Move over Sydney and Christine. At this moment no one is bringing Team Canada together better than Donald J. Trump.
Tuesday’s special Balanced Life column focused on how local consumers and food retailers might respond to America’s proposed tariffs on produce. The conversations and research supporting the piece were completed just minutes before Mexico and Canada received a 30-day reprieve.
This column is to extend the conversation to meat and dairy products.
The unintended consequences of Trump’s bullying attempts have struck a nerve deep inside Canadians, uniting us in a way we’ve not seen in years, and foreshadowing a loud and clear national call to action.
Here’s how the conversations with local grocers, farm markets and specialty food retailers went yesterday, a mere 48 hours later. I’ve never been more proud to be a Canadian.
I called a local, southern Ontario meat packing company to question where they were sourcing the meat which was being retailed by a local store under their label. I indicated that I was placing the call because I had found the source labelling ambiguous. Their response was open and candid and void of any pretense or side-stepping.
When I asked where their supplies came from, they responded that they was all sourced in Canada. Most came from Ontario, with British Columbia the fall-back for two meat products. The last time they had procured meat from the United States was early into Covid, when supply chains were badly disrupted. The person then promised, to someone on the phone they had never met, without prompting, in a flat and measured voice, that it would not happen again.
Elsewhere, as I stood in a local supermarket—one of more than a thousand outlets this company owns all across Canada—a store employee who saw me searching a tub of yogurt for labels, approached. After explaining the reasons for my actions, the person volunteered that their computer had lit up early Wednesday morning with emails from head office. They explained that within 48 hours the store would be receiving new, company-wide point-of-sale signage designed to help customers identify Product of Canada items. New individual package labels which more clearly identified country of origin would be included, and promotional flyers would immediately follow the same theme. The employee was clearly proud and excited to be offering this service to their customers. I shared their smile as I glanced south for just a second.
The employee was clearly proud and excited to be offering this service to their customers
Searching for the source of meat and fish is extremely difficult using only labelling, especially in larger grocery stores. A fresh salmon fillet displayed on a bed of ice, or steak in a refrigerated counter, is seldom clearly identified by origin. Sourcing identification on packaged products appears inconsistently, with some brands taking pains to proclaim Product of Canada while others provide little or no information. In the past, customers have had to ask an employee and hope the information was available.
Yesterday, however, without exception, when I inquired at the meat and fish counters of local retailers about the origins of unlabelled or ambiguously labelled products, every employee either knew immediately, or found out within seconds, where it originated. Most commonly, the information was found on the bulk shipping packaging still in the stock or receiving room, and it was immediately shared with me. When these people returned with the information confirming the item was Product of Canada, their pride or enthusiasm was unspoken but clearly evident. The importance of buying Canadian, whether from the consumer or retailer perspective, was clearly more important than it had been just a few days before. Well done, Donald.
On one occasion the honesty was brutal. In this store, an employee in the meat department swept an arm toward shelves of fresh and frozen meat and poultry, and said that it was almost all Canadian, except what’s on sale. The person then picked up a cut of meat, and explained that the American equivalent carried more meat relative to bone content.
I do not know what my takeaway was supposed to be from this comment. I did not see it as meaning American meat was a better value proposition.
I searched antibiotic, hormone and steroid use, but current information is hard to find. The search was enlightening as to perhaps why that was the case. Both countries' beef packing industries are extremely concentrated, which seldom enhances competition. In United States, 85 percent of American beef is processed by just four companies: American-owned Tyson and Cargill, and Brazilian-owned JBS and Marfrig Global Foods. According to Agriculture Canada, in 2022 84 percent of Canadian beef slaughter was done by either Cargill or JBS. Seven percent was done by Harmony, a Canadian-owned Alberta company, meaning that 91 percent of initial beef processing is controlled by just three companies in Canada.
91 percent of initial beef processing is controlled by just three companies in Canada
These strong groups have battled over regulatory and tariff differences for decades, including hormone and steroid use, where European Union regulations differ significantly, with little interest in transparency. Chalk up one more for dealing with local suppliers willing to share their information on request.
Canada’s chicken and dairy industries make product-sourcing a bit easier for consumers through labels that clearly identify Canadian-grown items.
The Chicken Farmers of Canada’s small red label promises that their chicken has been raised and processed completely, gate-to-plate, by Canadian producers, although their website does not confirm where the farmers originally purchase their chicks from. Regardless, “gate-to-plate” is comforting because, as the British Columbia government confirms, “The use of hormones and steroids in the production of chicken is illegal in Canada, and has been since the 1960s.” Thank you, Donald, for once more forcing me to learn more about Canadian foods, and consequently stay as far away from American-produced chicken as I can.
A similar system is in place for Canadian dairy farmers. A small label featuring a blue cow above the words Dairy Farmers of Canada, and their Blue Cow logo, “Proudly represents products made with 100% Canadian milk and milk ingredients.” A tour of various local food retailers proved this logo to be easily recognizable, and found on multiple brands of competitively priced products including milk, cheeses and yogurts. Prior to the tariff threat I was not aware of its existence.
The list could go on forever, but I think—wait, I know—that Canadian consumers, retailers, and producers have now seen the writing on the wall, their TV screens, and all over Facebook.
The tariff threat is far from over, and we cannot minimize this issue. Yet, without animosity to the average American, it is incredible to experience how Niagara, and the rest of Canada, has rallied together so quickly to shop nationally in an effort to support our farmers and producers in all industries.
No bullies welcome on our playground.