Canada: gov. $1.4m to assist Pork Industry

"The Government of Canada is working hard to promote Canadian pork both at home and abroad," said Mr. Schellenberger. "This project will provide Canadian families with the information they want to choose home-grown Canadian pork."

Consumer Awareness
Provincial pork organizations will work together to create a consumer awareness program encouraging Canadians to support domestic pork farmers and the Canadian economy by buying Canadian pork. This is another example of Government working shoulder to shoulder with the livestock industry to deal with current market challenges.

The voluntary program will be available to all retailers and processors, but will primarily be targeted to larger retailers whose pork supply comes from across Canada.

"Consumers deserve choice," said Curtiss Littlejohn, Chair of Ontario Pork. "This new voluntary program gives pork consumers the opportunity to choose Canadian. Up until now, consumers didn't know if the fresh pork they selected from the meat case was Canadian."

Fedeeral contribution
The federal contribution of $1,387,810 for this project is being provided through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food program, which, in Ontario, is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council.

"This initiative has the potential to assist every pork producer in Canada by creating more demand for Canadian pork," says Kim Turnbull, Agricultural Adaptation Council Chair. "This project provides long-term benefits for both Canadian pork producers, Canadian consumers and the Canadian economy."

To help Canadians better understand the Canadian content listed on food labels, earlier this year Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Canadian Food Labelling Initiative to more clearly define "Product of Canada" and "Made in Canada" on food products.

Related Website
• Ontario Pork
• Agricultural Adaptation Council

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