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Dr. Janice C. Swanson, a Kansas State University animal scientist who tracts animal welfare issues, said that while foreign markets may provide an outlet for increased production by U.S. cattlemen, there are also political problems looming on the horizon. She said that she expects that as international economies develop, they try to increase the quality of protein in their diet. That means a rise in demand for animal products. Indeed, there has been a rise in meat demand and in exports for U.S. beef to almost every country in the world, except for a major market the U.S. needs -- the European Union, Swanson said. While there has been a decrease in beef exports to the European Union, it is a market U.S. producers need to closely investigate. These countries have farm animal protection, Swanson said. They have a lot of regulations concerning farm animals. "The beef hormone issue has come into play with regard to establishment of whether or not beef raised in feedlots with growth promotants is safe," Swanson said. While the U.S. was able to take the case to the WTO and establish the safety of its beef products, some member nations of the EU, most notably France, is still refusing to import U.S. beef. "We have to make sure that this doesn't lead to unjust discrimination or a trade barrier," Swanson said. However, there are provisions in the WTO general agreement that permit members to take measures that they feel are necessary to protect the public morals and the health and lives of humans, animals and plants. Theoretically, it is possible for countries that have stricter welfare standards than the U.S. for the production of farm animals to assert that since their public has higher standards of humane treatment, they may be able to justify not allowing certain products to come in from certain countries based on production procedures. "Right now, this has been totally untested, but it is being talked about," she said. Animal protection groups, particularly within the United Kingdom and throughout the EU are especially interested in looking at how they can use this. "They do have the strictest farm animal protection in the world," Swanson said of the EU. "At this point in the United States, there are no laws that tell you how to care for your animals at your facility or how to raise them. There are plenty of other things that you have to deal with in regard to environmental standards and so on, but there are no laws that address the care of farm animals in a commercial or private environment." Europe, on the other hand, has such laws. "They have high public sensitivity to these issues," Swanson said. "The public has expressed their feelings on a range of issues with regard to farm animal treatment and the transportation of those animals. "My advice is to keep your eye on the future with regard to how we develop a world trade," Swanson said. "This is something you need to keep an eye on. You need to keep involved in. You need to know more about. Most of us who are watching animal welfare issues are watching this very carefully." |
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