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This new book gathers information related to Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease. It is far from clear
whether adequate measures are being taken in America to protect the
people from this terrifying disease. The major problem is a
tug-of-war between the desires of the meat processors to maximise
profits and the people to be protected. The USDA has so far
maintained a solid record which may be tested in the near future.
U.S. officials continue to assert that the U.S. food supply,
including the portion provided through imports, is among the safest
in the world. One challenge has been how to keep it safe in the
face of rapidly rising imports, a result of globalization and
consumer desire for a wider variety of foods year-round. The issue
of import safety has been the focus of numerous congressional
hearings in the 110th Congress, where a variety of bills have been
offered on the subject.
Many animal producers support establishment of a nationwide
identification (ID) system capable of quickly tracking animals from
birth to slaughter. While they believe such a system is needed to
better deal with animal diseases or meet foreign market
specifications, some consumer groups and others believe it also
would be useful for food safety or retail informational purposes -
and that the program should be able to trace meat products through
processing and consumption. However, despite years of effort on at
least an animal ID program for disease purposes, many contentious
issues remain unresolved. For example, should it be mandatory or
voluntary? What types of information should be collected, on what
animal species, and who should hold it, government or private
entities? How much will it cost, and who should pay? Following the
first U.S. report of a cow with BSE (bovine spongiform
encephalopathy or "mad cow disease") in late December 2003, the
Secretary of Agriculture promised to take the lead in implementing
an animal ID program capable of identifying all animals of interest
within 48 hours of a disease discovery (BSE or other). The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) has committed, through FY2006, $85
million to this effort, and all states now have systems for
registering animal premises. Some industry groups and lawmakers
have criticized USDA for moving too slowly and/or not providing a
clearer path toward a universal ID program. Others believe that
USDA's progress to date simply reflects the deep divisions among
producers and other interests over the many unresolved questions. A
few livestock producers oppose any effort to establish broader
programs, fearing they will be costly and intrusive.
Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures refer to any of the laws,
rules, standards, and procedures that governments employ to protect
humans, other animals, and plants from diseases, pests, toxins, and
other contaminants. Examples of SPS measures include meat and
poultry processing standards to reduce pathogens, residue limits
for pesticides in foods, and regulation of agricultural
biotechnology.
Section 32 is a permanent appropriation that since 1935 has
earmarked the equivalent of 30% of annual customs receipts to
support the farm sector through a variety of activities. Today,
most of this annual appropriation is transferred to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) account that funds child nutrition
programs (i.e., $5.7 billion transferred of approximately $7
billion total). However, the Secretary of Agriculture has long had
broad discretion in how to spend the nontransferred (unobligated
and carry-over) money, which now amounts to approximately $1.5
billion annually. The Secretary historically has chosen to use much
of this non-transferred money to purchase non-price-supported
commodities like meats, poultry, fruits, vegetables, and fish,
which are diverted to school lunch and other domestic food
programs; and to fund farm economic and disaster relief activities,
among other things.
Animal agriculture is being transformed by rapid advances in
biotechnology-a term that encompasses a variety of technologies,
including genetic engineering (GE), genetic modification,
transgenics, recombinant DNA techniques, and cloning, among others.
Producers are interested in the application of biotechnology to
improve productivity, consistency, and quality; to introduce new
food, fiber, and medical products; and to protect the environment.
Potential human health applications of transgenic animals include
producing biopharmaceuticals and generating organs, tissues, and
cells for xenotransplantation. Criticisms of such applications
involve issues ranging from food safety and social resistance to
potential negative impacts on animal welfare and on ecosystems.
Questions also have arisen about the adequacy of the current
regulatory structure to assess and manage any risks created by
these technologies.
On 31 January 2007, the Secretary of Agriculture publicly released
a set of recommendations for a 2007 farm bill. The proposal is
comprehensive and follows largely the outline of the current 2002
farm bill, which expires this year. It includes proposals regarding
commodity support, conservation, trade, nutrition and domestic food
assistance, farm credit, rural development, agricultural research,
forestry, energy, and such miscellaneous items as crop insurance,
organic programs, and Section 32 purchases of fruits and
vegetables. The Administration delivered its report to Congress,
not as a bill, but as a possible focus for debate and a foundation
for developing legislation. The author has received many questions
about the content of and potential issues related to the
Administration proposal. Given the early stage of the debate, this
book poses some questions that may contribute to a better
understanding of the proposal. The book contains a brief
description of current policy on each topic, a short explanation of
the Administration's proposals, and then questions of a policy,
program, and/or budgetary nature.
This book presents important analyses of current issues in BSE
(bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "mad cow disease") as a fatal
neurological disease of cattle, believed to be transmitted mainly
by feeding infected cattle parts back to cattle. More than 187,000
cases have been reported world-wide, 183,000 of them in the United
Kingdom (UK) where BSE was first identified in 1986. The annual
number of new cases has declined steeply since 1992. Humans who eat
contaminated beef are believed susceptible to a rare but fatal
brain wasting disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).
About 160 people have been diagnosed with vCJD since 1986, most in
the UK and none linked to any Canadian or U.S. meat consumption.
Through mid-May 2007, the United States had confirmed three cases
of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease"):
the first in December 2003 in a Canadian-born cow found in
Washington state, the second in June 2005 in cow in Texas, and the
third in March 2006 in a cow in Alabama. Shortly after the first
case, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other officials
announced measures to improve existing safeguards against the
introduction and spread of BSE. Previously, the major safeguards
were: (1) USDA restrictions on imports of ruminants and their
products from countries with BSE; (2) a ban on feeding most
mammalian proteins to cattle and other ruminants, issued by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and (3) a targeted domestic
surveillance program by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS), the agency responsible for animal health
monitoring and disease control.
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