by SUSAN MANN
Dairy Farmers of Canada has launched a new advertising campaign in Ottawa to bust some myths about Canada’s supply management system that are currently floating around political circles in the country’s capital city.
Therese Beaulieu, Dairy Farmers of Canada spokesperson, says they’re trying to draw attention to the facts, such as Canada’s supply management system doesn’t make products more expensive and a Canadian dairy farmer’s share of a $2.25 glass of milk sold in a restaurant is 21 cents.
The dairy farmer organization also has a section within its website with the same information. You can get there using – yourmilk.ca.
The series of three ads are in The Hill Times, a widely read political paper in Ottawa, and also on DFC’s Facebook page. One ran last week, while another was in this week’s paper and a third is scheduled to appear next week, she says. They feature an eastern Ontario dairy farmer holding various dairy food items, such an almost empty glass of milk and a pizza.
There is also an ad in this week’s Embassy, Canada’s foreign policy newspaper, outlining the number of jobs in the industry and dairy’s contribution to the GDP of Canada.
The ads are to inform politicians about supply management and to “increase our presence,” she explains. BF
Comments
The dairy industry is, as always, dreaming in technicolour if they think they can persuade anyone with an IQ bigger than their shoe size that supply management doesn't make products more expensive. For example, in late 2010, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) placed a full page ad in major newspapers touting the benefits of supply management - however, the numbers cited by DFO showed that Ontario consumers were paying almost 38% more for milk than US consumers, and that the farm gate price of milk in Ontario was within pennies per liter of the US retail price. In addition, because dairy quota can be readily sold, but can't readily be bought, dairy farming has become more of a protectionist cult than anything else, and no politician is going to continue to support that kind of cult, especially when it also pits farmers not just against consumers, but against each other. Finally, while any protectionist system, such as supply management, does contribute to a country's GDP, the 38% extra that consumers pay, by definition, reduces jobs and GDP by an even greater amount - therefore the dairy industry's claim of jobs created and GDP increases because of supply management, while true in the narrowest possible sense, are completely false when viewed from the overall public policy perspective. I can't figure out if the Dairy Farmers of Canada really are dumb enough to believe their own advertising, or just that completely scared - it's probably both.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Yes, the people in Ottawa could not possibly figure out the advantages and disadvantages of SM on their own, without the insight/selfserving views of the dairy industry. I agree, opening up the industry would create more jobs and more GDP. Young farmers could actually get into the industry, co-operatives would develop, small cheese plants could start up, niche markets would be filled. Yes we would see big farms get bigger....oh wait, that's already happening. It just takes longer for them to buy up the quota and get the guaranteed income.
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