What options are open to a person with no money who sees a wrong and wants to right it? What if it involves an international corporation, largely owned by a wealth country? This is the case of Don Staniford vs Mainstream from Norway.
While many environmental groups have worked to protect wild salmon from the disease and pollution of net pen salmon feedlots, they worked within the constraints of their funders. Big money runs with big money and so big funding makes environmental groups docile. It is incremental, small slips until environmental groups can find themselves supporting the very thing they are fighting. This happened with salmon farming. Most of BC’s large environmental groups formed an alliance, funding came to work things out with the fish farmers and soon they were supporting the doubling in size of the salmon farms.
I don’t think big environmentalism works because they become dependent on exactly the mechanism that is crushing life out of this planet. Can anyone name the enviro groups with money to fight salmon farms in BC? Have they become invisible within corporate partnerships?
What does environmentalism without big funding look like? That is how I work and that is how Don Staniford operates.
Don Staniford picked up humor, satire and in your face graphics as his tool to pry salmon farms away from wild salmon. He posted graphics of cigarette packs with warnings printed them: “Salmon Farming kills,” “Salmon Farming Spreads Disease” “Salmon Farms are Cancer.” (website)
He dared to compare the salmon farming industry’s advertising to big tobacco and salmon feedlots to cancer. Although Staniford never named Mainstream, they came after him. Mainstream, largely owned by Norway, which is mother to this dirty industry, threatened Staniford. Cease and desist, apologize, remove the statements in five days or else they would file a civil claim. With no salary, no money at all, Don wrote a 67-page report detailing how salmon feedlots are like cancer, attached a graphic cigarette package with the one finger salute and said, “Bring it on.”
The 20-trial is now underway in the law courts of Vancouver. Hundreds of donations, most $20-$100 have flooded in to pay his lawyer, David Sutherland. Money is coming even from Norway where people who want wild salmon to survive understand this is a global industry. The courtroom has filled more each day with the people who are attached to wild salmon. The story of big salmon farming is being told, but it is free-speech itself that is on trial.
Why does Don Staniford say salmon farms are like the tobacco industry? Here is just a fraction of what has been reveled in courtroom #52, Vancouver Law Courts, corner of Nelson and Hornby:
2002 – Scientific paper published in Chemosphere reports: “relatively high concentrations of PCBs” in Scottish farm salmon warning, “…high consumption of salmon, particularly by children under 4 years, could lead to intakes above the tolerable daily intake …. Of these chemicals.” (Download Jacobs.pdf (146.0K))
2002 – A second scientific paper in Chemosphere found because farmed salmon are intentionally fattened, PCBS collect in the fat at 5 – 10 times the levels found in average wild salmon. It was suggested that “Frequent farmed salmon eaters may exceed government health limits for these pollutants, which are linked to immune system damage, fetal brain damage, and cancer” (paper)
2004 – Scientific paper in the journal of SCIENCE analyzed over 2 metric tons of farmed and wild salmon from around the world and reported consumption of farmed Atlantic salmon may pose a health risk.
2007 – Salmon of the Americas, a non-profit trade organization, whose mission is to educate consumers recommends pregnant mothers eat farm salmon suggesting it will make their babies more healthy and intelligent!!!
The Pure Salmon Campaign retaliates with a N.Y. Times Download nyt_ad copy.pdf (151.0K)
2011 – BC Salmon farming corporations join forces to pay for a multi-million dollar ad campaign that suggests farm salmon are free of contaminants.Download NoAddedChemicalsMHBCSalmon4C300.jpg (2983.9K)
Don does not have $ millions and so he communicates with humor, often biting and satirical. He uses comic shock and awe in his blogs. He uses cartoons, movie clips, album covers. He can’t afford to send multi-page newspaper adverts to households throughout BC. He can’t afford to advertise on the Canucks website or buy prime time TV ads.
I have worked with Don for years. Together with graphic artist Anissa Reed we led the GET OUT Migration, the biggest BC environmental rally ever - to tell the BC government to get salmon farms out of the ocean. We led a group of 100 people down the lower Fraser River in canoes and through the streets of Vancouver to ask Justice Bruce Cohen to release the farm salmon disease records – which he did. We visited federal campaign offices around BC to ask candidates in the last election if they would protect wild salmon and found the Conservatives could not say yes, even if some looked like they wanted to. We sampled rivers for ISA virus, when DFO would not and this led to the re-opening of the Cohen Inquiry which exposed the government cover-up of the most lethal virus known to salmon.
In cross examination, the salmon farm lawyer, Mr. Wotherspoon asked Staniford whether he considered the single finger salute a respectful response to his letter threatening to sue Don.
He asked Don if he considered the feelings of Mary Ellen Walling – director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, a person paid to promote salmon farms - before he blogged about her.
Don replied they are public figures and in Canada people are still free to express opinion. Don said he holds the industry as disrespectful for using their money to convince pregnant women and the rest of us to eat more farm salmon, when science recommends limiting consumption because of cancer-causing toxins. He explained he sees farm salmon like cancer cells. His description brings to mind growths proliferating on wild salmon migration routes, metastasizing to grow new farms/tumours, choking off the flow of wild salmon.
I have questioned Don many times about his use of raw, in-your-face-humour and every time he has given me a well-reasoned response. His methods are thought-out, designed to refute ads the salmon farming industry has spent several million dollars on. All he has are his wits and words. He has investigated this industry worldwide, met with Norwegian politicians, Chilean labour leaders, and Canadian First Nations. As a result, he has made up his mind this industry is unethical, immoral and harmful. His tool is free speech and it is free speech that hangs in the balance of this rare defamation case.
He poked this beast and it turned on him. I think they have made a mistake. I don’t think they know what they are up against. He will be deported after the trial, but will be going to Norway to work with the Green Warriors.
In closing, Mr. Wotherspoon lawyer for Mainstream challenged Don's testimony that thousands of people gathered on the Legislature lawn to tell the BC government to get this industry away from wild salmon, get it out of the ocean. Mr. Wotherspoon quoted the Vancouver Sun reporting there were almost 1,000 people.
For all of you who were there - we will need to stand up again. If you were there, wanted to be there, or would be there in the future - write to Premier Christy Clark and tell her how you feel about salmon feedlots premier@gov.bc.ca
Donate to Don's legal fund: http://www.gofundme.com/donstaniford
Or fund my ongoing efforts in BC - salmonaresacred.org
