As a post-secondary student…

As a post-secondary student who has been living in London for four years now, I can safely say that I - and the vast majority of the student population and London locals - think the proposed new slaughterhouse would be a biohazardous, cruel, unwanted, and foresight-less addition to our Forest City.

Firstly, we Londoners proudly call our home "the Forest City". We pride ourselves on our efforts to clean up and conserve our ecosystems; we also continuously push our local economy to do better for the environment. In fact, the London Environmental Network (LEN) recently partnered with the City of London, the London Community Foundation, and Western University's Centre for Environment and Sustainability (in addition to a few more founding partners) to put together Green Economy London, an initiative that helps local businesses transition toward environmental sustainability. The proposed slaughterhouse facility is in complete opposition to both our city's values and this initiative; the "suspended particulate matter, vegetable oil, nitrogen oxides, sodium hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide" (listed in this proposal's "details" section as the slaughterhouse's known contiminants) that will be emitted into our atmosphere will absolutely counteract our united goal of helping the environment. In addition to these noxious emissions, we will also have to deal with and dispose of even more blood, fecal matter, unused body parts, and all other waste that comes from killing many millions of birds every year than we currently do. The last thing London needs or wants is an even bigger contributor to the degredation of our ecosystems and environment than we have presently with this facility.

Secondly, gas chambers are cruel. They work by "depriving birds of oxygen in their transport crates, by introducing high concentrations of carbon dioxide or a mixture of inert gases" (AGCanada). So, after countless hours of these 6-week-old baby chickens being transported to the facility in extremely crowded and confined conditions, they get suffocated before having their throats slit. While some might argue that this is better than what they currently do at this facility - electrically stunning them before slitting their throats - the "controlled atmospheric stunning" (CAS) still causes pain, stress, and suffering to these chickens in their final moments. Defending this 'more humane' way of killing the animals is nevertheless a moot point, however, since there is no 'humane' way to kill an animal who does not want to die. Also, the addition of the two gas chambers to this plant will enable the workers to kill way more of these sweet, innocent, docile animals daily than we currently do at this facility in London (Current: around 80,000/production day. Proposed: up to 480,000/production day.). The potential for this way greater, more large-scale crime against animals makes me want to dissociate myself from London if we are unsuccessful in stopping this addition from being built (and thus tarnishing London's integrity).

Thirdly, students are not proud to live in a city that condones and conducts the mass killing of innocent animals every day. Of the many wonderful things that London has to offer us, a potential revamped slaughterhouse is absolutely not one of them. If London instead offers us innovative industries in which we can put our degrees and diplomas to benevolent use (as opposed to an undesirable industry that is horrible for individuals' and the community's physical health, the lives of innumerable animal, and the environment), maybe we will stick around after we graduate to help London and its economy thrive. But do not expect this generation of young, bright minds to want to put down their roots in a city that is regressive enough to try to revitalize an industry that is going out-of-date, instead of progressive enough to invest in better and more 'with-the-times' alternatives.

To that end: the meat industry is falling out of favour, and this is happening at an ever-accelerating rate. With countless viable vegan meat substitutes that are mainstream and available everywhere now, the market has shown that these meat alternatives are the way of the future. This is why new vegan companies like Beyond Meat are wildly successful, and why so many existing "meat giants" like Maple Leaf Foods are investing in their own plant-based meats. This is also why countless fast food chains - such as A&W, Tim Horton's, Quesada, and (soon) Subway in Canada, and Carl's Jr, Burger King, and many more in the US - have permanently added such vegan meat options to their menus. Countless people are opting for the plant-based options - which are kinder for the environment, for the animals, and for our health - that are now being supplied by these chains and corporations. So, to invest in a dying industry would not be a savvy business decision whatsoever for London - or even for Cargill. Instead of wasting its money on a brutish facility that will fall by the wayside sooner rather than later, Cargill should really think about constructing a plant-based protein manufacturing facility in the slaughterhouse's place.

Please, ERO, hear and consider our voices - the voices of the London residents and the London students - when you are deciding whether or not this proposal goes ahead. This new-and-not-improved processing plant is not wanted by us Londoners, and, for all of the reasons above, we implore you not to approve this plan. Thank you.