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Consumers can show support by buying
beef
June
26, 2003 - Guelph – Consumers wanting to show their support for
Canada’s beef industry can do their part by buying different cuts of
beef from the ones they might commonly use in the summer months.
It’s
now been more than a month since a single case of BSE was found in
Canada’s herd of 12 million beef cattle. An exhaustive investigation by
the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed the fact that the
situation was isolated to one animal. However, the ongoing closure of
Canadian borders to beef exports has meant that beef farmers have
temporarily lost half of their market and, as a result, are in a serious
economic crisis.
This
situation has resulted in a huge drop in the price of cattle – and has
had a great impact on the incomes of beef farmers and others who depend on
the industry including processing plant workers, truckers, feed suppliers
and auction barn operators. The crisis equally affects beef producers in
all parts of the country – from British Columbia to Ontario to the
Maritimes.
In Ontario, beef is the second
largest commodity in terms of annual farm gate receipts with a value of
approximately $1.2 billion. Beef exports from Ontario to the U.S.A., in
2002, were valued at $354 million in live cattle and an additional $292
million in beef product. The current crisis is estimated to be costing
Ontario’s 21,000 beef producers in excess of $3 million per week – and
the wider industry about $11 million.
In
the summer season, grilling steaks are always in short supply because
there’s a high demand for them. Grilling steaks, however, only make up
28% of a beef carcass. Processors must also be able to sell the remaining
cuts of meat in order to be able to buy more cattle. To help with this
backlog, consumers are encouraged to try other cuts of beef including
marinating and simmering steaks, pot roasts, rotisserie roasts and stewing
beef.
Recipes
for these cuts and others are available from the Beef Information
Centre’s (BIC) website at www.beefinfo.org
or through BIC’s toll free phone number at 1-888-248-2333.
Ron
Wooddisse, President of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association (OCA), said
that his association has received many phone calls from individuals
expressing their support and best wishes for the beef industry. Said
Wooddisse, “The best way to show support is to add two or three more
beef meals to your menu each week from the wide variety of cuts that are
available.”
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For
further information contact
Kelly
Daynard, Communications Manager, Ontario Cattlemen’s Association,
519-824-0334
OCA
Website: www.cattle.guelph.on.ca
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