Officials involved in the local food movement in Grey Bruce are concerned about the loss of abattoirs in the region.
Freeman Boyd of the Local Food Project says that at one time this region supported up to 50 abattoirs but that number has dwindled to about 10 over the years.
He says the loss of any more of these processing facilities would be a serious blow to the local food movement and its local slaughter capacity.
Boyd says one of the reasons for this reduction is the introduction of tougher Provincial Meat Inspection regulations and consolidation in the meat packing industry.
He says the existing facilities in Grey Bruce are getting older and as their equipment begins to wear out there will be a reluctance to invest large amounts of money in the purchase of new equipment or build new abattoirs.
In fact Boyd says the region could lose another facility this year and the prospects for at least 3 other plants are more tenuous because of the age of the facilities and their owner operators.
He says that every abattoir we lose is a permanent loss of capacity in the local food system.
Boyd says that while there is a fear of more closures, this region is still far better off than other rural areas of the province which are now radically undeserved.
He says in that respect Grey Bruce is the envy of many other areas of the province.