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National
Grange Opposes Lifting Ban on Canadian Beef WASHINGTON,
January 6, 2004 - After the recent confirmed case of mad cow disease in Canada,
the National Grange believes that the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) is acting too quickly in lifting a ban on importing live cattle from the
country. The
Grange, which is American's oldest agriculture and rural living advocacy group
in the U.S., advocates on behalf of farm and non-farm individuals and families
living in more than 3,000 rural communities with regard to a wide variety of legislative,
economic, educational, and family issues. Each year, more than 100,000 Grange
members help establish policies that the Grange works to bring to Congress's attention
in order to improve the prosperity of US agriculture. The
Grange opposes the USDA's recent ruling for several reasons: -
The Grange opposes the importation of animals or animal products from nations
with active cases of BSE. Nations with active cases of BSE should not be considered
"minimal risk" until no further evidence of BSE is found within the nation.
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The USDA proposes to accept cattle from Canada that is up to 30 months old. However,
the USDA has been actively negotiating new regulations to allow export of US cattle
and meat to Japan if the US cattle are no more than 21 months old. The USDA claims
the 30-month requirement is supported by science and international standards.
But, Japanese officials claim to have data showing BSE outbreaks in cattle as
early as 21 months of age.
The Grange believes that the USDA needs to
conduct further research on the science of BSE to develop a consistent standard
for the exportation and importation of cattle so that US consumers and foreign
customers are equally protected using the best available science. -
Importation of cattle from Canada is supposed to be strictly segregated and tracked
up until final processing under current USDA regulations. But, the US is already
in the midst of implementing an extensive animal identification program.
The
Grange believes policy coordination between the new US animal identification program
and the new Canadian animal identification program should be further worked out
before opening the broader. Otherwise, US farmers will be at a disadvantage in
the market. -
The USDA is in the midst of implementing mandatory Country of Origin Labeling
(COOL) regulations to allow consumers to make better-informed decisions about
the food they buy. However, the new importation regulations do not require that
Canadian beef products be imported with consumer labels indicating a Canadian
product. The USDA is not scheduled to complete its COOL regulations until 2006.
The Grange believes that a special exception should be made for cattle
imported from Canada under this program to require COOL on all imported Canadian
beef products immediately. Consumers, not the government, should make the final
decision as to whether beef from imported Canadian cattle meets a standard of
"minimal risk."
The
National Grange is actively working to influence the USDA and Congress to carefully
review the final rule and withdraw the proposed amendment to revise in conjunction
with the Grange's concerns. The National Grange represents the interests of more
than 100,000 farmers, ranchers, and rural citizens. |
