The closure of the local abattoir in Bulkley Valley earlier this year raised the issue of food security.
Before it was in the news, I'd never really thought about slaughterhouses. I like to know where my food comes from and I try to feed my family locally sourced, nutritious meat.
The idea that animals are treated humanely and given good food is also important to me. I like that we live in an area with farms and that food doesn't necessarily have to travel far, or at least some of the food doesn't have to travel far.
But I'd never really thought much about the journey the cow took from the field to my fridge. Farm-to-table is all the rage, but there are a few steps along the way that most people, or at least I, don't give much thought to…until now.
Last month, the region's only slaughterhouse closed with little notice, causing some panic among ranchers and farmers about where to take their livestock for slaughter.
One ranching family decided to take matters into their own hands and reopen the slaughterhouse. When I spoke with Joyce Dielman of Thompson Creek Beef, she said this was a no-no, there was no way the area could afford not to have a slaughterhouse.
Everyone will suffer. Farmers will have to travel farther with their animals, raising costs that will ultimately be passed on to consumers. The closest slaughterhouses will be busy and overwhelmed. So they decide to reopen their local slaughterhouses. But the processing of poultry will have to wait.
Meanwhile, other farms have decided to do something about their chicken farming. Paul Murphy and Marlene Timmer of Happy Pig Organic Farm in Telkwa have applied for a Farm Gate Plus licence so they can open a chicken processing plant on their farm. They're struggling to cut through red tape but are making progress.
Both Dielman and Murphy mentioned the need for more slaughterhouses, and both said the market could handle more, especially since they know of processors in relatively nearby areas that are scheduled to go out of business soon.
Having a local slaughterhouse is important. Every step in the food supply process is valuable, even if we don't want to think about it. Lobbying politicians for a more streamlined system that allows farmers to process their own livestock is one way to help food security.
Also, as consumers, it is always beneficial to buy locally grown products and, of course, it is important to recognise the hard work of our farmers.
The closure of the local abattoir in Bulkley Valley earlier this year raised the issue of food security.
Before it was in the news, I'd never really thought about slaughterhouses. I like to know where my food comes from and I try to feed my family local, nutritious meat. The idea that animals are treated humanely and well-fed is also important to me.
We have farms in the area where we live and it's great that we don't have to transport our food far, or at least some of it, but I never really thought much about the journey the cow takes from the field to my fridge.
Farm to table is a trend, but there are a few steps along the way that most people, or at least me, don't give much thought to.
Last month, the region's only slaughterhouse closed with little notice, causing some panic among ranchers and farmers about where to take their livestock for slaughter.
One ranching family decided to take matters into their own hands and reopen the slaughterhouse. When I spoke with Joyce Dielman of Thompson Creek Beef, she said this was a no-go, there was no way the area could afford not to have a slaughterhouse.
Everyone will suffer, she said.
Farmers will have to travel long distances with their livestock, increasing costs that will ultimately be passed on to consumers.
The closest slaughterhouse was too busy to keep up, so they decided to reopen a local slaughterhouse, but the processing of poultry would have to wait.
Meanwhile, other farms have decided to do something about the birds. Paul Murphy and Marlene Timmer, of Happy Pig Organic Farm in Telkwa, have applied for a Farm Gate Plus licence, which will allow them to open a poultry processing plant on their farm. They're struggling to cut through red tape, but are making progress.
Both Dielman and Murphy mentioned the need for more slaughterhouses, and both said the market could handle more, especially since they know of processors in relatively nearby areas that are poised to go out of business soon.
Having a local slaughterhouse is important. Even if you don't want to think about it, every step in the process of supplying your food is valuable.
Lobbying politicians for a more streamlined system that allows farmers to process their own livestock is one way of contributing to food security.
Also, as consumers, it is always beneficial to buy local and, of course, it is important to recognise the hard work of farmers.
