Egg Farmers of Canada Speaks out against Undercover Video

Oct 21, 2013

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Egg Farmers of Canada are on the defensive after CTV’s W5 show aired a segment called “Behind the Barn Doors” over the weekend, which showed graphic images of animal cruelty at two chicken farms in Alberta. An animal rights group, Mercy for Animals Canada are claiming responsibility for the leaked video footage.

This morning on Canada AM, Egg Farmers of Canada spokesperson Peter Clarke provided comment on the W5 segment calling the alleged video footage “unacceptable” and “horrific,” noting that the segment does not reflect standard industry practices.

Clarke also questions the validity of the video footage which was allegedly recorded at Kuku Farms and Creekside Grove Farms. Egg Farmers of Canada has launched an investigation to prove the authenticity of the footage. "It's not acceptable to our industry and to our farmers, and if there are things on there that are authenticated as we do our investigation, they will be corrected,” Clarke said in an interview with CTV News.

In December 2012, Mercy for Animals Canada leaked their first video showing alleged mistreatment of pigs at a Manitoba hog farm. Mercy for Animals, animal rights group is active in the United States, and recently founded a Canadian chapter last year.

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.