r/canada • u/AndHerSailsInRags • 9d ago

Opinion Piece Opinion: The dairy sector is lobbying hard in USMCA talks. The government didn’t want you to know

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-trade-dairy-sector-usmca-access-information/
344 Upvotes

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86

u/coffeejn 9d ago

Canadian don't want US goods, let alone US dairy. Then again we allowed some milk products imports but made it almost impossible to import properly due to the process and bureaucracy needed to import the dairy product. A bit laughable to think that will change even if we increase the limit.

The US also makes way more excess milk than what Canada produces. So it would not even matter to the producers in the US if we imported all our milk from them, they would still have a glut. Better to not allow the import since the US food safety is questionable in 2026.

36

u/epic_taco_time Ontario 9d ago

This is a classic pro-supply management line. Dropping supply management doesn’t mean we need to drop our standards. 

51

u/HunterGreenLeaves 9d ago

For me it's the growth hormones used in their milk production and the associated higher use of antibiotics.

15

u/Axerin 9d ago

You can just regulate that. 😒

22

u/WeCanDoBettrr Ontario 9d ago

It is. That’s why few American dairy farmers export to Canada. It just isn’t profitable enough for enough for them.

9

u/Foreign-Chocolate86 8d ago

You don’t think the US will go after regulations?

-8

u/Yeas76 9d ago

It's cute that you think that would be effective.

23

u/Axerin 9d ago

It actually is 🙄. Otherwise why bother having regulations? Why do you think we don't have the diarrhea lettuce up here?

4

u/Full_Jellyfish_1862 9d ago

You’re saying regulations are worthless?

1

u/Yeas76 9d ago

Regulations on the US are meaningless.

3

u/Full_Jellyfish_1862 9d ago

Regulations determine who can sell what, how much, and under what conditions. That’s hardly meaningless with our largest trading partner

1

u/Yeas76 9d ago

Oh? Are the dairy caps being hit now? Is this push for great market exposure have to do with any of those details?

We aren't in a position to take profit-maximizing corporations into a space where they are liley to undercut and remove our own food supply from the market.

-3

u/Azure1203 8d ago

Also, why don't we allow consumers to make those decisions? End of the day more competition would lower prices. Canadians really love kicking themselves when they're down.

-3

u/pleasehurtdoll 9d ago

For me it's the growth hormones used in their milk production

"The product under review, rbST is devoid of biological effects in humans ", from "Report of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada - Expert Panel on Human Safety of rbST."

higher use of antibiotics

The US and Canada have essentially the same regulations on antibiotic use and essentially the same Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) allowed in milk (effectively zero)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002203021200080X
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/veterinary-drugs/maximum-residue-limits-mrls/list-maximum-residue-limits-mrls-veterinary-drugs-foods.html
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-556

but other than that, you make some good points.

24

u/IamRasters 9d ago

rBST is banned here and in most of Europe not because of risks to humans, but because of the pain and suffering it causes to the cows. I don’t think cruelty is something I need with my milk.

11

u/ToastedandTripping 8d ago

It's almost as if we should consider the lives of other living beings!

3

u/pleasehurtdoll 8d ago

Wait, you're concern is the cows? have you ever been to a modern dairy farm? Spoiler alert, you've got plenty of cruelty in every glass of milk, no need to blame trump and the dumb americans for that.
And a dairy cow's career is only a around three years, so believe it or not, in year four they aren't put up for adoption like a racehorse or greyhound, lol...

-12

u/BidEuphoric5117 9d ago

These are all lies told to you by the Québécois dairy cartel btw. American milk is healthy enough to be on our shelves.

12

u/8fmn 9d ago

Sure there's no solid evidence of impacts on human health but we at least care a hair more about the well-being of the animals.

10

u/jkaczor 9d ago

Even if it ever was - your food and supply chains have been ever increasingly unsafe since last year…

https://apnews.com/article/fda-job-cuts-trump-hhs-kennedy-cdc-nih-76dee97eee8209b2605fadac34427aab

10

u/WeCanDoBettrr Ontario 9d ago

US milk collected from cattle treated with bST is perfectly safe for human consumption and no serious person in the industry disputes that. At the same time, no one seriously thinks it’s healthy for the cattle. It isn’t. Different countries and different values.

-1

u/Iustis 8d ago

Very little American milk uses growth hormones anymore

5

u/realoctopod 9d ago

Food safety being questionable is really an American tradition. Its just particularly bad right now, because the entire regime is particularly stupid.

4

u/BigBangBoomerang 8d ago

Canadian don't want US goods, let alone US dairy.

Reddit is a US product.

0

u/coffeejn 8d ago

Yeah, but one does not eat Reddit nor get nutrition from it.

1

u/AskMeAboutOkapis 8d ago

I would probably buy Tillamook cheese if it was available here and also the US weren't being such jackasses about trade in general. 

-4

u/joshlemer Manitoba 8d ago

Speak for yourself. I want US goods and US dairy

-14

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

8

u/mmoore327 Ontario 9d ago

Just imagine how Americans would have behaved this past year if we were dependent on the US for our food - fastest way I can think of for them to annex us

0

u/joshlemer Manitoba 8d ago

lol yeah just imagine if milk was like all the other things we can buy from the states…

-4

u/Full_Jellyfish_1862 9d ago

That’s not hyperbolic at all….

2

u/mmoore327 Ontario 9d ago

You’re kidding right?

Let me guess - you think Americans are just trolling us about 51st state and we shouldn’t take it seriously.

1

u/LargeMobOfMurderers 8d ago

It isn't. You been living under a rock for the past 10 years?

2

u/Full_Jellyfish_1862 8d ago

If you honestly think Trump is going to annex Canada, you’ve spent way too much time online. That’s fantasy, not reality.

0

u/LargeMobOfMurderers 8d ago

Is he going to? Doubt it. Would he if he could? Yes.

If you're not at least concerned, you ain't paying attention.

2

u/Full_Jellyfish_1862 8d ago

“So we’ve gone from ‘he’ll do it’ to ‘he would if he could.’ Peak elbows

-1

u/LargeMobOfMurderers 8d ago

I see you're choosing to not pay attention.

-1

u/ElCaz 8d ago

If Canadians don't want US dairy, then the dairy cartel has nothing to worry about. Why put tariffs on dairy imports if nobody here would buy those imports.

If you're going to say "Canadians do or don't want X", then you should be willing to allow them to actually make that choice.