Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1091272
25 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 OPINION back legs tied after its pelvis had been damaged"; "a cow with its placenta hanging out after giving birth", etc. etc What you won't get, how- ever, is a clear picture of the sheer filth and squalor that those cows and goats (and worms, and maggots, and Tse-Tse flies, and God knows what else) were actually living in. But… well, now you can picture it. As you can imagine, it is a very far cry from that (prob- ably quite decrepit) little dairy farm I remember in nearby Cottonera. And Fgura being literally a stone's throw from my old school – and I mean literally: you could break a window if you threw it hard enough – it is by no means in- conceivable that those pictures are actually of the same farm. Either way… poor Esme and Mildred, I thought, as my teeth sank into that juicy, succulent, gore-dripping steak. (Hmm. Needs a little mustard). But more than that, I found myself thinking… how is it that the standards of hygiene and animal welfare, in things like dairy farms, were altogether so much higher way back in 1980 – almost exactly 40 years ago – than they seem to be today? What could have possibly happened, to explain a down- ward slide in standards of such alarming proportions..? Fortunately, however, by now I am old enough to understand that things are rarely what they 'seem to be'. All too often, they turn out to be a good deal worse. In this case, the news was soon updated to include an official reaction from the inspecting authorities. "The chief vet Roberto Balbo said the farmer passed away around a month ago and the children were taking care of the farm but could not cope with the increased demand." "[Also,] the Parliamentary Secretariat for Animal Rights said inspectors had found the farm to be overcrowded, and less [FEWER!] animals should be on the farm to ensure better management of the facilities. "Since the owner of the farm died recently, discussions are ongoing on the future of this farm…" OK, first of all, my condo- lences to the family of the deceased farmer. (He might even have been the same one who fed Esme and Mildred, all those years ago). And it is distressing to see that – very evidently - no thought was given to the future of the farm before its owner passed away. All the same, as you can well imagine, I almost choked on a small morsel of beef as I read all that. It seems that the situ- ation at that dairy farm was all along known to the two main agencies/authorities concerned (note: though I saw no com- ment from the Health Depart- ment); and that neither seem to see the situation as being in any way critical or urgent. Oh, and they also added the following detail. "Further- more in relation to comments aiming at criticising the milk (quality), the test results car- ried out last month indicate no public health issue." Well, I must say that's a huge relief (I was planning to order a Cappucino after- wards). So the 'milk quality' is all right… therefore, there is nothing to whatsoever complain about. I guess it's no concern at all, that the animals producing that milk look like props for the next Zombie Apocalypse horror movie…. or mutations caused by some ungodly virus from Outer Space…. as long as we can all safely drink their milk, everything is just hunky dory… It's funny, because I was un- der this vague impression that, to sell a food product such as 'milk' anywhere in the EU, the entire process – from the means of production, to the packaging, to the storage, etc. – would have to conform to a certain set of basic standards. Without going into the specifics of the relevant EU Directives, the specifications include things like 'overcrowd- ing', 'unacceptable conditions', etc. To my mind, it is ABSO- LUTELY INCONCEIVABLE that the dairy farm we saw in those pictures could possibly meet, or ever come remotely close to meeting, EU specifica- tions on animal welfare, health and safety, hygiene, etc. Heck, it probably wouldn't even meet the criteria established by the Black Hole of Calcutta in 1756… And even if this is a tempo- rary situation brought about by those unfortunate circum- stances… as far as I can see, it doesn't make it any less of an animal welfare/hygiene emergency. Yet the Veterinary Depart- ment and Animal Welfare Secretariat seem to see no problem with the same farm continuing its operations, even in conditions that are not merely squalid, but also plainly in breach of EU stand- ards (note; not to say 'illegal', because to be fair it depends on whether the Directives have been implemented). Effectively, what this means is that those standards are just not being applied at all. Even allowing for the fact that the new owners have been or- dered to clean up their act… it is clear that the authorities are not genuinely interested in reaching or maintaining those standards in the first place. 'As long as the milk is OK'… anything goes. And if the European Commission one day decides to poke its nose into Malta's dairy sector… oh, then we'll organise a few 'surprise inspections' to keep them happy. Come on. If there was one positive thing about joining the EU in the first place, it was surely that our standards would be elevated across the board. And yet – in dairy farms, if not everywhere else – it seems that standards have plum- meted through the floor since dark, distant, dreary 1980s. We probably conformed to EU Directives more back then, than we do today. Ah well. Now that I think about it… I've decided not to order that Cappucino after all. Safe or unsafe, the mere thought of that frothy milk having come from the udders of those… THINGS… has kind of put me off. So I'll have an espresso instead – no milk – and… hmm… can I have a look at the cheese board, please? Fortunately, however, by now I am old enough to understand that things are rarely what they 'seem to be'. All too often, they turn out to be a good deal worse