Ask candidates to stop subsidizing animal agriculture and promote a greener and more humane economy instead.
We can use the federal election campaign to let all candidates know that we want a redirection of tax dollars to phase out animal agriculture businesses instead of propping them up.
Subsidies and policies should be redesigned to help farmers transition to organic plant-based alternatives wherever possible.
The issue:
Animal agriculture gets an unfair degree of government support when compared to other industries, including other types of farming. Propping up polluting and increasingly inhumane industries like pork, dairy, meat and eggs is a losing game for Canadians. It makes more sense to use our precious tax revenue to promote crops like fruit, vegetables, grains for human consumption, and pulses.
Our current government has pledged to provide more than one billion dollars to compensate dairy farmers for lost revenues from various trade agreements. And two other political parties have indicated they would revisit Canada’s new food guide to again, unfairly, promote dairy. None of the four major parties have a comprehensive platform to address animal agriculture’s effect on climate. It is the uncomfortable truth that parties and candidates would rather not talk about.
Animal agriculture subsidies appear to be designed to protect votes in rural ridings and unfairly prop up select businesses. We can inform candidates that subsidies to animal agriculture are unfair as most other workers and businesses who are impacted by changing market forces do not receive similar subsidies.
It
makes more sense to provide incentives to animal-using farmers to
phase out their businesses and/or adapt to non-animal using
agriculture, such as organic plant-based farming. This would
recognize that an increased number of Canadians are embracing
plant-based life styles through elimination or reduction of animal
products.
Subsidizing animal agriculture is like paying car
companies to keep building models that fewer people are buying.
Protecting industries, including animal agriculture, from evolving
market forces is unproductive and an unfair use of Canadian tax
revenue.
Let’s ask candidates if they will commit to learning more about the inefficient and unfair animal agriculture subsidy and protection systems, and if they will commit to ending unfair subsidies.
Find more talking points for animal advocates to use when talking with federal candidates at:
https://www.animalalliance.ca/questions-for-federal-candidates-in-election-2019-animal-advocates-can-voice-our-concerns/?fbclid=IwAR3Lrap4Cpi0NWELhEZNq08Sm9tCNmsnm_A__iY-ewbR8eNP
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