NCBA Statement on Hearing of U.S. Court of Appeals Case
"Science Deserves it Day in Court"
Jim McAdams
Adkins, Texas cattle producer and President, NCBA
July 12, 2005
"Since NCBA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, some have questioned the intent of NCBA, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the 29 state cattle organizations that jointly signed this brief. These questions and criticism have come despite us making our intent crystal clear the day we filed the brief, April 21, 2005.
"So let us restate our intent with complete clarity: We have filed this brief to ensure the safety of beef has its day in court. We call on the people who have repeatedly attacked the safety of our product in the media and to producers directly to stop. Their efforts are slanderous and misleading to the industry they profess to serve.
"The science that says beef is safe from BSE was not represented in the decision issued by the district court in Montana. The judge's conclusion that this rule 'presents a genuine risk of death for U.S. consumers' is simply not based on science.
"We will not let statements that question the safety of beef and the safety of our consumers go unchallenged. We will not let statements like the one above jeopardize consumer confidence in our beef supply, when consumers have every reason to believe in its safety.
"BSE experts from around the world, including those from the World Organization for Animal Health, agree that BSE is not a public health or herd health risk when key firewalls are in place to protect consumers and cattle, even when a low incidence of BSE is found within a country's borders. The United States cattle and beef industries have these firewalls in place, as does Canada.
"That is why the announcement of a second BSE case, this time domestic, has nothing to do with the safety of beef or the health of our animal herd.
"We remove from the food supply materials that would most likely carry the BSE agent. This process happens every day with every animal to ensure this diminishing disease has no affect on public health.
"Likewise, to protect our cattle herds, we have a feed ban with an extremely high level of compliance. U.S. cattlemen through the NCBA pushed for the feed ban back in 1996, and it became law in 1997. The feed ban prohibits feeding ruminant-derived protein to cattle. BSE is not contagious; the disease is only known to spread through feed, so the feed ban breaks the cycle and helps assure the disease will be eliminated.
"Through the enhanced BSE Surveillance Program, we have now tested more than 400,000 cattle for this disease, and we have found only one positive case, in a 12-year-old cow born before the feed ban. This confirms our firewalls are working and the prevalence of this disease in the United States is extremely low.
"The only way we can create profit opportunities for cattlemen in the global marketplace, where 96 percent of the world's population lives, is to trade based on sound science, the same science that says beef is safe from BSE. Global demand for the high-quality beef U.S. cattlemen produce is what will grow our industry and ensure a future for the next generation of cattlemen."
"Science Deserves it Day in Court"
Jim McAdams
Adkins, Texas cattle producer and President, NCBA
July 12, 2005
"Since NCBA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, some have questioned the intent of NCBA, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the 29 state cattle organizations that jointly signed this brief. These questions and criticism have come despite us making our intent crystal clear the day we filed the brief, April 21, 2005.
"So let us restate our intent with complete clarity: We have filed this brief to ensure the safety of beef has its day in court. We call on the people who have repeatedly attacked the safety of our product in the media and to producers directly to stop. Their efforts are slanderous and misleading to the industry they profess to serve.
"The science that says beef is safe from BSE was not represented in the decision issued by the district court in Montana. The judge's conclusion that this rule 'presents a genuine risk of death for U.S. consumers' is simply not based on science.
"We will not let statements that question the safety of beef and the safety of our consumers go unchallenged. We will not let statements like the one above jeopardize consumer confidence in our beef supply, when consumers have every reason to believe in its safety.
"BSE experts from around the world, including those from the World Organization for Animal Health, agree that BSE is not a public health or herd health risk when key firewalls are in place to protect consumers and cattle, even when a low incidence of BSE is found within a country's borders. The United States cattle and beef industries have these firewalls in place, as does Canada.
"That is why the announcement of a second BSE case, this time domestic, has nothing to do with the safety of beef or the health of our animal herd.
"We remove from the food supply materials that would most likely carry the BSE agent. This process happens every day with every animal to ensure this diminishing disease has no affect on public health.
"Likewise, to protect our cattle herds, we have a feed ban with an extremely high level of compliance. U.S. cattlemen through the NCBA pushed for the feed ban back in 1996, and it became law in 1997. The feed ban prohibits feeding ruminant-derived protein to cattle. BSE is not contagious; the disease is only known to spread through feed, so the feed ban breaks the cycle and helps assure the disease will be eliminated.
"Through the enhanced BSE Surveillance Program, we have now tested more than 400,000 cattle for this disease, and we have found only one positive case, in a 12-year-old cow born before the feed ban. This confirms our firewalls are working and the prevalence of this disease in the United States is extremely low.
"The only way we can create profit opportunities for cattlemen in the global marketplace, where 96 percent of the world's population lives, is to trade based on sound science, the same science that says beef is safe from BSE. Global demand for the high-quality beef U.S. cattlemen produce is what will grow our industry and ensure a future for the next generation of cattlemen."
