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Labrador Dumps Raided for Groceries - Canada's Shame
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by Barbara McPherson | October 17, 2008 at 11:17 am
262 views | 56 Recommendations | 16 comments
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Health authorities in Labrador issued a warning to people scavenging in municipal dumps for food. To augment their diets, people have been gleaning food disposed of by the food stores. The high price of food in the North and Labrador has pushed some to these extremes.
There is concern that the discarded items may be rotten, contaminated or exposed to contamination from animals that also visit the dumps.
Nunatsiavut, the governing body of the Inuit in Labrador, has no numbers on how many people are going to local landfills to get food, but she's heard reports of the scavenging from every community in Nunatsiavut's jurisdiction.
"It's very sad. Here we are living in Canada, we're not a Third World country," Turner said.
Sarah Erickson, the angajukKâk, or mayor, of Nain on Labrador's north coast, said scavenging has been happening in her community for years, because northern food subsidies aren't keeping food prices low enough at the stores.
The provincial government pours $600,000 into the Air Foodlift Subsidy program, a subsidy for retail stores in Labrador's coastal communities designed to offset the high cost of flying in perishable foods.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (16)
at 11:24 on October 17th, 2008
Barbara McPherson, the shameful legacy of Canada's treatment of Inuit and First Nations people continues. What a sad story. Thanks for this.
at 11:28 on October 17th, 2008
Barbara McPherson, I like this story. It's good stuff.
I wonder if some sort of local-food initiative, ie. growing perishable foods locally, might be one possible solution to this problem.
People have to find ways to sustain themselves independently wherever possible, I think - if there's one thing all the food contaminations recently have taught us, let it be that. Difficult when you live in an urban centre, but for those in more rural areas you'd think community farming would be a priority.
at 11:33 on October 17th, 2008
I am torn by this story. On one hand it is bad if they have to do this. On the other, I hate that the stores throw away good stuff and area wastefull. Not sure if anyone here is aware of it, but there are dumpster diving groups on line that encourage doing this as a way to both supplement one's foodstuffs and cut down on shameful waste. Personally, I applaud them for their work.
at 11:35 on October 17th, 2008
Barbara McPherson, I suppose it's shocking to hear of a story like this because it is in Canada - although it really shouldn't be. Food prices are rising everywhere. Yesterday was World Food Day, although it seems to have made absolutely no difference.
at 12:10 on October 17th, 2008
And then there are those who do this not out of need but out of some strange lifestyle choice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism
at 12:13 on October 17th, 2008
Good stuff, if the food was sold cheaper would they throw less away? There are homeless people in Canada right? Owners of food stores are scum if they can let people go hungry this way
at 12:14 on October 17th, 2008
Good stuff, if the food was sold cheaper would they throw less away? There are homeless people in Canada right? Owners of food stores are scum if they can let people go hungry this way
at 12:30 on October 17th, 2008
Are you a communist?
at 12:38 on October 17th, 2008
Waste is a corollary of surplus. It's perplexing that something like City Harvest doesn't exist in more places in some form or another.
at 12:46 on October 17th, 2008
I guess there is so little infrastructure in Labrador that the critical mass isn't there yet. Frankly I am surprised that there are homeless in Labrador given the staggeringly low cost of living there (especially given Canada's generous welfare system). Perhaps we are dealing with people with addictions who spend all their money on drugs/alcohol.
at 13:36 on October 17th, 2008
Barbara McPherson, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 13:43 on October 17th, 2008
we're all hurting, even communists, yeah I read that one comment
at 14:21 on October 17th, 2008
Barbara McPherson, I like this story. It's good stuff. Thanks for this story.
at 17:15 on October 17th, 2008
Barbara McPherson, I like this story. Did you know food disposed by stores in U.S is bought at low price as " food for cattle and dogs" then sold to people here in Mexico?
at 16:43 on October 17th, 2008
Barbara McPherson, this is a sad story. Living in a country that is ravaged by poverty and where landfill scavaging is a way of live for some, they even live on or very near to the landfills of course this is a shock to me. Canada is a very beautiful country that has a very good life style, I have visited canada many times when I was much younger. As a country it impressed me and I loved that canadian life style. Now I am shocked to see a prosperious nation has a poverty problem that could be easily eradicated but seemingly the government has turned a blind eye.
Hopefully now its in the news things will be done.
at 20:44 on October 17th, 2008
Barbara McPherson, I like this story. It's good stuff.