Cantwell Warns Senate Agriculture Committee of Threat Posed by Mad Cow Disease
Senator urges Committee not to rush to re-open border to beef imports;Asks for full investigation and closure of feed-ban loopholes
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today offered testimony to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry about the effects of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "Mad Cow disease," on U.S. imports and exports of cattle and beef. Cantwell noted that more than a year after the discovery of a cow with BSE in Mabton , Washington , the American cattle industry has yet to recover. Cantwell urged members of the Committee to support fully investigating the latest case of mad cow disease in Canada before making a decision on re-opening the border to Canadian live cattle and processed beef. She also asked them to close dangerous loopholes in the existing feed ban.
"I am here to share with the Committee that, despite our economic losses in Washington , my state's beef industry is unified," Cantwell said. "They believe USDA must carefully investigate the most recent Canadian BSE case, and leave the option of postponing implementation of this rule – and keeping the border closed – on the table while the investigation is on-going. The recent discoveries of BSE in Alberta raise serious questions regarding the extent of the BSE problem in Canada . These issues must be fully and fairly investigated without rushing to find an answer to meet the implementation deadline."
Cantwell noted that Washington state, which has a diverse beef industry comprised of ranchers, processors, and packers, has been particularly hard hit by the closure of foreign markets to American beef following the discovery of a cow with BSE in Mabton, Washington, in December 2003. Cantwell told members of the Committee that Washington beef exports totaled more than $270 million in 2003, but plummeted to less than $30 million in 2004. She also observed that more than a year later, the Washington state beef industry, like the U.S. beef industry at large, still has not recovered.
On January 14, 2005, Sen. Cantwell and Washington state agriculture leaders called on the Bush Administration to consider postponing new federal rules effective March 7, 2005 until the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) completes its investigation of the most recent Canadian Mad Cow case. At a press conference hosted by the Washington State Farm Bureau in Olympia, Cantwell released a letter to former Department of Agriculture Secretary Anne Veneman, and then nominee Mike Johanns calling for closer examination of the issue.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture published a rule on January 4, 2005 designating Canada as a "minimal-risk region" with respect to the occurrence of Mad Cow disease. The rule would resume imports of live Canadian cattle under 30 months of age, and expand the list of beef products allowed to be imported. Just days after the Administration announced the rule, another case of Mad Cow was discovered in Canada . Unlike previous cases, the most recent infected cow was born after Canada 's 1997 feed ban went into effect. The latest case calls into question whether Canada is fully enforcing its existing feed ban.
The 1997 feed ban was adopted by both the United States and Canada to prohibit feed containing cow parts from being fed to cows. Prohibitions on ruminant to ruminant feeding are considered by experts to be the most effective way to prevent the spread of Mad Cow disease. Moreover, while USDA's January 4 th rule wouldn't allow live cattle over 30 months of age to cross the border, the Canadian cow could have easily been slaughtered and sold in the U.S. as boxed beef, beef liver, or tallow.
The United States is sending a technical team from the USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to evaluate the circumstances surrounding Canada 's most recent case of Mad Cow. Cantwell is urging the USDA to make clear its commitment to the integrity and thoroughness of the APHIS technical team's efforts by delaying the reopening of the border until it is proven that the Canadian beef industry is safe and that Canada is enforcing the 1997 feed ban.
In December, Senator Cantwell also called upon the USDA to close additional feed loopholes in the United States.
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