USDA agrees to imports of fresh beef from Brazil

Despite real concerns for food safety and Foot and Mouth Disease transmission, the United Statas Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to open up their respective markets to fresh beef exports (http://www.cattlenetwork.com/news/industry/us-opens-brazil-fresh-beef-imports). According to the Cattlenetwork article, the World Health Organization has maintained Brazil’s status as a country with a significant risk of disease. USDA Animal Plant and Inspection Service provided an example of the economic impact to the US in their 2015 Ready Reference Guide—Overview of FMD Vaccine Issues pamphlet. They noted that modeled outbreak by Tim Carpenter et al. (2011), offered a median national loss in national agricultural surplus (including direct and indirect costs) from $2.3 to $69 billion.

Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter hopes to boost its exports to the US by $900 million. The opportunity for equal or equitable trade or exports by the US to Brazil are limited as the US has very little of trade interest to offer to Brazil at the current time according to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is an aggressive virus that had devastating effects to the livestock industry of Britain in 2001 when over 10 million animals were harvested to halt the disease. The virus would affect cows, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, and other animals with divided hooves. The last time the US had an outbreak, US pigs were fed meat scraps from a tourist ship from Argentina in 1929. Our current and modern modes of commerce, trade and travel are by far more widespread, far-reaching and significantly more rapid than in 1929 thus allowing pathogens such as the FMD virus many more rapid and effective routes and means of invasion.

Recent examples of such viruses gone rogue, include the strain of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus which the USDA could not identify how it entered the US, that killed over 10 million pigs in 2013. The bird flu virus that killed over 15 million domestic poultry in the US and is now harbored in our wild duck populations. Despite efforts of USDA to stop the spread of this virus the virus has adapted to transport on vehicles and wind to move far distances. More recent encounters with viruses have also proven challenging to manage. Virus invasions like HIV, Ebola and Zika are currently using humans as vectors, reservoirs as well as victims in their transmission.

It cannot be overemphasized that the wild pig population in the US would become a significant and virtually an unmanageable pathway for FMD virus to move should the virus be imported. Should the FMD virus become established in the wild pig population of the US it would be impossible to eradicate. It would simply become an established and continual threat to the livestock industry, other wildlife as well as the human population of America. Brazil is currently vaccinating to control FMD. Consumers will only be able to identify the Brazilian imported beef if the retail company is willing to label its product as such, as there is no Country of Origin Labeling rule for beef.