Agricultural News
R-CALF USA Accuses USDA of Failing to Protect Health and Safety of U.S. Cattle
Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:53:47 CDT
On the eve of the group's 12th annual convention, held August 26-27 in Rapid City, South Dakota, the 23 directors, committee chairs and officers of R-CALF USA sent a strong letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack criticizing him for his failure to strengthen the United States' previously weakened animal disease protections.
The letter states the Agriculture Secretary has failed miserably to maintain the health and safety of the U.S. cattle herd "and, hence, the safety and security of our U.S. beef supply."
The letter cites the following examples of the Agriculture Secretary's failures:
"Rather than take any steps to strengthen our previously weakened disease protections, you not only remained silent after Canada detected its 10th, 11th, and 12th cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), one in each of the years 2009, 2010, and 2011, in cattle that were age-eligible for export to the United States under the over-30-month rule; but also, you knowingly increased our cattle herd's risk of exposure to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). You did this by affirmatively proposing and subsequently finalizing a rule to allow imports of meat susceptible of harboring the FMD virus from a state within Brazil, which is a country that is not free of FMD. Also, you have not acted to prevent FMD live-virus research on the mainland even after the National Academy of Science concluded that it would be more likely than not that an outbreak of FMD would occur during the 50-year life span of the proposed research facility in Manhattan, Kansas. And, now we learn you are proposing yet another rule to further increase our cattle herd's risk of exposure by allowing the importation of fresh beef from 14 additional states in Brazil, which still is a country not free of FMD."
The letter continues, "Your inactions and actions described above are abhorrent. Whoever is counseling you apparently has no compunction for eroding consumer confidence in the safety and security of the U.S. beef supply or unnecessarily exposing our U.S. cattle herd to the world's ongoing disease problems. We are appalled."
R-CALF USA's frustration regarding the Agriculture Secretary's actions is readily apparent throughout the letter: "Your department's actions and inactions, in direct contradiction to our concerns, strongly indicate that your department's loyalties lie elsewhere rather than with U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers; and, it is apparent that your department believes the interests of United States cattle producers must, for some reason, be sacrificed for the good of some higher calling. We are unable to arrive at any alternative conclusion."
The letter further states the Agriculture Secretary misled and deceived R-CALF USA leaders regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) proposed rule for mandatory animal identification a rule the R-CALF USA leaders characterize as a rule designed to force U.S. cattle producers to manage other countries' disease problems. The letter cites USDA data that show 67 percent of all bovine tuberculosis cases detected at slaughter from 2003-2009 were found in cattle originating in foreign countries. The letter cited these data to demonstrate the Agriculture Secretary is attempting t o manage disease introductions rather than prevent them.
R-CALF USA members attending the group's 12th annual convention introduced and passed a resolution that specifically addresses USDA's newly proposed animal identification rule. The resolution states:
"WHEREAS: the USDA/APHIS proposed rule for Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) does not recognize the hot iron brand or tattooing as official animal identification.
WHEREAS: the USDA/APHIS proposed rule for Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) includes identifying livestock of all ages, not just the breeding herd.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that R-CALF USA opposes the USDA/APHIS proposed mandatory Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) rule."
R-CALF USA will now use its mail-out ballot system to send the resolution adopted at its annual convention to all of its thousands of cattle-producing members in 46 states so the group's entire cattle-owning membership can vote on whether this resolution becomes the official policy of R-CALF USA.
Click here to see a full copy of the letter sent to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.
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