Eastern Ontario's Kelly Durant is three Grammy awards, seven Juno awards, and four provinces apart from singing superstar K.D. Lang. But they both grew up in cattle country. And they both won't eat anything with a face.
"I was five years old when I saw a news report on TV showing
carcasses hanging up, and I was devastated," recalls the
27-year-old Durant, who grew up on a beef farm in Mountain,
Dundas county, and today teaches food science at a local high
school. "I told my Mom and Dad 'That's it - I'm not eating
meat anymore."
Meat may stink for K.D. Lang, whose infamous remark in 1990 brought international exposure to the animal rights movement beyond the wildest dreams of groups such as the Washington-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). But meat is starting to stink for the young farm generation as well.
There's a quiet vegetarian and animal rights movement down on the farm. Influenced but not brainwashed by vegetarian artists such as Lang, Sarah McLachlan and Bruce Cockburn, these articulate, thoughtful adolescents and young adults grew up in the heart of the animal industry, but have grave reservations about it. As children, they watched in tears from behind the machine shed as Dad loaded the cattle on the truck; as teenagers, they are beginning to form and express their convictions. They leave the meat on the plate at the supper table; they give up eggs and dairy products; they give to Greenpeace; and they are as eager to talk about it as their parents are shy.
And they're not going away. While statistics show vegetarians are still a small minority in Canada, there's evidence of a wider shift in attitudes in the post-war generation, which is more likely than ever to see an animal's face rather than its carcass. As the George Bush G.I. generation gives way to the Bill Clinton baby boomers, so is the "humanistic" approach to animals expected to work its way into society. Farmers had better get used to packing lentils in their teenagers' lunchbags.
Kelly Durant, a lacto-ovo vegetarian (she eats milk and eggs) had a typical farm upbringing. She was involved in the 4-H beef club, and showed cattle. And even after she saw the carcasses on television, her parents thought she would "get over it", she says.
But Kelly Durant never did get over it. When her 4-H club was to visit a slaughterhouse, she declined. When hamburgers were served at a friend's birthday party, she asked for a peanut butter sandwich. In her adult life, she has given money twice to the World Wildlife Fund, and describes Greenpeace as "definitely a worthy organization".
While seeing a place for animal agriculture, she makes sure that her grade nine students in "teen issues" class get both sides of the story. "I wouldn't try to sway anybody any way," she says. "I'm not anti-meat. These animals were raised for a purpose."
But the industry is by no means "perfect", she says. While her father always treated animals as "pets", Durant says she hates "the idea of cattle being shipped away on trucks....A lot get dehorned past the normal time. You could compare it to body piercing."
For young farm people such as Kelly Durant, and 17-year-old Bridie Smith, who grew up on a horse farm near Arnprior, vegetarianism arises from an intense empathy with animals. Smith says she "can't handle hearing cows cry" at her father's cattle sales barn. "It sort of scares me. Not that they're being tortured, but when they're all there they call to each other. It just drives me crazy."
Like Kelly Durant, Bridie Smith can trace her distaste for meat back to an early childhood experience. A friend had invited her to dinner, and the meal turned out to be a deer her friend's father had shot. "For two weeks, all I could see when eating meat was that deer on the lawn....I just thought 'They're so beautiful'; to see one lying there, completely lifeless with a hole in its head - I would never want to see that again."
Vegetarian Rachel Leigh of Nelson, B.C., grew up on a dairy farm in eastern Ontario, and has also given money to Greenpeace. As a child growing up on the farm, she always felt a twinge when cattle were shipped, she says: "If we had to sell animals, people would show up, and be fairly rough with them, driving them into the truck and taking them off to the sales barn. It just didn't seem right to me....I don't think any of us really enjoyed that spectacle, but it seemed understood that this was the way business was done. I couldn't think of any other solution other than being away from the barn, and then being unhappy for the next couple of days." She can remember being brought to tears.
As a 15-year-old looking after the breeding of the herd, she began to articulate some of her misgivings. "It made me more aware of how animals were being bred to be machines that would look fairly uniform, give lots of milk, last several years, and then be replaced."
Today, at 27, and eight years off the farm, Leigh opposes large-scale farming. "I have problems with the way cows are bred to be a mass-production milking machine....They probably are in pain, and it doesn't seem natural to me. It's not as if there's a shortage of milk."
As for her parents, Leigh says that at the outset "they weren't pleased at all." But in later years the two generations have found common ground. The daughter is "not completely against the idea of eating meat"; the parents "favour small farming operations" and have a "better understanding" of organic agriculture.
Farm & Country talked to other Kelly Durants, Bridie Smiths and Rachel Leighs. There's New Hamburg's Darla Steinman, who hasn't had a taste for meat ever since making a connection between the turkey in the backyard and the turkey on the Thanksgiving platter. There's 19-year-old student, Greenpeacer and cattleman's daughter Tammy Sherwood of Burlington, who's an avid reader of John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America. There's 23-year-old veterinary technician, PETA member, and Ridgetown college graduate Rhonda Benke, who subscribes to Vegetarian Times. There's sixteen-year-old K.D. Lang and Sarah McLachlan fan Kate Baker, whose father Fred is the chairman of the of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency.
All have come to their convictions for a complex array of reasons. Fred Baker believes his daughter and her entire grade nine class were swayed by a "roots and berries teacher who was a vegan." Cattleman Don Sherwood believes his daughter Tammy was influenced by a vegetarian agenda at a Halton Region school. Some of it is sincere love for animals; some worry about becoming fat; and some is old-fashioned teen rebelliousness.
An exhaustive study from Yale University indicates that the reasons may be linked to age, gender and education. In his recent book, Value of Life: Biological Diversity in Human Society, Stephen Kellert, professor of social ecology, writes that American women have greater "humanistic...sentiments towards nature" than men and "are also much more likely to join groups opposed to the consumptive use of animals."
Teenagers are more likely to "treat other creatures with moral consideration," while the old show "greater support for placing human economic and social interests over wildlife protection."
This "utilitarian" attitude towards animals remains prevalent in American society, especially rural society, he writes - but it is declining. The "humanistic" approach, meanwhile, now predominates: an "affinity for wildlife possessing physical and mental attributes frequently associated with humans." Farm parents may secretly hope for their children to "grow out" of vegetarianism and animal rights, but it may not be so simple. In 1992 Canadian teen attitude survey by the Beef Information Centre, five per cent said they were vegetarian, but 15 per cent of non-vegetarians said they would like to be.
Forty-two per cent of non-meat eaters said they gave up meat because it's "not good for you", and 28 per cent said they support the animal rights movement.
Sixty-two per cent of teens surveyed cited television as their main source of animal rights information, and 39 per cent cited the teacher and school. Twenty per cent said the animal rights movement hasn't "gone far enough".
Not included in the survey was the explosion of vegetarian and animal rights information on the Internet. There's now a discussion group for vegetarian teenagers called VEG-TEEN.
The Vegetarian Youth Network based in New York state calls itself "an organization...for teenagers who support compassionate, healthy, globally-aware vegetarian-vegan living, "hoping to spread the word on a litany of "environmental and social problems... based on animal-cruelty (meat industry, factory farming...)." Teens can link up with "mentors" to help them make the transition.
Goodale gets off easy after "F" rating
By ROBERT IRWIN
Despite the Canadian Federation of Agriculture's (CFA) hard hitting report card on the federal government, Agriculture Minister Ralph Goodale's appearance at the CFA's 60th annual meeting, earlier this month, was more love-in than confrontation.
"He could have been very small about it [report card] but he wasn't. I think that we feel that we have a good working relationship with this minister and why rock the boat?" asked Ontario CFA delegate Sharon Rounds.
CFA President Jack Wilkinson said Goodale declined his invitation to turn the tables and issue a report card on the national farm lobby group.
Wilkinson, though, gave CFA a passing grade. He said provincial groups are working well together under the CFA umbrella. "As budgets shrink for some of the farm organizations they're going to see more merit in making your CFA contribution and expect them to deal with it."
One delegate was on hand from Wild Rose, the fledgling Alberta general farm organization, which grew from the ashes of the now defunct Unifarm. Wilkinson said one of his personal priorities is to shore up CFA in Western Canada.
Goodale had high marks for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, for the "enthusiasm and creativity" shown in its use of the Federal Adaptation and Rural Development Fund (ARDF). He told the meeting that the federal cabinet has agreed to transfer ARDF funds to a private Ontario adaptation corporation made up of over 40 farm organizations.
The government drew an "F" for user fees which the CFA's report card termed "incoherent". CFA wants more emphasis placed on cost reduction than cost recovery. A resolution calling on the government to reconsider future cost recovery plans was carried unanimously.
The CFA report card slammed Agriculture and Agri Food Canada's policy branch for failing to listen: "In an age when everyone is supposed to be client-oriented, this branch looks to serve only the Minister and the Deputy Minister." The branch is also accused of maintaining a huge staff while recommending cuts to essential services.
CFA also criticized the government for failing to maintain milk recording genetic evaluation programs. Similar programs are financed by governments in competing countries. The report card said the Canadian industry is disadvantaged because of the elimination of support mechanisms.
Farm Credit Corporation's (FCC) expanded mandate received a "B+". The report card warned the crown corporation "must remember its roots are in agriculture."
Following the meeting Goodale told reporters he sees the crown lending corporation moving into joint ventures with other lenders like credit unions. "If you've got more than FCC in the game you are then spreading the risk among a variety of financial institutions. You're bringing more expertise to the table."
The government received a "B" for its commitment to orderly marketing. CFA concludes the political will may exist to save Canada's supply management system but bureaucratic support is soft.
Canadian Chicken Marketing Agency (CCMA) vice president Ed Benjamins said he is disappointed by CFA apathy surrounding U.S. threats to supply management. "Jack Wilkinson is doing a damn good job as president but do I hear the rest of their members?"
CCMA Chairman Lloyd Sandercock, who publicly cornered Goodale during the meeting about the U.S. trade dispute, said he was encouraged by the minister's "we won't blink," response. For strategic reasons Sandercock wouldn't say how much CCMA is spending as part of a recent massive supply management public relations campaign. Sandercock stressed the campaign's message that Canada will lose $3 billion and 27,000 jobs the first year after tariffs on supply-managed commodities are struck down.
Because of diverse regional perspectives, many CFA issues are potentially divisive. Still, most resolutions at the convention passed unanimously with little or sometimes no discussion.
World watches as Canada cuts
Federal Agriculture Minster Ralph Goodale says the latest
round of farm budget cuts will make Canada's farmers more
competitive in the next millennium.
But when it comes to farm spending, is Ottawa getting leaner or just meaner?
"We're becoming leaner," Goodale told reporters after the federal budget was released earlier this month. "I would argue a bit with 'meaner' part, but we're becoming more cost-effective, more efficient, more productive, and I think the end result will make Canadian agriculture far more efficient than our American counterparts."
Canadian farmers will likely find out this month, when the U.S. Farm Bill debate finally wraps up, how much government support American farmers get over the next five to seven years.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed separate bills and will have to hammer out a compromise before President Bill Clinton gets a chance to tinker with it.
The final Bill will include some form of Freedom to Farm legislation, allowing farmers to respond better to market demands. But there's still plenty of subsidy money packed into the bill. U.S. farmers are likely to get guaranteed payments over seven years, regardless of whether corn and soy prices remain sky high; and the Export Enhancement Program will only be dented by spending cutbacks.
Goodale said he'll "be watching very closely" what's in the U.S. Farm Bill "to make sure it does not constitute an unfair trading subsidy or policy.
"In the long term, the competitive position of U.S. agriculture runs the risk of being diminished compared to those of us on the Canadian side who will be very efficient, very cost-effective, and very competitive in the international marketplace," he said.
But is Canada going too fast in its quest to reduce farm supports?
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Jack Wilkinson says politicians are spewing a lot of rhetoric about competitiveness, and the need to wean farmers off public support, but other countries are far less aggressive than Canada when it comes to spending cuts.
Wilkinson says neither the U.S. nor the European Union has shown the same political will to make cuts. He doesn't expect foreign politicians to summon the courage any time soon, citing generous government spending in the Farm Bill.
Canadian farm spending "has been reduced significantly, and they're [farmers] being told they have to reduce more....But the playing field is not being levelled. The discrepancies are still there," Wilkinson says. - BT
Fish farming in downtown Toronto
By BERNARD TOBIN
There are few signs of life on a cold March day along the deserted industrial waterfront on Toronto's east side.
The disheveled factories and warehouses are now monuments to a manufacturing industry of a bygone era.
But there is still life in some of the old buildings. A flat-roofed, one-storey warehouse on Villiers St. is home to the Ontario Sportfish Hatchery, a labour of love for fish-farming husband-and-wife team John Sabaliauskas and Alison Clarke.
At first glance, it wouldn't appear that fish farmers in downtown Toronto have much in common with traditional livestock and crop producers out on Ontario's rural concessions.
But like most farmers trying to get on with business, Sabaliauskas and Clarke have had their share of headaches, especially when dealing with government.
In 1990, Sabaliauskas, an angler all his life, found it nearly impossible to find time for a peaceful day at the lake thanks to his Toronto-based printing business. He couldn't get to the fish, so he brought the fish to work, converting a vacant room beside the press room into a hatchery. He started with a couple of aquariums where he grew algae and minnows, before setting out to raise pickerel.
Under the old Fish and Game Act, however, only rainbow trout, large mouth bass and speckled trout could be sold commercially. But Sabaliauskas pressed on. He finally convinced the provincial natural resources ministry to give him a research licence to grow pickerel. If the venture was successful, the ministry told him it would find a place to stock the fish.
"The ministry supplied us with pickerel eggs from the Napanee River, and even incubated the eggs," he says. In August, after three months of nurturing, he had pickerel ready for stocking.
"I phoned them [the ministry] up and asked what they wanted us to do with the fish. It was fall, and we'd run out of food to feed them.
"They couldn't believe we actually grew the fish....They said 'You keep them'." Sabaliauskas ended up keeping many of the fish to continue his research.
In 1993, Sabaliauskas convinced the city of Toronto to help him find a new building. The hatchery vacated the print shop and was moved to its current location. In 1994, the couple decided to try raising pickerel one more time, and with the ministry's blessing, got down to work. By August they had produced 10,000 three to four-inch pickerel using live minnows as the main feed source.
With his minnow source almost depleted, Sabaliauskas telephoned the district biologist in Maple to have him help co-ordinate the release and arrange stocking permits. But the biologist was on holiday for four weeks.
"I told them the fish had to go. We're going to be running out of food in a week. We can't starve pickerel - we gotta let 'em go.
"The ministry said 'It's too bad, it's your problem'." Sabaliauskas loaded the fish into garbage cans and bags and headed for the Leslie St. spit, just minutes from the hatchery, and dumped all the pickerel in Lake Ontario. It wasn't until November that the ministry called and asked what had happened to all the pickerel.
"I let them go because you guys were all on holidays," he told them.
After his admission, Sabaliauskas was informed he would be charged under the Fish and Game Act for stocking without a permit, but the ministry eventually backed off. "I said 'That's it Who needs this?'"
The Fish and Game Act was amended last year, and now allows hatcheries to sell 40 different species of fish, including pickerel, but Sabaliauskas says there are still too many bureaucratic barriers.
The couple has instead turned to raising tropical fish for the pet and food trade, and recreation pond stocking.
For pet stores Sabaliauskas and Clarke currently grow guppies, common goldfish and oscars, among others. Guppies have fallen victim to a worldwide epidemic and up to 30 per cent of pet fish are dead when they arrive in Toronto from Florida, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Taiwan. Even more are lost before they reach the pet store fish bowl.
Last year, a local wholesaler asked them to give guppy-raising a try. A pair of guppies can capture up to $5 in pet stores, and Clarke says she can have them ready for market in six months, three times faster than pickerel, which spawn only once a year. Oscars are also prolific spawners. Since Dec. 31, 1995, some females at the hatchery have produced six batches of eggs.
The one-quarter-gram guppy costs about 25 cents to grow, and is sold for about 50 cents, a 100 per cent profit. Wholesalers usually add 100-per-cent to the price and the retail markup is about 250 per cent, Sabaliauskas says. Oscars usually grow to two or three inches before heading to market, "but wholesalers are desperate."
They also grow blue and gold tilapia, the biggest food production fish in the world. Tilapia are grown in warm climates including Southeast Asia, Central America, Africa and the Southern United States. The Americans claim they are producing more tilapia than trout.
Sabaliauskas says there is high demand for the fish amongst Metro Toronto's 600,000-strong Oriental community. "This is the fish they want," Sabaliauskas says. He and Clarke are the only tilapia producers in Canada. One Arkansas producer trucks 40,000 pounds of the fish to Toronto every week.
The hatchery currently produces about 1,000 pounds a month but Sabaliauskas says he would need about 10,000 pounds weekly to meet demand. He's been offered $3.75 a pound for the 4.5-pound market-weight fish, and could get more for smoked and other value-added product. Tilapia reach market weight in nine months, but could mature in three months as they do in the warm water of the Philippines.
Sabaliauskas keeps tilapia and koi carp in two tanks measuring 18.5 and 24 feet in diameter and four feet deep. He will try growing tilapia and carp this summer in ponds north of Pickering.
He calls koi carp a "fun fish", popular for stocking backyard and recreation ponds. In Japan, collecting koi carp is a sport for the elite, similar to owning thoroughbred race horses in North America. But the Japanese aren't the only ones with a soft spot for carp.
Multinational Johnson & Johnson recently paid US$1 million for the top adult koi carp. The reflection pool in front of the White House in Washington is home to a $250,000 school of carp.
But there's tough competition for the koi carp dollar. The biggest competitors are the Israelis who have big government subsidy and research backing. With a cheap currency - the Israeli shekel is worth about 44 cents Canadian - and subsidized air transport, it's tough to beat imports.
Sabaliauskas' first year growing carp was a disaster. He had no experience with the fish, and didn't know they were 24-hour eaters. The fish starved to death.
The Toronto location helps Sabaliauskas and Clarke compete with importers. They're being forced to move later this year because the city wants to demolish the building, but the hatchery will find a home somewhere in the city.
Their downtown location causes some headaches; fascinated visitors, mostly children, tend to wander through the door at all hours of the day, but access to cheap energy, food and the market is more important.
The hatchery uses city water, which is aerated, dechlorinated and recycled. Sabaliauskas says they rarely discharge, and use less water than a four-member household.
The biggest production cost is utilities, but a wood-burning stove and a endless supply of wooden pallets, courtesy of truckers looking to get rid of them, and carpentry shop waste, provides free heat in winter. "They love to drive in and dump it here," he says.
Fish food is also subsidized thanks to vegetable cuttings and lettuce leaves from the sprawling Toronto food industry.
Being close to the market is another key. Sabaliauskas says his food buyers are only minutes away, and many restaurant chefs like to come by to choose their own fish.
Ironically, Sabaliauskas was refused the right to use the Foodland Ontario logo a couple of years ago. The agriculture ministry claimed fish farming, or aquaculture, wasn't under its jurisdiction.