June 15, 2004

 

 

BSE To Dominate Canada's World Meat Congress

 

Organizers of a major international meat conference hope this week's event brings Canada's beleaguered cattle producers one step closer to normal trade with the United States.

 

"The American government will be strongly represented at the World Meat Congress and there will be a number of us presenting the case for the safety of Canadian beef," said Ben Thorlakson, conference co-chair and chairman of the Canada Beef Export Federation.

 

"We're hoping to assist in moving this matter forward, we know we can only try."

 

But with more than 500 delegates in attendance, the majority of them processors of beef, sheep and pork, the conference is also an important opportunity to emphasize the importance of consistent, science-based agriculture policy for all sectors, said co-chair Bill Vaags, president of Canada Pork International.

 

"Our No. 1 thrust in this whole exercise these days is food safety, food quality," said Vaags.

 

"We're going into a whole new territory of traceability which was never identified 10, 12 years ago, and it is now becoming very much a big issue that will be dealt with by many speakers."

 

The theme of the congress, organized by the Paris-based International Meat Secretariat, is The World Meat Industry at a Crossroads.

 

Organizers say it is only fitting that Canada is hosting the event, held every two years, for the first time.

 

Canadian cattle producers are still reeling more than a year after a single outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, shut Canada out of the lucrative U.S. market.

 

Canada and the U.S. are also locked in trade battle over whether Canada is dumping hogs or unfairly subsidizing exports to the United States.

 

Despite repeated assertions from Canadian officials and industry organizations that there is no scientific reason to keep the border closed to live cattle, the U.S. government has not yet cleared the way.

 

Vaags and Thorlakson hope speakers such as Federal Agriculture Minister Bob Speller, Canada's chief veterinarian Brian Evans, Franz Fischler, the European Union's commissioner for agriculture, and numerous Canadian industry representatives, will help keep the science in perspective. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman is also scheduled to speak.

 

Some cattle producers and supporters hope to make their case to Veneman on Tuesday with a Walk-for-Beef that will culminate with a rally outside the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

 

Thorlakson said he hopes the walk, and the conference, also help boost sagging industry morale.

 

"We've had peaks and valleys, there's been despair, then hope, then optimism," said Thorlakson.

 

"Unless we see some sign of the border opening to live cattle, we're in a difficult situation with our lack of processing capacity here in Canada."