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GSS OFFICE SUPPUES Gaornatovm Sacratatial SarvlcM 8772282 UVING LIGHTING 245GuolphSt Hwy Georgetown vo Hills Establis FREE DISTRIBUTION WEDNESDAY JULY 11th 1990 PAGES Chicken buyers beware Consumers warned about advertising gimmicks ByLISARUTLEDGE the Herald If HiUs consumers believe they re buying safer poultry by paying premiums for green natural organic or freerange chicken they re vie tuns of clever marketing tools says the Ontario Farm Animal Council The OPAC has issued warnings to consumers that they should understand they are not paying ex tra for poultry that is of higher safety quality but for different pro cessing methods INCREASING CONCERN The public is becoming concerned with food and en safety concerns and many major grocery chains are capitalizing on those concerns says Leslie Ballentine manage ment secretary for They re all getting into the act she said playing on public fears Two major poultry promotion campaigns have been identified by the Ontario Chicken Producer Marketing Board as leading the public to believe their poultry is safer or more friendly to the en vironment The marketing boards com munications manager Roy Max well has identified Loblaw s Green Natural Choice chicken and Miracle Mart Organic Free range chicken as misleading pro motions which are scaring the people away from other perfectly safe poultry produce Miracle Marts organic chicken promotions state the chickens are raised on organic feed given clean well water raised on freeranges with sunshine and claim no anti or growth promotents are used There if no federal government regulation to define what being organic really Involves so people can define organic any way they want said Mr Maxwell However the marketing boards major concern is other claims Miracle Mart s promotions make The board is concerned these claims are tarnishing the images of other poultry producers Advertising regulations require ttw Advertiser to prove all claims true however promotions dont have to be proven Inw said Mr Maxwell If someone read free range on chicken they would believe time birds were running free out Mitt This may leave con animal rights with the impression mm raise chickens in III Is not one poultry fiHflktf the country who raises mm In cages Mr Maxwell said He insists the idea of raising mass poultry outdoors is ridiculous because the chickens become susceptible to any number of diseases especially when tbey are not given feed containing STATING THE OBVIOUS Promoters are stating the ob vious when they claim their chickens were raised without growth hormones because the hor mone use Is illegal in Canada Mr Maxwell maintains They re not saying anything in accurate but they are implying other producers are using growth hormones and the consumer know the difference he argued Mr Maxwell Insists consumers may be paying extra for poultry because they genuinely believe the chicken is safer Mr Maxwell two board staff inspectors visited the Roth Family Farms Miracle Mart s organic poultry producer and reported the chickens were raised a boarded barn similar to all other producer s barns and couldn t verify sunshine even touched the birds On two separate occasions board inspectors went to the Roth farm said Mr Maxwell and not one of the supposed 63 windows could be found He said one inspector was told the windows were boarded up because there were loud trucks passing disturbing the chickens MARKETING BOARD PROBLEM Rex Roth of Roth Family Farms said the public believes chickens are raised in cages and by promoting freerange chickens the public is being told the Roth farms don raise their chicken in cages He said the onus is not on bis farm or even Miracle Mart to tell the public that no farmers raise chickens in cages t the marketing board problem if it can t do its job properly and in farm the public he said Mr Roth claims inspectors from the marketing board don an nounce their visits and the win may be boarded up Passing trucks break up the sunlight and excite the chickens he said Mr Roth insists anyone can tell his chickens are raised outside because their combs are bright red and don look like chickens untouched by sunlight Mr Roth claims when the marketing board came to look at his farm they missed it by two miles and took pictures and wrote about a neighbors bam despite Mr Maxwell s assurance the board visited the barns twice He said he has spotted many people snooping around his farms look ing through binoculars Wen trying to quarantine the farm and keep people out so we don con laminate the buildings he said Mr Roth said that if his chicken organic then the Consumer and Corporate Affairs wouldn allow him to sell the chicken as organic He said his chickens are raised without using growth such as Virginia which other producers use Continued on Page S Magician and Juggler Craig Douglas and his Travelling Juggling show stopped off at the Georgetown Library Thursday morning to entertain children and parents with a show that not only props such as bowling pins but also a rubber chicken and The show the sum Juggling show visits library children reading program which runs until the end of August The program Is open to children of all ages For more Information call either the Georgetown Library at or the Acton Library Herald Photo