I think the CBC radio host said it best when he said it is “Perception rather than reality”. In my opinion, for Cooke Aquaculture and other aquaculture on the East coast, I can’t see this decision helping the marketability of their product because nowadays perception overrides reality in many decisions made by consumers. I understand the reason for the decision and it may have some good intentions behind it, but in this present environment when the industry on the East coast has such a microscope on it and people like Don Staniford and Ms Morton dominate the social media it will be an uphill battle to convince sceptical people. Personally, I think it plays right into the activists’ hands who will likely start creating posters with mothers holding their babies tightly – looking worried about their next food purchase.
The reality may be that ISA is no harmful to humans and that wild fish sold in stores could also have diseases that are not tested and be equally safe for humans, but if given the choice people will likely steer clear of the Cooke product in favour of another that may not have it. If people went to the store to purchase a Cooke product and didn’t hear this media coverage they would not know the difference; however, once they hear the media story I wouldn’t doubt this would influence many consumers – especially those that believe everything negative thing they read in the mainstream media and on social media about salmon farming. There you go, Chris.
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Topic: CFIA Switches Gears To Preventing Deadly Salmon Virus (Read 11867 times)