by salvia_d
We have an amazing local organic ice cream company that we have been going to for years, & the government in Canada is about to kill this small business, & others just like it. They want to control every aspect of the food supply. Here is the news release: www.coldcomfort.ca/breaking-news
THE BIG MILK POLICE HAVE LAID DOWN A STUPID NEW LAW FORCING US TO QUIT WHOLESALE SALES OF ORGANIC DAIRY ICE CREAM Island Health’s Environmental Health Officers are now regulating recent changes to the Milk Industry Act that are threatening our survival as a well-loved and respected small business in the community. After 13 years of safely producing and distributing small batch (and from scratch) high quality ice cream made with fresh ingredients from trusted sources, we are being ordered to stop selling our organic dairy ice cream products to the 20+ local retail stores we currently supply around the Greater Victoria area. The authorities have yet to provide us with a reason for these changes. The new regulation says that since we are not (and have no intention of becoming) a “Licensed Dairy Plant”(for example Island Farms), in order to continue selling our dairy ice cream wholesale to retailers (grocery stores), we are required to stop using our recipes and start purchasing pre-made ice cream base mix in plastic bags from a Licensed Dairy Plant. This requirement is prohibitive to us for more than one reason. ETHICS
We use organic cream in our recipes, and there is no organic ice cream base mix available on the market. Even if there were, it would be much different than the recipes we have built our business on. The reason many people prefer our product is because it is an alternative to the generic conventional standard of ice cream products available. It is because of the extra time and effort and quality of local ingredients and traditional crafting methods that goes into every pint. It is because people deserve the right to autonomy and freedom of choosing what they want to put in their bodies. It is because the eggs we purchase from a small farm in the Cowichan Valley help support the family that runs it. We are part of an interconnected web of a local food economy whose health is the key to our sustainability and resilience as a community. FINANCIAL IMPACT
We are a seasonal business. In the winter of 2021 in the shadow of the pandemic and the midst of inflation, we came very close to not making payroll. We made the difficult decision to increase our prices, and the easy decision to build up our wholesale business. It took a lot of time and money but we satisfied the CFIA labeling requirements for selling our ice cream wholesale. We currently supply over 20 independent locally owned retailers in the South Vancouver Island area. Our wholesale accounts now make up approximately 50% of our business, and they are the reason we are able to survive the winters, and make charitable donations within our community. MOVING FORWARD
We hope that our valued customers will continue to purchase our non-dairy ice cream products at our treasured retailers, and that customers will visit our shop where they can purchase the dairy ice cream products that they know and love, as well as fun feature flavours! We also offer DELIVERY. It’s not just us – it’s happening all across the country. LISTEN to the podcast Canadaland episode “Monopoly: Big Milk” for more related info, featuring a little ice cream shop in Ottawa with a hauntingly similar story to mine, and find out why politicians are afraid to stand up to the Dairy Cartel in Canada. www.canadaland.com/podcast/monopoly-2-big-milk/
For underlying rationale around the drafting of legislation, please reach out directly to the ministries responsible:
Specific contacts: BCCDC: fpinfo@bccdc.ca
Ministry of Health: Terry.Oh@gov.bc.ca
Video: www.instagram.com/p/Cx6xR45RcpQ/