Stabenow, Food & Water Watch disagree over BSE rule
November 04, 2013 | 03:22 PM
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on Friday said that the Agriculture Department’s decision to bring U.S. import regulations on mad cow disease will boost U.S. beef exports, but Food & Water Watch noted that the rule will allow the United States to import beef from Europe and could be related to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks.
When this rule on BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) takes effect, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will use the same criteria and categories that the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) uses to identify a country’s BSE risk status, USDA noted in a news release.
APHIS will base its import policy for a particular country on that country’s risk classification as determined by OIE’s risk evaluation and conduct its own analysis if the country does not have an OIE-determined status, USDA said. The rule will be published soon in the Federal Register and take effect 90 days after publication.
“I applaud USDA’s actions to make sure that America’s beef producers have access to new export markets,” Stabenow said.
“This effort is crucial to breaking down other countries’ unfounded trade barriers, and re-opening trade markets that are closed to U.S. beef,” she said. “American agriculture has long set the gold standard for food production and safety. Today’s actions will ensure U.S. beef producers can operate on a more level playing field and help grow our agriculture economy.”
Stabenow cited Mexico as a prime example of a country's use of non-science-based standards have significantly limited U.S. producers’ ability to sell beef, noting that since 2004 Mexico hasn’t allowed the importation of U.S. cattle that are over 30 months of age.
But Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, noted that the rule will lift restrictions on countries “that are considered to have ‘minimal risk’ of the disease in their animal herds” and said, “This seems to be another case of trade trumping food safety.”
U.S. imports of beef from European Union have been minimal due to concerns about mad cow disease, but Hunter noted that the reopening of beef trade with Europe has been an issue under discussion in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations.
“The new policy will allow Europe to increase its beef exports dramatically in exchange, we expect, for a quid pro quo,” Hauter said. “Will the Europeans drop their objections to the U.S. cattle industry’s use of bovine growth hormones or to the use of chlorine in poultry processing?”
The European Commission welcomed the rule in a news release, noting, “This will mean that EU beef and other bovine products will again be allowed for U.S. export. The U.S. market has been closed since January 1998 when the U.S. imposed a ban on EU beef on BSE grounds. The re-opening is a welcome, albeit late, step to abolish the unjustified ban and to re-establish normal trading conditions.”
When this rule on BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) takes effect, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will use the same criteria and categories that the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) uses to identify a country’s BSE risk status, USDA noted in a news release.
APHIS will base its import policy for a particular country on that country’s risk classification as determined by OIE’s risk evaluation and conduct its own analysis if the country does not have an OIE-determined status, USDA said. The rule will be published soon in the Federal Register and take effect 90 days after publication.
“I applaud USDA’s actions to make sure that America’s beef producers have access to new export markets,” Stabenow said.
“This effort is crucial to breaking down other countries’ unfounded trade barriers, and re-opening trade markets that are closed to U.S. beef,” she said. “American agriculture has long set the gold standard for food production and safety. Today’s actions will ensure U.S. beef producers can operate on a more level playing field and help grow our agriculture economy.”
Stabenow cited Mexico as a prime example of a country's use of non-science-based standards have significantly limited U.S. producers’ ability to sell beef, noting that since 2004 Mexico hasn’t allowed the importation of U.S. cattle that are over 30 months of age.
But Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, noted that the rule will lift restrictions on countries “that are considered to have ‘minimal risk’ of the disease in their animal herds” and said, “This seems to be another case of trade trumping food safety.”
U.S. imports of beef from European Union have been minimal due to concerns about mad cow disease, but Hunter noted that the reopening of beef trade with Europe has been an issue under discussion in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations.
“The new policy will allow Europe to increase its beef exports dramatically in exchange, we expect, for a quid pro quo,” Hauter said. “Will the Europeans drop their objections to the U.S. cattle industry’s use of bovine growth hormones or to the use of chlorine in poultry processing?”
The European Commission welcomed the rule in a news release, noting, “This will mean that EU beef and other bovine products will again be allowed for U.S. export. The U.S. market has been closed since January 1998 when the U.S. imposed a ban on EU beef on BSE grounds. The re-opening is a welcome, albeit late, step to abolish the unjustified ban and to re-establish normal trading conditions.”
