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Happy

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This is Pam Potthoff for Nebraska Women Involved in Farm Economics

Some issues get so bogged down in emotions that the facts get completely ignored. It seems to me that that Canadian border remaining closed is one of these issues. When we start talking about the satisfying taste of beef and the possibility that somehow the beef-eating experience might be curtailed, people get emotional. It's like Mom and Apple Pie, you just don't mess with something that good.



So I like to talk about imports in the context of something less emotional—like, say, onions. Now, people generally don't get real emotional about whether or not their onions are abundantly available, tender, and home-grown. Less than two years ago there was an outbreak of hepatitis in the eastern United State s. The source of the hepatitis was traced back to onions imported from Mexico. In Mexico untreated human waste is used to fertilize crops. This practice is not allowed in the United State s. So for the sake of this illustration, let's say that onions from Mexico are banned in the US. To make up for the lack of onions for our consumers, we begin importing onions from country X. Unknown to us, country X is bringing onions from Mexico into their country, re-bagging them with Country X shipping information, and sending them to us anyway. We have another outbreak of hepatitis. We discover that this outbreak is due to Mexican onions that have arrived through Country X. Who is responsible for the food safety of the onions? Country X who sold them to us or Mexico who grew them?



I think it would be Country X. This leads us back to beef. Canada has produced four cases of BSE. They test fewer cattle than we do in the US. If we run Canadian cattle through the US for guaranteeing that meat is BSE free. Why would we want to take on that additional responsibility? And why would our export customers want to take the risk? They are not importing Canadian beef directly so why would they want to get it through the back door?

The garbage being tossed around saying we must treat countries importing beef into the US as we want to be treated before our export customers will allow our beef to come in a misrepresentation of the issue. The US has not, and I repeat NOT, produced one case of BSE indigenous to the US. The one case here came from Canada. I believe our export customers are not as afraid of getting BSE from us as from us sending them Canadian beef through our system.

However, I may be completely naïve about this being an emotion issue and it might be strictly an economic propaganda issue. The huge multi-national companies depending on cheap imports from Canada to keep them from needing to purchase cattle at a fair price in the United States are loading the media, some gullible farm organizations, and certain elected officials who are known to be (and I quote) "in their pockets" (unquote) with misinformation skewed to make it appear that the border must be opened immediately.

Even the United State Department of Agriculture has failed to tell it like it really is. The idea that the USDA should write new "science-based", as they call them, rules for importation of BSE and ignore the international regulations established by the World Organization for Animal Health and the International Organization for Epizootic (OIE) is a gross show of arrogance and disregard for the health of the US consumers and the US cattle industry.

The Senate has passed the Resolution of Disapproval which calls for the nullification of the USDA Final Rule on the Canadian Border reopening to beef. H.J. Resolution 23 is the House version of this legislation instructing the USDA to remove its plans to reopen the border. However, House leadership has been reluctant to schedule a vote on the issue. At our Board of Director's meeting last Saturday WIFE passed a motion in support of HJ Resolution 23. We are urging all of you to contact your member in the House, and urge him to co-sign the Resolution of Disapproval and to contact the leadership in the House to ask for a full House vote. On March 2nd, Judge Richard F. Cebull in his statement addressing the R-CALF suit to keep the border closed said "reopening the border has substantial, irreparable consequences for cattle growers".



This issue may be emotional but that's because it has the potential to affect our health, our financial health, and, indeed, the financial health of our nation by keeping export markets closed to us because we cannot guarantee the safety of the meat we import. Please call your congressman today.



This has been Pam Potthoff for Nebraska Women Involved in Farm Economics.
 
The US has not, and I repeat NOT, produced one case of BSE indigenous to the US.

I think the issue is that you've never 'found' one case of BSE even though there are many allegations of cover ups on the part of the USDA and its inspectors.
 
Happy... the part of your speech I believe to be true is when you say "However I may be completly naive"
 
Happy said:
This is Pam Potthoff for Nebraska Women Involved in Farm Economics

Some issues get so bogged down in emotions that the facts get completely ignored.
This has been Pam Potthoff for Nebraska Women Involved in Farm Economics.

and pam has very effectivly demostrated for us how difficult it is to deal with this issue on a purely factual level.

she leaves us to think, by perspective that she presented, that it can't be done.
 
R-Calf logic:

Elected officials "in the pocket" of multinational corporations = bad.
Federal judges "in the pocket" of narrow-minded crybaby organizations = good.

Misinformation from multinational corporations and "gullible farm organizations" = bad.
Misinformation and baseless pandering rhetoric from narrow-minded crybaby organizations = good.

Tyson, Excel making a profit = bad.
Creekstone making a profit = good.

Human crap on onions is comparable to Canadian beef.

Immediate economic gratification = good.
Long-term economic stability = bad.

Canadian beef to South Korea = good.
Canadian beef to South Korea via U.S. = bad.


I pride myself on trying to see the other side of issues. However, for the life of me, I cannot fathom what these litigious, protectionist hypocrites are basing their logic upon.
 
Welcome Barry, another US beef producer with insight, thanks for posting here. There's only about 6 staunch R-calfers here compared to dozens of non, so welcome to the majority!
 
Ms. Pottoff, doesn't your organization have scruples enough to teach you that you must present proof when making outrageous allegations in a public place such as ranchers.net, that elected officials and/or organizations are in the pocket of anyone?

That is just the worst, certainly not the only foolish statement you made, IMO.

MRJ
 
Stand the comment up beside some of the ones coming out of R-Calf lately, and it doesn't sound quite so foolish. :D :wink:

Stand it up beside the Washington Post ad, and the necessity for proof becomes less of a requirement too. :wink:

Barry, check out fairmarketbeef.com. A group of Canadian cattlemen are suing R-Calf for damages, and lots of American producers are getting involved, and are very welcome to join.
 
"The US has not, and I repeat NOT, produced one case of BSE indigenous to the US. The one case here came from Canada. I believe our export customers are not as afraid of getting BSE from us as from us sending them Canadian beef through our system. "

I'm holding a rock in my hand. It keeps away elephants. Guess what, it's working.
This analogy is the same as the USDA, they say that they are testing, but as we have seen in the past few weeks, your system is not effective. Don't give me this bull.
 
happy,

well said. but you need to speak louder....there are too many Canadians here with thier head stuck in the sand to listen to reason.

what would be happening if it were the other way around??? the Canadians would be boasting about the BSE free meat, and bypassing us to the world market.

this he said she said crap is getting very tiresome.

only way to be fair is to close the Mexican border too. then COOL will be a mute point! all beef here IS AMERICAN why do we need to mark it???


Granted, the Canadian influence on my Hereford bulls is a trait I desire....however, the border can remain closed for as long as possible.


why sue R-CALF ? sue the feed guys in your own damned country, they are the ones who screwed you!
 
jigs:
only way to be fair is to close the Mexican border too. then COOL will be a mute point! all beef here IS AMERICAN why do we need to mark it???

Silly me, here I thought Canada and Mexico were part of America. Also, wouldn't want any beef getting down to Mexico, would we?
 
I am more worried over what we get stuck with from Mexico than how Canada trades with us.....ever hear of an INS raid and 50 Canadians running in fear??? Nope, didn't think so.....Mexico is where several other countries are dumping on the USA, and our govt. just sits there and watches it happen.

NAFTA sucks, and it is killing this country.
 
It seems some readers are unfortunately affected with optical rectalitis ( a really sh#tty attitude)...... I believe ms. Potthoff may be afflicted with the bovine (BS) form .......sure hope it doesn't degenerate into "FOOT IN MOUTH" :wink: :shock:
 
jigs said:
I am more worried over what we get stuck with from Mexico than how Canada trades with us.....ever hear of an INS raid and 50 Canadians running in fear??? Nope, didn't think so.....Mexico is where several other countries are dumping on the USA, and our govt. just sits there and watches it happen.

NAFTA sucks, and it is killing this country.

I agree .... And as CAFTA, AFTA, FTAA, and the other dozen agreements the corporate world pushs down our throats come to be , the Canadians will realize it too... It will and is slipping beef back into Canada- passed off as a product of the US!!! NAFTA was bad for the US cattleman and good for the Canadian cattleman- the rest will be no good for either.....
 
Oldtimer said:
jigs said:
I am more worried over what we get stuck with from Mexico than how Canada trades with us.....ever hear of an INS raid and 50 Canadians running in fear??? Nope, didn't think so.....Mexico is where several other countries are dumping on the USA, and our govt. just sits there and watches it happen.

NAFTA sucks, and it is killing this country.

I agree .... And as CAFTA, AFTA, FTAA, and the other dozen agreements the corporate world pushs down our throats come to be , the Canadians will realize it too... It will and is slipping beef back into Canada- passed off as a product of the US!!! NAFTA was bad for the US cattleman and good for the Canadian cattleman- the rest will be no good for either.....

NAFTA good for Canadian cattlemen? Don't think so sport. Never saw it change a damn thing up here, except our packers get swallowed up and head south. All NAFTA did for us was set us up for the fall caused by american protectionism.
 
Kato...Barry, check out fairmarketbeef.com. A group of Canadian cattlemen are suing R-Calf for damages, and lots of American producers are getting involved, and are very welcome to join.


I read where you Canadians are suing your own government also for $5.7 billion damages and another $81 million for punitive damages. They are claiming your government introduced a regulation in 1990 that speciffically allowed feeding of cattle parts to other cattle, the method through which mad cow disease is transmitted.

Looks to me like you are just throwing sh#t and hoping it sticks to something.
 
Looks to me like you are just throwing sh#t and hoping it sticks to something.[/quote]

Said the desert to the grain of sand.
 
R-calf is the sticky part, I'm sure if we keep throwing, something will stick!

Looks to me like you are just throwing sh#t and hoping it sticks to something.

Tommy, that sounds like a kids saying, something about rubber and glue!
 

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