The Beef Industry and Environmental Injustice in Northeast Calgary

BACKGROUND Industrial development has always concentrated on Calgary’s east side (Figure 1). This pattern has contributed to sharp differences between the socio-economic characteristics of northeast Calgary and the rest of the city (Figure 2). Spatial disparity has played a role in enhancing uneven distribution of environmental justice by exposing less affluent neighbourhoods to industrial hazards, and perpetuates negative perceptions of the northeast. Beef processing facilities, which are perceived to be particularly noxious, have been opposed on these grounds. In 1972 popular opposition arose against the proposed Agrimart stockyard (Figure 3). In 2004 protests against a proposal by Rancher’s Beef Ltd. to build a slaughterhouse were in striking contrast to high levels of consumer support for the beef industry suffering from BSE.

Figure 2. Selected Socio-economic Characteristics

City Northeast % in Northeast

Population 871,140

198,925

22.8%

Visible minorities 162,905 66,310 40.7%

Recent immigrants 35,480 9,934 28.0%

University degree or higher 150,710 12,358 8.2%

25+ and employed 417,430 85,990 20.6%

Low income families 26,480 8606 32.5%

Average family income $80,632 $55,594

Source: Statistics Canada 2001

R. Mak, G. Ghitter, A. SmartPrion Disease and Social Research Lab, University of Calgary bse@ucalgary.ca

Figure 3. Protesting the beef industry in 1972Source: Glenbow Museum

THE BEEF INDUSTRY AND LOCATIONAL CHOICES In 2004, in response to an outbreak of BSE which had revealed major shortcomings in domestic slaughter capacity, Rancher’s Beef Ltd., a consortium of ranchers and other investors, chose northeast Calgary as the site for a new beef slaughterhouse (Figure 1). The primary reason cited by company officials for choosing that location was to be near to their potential workforce which has historically comprised recent immigrants and foreign workers. Industrial development and socio-economic inequality are self reinforcing in northeast Calgary since immigrants apt to be employed at Rancher’s Beef are also most likely to have settled in the city’s least affluent areas.

Figure 1. Residential (white) and industrial zones (gray) in Calgary Source: City of Calgary

*Agrimart

*Rancher’s Beef

FINDINGS The GINI coefficient was used to measure inequality in the spatial distribution of visible minorities in the city to see if Rancher’s Beef assumption regarding the location of their work force was accurate. We aggregated data from the 2001 census for the 26 neighbourhoods in our northeast study area. The results show a large difference between northeast communities (.57) and communities in the rest of the city (.23). The concentration of both visible minorities and industrial land use in the NE supports concerns about environmental injustice. This finding may help to explain opposition to the location of beef industry facilities even when there is widespread consumer support for beef producers in the wake of BSE.

GINI Coefficient

G = ( t1t2 / T2I ) ( | п1-1 – п2-1 | + | п2-2 – п1-2 | )

For visible minorities in NE Calgary (2001)T = population of Calgary = 871,140t1= population of northeast = 198,925t2 = population of the rest of Calgary = 672,215tm1 = minority population of northeast = 66,310tm2 = minority population of Calgary = 162,905п1 = (tm2/T) = (% visible minorities in Calgary)п2 = 1 – (п1) = (% not visible minority)п1-1 = tm1/t1 = (% of visible minorities in NE)п1-2 = 1 – n1-1 п2-1 = (tm2 – tm1)/(T-t1)п2-2 = 1 – п2-1

I = п1 + п2 + (п1)2 – (п2)2

GINI (NE communities) = .57GINI (rest of Calgary) = .23

RESEARCH FOCUS This study examines two incidents of opposition to the beef industry and relates it to patterns of disproportionate exposure to industrial hazards in northeast Calgary.