Hmmm...no interest in a fascinating look into the fruit business in BC's Okanagan Valley.Unfair subsidies by G. Bush to American growers,make BC apples hard to sell. Big AMerican chains like Safeway buy American and sell in Canada.
The development squeeze makes orchard land very valuable but the Agricultural Land Commission will not release land from agriculture without reams of professional reports,basically saying that if an individual cannot make a profit,the land should be sold to a farmer who can.
Now, along comes a very graphic insight into the labour dispute at Sun Rype. If certain corporate interests are successful in beating the employees down,no doubt the orchardists who supply the fruit will be next to face the displeasure of those who climb to excessive wealth by forcing everyone else to race to the bottom.
Another Tyee article focusses on Dennis Brown's book, "Salmon Wars: The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery".
Surprise,surprise. Guess who is front and center,guess who's reach exceeds his grasp?
The robber barons of old like HR MacMillan built industries up from the ground and the workers went along for the ride while today's incarnation grinds up the comanies and their workers to produce "shareholder appreciation".
Maybe its time for the growers and workers to explore a new co-op but that may be fraught with peril. If the likes of G. Clark can be bought, then the incumbent cheap suits will already be in the pocket of "industry" for a much smaller price.