We heard the phrase "too big to fail" a lot during the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, particularly in reference to banks. We still hear it today regarding economies like Italy and Spain (the latter of which apparently is going to ask for a bailout within the week). But can this phrase be applied to our food?
As the tainted beef saga at XL Foods of Brooks, Alta. is playing out, that just may be the case.
CBC reported NDP MP Malcolm Allen as saying there had been 12 separate recall notices that have resulted in the disposal of more than 860 metric tonnes - some 1.9 million pounds - of beef.
As of the time of this writing, there are 400 items on the food recall list. CBC reports that the Brooks facility, now closed, processes one-third of the country's beef.
What's astonishing is going through the recall list and the growing sense of foreboding. It seems nowhere is safe.
In Estevan, there are three supermarkets: Sobeys, Co-op, and No Frills.
For Co-op, there is a huge list of ground beef products. But more telling, the recall states that "All fresh beef products" that were "Packed On dates between 2012SE03 and 2012SE28 or Best Before dates between 2012SE03 and 2012OC03" distributed in every jurisdiction west of Quebec are suspect. A quick stop there on Tuesday showed they still had beef on the shelves, and signs indicating it was safe. But how long will they be able to keep up without a key supplier like XL Foods?
At No Frills, there's a long list of ground beef steaks and roasts that are being pulled from the shelves in every province except Quebec.
For Sobeys, the recall mostly lists ground beef that went to Ontario, but some store-made meatloaf that went to Atlantic Canada is also on the list. As it stands today, I might be able to buy beef at Sobeys. But after 12 updates and additions to the recall list, can I be sure about what I buy tomorrow?
Those are just some examples. The retail outlets affected include Walmart, Costco, Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Shop Easy, IGA, Extra Foods, Real Canadian Super Store, and even Saskatoon's Prairie Meats.
Where in Saskatchewan do I get beef from now that XL Foods is closed?
There used to be a time when local abattoirs and smaller meat packing plants were the norm. But in the interests of higher efficiency and better profits, we have inexorably made our food supply so concentrated at some points that if something should happen at those very points, the whole food chain goes down.
The difference here is we're not talking about some sort of documentary on the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet, where they talk about a predator's food chain on the African savannah. When I say the food chain, I mean OUR food chain, as in people's food chain.
This is where it gets serious. When my options of buying basic foodstuffs like beef are suddenly wiped out, we have a crisis on our hands.
The trickle down effects will have an impact. People's fridges and freezers will start running out. What will restaurants serve? Surely they will be impacted, too. What do we eat?
As a strong believer in capitalism, I'm loath to suggest we need some sort of government regulation to limit how much market share a company can have. Growth is generally considered a good thing. But in cases like this, and the previous fatal Maple Leaf Foods listeriosis outbreak, we are dealing with entities that have indeed become too big to fail. What happens if, God forbid, a similar outbreak pops up at Maple Leaf at the same time? Do we just give up meat?
Did anyone ever figure these mammoth food operations could be as strategically important as oil pipelines? Who needs to blow something up? Just let some naturally occurring contaminant slip by, and you mess up nearly every household in the nation.
Having one-third of any of the nation's staple foods pass through one single facility is a recipe for disaster - a disaster that is being borne out now. Even if no one dies, our food security or lack thereof is truly exposed.
After allowing these operations to become so large, you can't just wave a magic wand and bring back all the smaller, more diverse operations that have shut down over the years. The ones that do remain will quickly be overwhelmed with demand, and the rest of us who don't have access to them will have to go without.
Before long, that juicy steak sizzling on the barbecue could be a rare thing, indeed. And to ensure you kill off any potential E. coli, you better make sure it's well done.
Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at [email protected]
