The Hard Truth About Agriculture: Trent Loos and Lonnie Avril Expose Industry Crises on Thanksgiving
He explains how the PMU industry was devastated by cancer fears that were later proven false, leaving many ranchers without a market after investing heavily in safe and efficient facilities.
Lonnie goes on to describe a major crisis in the late 1990s involving mandatory vaccinations for rhinopneumonitis (equine herpes virus). He refused the controversial third booster, while nine quarter horse mares belonging to a friend received all three shots. The results were shocking—four of the nine vaccinated mares aborted due to the virus, compared to just two losses out of Lonnie’s own 160 unboosted mares. This incident fueled deep distrust in pharmaceutical mandates and raised tough questions about oversight and accountability.
The discussion widens to other massive agricultural disasters like PED virus, which wiped out millions of pigs in 2015, and the BSE crisis that hit the beef industry hard. Trent and Lonnie argue that many of these outbreaks were made worse by large corporate and pharmaceutical influence, ultimately hurting farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. They also explore political and constitutional issues in Canada, stressing the importance of strong local leadership and community involvement to protect agriculture and preserve rural livelihoods.
This episode delivers a bold and unfiltered look at the pressures facing modern agriculture and why these issues matter more than ever.
