A new radio advert run by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union has caused controversy among farmers.
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The advert asks listeners how they know whether meat in a hamburger is safe, or whether an apple hasn’t been soaked in pesticide. “The truth is, in Ontario, you don’t know,” continues the advert, “because the Conservative government has chopped environmental staff and slashed the number of permanent provincial food inspectors to almost zero.”
The commercial is intended to call the government to action, by hiring more food safety inspectors. However, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture fears its net effect could be to reduce consumer confidence in food safety, which would hit farmers.
Speaking on behalf of the Federation, president Jack Wilkinson said the commercials don’t mention the fact that farmers have taken on some inspection tasks themselves to compensate for the lower number of official inspectors.
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