Dear Editor:

Re: Protecting farmers Queen’s Park column, Review, December 8

I have to take MPP Ted McMeekin to task with this rhetoric. I am insulted that someone with no background in agriculture has been appointed Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Mr. McMeekin acknowledged as much when he was appointed.

While providing aid and subsidy to our farmers is noble, it is important to differentiate exactly which “farmers” Mr. McMeekin is addressing. The factory farms, such as the potato processing plant in our community that his ministry recently lauded? Or is he talking about our local growers, family farm operations and co-ops, many of which have disappeared from the landscape?

Nowhere did Mr. McMeekin address the issue of protecting our food supply. If the government is subsidizing growers, we should demand that there be enforcement of safe growing practices. For instance, spreading human biosolids on farmland is being done without study. Hundreds of varieties of fruits and vegetables are being eliminated because growers only want high yields with early, consistent maturation. Growers are not concerned with nutritional value or taste. I would gladly suffer a few blemishes for better taste and nutrition.

I submit that Mr. McMeekin is a true politician. He managed to write an entire column without saying anything of substance.

Kevin Inglehart, Lynden