Real Talk!

I’ve noticed a recent catch phrase “man up”. The implication is to step up and take responsibility. I think there may be an element of summoning courage, as well.

I think it should become the international creed.

I'd like to bring your attention to Pulitzer Prize winning author, Upton Sinclair. In 1906 his novel The Jungle, Sinclair exposed disgraceful conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry.

Although Sinclair’s book was meant to demonstrate the inhumane conditions of the worker within capitalism, the work contributed to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.

And, speaking of meat inspection, how about Michael McCain, Chief Executive of Maple Leaf Foods?

McCain has displayed great integrity utilizing radio and television spots in which he takes responsibility for and personally apologizes to the families and victims from the outbreak of listeria connected to one of his plants.

"Tragically, our products have been linked to illness and loss of life. To those people who are ill, and to the families who have lost loved ones, I offer my deepest and sincerest sympathies. Words cannot begin to express our sadness for their pain." says McCain.

Maple Leaf Foods has undertaken a recall of about 200 products and closed a plant. Losses are estimated in the $20 million range. In their media campaign, Maple Leaf Foods has relieved the Canadian Food Inspection Agency of any responsibility.

& now, perhaps Maple Leaf’s explanation for the outbreak, brought with great courage and accountability, will inspire other ready-to-eat meat plants to disassemble their slicing equipment and perform an aggressive cleanings.

For a long while, Canadians have operated with an expectation that goods and services would be quality ensured. Which has translated into an apparent lack of ownership taken by the public at large.

Just recently, there have been warnings about toothpaste, pet foods, powdered milk formulas, plastics, faulty tires and countless other consumer products. & it isn’t really anything new… how about airline fires?

I read somewhere that the reason that long johns were originally dyed red is because cotton didn’t absorb the colour well and the red colouring provided proof that the underwear was the real deal- pure wool.

There have always been snake oil sales.

It’s just time to man up. Our safety should be of primary concern to all citzens, governments and goods & services suppliers.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency does about 3,000 food safety investigations annually. In 2007, the agency issued 50 public advisories in the first six months, alone.

The World Health Organization reports that food-borne disease is a growing problem and that unsafe food will cause illness in at least 2 billion people, this year.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged to conduct a "broad" independent investigation into the listeriosis outbreak. Just what we need… the expense of bringing together a team of legal experts and judges to spend a year or two preparing a several-hundred paged document that will reiterate what we already know. People have died.

As of last Thursday, some 40-odd cases of lysteria have been linked to the Maple Leaf outbreak and the Public Health Agency of Canada says that 19 more are under investigation.

& we all agree it’s way too much…

but before we spend several million dollars investigating pre-packaged sandwiches, let’s think about it. It’s not just about luncheon meat. Listeria is part of the real world, it’s out there, all over the place and there will probably be future cases of listeriosis that may never reach the public’s attention.

& there are things, other than listeria that threaten our well-being.

It’s time to take action. It’s time to man up.

We need to insist: if something is vital to the health and safety of this planet, we need to act responsibly. We need to have geniune concern and we have got to value prevention. We need to think BEFORE things happen.

Noam Chomsky, esteemed American lecturer, activist, author, philosopher and linguist, has urged intellectuals to take responsibility and expose lies, analyze actions according to their causes, motives and hidden intentions.

Martin Heidegger, one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century, often pondered “truth”. He said, "We understand the 'is' we use in speaking," he claims, "although we do not comprehend it conceptually". Heidegger believed that western ideology embraced a forgetfulness of being.

Maybe.

One might think it’s obvious that environmental protection and social responsibility are important priorities for today’s global citizen.

But then,

…maybe we need to listen more closely to Upton Sinclair’s often quoted principle: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

& what's even more scary…

An Ottawa Citizen article on September 11th, said:

“In an advisory issued last week to federally regulated plants, the agency advised them to disassemble and perform a "systematic and thorough aggressive cleaning and sanitation procedure" of all meat slicing equipment, including all internal parts. The directive came immediately after Maple Leaf Foods announced bacteria building up "deep inside" the slicing machines was likely to blame for the deadly outbreak.

But there are many more provincially registered plants in the country that aren't covered by CFIA rules, and they don't have to follow the directive. Provincial officials defend the patchwork inspection system, saying even though their systems are less prescriptive, operators are required to maintain sanitary conditions in their plant.

Christopher Kyte, head of the Food Processors of Canada, says the current situation -- a federal advisory with no teeth -- boosts the group's long-standing position that all domestic plants and imports should be held to the same inspection standards.

Provincially licensed meat plants are barred from interprovincial trade and sale to foreign markets. Federally registered plants follow a different inspection system that gives them access to out-of-province markets; they must follow even more rigid inspection protocols, including daily visits from a CFIA inspector, if they want to ship their products to the United States.

"We just feel that there should be one superior standard for all processing plants for shipping into Canada and shipping across Canada," Mr. Kyte said.

A spokeswoman for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture said the province is in the process of forwarding the advisory on cleaning the meat slicing equipment to the 221 provincially registered ready-to-eat meat plants, and is "encouraging" them to follow it.”

HOW ABOUT THAT?

As Realtors in this Province, we have the Real Estate Council of Ontario "Fostering confidence and upholding integrity in real estate transactions". The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) regulates the activity of trading in real estate in the public interest.

RECO also administers the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 and associated regulations on behalf of the provincial government.

There are all kinds of watchdog type agencies, independent organizations that investigate complaints from people who feel they have been unfairly or unreasonably treated.

Christopher Kyte was quoted as saying, "We just feel that there should be one superior standard..."

There should be no “just” about it!

There SHOULD be one superior standard for all processing plants for shipping into Canada and shipping across Canada

Am I the only person tired of agencies that have no bite?

1998 marked the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations.

An introductory comment to the declaration reads:

"THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction."

THAT WAS SIXTY EIGHT YEARS AGO, FOLKS.

On the anniversary, it was suggested that a Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities be adopted, as well.

The introduction to that declaration reads:

“Globalization of the world economy is matched by global problems, and global problems demand global solutions on the basis of ideas, values and norms respected by all cultures and societies.

Recognition of the equal and inalienable rights of all the people requires a foundation of freedom, justice and peace - but this also demands that rights and responsibilities be given equal importance to establish an ethical base so that all men and women can live peacefully together and fulfill their potential. A better social order both nationally and internationally cannot be achieved by laws, prescriptions and conventions alone, but needs a global ethic.

Human aspirations for progress can only be realized by agreed values and standards applying to all people and institutions at all times.”

The proposed Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities had the endorsement of the following individuals:

Helmut Schmidt (Honorary Chairman), Former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

Malcom Fraser (Chairman), Former Prime Minister of Australia

Andries A. M. van Agt, Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands

Anand Panyarachun, Former Prime Minister of Thailand

Oscar Arias Sanchez, Former President of Costa Rica

Lord Callaghan of Cardiff, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Jimmy Carter, Former President of the United States

Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, Former President of Mexico

Kurt Furgler, Former President of Switzerland

Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Former President of France

Felipe Gonzalez Marquez, Former Prime Minister of Spain

Kenneth Kaunda, Former President of Zambia

Lee Kuan Yew, Former Prime Minister of Singapore

Kiichi Miyazawa, Former Prime Minister of Japan

Misael Pastrana Borrero, Former President of Colombia

Shimon Peres, Former Prime Minister of Israel

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, Former Prime Minister of Portugal

Jose Sarney, Former President of Brazil

Shin Hyon Hwak, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea

Kalevi Sorsa, Former Prime Minister of Finland

Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Former Prime Minister of Canada

Ola Ullsten, Former Prime Minister of Sweden

George Vassiliou, Former President of Cyprus

Franz Vranitzky, Former President of Austria

Hmmmmmm.....

HOW ABOUT WE MAN UP AND START BY GROWING SOME TEETH?