• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

First Canada-Now Japan- USDA throws open the door!!!

Help Support Ranchers.net:

A

Anonymous

Guest
USDA proposes to ease mad cow ban on Japan beef By Randy Fabi
Tue Aug 16, 6:29 PM ET



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday proposed allowing imports of Japan's Kobe beef, easing a nearly four-year ban imposed because of mad cow disease concerns.

An activist farm group criticized the proposed rule, saying the USDA was sacrificing U.S. food safety to appease the Japanese government.

"We are having to compromise our health and safety standards in order to restore that market," said Bill Bullard, chief executive of ranchers group R-CALF USA.

The United States banned Japanese beef imports after the Asian country discovered its first case of mad cow disease in September 2001. Japan has found more than a dozen new cases since then.

Japan took similar action after the United States found its first case of the brain-wasting disease in a Washington state dairy cow in December 2003.

As part of a trade pact reached last October, the USDA agreed to conduct a risk assessment on Japan's Kobe beef with a view to resume imports so both countries can reopen their borders in tandem.

Jim Rogers, spokesman for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said the proposed rule was not connected to U.S. efforts in reopening Japan's borders to U.S. beef.

"If any country asked us for the same thing, we would do something similar," Rogers said.

MAD COW RISK?

R-CALF said Japanese beef was not safe for U.S. consumers because it only recently implemented a ban prohibiting the use of cattle remains to feed other cattle. The restriction is viewed as the main safeguard in preventing the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy ( BSE).

Under the proposed rule, the USDA said it would allow Japanese boneless cuts of beef from government certified plants that do not use certain stunning techniques to kill cattle.

The rule will be published in Thursday's Federal Register. Industry groups, consumer advocates and other interested parties have until September 19 to submit comments, the USDA said.

Kobe beef, a delicacy that commands more than $100 per pound in Japan, comes from Wagyu cattle massaged with sake and fed a diet enriched with beer to stimulate their appetite.

The United States imported about $800,000 worth of Kobe beef annually before the ban, the USDA said.
 
Thought this fit in here somewhere.

jobscam.jpg
 
Mike said:
Japanese cattle are tested on the kill floor.

Their federal government has dropped that requirement on all cattle-only testing the OTM- altho the local governments have been continuing the practice on their own for their consumers-- altho I don't know if they plan to for the US.
 
Did you guys catch this?

As part of a trade pact reached last October, the USDA agreed to conduct a risk assessment on Japan's Kobe beef with a view to resume imports so both countries can reopen their borders in tandem.

Jim Rogers, spokesman for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said the proposed rule was not connected to U.S. efforts in reopening Japan's borders to U.S. beef.

These statements were in adjoining paragraphs! :shock: And the Ninth Circuit says we should defer to these guys? :roll:

I guess I have no problem as long as long as their beef is tested and they open up to us 100%.
 
Oldtimer said:
Mike said:
Japanese cattle are tested on the kill floor.

Their federal government has dropped that requirement on all cattle-only testing the OTM- altho the local governments have been continuing the practice on their own for their consumers-- altho I don't know if they plan to for the US.

The only reason testing of all cattle is still being conducted is there is government funding which will expire in one year. It costs the individual regions nothing to test. As soon as the funding ceases, in one year, I am quite certain they will test only cattle over twenty months of age. By that time they may revert to testing only cattle over thirty months.
 
It's also woth pointing out that the Japanese dropped the under 20 month testing requirement under a huge amount of pressure from the US gov't. To then turn around and say their beef is unsafe is just stupid.
 
Silver said:
It's also woth pointing out that the Japanese dropped the under 20 month testing requirement under a huge amount of pressure from the US gov't. To then turn around and say their beef is unsafe is just stupid.

In the case of Japan, it it's untested, it's unsafe.

I don't think it matters what their age limit is, they still aren't taking our beef.
 
NCBA update

USDA to Publish a Proposed Rule in the Federal Register on Japanese Trade


Tomorrow (8 / 18 ), USDA will publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register to amend regulations to allow, under certain circumstances, the importation of whole cuts of boneless beef from Japan.

There will be a 30-day comment period. NCBA will evaluate this rule.

This rule will undoubtedly create conversation among cattlemen. While we evaluate this rule and its implications for our industry and ongoing trade negotiations with Japan, we wanted to share these important points:

Historically, annual imports from Japan have been very small, roughly one-half of a semi-tractor trailer load. They have never exceded more than one trailer load, which is about 39,500 pounds.

I don't care how much, it just opens the doors to other countryies now!!!!

This is a product with an average imported price of around $45 per pound.
This product will not jeopardize the safety of our consumers. BSE infectivity has never been found in muscle tissue.
The rule would allow for the importation of whole cuts of boneless beef with no age restriction provided that the beef meets the requirements under the Federal Meat Inspection Act as enforced by FSIS. This Act ensures that countries who export meat to the United Staes have an inspection system equivalent to the U.S. meat inspection system. It would require the removal of SRM and prohibit the use of air-injection or captive-bolt stunning.

No age restrictions, so does that mean they will take all of ours? Are we just lowering some more standards to put $$ in someone's pockets?

Our number one priority is getting trade back to normal and giving our beef a chance to compete on the global market, and we are insisting the Administration and USDA continue to make this their top priority.
 
Sandhusker said:
Silver said:
It's also woth pointing out that the Japanese dropped the under 20 month testing requirement under a huge amount of pressure from the US gov't. To then turn around and say their beef is unsafe is just stupid.

In the case of Japan, it it's untested, it's unsafe.

I don't think it matters what their age limit is, they still aren't taking our beef.

and you were not taking theirs even when it was tested
 
Sandhusker said:
Silver said:
It's also woth pointing out that the Japanese dropped the under 20 month testing requirement under a huge amount of pressure from the US gov't. To then turn around and say their beef is unsafe is just stupid.

In the case of Japan, it it's untested, it's unsafe.

I don't think it matters what their age limit is, they still aren't taking our beef.

Why is it that all health issue will seem to fade away once the US exports are opened back up. Sandhusker if Japan agrees to take US beef will you agree to take Japanese beef? R-CALF has also said that the USDA could open the Canadian border if the US exports to the Asian markets were open. What happens to the genuine risk of death Canadian beef is supposed to cause once your exports open up? :???:
 
So Rancher What you are saying is you don't care what you ship to other countries as long as what you eat is the worlds safest beef right. :wink:
 
rancher said:
What happens to the genuine risk of death Canadian beef is supposed to cause once your exports open up?

We ship it to Japan. :D


Rancher- so you'll be giving those Japanese a quality product when you ship good ole Canadian beef over there. :wink: :wink: :wink:
 
Tam said:
Sandhusker said:
Silver said:
It's also woth pointing out that the Japanese dropped the under 20 month testing requirement under a huge amount of pressure from the US gov't. To then turn around and say their beef is unsafe is just stupid.

In the case of Japan, it it's untested, it's unsafe.

I don't think it matters what their age limit is, they still aren't taking our beef.

Why is it that all health issue will seem to fade away once the US exports are opened back up. Sandhusker if Japan agrees to take US beef will you agree to take Japanese beef? R-CALF has also said that the USDA could open the Canadian border if the US exports to the Asian markets were open. What happens to the genuine risk of death Canadian beef is supposed to cause once your exports open up? :???:

How have the health issues faded? If Japan takes our beef, I say we take their TESTED beef, but not before. If they demand our beef be tested, fine.

Tam, you get NCBA, USDA, and R-CALF mixed way too much. It was NCBA, not R-CALF who was cool with the border opening as long as the Asian markets opened. Remember that 11 point directive membership passed and leadership violated?
 
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Japan: consumers' food safety perceptions and willingness to pay for tested beef

Authors: McCluskey, Jill J. 1; Grimsrud, Kristine M. 1; Ouchi, Hiromi 2; Wahl, Thomas I. 2

Source: The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Volume 49, Number 2, June 2005, pp. 197-209(13)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
< previous article | next article > view search results


full text options



Abstract:
The discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as 'mad cow disease', in Japan caused anxiety about consuming beef and beef products. As a result, there was a sudden fall in sales of beef that hurt the Japanese beef industry as well as major beef exporters to Japan. We analyse factors that affect Japanese consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) price premiums for BSE-tested beef and estimate the mean WTP for BSE-tested beef using data obtained from a consumer survey in Japan. A single-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation model is used to recover the premium amount. We find that attitudes to food safety, reduction in beef consumption following the BSE outbreak, and being female all have a statistically significant positive effect on the WTP for BSE-tested beef. Interestingly, demographic variables such as age and income do not affect the WTP, possibly indicating that the BSE scare similarly affected multiple segments of the population. In our sample, consumers are willing to pay a premium on average of greater than 50 per cent for BSE-tested beef.

Keywords: beef; bovine spongiform encephalopathy; Japan

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.2005.00282.x

Affiliations: 1: Jill J. McCluskey ( ) is an Associate Professor at the School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA. Kristine M. Grimsrud is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, University of New Mexico, Al 2: Jill J. McCluskey ( ) is an Associate Professor at the School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA. Kristine M. Grimsrud is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, University of New Mexico, Al
 

Latest posts

Top