On September 29, raw milk producers, mostly from Ontario and Quebec, protested on Wellington Street in Ottawa in front of the Parliament buildings. Their concern about the possibility of increased imports of dairy products reveals both embarrassing hypocrisy and shameful disdain of consumers in Canada.
The anti-trade farmers arrived at their rally dressed in mostly imported clothing, driving imported tractors, with placards made from imported materials. They took pictures and video of themselves using imported cell phones then posted these recordings for posterity on various social media made available to them through imported technology. For effect, they also brought some livestock to their rally in trailers made from imported materials pulled by trucks manufactured by foreigners. The lactating animals, of course, had been milked earlier in the day using imported equipment: milking machines (both robotic or not), pipelines, filters, intercoolers, bulk tanks, etc. Even the electricity these farmers use is imported occasionally. Apart from their own labour, land and other forms of natural capital, every other input required for raw milk production and every consumer good they own is either imported directly or assembled in Canada using inputs that at some stage where made from imports.
What is more disappointing than hypocrite farmers protesting against specialization and trade – the very things which makes everything in their daily lives possible — is their contempt for the consumers in Canada. Increased market access does not threaten Canadian raw milk producers. These farmers themselves recognize the availability of Indian-made Mirhanda tractors in Canada is not a threat to their continued purchases of John Deere tractors. For most producers, the perceived benefit per dollar spent on green paint is higher than for any other colour of equipment. Recognizing the reality that every one of us at every point in time also tries to maximize our benefit per dollar spent is what motivates the protesters. It is what they know about their own pursuits of their own separate self-interests that alarms them about a potential policy change.
The threat to the raw milk producer in Canada is not foreign suppliers of dairy products, it is Canadian consumers. Restricted market access protects Canadian raw milk producers from Canadian consumers who otherwise would buy more imported products. High tariffs protect Canadian raw milk producers from Canadian consumers who otherwise would buy more imported products. Supply restricting milk production quotas and price fixing protect Canadian raw milk producers from consumers who otherwise would buy more at lower prices. The system of supply management which limits the use of private property and restricts interpersonal exchange covertly expropriates benefits from consumers in Canada and transfers them to raw milk producers.
While consumers in Canada may not beware of this, raw milk producers certainly are. They know that if Canadian consumers really want a blue cow sticker on all the dairy products regardless of price then barriers to trade are not necessary. Market access could be increased to 100% and taxes levied on importers of dairy products could be reduced to zero. The reality is that consumers in Canada may not and likely do not have this set of preferences. This is the real source of the threat to their farm business and the resentment they have for their ultimate customers.