December 04, 2003

 

 

Minnesota Farmers Union Call For USDA To Resist Canada Cattle Imports

 

Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) delegates called for USDA to keep the Canadian border closed to cattle imports.

 

The resolution passed unanimously, with the support of all 200 delegates in attendance at the annual convention November 22-23.

 

The delegates said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman should follow World Organization for Animal Health guidelines in deciding when to open the border.

 

World Organization for Animal Health guidelines say countries should be free of the disease for seven years or for four years with extensive testing, said Tim Henning of Lismore, a convention delegate.

 

USDA is accepting comments on amending bovine spongiform encephalopathy regulations. The regulations would create a new category of regions that have a minimal risk of introducing BSE into the United States through importation of cattle or meat. Comments will be accepted through January 5.

 

Canada would be included on the list and would be then eligible to export certain animals and animal products to the United States.

 

"The United States has a long history of having safeguards in place to prevent the introduction of BSE," Veneman said in a press release. "The continued protection of the U.S. food supply is our top priority. This proposal reflects a thorough review of the scientific evidence, which shows the risk to public health to be extremely low."

 

USDA believes that the surveillance, prevention and control measures implemented by Canada are sufficient to be included in the minimal risk category, Veneman said.

 

The MFU delegates aren't so sure. Henning said sound science would dictate that animals less than 30 months of age could not be infected. An animal less than 30 months of age has been found to be infected with BSE, or Mad Cow, in Japan, he said.

 

"So the impossible has happened," Henning said.

 

If an infected animal were to get into the meat supply, the U.S. beef industry would be devastated, he said. An E-coli scare causes demand to fall off, he said, questioning what would a Mad Cow incident would do to consumer confidence.

 

Canadian farmers are struggling with the export ban, receiving less than $1,000 for cull cows, a delegate said.

 

"I'm not so concerned about the Canadian industry as I am about our industry," Henning said.

 

BSE is not contagious between animals and is most likely contracted by animals eating infected feed.

The MFU resolution calls for the Canadian border to remain closed until mandatory Country of Origin labeling is put in place in the United States.

 

In this way, consumers would know where their meat is coming from, Henning said. Now, there is no way of knowing where meat in the grocer's meat case is from.

 

"That's why the country of origin labeling is so important," he said.

 

Congress last week delayed mandatory country of origin labeling until September 30, 2006, with another vote expected when lawmakers return.

 

"We in Farmers Union like to think we dodged another bullet and lived to fight another day on that issue," Henning said. "We've been fighting this one a long time."