Guelph – Grain Farmers of Ontario needs to get busy on a
definition of sustainability for agriculture, says Terry Daynard, former
executive director of the Ontario Corn Producers Association.
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| Henry Van Ankum |
Chairman Henry Van Ankum of Grain Farmers of Ontario agreed
with Daynard after he made an impassioned plea on the issue during the grain
farmers’ annual meeting here today.
Daynard noted that large companies and governments are busy
developing their own concepts and definitions of what sustainable agriculture
means and said “we need to get ahead on this one.”
He said the hog industry failed to get ahead of the issue of
gestation crates for sows and now large corporations are setting the agenda on
that issue.
They are reacting to intense lobbying pressure from the
Humane Society of the United States.
Daynard said that work on a definition of sustainability may
mean that farmers will need to change some things, but said they need to be
involved in the dialogue.
He suggested they work with Farm & Food Care, the new
name for the merged AgCare and OFAC organizations set up to counter activist
opponents to pesticides, genetically-modified crops and modern housing for
livestock and poultry.
Van Ankum said it’s important for Grain Farmers of Ontario
to develop its ideas about sustainable agriculture.
