processor.

When the resources aren't there to deliver the program, and when there are clear conflicts of interest, that's where problems arise. Ideally I don't have any problem with a fit animal being killed and then shipped to the processing facility. Ideally.

The conflict of interest is alleviated, if an occurrence of poor or unhealthy product is detected by the customer.

The company paid, CFIA inspector loses their job and risks fines, and criminal charges.

 

[Tonington]

Irrelevant, the inspectors at the sources highlighted in the OP, are paid by the farmer/processor.

The inspections are paid for by farmers and processors, the salary of an inspector and CFIA veterinarian comes out of CFIA's budget. If their budget goes down, and the and the number of inspectors goes down, then that's a constraint when the program changes mean more inspections of more establishments.

The conflict of interest is alleviated, if an occurrence of poor or unhealthy product is detected by the customer.

That's not a mitigation for risk. These regulations will open up international markets. If there is an occurrence, people who weren't involved will be punished by closed borders for nothing they did wrong.

 

[CDNBear]

The inspections are paid for by farmers and processors, the salary of an inspector and CFIA veterinarian comes out of CFIA's budget.

No, the CFIA inspectors are on the farmer/processors payroll. SCB worked for Chapman foods (Vegetables) and King Capon (Sterilized Rooster) as a CFIA inspector. She was paid by the farmer/processor.

If their budget goes down, and the and the number of inspectors goes down, then that's a constraint when the program changes mean more inspections of more establishments.

Food Inspector numbers won't go down. They'll go up as needed/demanded, paid for by the farmer/processor. Inspectors on the gov't dole, who inspect large processing plants on a schedule, may go down.

But according to SCB, they don't do a whole of a lot anyways. They checked her reports, toured the facilities, and hung out with the owners.

She likened it to an ISO audit.

The inspectors that inspect the actual killing floor, cleaning, sterilization, processing and packaging of meat and vegetables, are CFIA inspectors, paid for by the company.

Unless the gov't changes the legislation on how many you need for your specific production level, facility or food stuff, their number can not change.

That's not a mitigation for risk.

It's a deterrent. One that made SCB take her task so seriously, knowing our house, and her freedom was on the line.

These regulations will open up international markets. If there is an occurrence, people who weren't involved will be punished by closed borders for nothing they did wrong.

I doubt it will affect it anymore than the current system.

 

[damngrumpy]

Road Kill sold to Canadians? Well maybe it should be explored in some instances.
Secondly the NDP is right about on farm killing animals and selling them to the
general public. That doesn't mean this shouldn't happen it means the government
should ensure the process is done correctly. I am all for raising and slaughtering
animals on the farm, providing its done in a method that complies with regulations
from the protection agency.
I am surprised at the lack of attention governments and citizens pay to the safety
of their food supply. In the United States they are beginning to understand that the
food safety audit system is not worth the paper its written on. The people are living
on blind trust here and the current government's response is don't worry be happy.
We need regulation and scrutiny and here is why. First, we need to ensure that
those would be cheaters have someone watching over their shoulder, and second
we need the agency and some rules to ensure that if there is a mistake it can be
dealt with in a timely manner.
I think the government should rethink this until, they have a program that is feasible
and practical while providing an avenue for those who don't want to eat food with a
lot of antibiotics, and those people want the right to buy direct from the farm I see
nothing wrong with that as long as the butchering is done properly.

 

[lone wolf]

Dunno.... I'm mixed on this one. I grew up on the farm. Fresh killed and home butchered never hurt - except when the knife slipped - but I remember a certain grocer getting busted for selling meats from the local dead and crippled livestock guy.

 

[CDNBear]

Road Kill sold to Canadians? Well maybe it should be explored in some instances.

Especially with all the starving Canadians.

Secondly the NDP is right about on farm killing animals and selling them to the
general public.

What's right about what they said exactly?

That doesn't mean this shouldn't happen it means the government
should ensure the process is done correctly. I am all for raising and slaughtering
animals on the farm, providing its done in a method that complies with regulations
from the protection agency.

It does, it will. The legislation that requires farm based processors to have federally certified inspectors, paid by the farmer/processor, on the premises during the slaughter/processing, isn't in the bill as far as I can tell.

I think the government should rethink this until, they have a program that is feasible
and practical while providing an avenue for those who don't want to eat food with a
lot of antibiotics, and those people want the right to buy direct from the farm I see
nothing wrong with that as long as the butchering is done properly.

Although I think there are flaws. There is little risk to the food supply, caused by this legislation.

Dunno.... I'm mixed on this one. I grew up on the farm. Fresh killed and home butchered never hurt - except when the knife slipped - but I remember a certain grocer getting busted for selling meats from the local dead and crippled livestock guy.

There are ways around everything. There will always be people who skirt the law, until they get caught, if they get caught.