{"id":31975,"date":"2022-03-22T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fondationrivieres.org\/?p=31975"},"modified":"2023-01-16T12:00:50","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:00:50","slug":"rapport-sur-les-megaporcheries-une-autre-agriculture-est-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fondationrivieres.org\/en\/rapport-sur-les-megaporcheries-une-autre-agriculture-est-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Report on megapig farms: another agriculture is possible!"},"content":{"rendered":"

PRESS RELEASE<\/strong>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montreal, March 22, 2022<\/strong> \u2013 On the occasion of World Water Day, the coalition Megapigs, no thanks!<\/em><\/a> releases a report which presents a historical and critical portrait of the pork industry in Quebec and proposes possible solutions. While, faced with the excesses of Olymel\/Sollio, pig breeders have themselves decreed a temporary moratorium on new productions, this report proposes a reflection aimed at raising awareness among the population and encouraging public debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab\u00a0Ce moment de pause est particuli\u00e8rement ad\u00e9quat pour modifier l\u2019encadrement de la fili\u00e8re porcine au Qu\u00e9bec. Outre le cas de Saint-Adelphe pour lequel nous r\u00e9it\u00e9rons notre volont\u00e9 que le gouvernement intervienne, les crises sanitaire et climatique doivent \u00eatre l\u2019occasion de favoriser une transition vers des mod\u00e8les agricoles favorisant l\u2019autonomie alimentaire tout en \u00e9tant plus respectueux de notre eau et de nos \u00e9cosyst\u00e8mes\u00a0\u00bb, de d\u00e9clarer Pierre Avignon porte-parole de la coalition.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make the invisible visible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To use the slogan of the World Water Day<\/a> organized by the United Nations each year to remind people of the importance of fresh water, our report aims to make the invisible visible. Indeed, while much research has been published in recent decades on the effects of the pork industry and the state of water resources, the latter was scattered and little known. Thus briefs submitted to the 2003 BAPE on the pork industry<\/a>, at the 2020 state of water resources report<\/a>, passing through the 2008 Future of Agriculture Report<\/a>, a significant number of experts, researchers and groups have spoken out on these important subjects. \u201cWe want citizens, but also all people in the agricultural world, to have access to an overview of the situation so that we can find collective solutions to the problems of social and environmental acceptability posed by the development of megapig farms. in Quebec,\u201d concluded the coalition spokespersons Megapigs, no thanks!\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our proposals for another agriculture in the face of megapig farms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

En conclusion du rapport, nous relan\u00e7ons treize propositions issues du rapport du Bureau d\u2019audience publique sur l\u2019environnement de 2003\u00a0:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Carry out a public consultation in the MRCs for the establishment of an interim control regulation relating to the agricultural zone;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Request a re-evaluation of the determination of separating distances, particularly regarding spreading;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Increase the use of quotas <\/strong>uses provided for in the Law on development and town planning<\/em> in order to control the density of pig farms;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Inform and consult citizens prior to the issuance of the certificate of authorization by the Ministry of the Environment;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Organize a biennial forum on the inclusion of pork production in sustainable development;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Review the procedure allowing environmental impact investigations to be carried out in order to submit large-scale pig projects;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Provide the Minister of the Environment (MELCC) with discretionary power so that he can prohibit any installation that contains between 2,500 and 4,000 animal units per building.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Accentuate research efforts on the impacts on health and water contamination for populations and workers;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Support organic farming, improve animal welfare and limit the feeding of pigs to GMO plants and the use of antibiotics;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Revoir le programme de stabilisation des revenus agricoles afin qu\u2019il cible des personnes qui travaillent dans une ferme familiale ou \u00e0 dimension humaine (au plus 4 personnes) et exclure\u00a0 les personnes morales;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Improve the management of manure and slurry by involving independent agronomists, by intensifying control and surveillance measures, by discouraging pig farms without soil (due to the precariousness of spreading agreements) as well as the development or expansion of pigsties in areas with a phosphorus surplus;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Am\u00e9liorer la protection de l\u2019eau notamment en\u00a0: intensifiant le suivi de la qualit\u00e9 de l\u2019eau de surface, sensibilisant davantage le milieu agricole \u00e0 la protection des milieux aquatiques, r\u00e9visant les normes concernant les bandes riveraines et les faire appliquer, encadrant davantage le d\u00e9boisement, en renfor\u00e7ant les mesures d\u2019\u00e9coconditionnalit\u00e9s (aides publiques seulement si respect de l\u2019environnement);<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. Adopt a watershed approach to adequately manage surplus fertilizer materials by setting a maximum concentration of each species based on the characteristics of each watershed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Citizen groups and personalities supporting the report<\/h3>\n\n\n\n