The heat continues for media to drop the term swine flu and use H1N1 instead. In Guelph, MP Frank Valeriote has joined citizen campaigner Gordon Sloan to work on the CBC; in the U.S., secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack is renewing his resolve to get media to use what he considers the correct term (i.e. H1N1). I write about the issue, along with a Canadian Press poll that seems to suggest Canadians aren’t affected by the name, in this week’s Urban Cowboy column in the Guelph Mercury.
I wrote a column as a work-up to the last federal election about how Frank and the other candidates from Guelph were in the fascinating position of representing a riding with no farms, yet from an agri-food business, science and government affairs perspective, Guelph is arguably the most influential agri-food riding in the country. I’m pleased that column has won a silver award in the Canadian Farm Writers Federation’s annual writing and broadcasting awards.
Below is a photo of Frank (second from right) and representatives from the Guelph Agri-Technology Commercialization Centre, which he visited earlier this year. From left are Italo Cerra, Frank, Dave Smardon and Ashley Ferraro.
