건강과 대안 » 캘리포니아

[광우병] 美 캘리포니아 도축장에서 광우병 가능성 소 도축 의혹

건강과대안 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:34:16 +0000

USDA closes California slaughterhouse over cow cruelty video

By Mary Slosson | Reuters – Tue, Aug 21, 2012

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture shut down a slaughterhouse in California’s central agricultural heartland because of a graphic video showing cows being mistreated during the slaughtering process, officials and activists said on Tuesday.

The agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement that it was conducting an investigation and that inhumane treatment of animals was unacceptable.

“Upon confirming several humane handling violations, (the Food Safety and Inspection Service) suspended operations at the facility and is prepared to take further action as warranted by the investigation,” the statement said.

The plant was shut down on Sunday, the USDA said, and several teams of investigators were sent to California.

Video of the facility posted online by activist group Compassion Over Killing, shows cows at the Central Valley Meat Company flailing wildly as they are dragged by one leg on a conveyor belt on their way to be slaughtered.

Video shows other lame, sick former dairy cows being shot in the head multiple times and struggling before they die. In one portion of the video, a worker stands on a cow’s nostrils to kill it after the cow is shot in the head.

The video also shows cows that appear to have difficulty standing being electrically prodded to walk on their way to slaughter. The USDA does not allow cows that cannot stand on their own to enter the food supply.

The USDA said in a statement after activists posted the video online that footage provided to them did not show a “downer” cow entering the food supply, but added they would investigate food safety as well as humane treatment issues.

The farm, based 30 miles south of Fresno in rural Hanford, supplies meat to the National School Lunch Program, according to the activist group.

California-based fast-food chain In-N-Out Burger immediately suspended its relationship with the farm after hearing of the investigation, the company’s chief operating officer, Mark Taylor, said in a statement.

“Central Valley Meat was one of several companies that supplied the beef chucks we use to make our hamburger patties,” he said. “As soon as we became aware of the allegations regarding Central Valley Meat Company and their handling of cattle, we immediately severed our supplier relationship with them.”

Central Valley Meat Company said in a statement emailed to Reuters that it was “extremely disturbed” to find it was suspended because of a third-party video, but noted it would cooperate fully with the USDA investigation.

“We take these allegations seriously and we are committed to correcting any problems identified on the video as quickly as we can,” the company said, adding that it had retained an outside animal welfare expert to conduct an internal investigation.

An undercover activist shot the video at the farm in June and July, the animal rights group said.

In 2008, the Humane Society of the United States captured employees of a California meatpacking plant in Chino torturing cattle and processing the unfit animals for human consumption in a gruesome undercover videotape.

That video’s release led to the record recall of nearly 143 million pounds (65 million kg) of meat by the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company.

(Reporting by Mary Slosson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bill Trott)

=======================

Compassion Over Killing 폭로 동영상 (http://www.cok.net/californiacows/)

========================

美 캘리포니아 도축장에서 광우병 가능성 소 도축 의혹
농무부, 조사 착수

황수현기자 sooh@hk.co.kr

출처 : 한국일보 입력시간 : 2012.08.22 21:07:09 수정시간 : 2012.08.23 08:54:09
http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/world/201208/h2012082221070922470.htm

미국캘리포니아주 핸퍼드에 있는 도축장에서 소가 쇠사슬에 거꾸로 묶여 발버둥 치고 있다. 센트럴밸리미트가 운영하는 이 도축장에서 광우병 감염 가능성이 있는 앉은뱅이 소를 비인도적 방식으로 도축했다는 의혹이 제기돼 미 농무부가 조사에 나섰다. 핸퍼드=AP=연합뉴스

미국 캘리포니아의 도축장에서 광우병 감염 가능성이 있는 앉은뱅이 소(다우너 소)를 도축했다는 의혹이 제기됐다. 미 농무부(USDA)는 즉시 도축장을 폐쇄하고 조사에 착수했다.

미 abc 방송은 캘리포니아주 핸퍼드에 있는 센트럴밸리미트사가 앉은뱅이 소를 비인도적 방식으로 도축하는 영상이 공개됐다고 20일 보도했다. 동물복지단체 컴패션 오버 킬링이 2주에 걸쳐 비밀 촬영한 영상에는 도축장 직원이 걷지 못하는 소를 전기봉으로 지지거나 누워 있는 소의 주둥이를 발로 밟는 장면이 나온다.

소가 걷지 못하는 이유가 질병에 감염됐기 때문인지 학대를 당해서인지는 알려지지 않았으나 이 단체는 질병 감염 가능성이 있는 앉은뱅이 소가 도축됐을 수 있다고 의혹을 제기했다.

에리카 메이어 대표는 영상과 관련해 “가축 학대 및 식품 안전이 우려된다”고 말했다. 센트럴밸리미트는 미 공립학교 점심 급식과 유명 햄버거 체인인 인앤아웃 버거에 쇠고기를 공급하고 있어 논란은 더욱 커질 전망이다.

그러나 이 도축장에서 도축된 소가 질병에 감염됐다는 증거는 아직 없어 농무부는 쇠고기 리콜 명령은 내리지 않았다. 농무부는 이날 “비인도적인 가축취급규정 위반 행위를 여러 건 확인해 해당 도축장을 잠정 폐쇄했으며 조사 결과에 따라 추가 조치를 취하겠다”고 밝혔다.

이 소식이 알려지자 인앤아웃 측은 즉시 이 도축장과의 거래를 중단했다. 센트럴밸리미트 측은 성명을 내고 “(농무부의) 조사에 진지하게 임할 것이며 문제가 드러나면 최대한 신속히 수정하겠다”고 밝혔다.

미국에서는 2008년 동물복지단체 휴메인 소사이어티가 웨스트랜드 홀마크의 앉은뱅이 소 도축 영상을 공개해 6만4,000여톤의 쇠고기가 리콜되고 이듬해 연방정부가 앉은뱅이 소의 도축 및 유통을 전면 금지하는 조치로 이어진 바 있다.

[광우병] 중앙일보의 광우병 괴담 유포

건강과대안 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:36:15 +0000

“믿거나 말거나 무차별 광우병 괴담 확산”되고 있다는 중앙일보 기사에 오히려 괴담이 들어
있습니다.

[중앙일보의 괴담]

진보당 간부 “광우병 소 수출…” 문의 이어지자

[중앙일보] 입력 2012.04.30 01:45 / 수정 2012.04.30 06:16
http://joongang.joinsmsn.com/article/aid/2012/04/30/7664283.html?cloc=olink|article|default

광우병과 관련한 근거 없는 소문이 꼬리를 물고 이어지고 있다. 지난 27일 정봉주 전 의원의 인터넷 팬카페에 “인간광우병 발병 확률이 미국인은 38%, 한국인은 95%”라는 정체불명의 글이 올라온 것을 필두로, 인도네시아가 미국산 쇠고기 수입을 중단했다는 보도도 나왔다. 하지만 인도네시아는 뼈 있는 쇠고기, 내장 등의 수입을 중단했고, 우리나라와 같이 뼈 없는 쇠고기는 계속 수입하고 있다.

===> [실제 사실]

우리나라는 뼈 없는 쇠고기를 수입하고 있는 것이 아니라 갈비, T-본 스테이크 등 뼈 있는 쇠고기를
수입하고 있다. 내장의 수입을 중단한 인도네시아와 달리 우리나라는 내장도 수입하고 있다.

[광우병] CBS와 조선일보…미 광우병 보도 극과 극

건강과대안 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:29:25 +0000

미국 캘리포니아 광우병 사태에 대해 CBS와 조선일보가 서로 정반대의 보도를 했습니다.

똑같이 워싱턴 특파원이 기사를 썼는데 CBS는 미국 언론에서도 “미국의 광우병 검사가 부실하다”고 지적하고 있다고 전하고 있고…

조선일보는 미국에서 발생한 광우병과 관련 미국·일본·유럽 등 주요국 언론이나 소비자들은 전반적으로 차분한 반응을 보이고 있으며 ‘광우병 여파’라고 할 만한 것은 거의 없다고 보도하고 있습니다.

조선일보 특파원은 미국의 광우병 검사체계가 축산업자와 낙농업자들의 로비에 밀려 유럽이나 주요 쇠고기 수출국보다 취약하다는 미국 현지 언론의 보도엔 침묵하고 있습니다. 부분적 수입제한 조치와 인도네시아와 잠정적 수입제한 조치를 취한 태국의 조치에 대해서도 사실상 눈을 감고 있습니다.

그러니 2008년 5월 8일자 조선일보 1면 기사와 농림부-보건복지부 합동 1면 광고를 게재해놓고도 지금에와서 딴소리를 하고 있고… 언론의 사명을 완전히 망각하고 있습니다.

================================================

美 언론 “광우병 검사 부실”

츨처 : 노컷뉴스 2012-04-30 02:19 | 워싱턴=CBS이기범 특파원
http://www.nocutnews.co.kr/Show.asp?IDX=2129036

미국내 광우병 검사 체계 등이 부실하다고 현지 언론들이 잇따라 보도하고 있다.
산호세머큐리 뉴스 등 미 언론들은 28일(한국시각) 미국의 광우병 검사체계가 축산업자와 낙농업자들의 로비에 밀려 유럽이나 주요 쇠고기 수출국보다 취약하다고 전했다.

언론들이 손꼽고 있는 대표적인 취약성은 광우병 검사표본수가 절대적으로 작다는 것. 현재 미국은 무작위 추출을 통해 연간 4만건의 광우병 검사를 하고 있는데 이는 연간 도축되는 소의 0.1%에 불과하다. 20개월령 이상의 소는 모두 전수조사를 하고 있는 일본이나 30개월령 이상을 전수조사하는 유럽보다 검사표본수가 작은 셈이다.

지난 2006년 캔자스 주의 한 육류포장업체가 자체적으로 광우병 전수검사를 하려고 했으나 미 농무부의 반대로 무산됐다. 전미낙농쇠고기연합회 등 이익단체들이 ‘미국산 쇠고기의 신뢰를 무너뜨리는 조치’라며 반대했기 때문이다.

또한 소 이력추적제가 실시되지 않고 있는 것도 부적절한 사례로 꼽히고 있다. 현재 호주와 뉴질랜드, 아르헨티나, 캐나다 등 주요 쇠고기 수출 8개국 가운데 6개국이 소 이력추적제를 실시하고 있지만 미국은 실시하지 않고 있다.

미국 정부는 올해 이를 실시할 계획이다. 하지만 주 경계를 넘는 소에 대해서만 적용하는 ‘반쪽’ 이력제가 될 전망이다. 역시 소 이력추적에 필요한 전자칩 등의 비용문제로 이익단체들이 반대하고 있다고 미 언론들은 전했다.

한편 이번에 광우병 증세가 발견돼 안락사된 젖소는 10년이 넘은 늙은 젖소인 것으로 확인됐다. 보통 미국 내에서는 젖소가 5년을 넘기면 우유생산이 줄어들어 도축된다. 문제의 젖소는 안락사 전 스스로 일어서지 못하는 등 광우병 증상을 보여 지역 렌더링 센터로 보내져 도축될 예정이었으나 표본검사 대상으로 추출돼 광우병 검사를 받게 됐으며 검사 결과 양성반응을 보여 안락사됐다.

======================

[美 젖소 광우병] 프랑스 일간지 “이번 광우병 놀랄 일도 아닌데, 한국은…”

生牛 선물가격도 바로 반등

도쿄=차학봉 특파원

워싱턴=임민혁 특파원

출처 : 조선일보 입력 : 2012.04.30 03:08 | 수정 : 2012.04.30 07:07
http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/04/30/2012043000186.html

미국에서 발생한 광우병과 관련 미국·일본·유럽 등 주요국 언론이나 소비자들은 전반적으로 차분한 반응을 보이고 있다. ‘광우병 여파’라고 할 만한 것은 거의 없다.

6년 만에 광우병이 발견된 당사국인 미국에선 쇠고기나 우유 등 유제품의 판매는 거의 영향을 받지 않고 있다. 28일 워싱턴 인근에 위치한 식품체인점 ‘세이프웨이’ 관계자는 “오늘 쇠고기 매출은 평상시와 비슷했고, 온종일 광우병에 대한 문의 같은 것도 없었다”고 했다. 주요 언론들이 관련 소식을 별로 다루지 않아서인지 아예 광우병 발생 사실 자체를 모르는 사람들도 꽤 많았다.

광우병 뉴스가 하루 1개 정도씩 실리던 뉴욕타임스(NYT), 워싱턴포스트(WP) 등에선 주말을 지나면서 관련 소식이 사라졌다. 방송들은 첫날 주요 뉴스로 광우병 발생 소식을 전했으나, 미 농무부가 “미 쇠고기 안전” “검역시스템 제대로 작동” 등을 발표하면서 우선순위에서 뒤로 밀렸다.

광우병 발생 소식에 폭락세를 보였던 시카고 상품거래소(CME)의 생우(生牛) 선물가격도 미 정부의 발표 이후 바로 반등했다. 블룸버그통신은 “2003년 미국에서 처음 광우병이 발생했을 때 생우 선물가격이 5일 연속 하락하며 19%나 빠진 것과 비교하면 이번에는 거의 영향이 없는 셈”이라고 했다.

일본에서도 정부가 “미국의 광우병 젖소는 30개월 이상으로 일본의 수입대상(20개월 이하)이 아니다”는 간단한 발표만 했을 뿐 사회적 논란이 되지 않고 있다. 대부분의 일본 언론도 광우병 소가 발견된 것만 간단하게 보도했을 뿐이다. 유통업체도 미국산 쇠고기를 계속 판매하고 있으며 덮밥체인점도 미국산 쇠고기를 계속 사용하고 있다.

일본에서 초점이 되는 것은 현재 20개월 이하로 제한한 미국산 쇠고기 수입 규제를 30개월 이하로 완화하는 문제이다. 시민단체들은 광우병 소가 추가로 발견된 만큼 수입규제 완화에 반대하고 있지만, 일본 정부는 “변동 사항은 없다. 내각부 식품안전위원회에서 과학적으로 검토하고 있다”면서 규제 완화를 추진하겠다는 입장이다.

유럽에서도 미국 광우병과 관련한 혼란은 발생하지 않고 있다. EU집행위원회 보건 담당 대변인은 “이번 광우병 발견이 특별히 놀랄 일은 아니다”고 했다. 프랑스의 일간지 르 파리지앵은 “한국 대형마트 두 곳이 미국산 쇠고기 판매를 중단했다”는 소식을 화제로 전했다.

[광우병] 소가 소를 잡아먹는 동종식육의 미국 사료정책

건강과대안 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:23:15 +0000

미국 캘리포니아 광우병 발생으로 소가 소를 잡아먹는 동종식육이라 불리는 소 사료에 대한 의문이 제기되고 있다는 미국 언론의 기사입니다.

Mad cow: Latest episode raises questions about cattle feed

The riskiest parts of rendered cows aren’t supposed to be fed back to other cows. But they are fed to chickens, whose waste can be fed back to cattle in what one critic calls ‘cow cannibalism.’

By Brad Knickerbocker | Christian Science Monitor

http://news.yahoo.com/mad-cow-latest-episode-raises-questions-cattle-feed-202256317.html;_ylt=A2KJjbyhd51P7moAMrLQtDMD

There appears to be no risk to humans from the dairy cow discovered in California this week to have “mad cow” disease. That’s according to the US Department of Agriculture and the beef industry.

“It is important to reiterate that this animal was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, did not enter food supply channels, and at no time presented any risk to human health,” the USDA said in a statement this week.

But the case involving a 10 year-old Holstein raises questions about how such cattle themselves are fed, which critics say could be part of a dangerous cycle.

RECOMMENDED: Six major food recalls

Mad cow, known scientifically as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is believed to be carried by animal feed made from cattle brains or spinal cord. Such feed is now banned in the US and other countries, but cases of BSE have continued to appear around the world.

The World Health Organization has called for the exclusion of the riskiest tissues (eyes and intestines as well as brains and spinal cord) from all animal feed to protect against the spread of mad cow disease.

Stanley Prusiner, who received the 1997 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering the protein associated with BSE has said the US should ban poultry waste in cattle feed as well.

“Unfortunately, the United States still allows the feeding of some of these potentially risky tissues to people, pigs, pets, poultry, and fish,” warns Michael Greger, director of public health and animal agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States.

“Cattle remains are still fed to chickens, for example, and the poultry litter (floor wastes that include the feces and spilled feed) is fed back to cows,” he writes on his Huffington Post blog. “In this way, prions – the infectious proteins that cause mad cow disease – may continue to be cycled back into cattle feed and complete the cow ‘cannibalism’ circuit blamed for the spread of the disease.”

Part of the problem, according to critics, is that only a tiny fraction of slaughtered cows (40,000 out of 35 million a year) are tested for BSE.

In this week’s instance, the cow (which was to be rendered into products other than meat for human consumption) had been unable to stand – a “downer” cow. This raised suspicions, so the cow was tested for BSE. This showed that the current inspection system works, say beef industry supporters.

According to the USDA, the infected animal discovered this week had “atypical BSE,” which means it most likely did not get the disease from eating infected cattle feed. Still, the USDA is tracking feed sources as a possible cause.

This instance of BSE in US cattle has caused some international ripples.

Indonesia suspended its imports of US beef Thursday, two major South Korean retailers pulled US beef from their stores this week, and South Korea’s agriculture ministry has stepped up inspections of US beef and requested detailed information on the case. Taiwan’s Department of Health is seeking permission from US authorities to visit slaughterhouses in the US, Taiwanese officials said Saturday.

“We will lift the ban as soon as the US can assure us its dairy cows are free of mad cow disease,” Indonesia’s Vice Agriculture Minister Rusman Heriawan told reporters.

“It could be one month or one year,” he said. “It depends on how long it takes to resolve this case.”

BSE is fatal to cows, and eating tainted meat has been linked to a similar disease in humans known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).

Prior to this week, there were three confirmed cases of BSE in cows in the US – in a Canadian-born cow in 2003 in Washington State, in 2005 in Texas, and in 2006 in Alabama.

RECOMMENDED: Six major food recalls

[광우병] 당신이 캘리포니아 광우병에 대해 걱정해야만 하는 이유(Tom Philpott/Mother Jones)

건강과대안 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:11:51 +0000

마더존스에 실린 톰 필포트의 글

““’여기 별 볼것 없으니 그냥 지나가세요’ 이것이 미국의 광우병 케이스에 대한 미국정부 입장이다. 그러나 두가지 점이 문제다.
첫째는 미국소의 광우병 검사비율이 너무 적다는 것이다. 0.1%. 유럽에서라면 이번에 문제가 된 소처럼 주저앉는 소는 48개월
이상이라면 모두 검사대상이고 건강한 소라도 6년이상이면 전수검사대상이라는 점이다. 이번처럼 우연히 발견되는 일은 없다. 두번째는
미국에서는 여전히 동물성 사료가 허용되어 소가 소단백질을 통해 사육된다는
것이다. 이번에 L type으로 추정된다는 비정형성 광우병은 실험실연구상에서는 유럽에서 발생한 전형적 광우병 보다 전염성이 더
강하다. 비정형성 광우병이 일반적으로 자연발생적으로 발생한다 해도(사료원인을 배제할 수는 없지만), 미국에서 여전히 사료로 소의
시체가 쓰이는 이상 비정형성 광우병도 광우병의 원인이 된다는 것이다.”

http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/04/mad-cow-california

Why You Should Be Worried About the California Mad Cow Case

—By Tom Philpott

| Fri Apr. 27, 2012 10:50 AM PDT

RuffLife/Flickr

Move along, nothing to see here.

That sums up the USDA’s public reaction to news that a downed
California dairy cow was discovered to have contracted bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease. The cow had an
“atypical” case of BSE, one that likely doesn’t come from BSE-infected
feed, but rather from a genetic mutation, the agency insists.

Moreover, it never came close to entering the food supply, USDA
stressed—it had shown up dead at a rendering facility, where it was
randomly chosen for testing as part of the USDA’s BSE-testing program.
USDA chief Tom Vilsack, ever ready to jump to the meat industry’s aid at a time of need, declared on CNN, “I’m having beef tonight for dinner. And that’s no lie.”

Global food and health agencies echoed the USDA’s assessment, Bloomberg reports:
“The U.S. finding of a case of mad cow disease shows the country’s
surveillance system is working, according to the United Nations’ Food
& Agriculture Organization and the World Organisation for Animal
Health.”

Let me raise two uncomfortable points about this case.

• The idea that the discovery of this BSE-stricken cow
proves that the US “surveillance system is working” is, well,
ludicrous. The cow showed up at Baker Commodities,
a California company plant that buys spent cows from California’s vast
dairy industry and renders them into various pet and livestock feed
products.

Here’s how a Baker executive described the discovery to Business Week:

“We randomly pick a number of samples throughout the year, and this
just happened to be one that we randomly sampled,” Baker Commodities
executive vice president Dennis Luckey said. “It showed no signs” of
disease.

So when the rendering plant picked up the infected cow, it was just another dead cow to be rendered. However, in an update
released Thursday afternoon, the USDA revealed that the animal was
“humanely euthanized” on the dairy farm where it lived, “after it
developed lameness and became recumbent.” Apparently, the dairy farm did
not communicate with the rendering plant that the cow had gone lame,
and thus was a good candidate for BSE infection.

Altogether, the USDA program tests about 40,000 cows a year for mad
cow—a tiny fraction of the millions that are slaughtered or otherwise
die each year. (Bloomberg puts the portion tested annually at “less than 0.1 percent of the U.S. cattle herd.”) By contrast, in the European Union,
all sick or downed cattle over the age of 4 years old, all healthy
cows over six years, are tested before being slaughtered or rendered.
The California cow, the USDA said in its Thursday statement, was 10
years and seven months old—so it would have been automatically tested
in Europe.

The USDA currently tests less than 0.1 percent of the US cattle herd for Mad Cow Disease.

So rather than representing a triumph of the system, the California
discovery represents a lucky break. Other BSE-infected cows could be
getting rendered into livestock and pet feed, and no one would know.

As Michael Hansen, senior staff scientist at Consumers Union, put it
in a statement, “We really don’t know if this is an isolated unusual
event or whether there are more cases in US beef. Our monitoring
program is just too small.”

• The California cow’s BSE might have come from feed—and cows are still being fed cow protein. Now,
as noted above, the USDA reports that the California case had
“atypical” BSE, which, it says, is thought to derive spontaneously, not
from feed. “USDA confirmed the animal was positive for atypical BSE, a
very rare form of the disease not generally associated with an animal
consuming infected feed,” the USDA wrote in a Wednesday statement.
In a Friday morning email, a USDA press officer confirmed to me that
the atypical BSE in question is of the L-type, which, as I showed in my last post,
has been shown under lab conditions to be far more virulent than what
scientists call “classical” BSE, the kind that wrought havoc in the UK
in the 1990s.

The feed question is vital. If the cow indeed developed BSE through
some genetic mutation and not through feed, then this particular mad
cow instance can be viewed as a random and extremely rare event. But if
feed was the pathway, then we have to ask hard—and for the dairy and
beef industries, extremely uncomfortable—questions about just what
we’re feeding our nation’s vast herd of cows. And if that cow contracted BSE from what it ate, wouldn’t other cows have been exposed, too?

Paul Brown, a scientist retired from the National Institute of
Neurological Diseases and Stroke, questions the USDA’s assertion that
atypical BSE isn’t associated with feed. “The most likely explanation is
that it arises from the same source as typical BSE,” he said, which is
infected feed. He added that it’s a “theoretical possibility” that the
California BSE case arose spontaneously, but “there’s no evidence for
it.”

Linda Detwiler, a clinical professor in the Department of
Pathobiology and Population Medicine at Mississippi State University,
told me via phone that the current scientific thinking is that
“atypical” BSE types do probably arise spontaneously, but “feed
certainly can’t be ruled out.” Ermias Belay, associate director for
epidemiological science at the CDC’s Division of High-Consequence
Pathogens and Pathology, echoed that assessment in a phone interview.

Now, back in 1997, in response to the UK mad cow crisis, the FDA banned the longstanding practice of feeding rendered cow protein to cows,
and in 2008 banned “the tissues that have the highest risk for
carrying the agent thought to cause BSE”—brains and spinal tissue from
cows older than 30 months—from animal feed altogether.

But there is still at least one pathway through which cow proteins
move into cow feed: the practice of feeding “poultry litter”—poultry
feces mixed with bedding, spilled feed, and chicken carcasses—to cows.
How does that bring cow protein into cow diets?

Meat and bone meal from cows is explicitly
banned from cow diets. But it ends up in chicken feed; a significant
amount of it spills into bedding and ends up in poultry litter; and
poultry litter gets fed back to cows.

Let’s go back to that rendering plant in California, Baker Commodities,
where the current case of BSE was discovered. Rendering plants like
Baker buy downed cows and other animals and transform them into a
variety of products, including feed for chickens. Here’s how it describes one of its products, “protein meal”:

Meat and bone meal produced from the rendering process is used as a
protein and energy supplement in poultry and swine feed and may also be
utilized as an ingredient in the manufacture of pet food.

Now, meat and bone meal from cows is explicitly banned from cow
diets. But it ends up in chicken feed; a significant amount of it
spills into bedding and ends up in poultry litter; and poultry litter
gets fed back to cows.

Official numbers on just how much poultry litter ends up in bovine
diets is hard to come by. But with corn and soy prices at heightened
levels in recent years, feedlot operators are always looking for
cheaper alternatives, and poultry litter is very much in the mix.
Consumer Union’s Michael Hansen claims that 2 billion pounds of chicken
litter are consumed by cows each year—as much as a third of which
consists of spilled feed, including bovine meat and bone meal. The
University of Missouri’s agricultural-extension service explains
chicken litter’s appeal like this:

Beef cattle have the ability to digest low-cost feedstuffs that are
not usable by other livestock species. One such feedstuff is poultry
litter, which provides opportunities for both the poultry producer and
the beef cattle producer. The large quantities of litter produced
during modern poultry production are expensive to dispose of safely;
moreover, protein is typically the most expensive ingredient in
ruminant diets. Feeding poultry litter is a means of disposing of a
waste product while concurrently supplying a low-cost protein feed to
beef cattle.

It’s important to note that the dairy industry, too, utilizes chicken litter.

Now, it’s also important to note, as I wrote above, that the FDA
banned the use of “the tissues that have the highest risk for carrying
the agent thought to cause BSE”—brains and spinal tissue from cows
older than 30 months—from being rendered into any animal feed,
including chicken feed, in 2008.

But other cow parts can also carry the infections. For classical
BSE, Detwiler told me that “current research shows that the infection
moves from the intestines up to the spinal column through the nerves.”
Tonsils, too, can carry the infection. Intestines, nerve tissue, and
tonsils, of course, are fair game to be rendered into chicken feed. “In
essence, you’re allowing ruminant protein to be fed back to
ruminants,” she said.

As for atypical L-type BSE, like the one found in California, “we’re
just really starting to get results on that—we just don’t know” what
parts are infectious. She said some evidence has arisen suggesting that
lymphoid tissue in cows infected with atypical BSE have “abnormal
prion protein.”

Detwiler pointed to the European Commission’s feed ban as a better way to keep all
bovine protein out of bovine diets. It lays out a simple principle for
keeping cow protein out of cow diets: it prohibits the “use of
processed animal protein (PAP) in feed for farmed animals.”

“If I had my druthers, poultry litter would not be allowed in cow feed,” she said.

Detwiler raises another important point regarding feed. Even if the
case of BSE in California arose spontaneously—and even if atypical BSE
in general has so far been arising spontaneously when it has been found
in Europe—it also seems to be quite infectious. As the CDC’s Belay
told me, “all of these prion-related diseases are transmissible through
infected material.” If that infected cow in California hadn’t been
randomly selected for testing, it could have ended up being rendered
for poultry feed—and ultimately fed back to cattle.

But even more than the chicken-litter issue, what concerns Detwiler
is the issue of compliance. “There hadn’t been a case in six years,”
she pointed out. “Hopefully, [rendering plants] are removing brains and
spinal columns with care,” she said. “There’s a tendency with anything
to let the guard down—my message would be that we really can’t get
complacent on this issue.”

While the USDA is downplaying the public health ramifications of the
California BSE case, US public health officials should see it as a
kick in the pants. It’s time to ramp up the testing of cows—and Europe
has proven it can be done economically. And it’s time to ban all cow
protein from animal feed—or, at the very least, get chicken litter out
of cow diets.

[광우병] 젖소는 수입 안된다? 미 유통과정 육우·젖소 구분안해

건강과대안 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:03:43 +0000

젖소는 수입 안된다? 미 유통과정 육우·젖소 구분안해

‘미 쇠고기 안전’ 정부주장 따져보니
30개월 미만은 당연히 유입
작년 가공용으로 많이 팔려
‘비정형’ 광우병은 안전?
연구결과 더 치명적일수도

광우병에 대한 불안감이 고조되고 있다. 미국에서 광우병이 발병했는데도 우리 정부가 검역 중단 등 안전 조처를 즉각 시행하지 않고 미국산 쇠고기 수입을 유지하고 있기 때문이다.

미국 농무부는 지난 24일(현지시각) 광우병으로 확인된 소는 10년7개월령의 젖소라고 26일 밝혔다. 미국 내 카운티 가운데 축산물 생산 순위 1위인 캘리포니아 툴레어 카운티의 낙농가에서 사육됐고, 최근 주저앉는 증상이 나타나 안락사 처리했다는 것이다. 이에 농림수산식품부는 “광우병에 걸린 소가 30개월 이상의 젖소이고 감염성 위험이 낮은 비정형 광우병”이라며 “따라서 현재 우리나라에 수입되는 미국산 쇠고기는 안전하다”고 주장하고 있다. 하지만 이와 다른 통계자료나 전문가들의 의견도 있다. 정부의 주장과 이에 대한 반박 의견을 문답 형식으로 정리했다.

■ 30개월 이상 젖소라서 수입 중단 필요없다? 2003년 12월 미국에서 광우병이 발생해 우리나라가 미국산 쇠고기 수입을 중단할 때도, 광우병에 걸린 소는 30개월령 이상(80개월령)의 젖소(홀스타인 암소)였다. 캐나다 앨버타주에서 1997년 4월에 태어나 사육되다가 미국 워싱턴으로 수입돼 광우병 확진을 받은 것이었다. 그런데도 당시 우리 정부는 미국산 쇠고기 수입을 전면 중단했다.

특히 광우병은 젖소에서 많이 발생한다. 일본에서 발견된 광우병 36건 중 32건(89%), 캐나다 18건 중 10건(56%), 미국 4건 중 2건이 젖소에서 나타났다. 만약 젖소라는 이유로 수입을 중단할 수 없었다면, 광우병이 발생했을 때 대부분의 경우 속수무책일 것이다.

한국농민연대 등 농축산관련단체협의회가 27일 경기도 과천시 정부과천청사 앞에서 기자회견을 열어 광우병 발병 이후에도 미국산 쇠고기를 계속 수입하는 정부를 비판했다. 기자회견 중 한우와 버락 오바마 미 대통령 분장을 한 이들이 우리 국민의 건강권과 검역 주권을 미국에 넘겨준다는 내용의 행위극을 펼치고 있다. 과천/이정아 기자 leej@hani.co.kr

■ 젖소는 국내에 수입되지 않는다? 지난해 미국에서는 291만4200마리의 젖소가 도축했다. 전체 도축된 소의 8.7%다. 이후 육우인지 젖소인지 따로 구분하지 않고 품질 등급만 매겨 유통한다. 국내에도 30개월 미만이라면 당연히 유입될 수 있다. 또 젖소는 가공용 쇠고기로 많이 팔리는데, 우리나라는 지난해 식용 가공육품을 미국에서 1047만3551㎏ 들여왔다. 특히 지난해 4월에는 30개월령 미만인지 여부가 확인되지 않는 미국산 쇠고기로 만든 소시지와 햄 등 가공식품이 6억원어치나 밀수돼 전국에서 불법 유통된 것으로 드러났다.

■ 비정형성 광우병이라 안전하다? 인간에게 전염되지 않는다는 주장도 있지만, 최근 동물 실험에서는 비정형 광우병이 되레 더 치명적일 수 있다는 사실도 확인되고 있다. 2008년 1월 <바이러스학회지>를 보면, 인간 프리온 유전자로 형질 전환을 한 생쥐로 실험을 해보니, 비정형 광우병이 인간의 프리온 유전자를 변형시킨다는 게 확인됐다는 연구 결과가 나온다. 비정형 광우병의 평균 잠복기는 20∼22개월로 더 짧고, 전형적인 광우병보다 전염력이 더 높은 것으로 나타났다.(박상표 국민건강을 위한 수의사연대 정책국장)

정은주 기자 ejung@hani.co.kr

[광우병] 한미 쇠고기 수입위생조건 관련 추가 협의결과

건강과대안 — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:56:26 +0000

한미 쇠고기 수입위생조건 관련 추가 협의결과

2008-05-20 14:00

통상교섭본부장 쇠고기관련 브리핑

발표자 : 김종훈 통상교선본부장(외교부)

[미국 서한]

2008년5월19일

김 본부장님,

2008년 4월 18일 한·미 양국이 합의한 “미국산 쇠고기 및 쇠고기 제품 수입위생조건”(이하 “위생조건”이라 한다)을 둘러싼 한국내 상황과 관련하여 본인이 2008년 5월 12일 발표한 성명서를 첨부합니다. 본인이 동 성명서에서 인정한 바와 같이, 모든 정부는 GATT 20조 및 WTO SPS 협정에 따라 건강 및 안전상의 위험으로부터 자국민을 보호할 권리를 가지고 있습니다. 미국은 공중위생과 안전상 우려를 매우 중요하게 여기며, 금번 위생조건은 미국산 수입 쇠고기의 안전성을 보장하는 적절한 기준과 절차를 포함하고 있다고 믿고 있습니다.

본인은 동 위생조건상의 특정위험물질(SRM)에 대한 정의가 상응하는 미국 규정의 해당 정의와 상이하다는 우려가 제기되어 왔다는 점을 알고 있습니다. 미국 규정은 내수용이든 수출용이든지 간에 미국 규정상에 정의된 SRM은 모든 쇠고기 또는 쇠고기 제품에서 제거되어야 한다고 요구하고 있습니다. 미국산 쇠고기 또는 쇠고기 제품이 한국에 도착하여, 한국 수의검사관들이 SRM 제거에 관한 유효한 미국 규정이 준수되지 않았다고 결정할 경우, 한국이 금번 위생조건 제23조와 제24조에 규정된 필요 조치를 취할 권리를 가지고 있음을 미국은 인정합니다. 미국의 현행 관련 규정 9 CFR §310.22(a)을 첨부합니다.

수잔 슈워브 미 무역대표

[우리측 서한]

2008년5월19일

슈워브 대사님,

2008년 4월 18일 한·미 양국간에 합의한 “미국산 쇠고기 및 쇠고기 제품 수입위생조건”(이하 “위생조건”이라 한다)에 관한 2008년 5월 19일자 귀하의 서한에 감사드립니다. 본인은 모든 정부는 GATT 제20조와 WTO SPS 협정에 따라 건강과 안전상의 위험으로부터 자국민을 보호하기 위해 필요 조치를 취할 수 있는 권리와, 한국정부는 한국 시민의 건강 보호에 최우선 순위를 두겠다는 한승수 총리의 담화를 인정하는 귀하의 성명을 평가합니다. 한승수 총리의 담화 번역본을 첨부합니다.

아울러, 미국 규정 9CFR§310.22(a)에 정의된 특정위험물질(SRM)에 대한 명확한 설명과 미국 정부는 내수용이든 외국 수출용이든지 간에 동일한 미국 규정을 모든 쇠고기와 쇠고기 제품에 적용할 것이라는 귀하의 약속을 평가합니다. 또한, 미국산 쇠고기 또는 쇠고기 제품이 한국에 도착하여, 한국 수의검사관들이 SRM 제거에 관한 유효한 미국 규정이 준수되지 않았다고 결정할 경우, 한국 당국이 금번 위생조건 제23조와 제24조에 규정된 필요 조치를 취할 권리를 가지고 있다는 귀하의 확인을 환영합니다.

김종훈 통상교섭본부장

[광우병] 미국산 쇠고기 및 쇠고기 제품 수입위생조건 관보

건강과대안 — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:52:23 +0000

제 16779호(그2) 2008.6.26(목) 관보(http://ganbo.korea.go.kr)

농림수산식품부고시제2008-15호(미국산 쇠고기 및 쇠고기 제품 수입위생조건)

[광우병] 2008년 미국산 쇠고기 수입 추가협상 문서

건강과대안 — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:47:19 +0000

[광우병] 미국 캘리포니아주에서 4번째 광우병 발생

건강과대안 — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:30:31 +0000

미국 농무부가 4월 24일 화요일(현지시각) 광우병(BSE) 소를 확정진단했다고 발표했습니다.
미국 캘리포니니아 주에서 사육되던 젖소이며, 미국에서 공식 확인된 4번째 광우병 소입니다.

미국 정부는 구체적 정보도 공개하지 않은 채, 역학조사결과도 나오지 않은 상황에서 쇠고기
수출에는는 영향을 끼치지 않을 것이라고 발표했습니다.
=================
Statement

Release No. 0132.12
Contact:
Office of Communication 202-720-4623

http://usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?

Statement by USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford Regarding a Detection of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States

Assures Consumers That Existing Safeguards Protected Food Supply; Reiterates Safety of Consuming Beef Products

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2012 – USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford today released the following statement on the detection of BSE in the United States:

“As part of our targeted surveillance system, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the nation’s fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a dairy cow from central California. The carcass of the animal is being held under State authority at a rendering facility in California and will be destroyed. It was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health. Additionally, milk does not transmit BSE.

“The United States has had longstanding interlocking safeguards to protect human and animal health against BSE. For public health, these measures include the USDA ban on specified risk materials, or SRMs, from the food supply. SRMs are parts of the animal that are most likely to contain the BSE agent if it is present in an animal. USDA also bans all nonambulatory (sometimes called “downer”) cattle from entering the human food chain. For animal health, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on ruminant material in cattle feed prevents the spread of the disease in the cattle herd.

“Evidence shows that our systems and safeguards to prevent BSE are working, as are similar actions taken by countries around the world. In 2011, there were only 29 worldwide cases of BSE, a dramatic decline and 99% reduction since the peak in 1992 of 37,311 cases. This is directly attributable to the impact and effectiveness of feed bans as a primary control measure for the disease.

“Samples from the animal in question were tested at USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. Confirmatory results using immunohistochemistry and western blot tests confirmed the animal was positive for atypical BSE, a very rare form of the disease not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed.

“We are sharing our laboratory results with international animal health reference laboratories in Canada and England, which have official World Animal Health (OIE) reference labs. These labs have extensive experience diagnosing atypical BSE and will review our confirmation of this form of the disease. In addition, we will be conducting a comprehensive epidemiological investigation in conjunction with California animal and public health officials and the FDA.

“BSE is a progressive neurological disease among cattle that is always fatal. It belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Affected animals may display nervousness or aggression, abnormal posture, difficulty in coordination and rising, decreased milk production, or loss of body weight despite continued appetite.

“This detection in no way affects the United States’ BSE status as determined by the OIE. The United States has in place all of the elements of a system that OIE has determined ensures that beef and beef products are safe for human consumption: a mammalian feed ban, removal of specified risk materials, and vigorous surveillance. Consequently, this detection should not affect U.S. trade.

“USDA remains confident in the health of the national herd and the safety of beef and dairy products. As the epidemiological investigation progresses, USDA will continue to communicate findings in a timely and transparent manner.”

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

======================

Mad cow disease found in California
로이터통신
http://news.yahoo.com/instant-view-mad-cow-disease-found-california-193947594.html

(Reuters) – The U.S. Agriculture Department confirmed on Tuesday that it found a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, the nation’s fourth, in a dairy cow in California.

The USDA has begun to notify the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as well as its trading partners, but the finding should not affect U.S. beef exports, said John Clifford, the USDA’s chief veterinary officer.

COMMENTS:

US Meat Export Federation spokesman Joe Schuele:

Said they were told that U.S. agricultural attaches overseas would be reaching out to their counterparts and local industry officials to explain the facts about BSE and the safeguards put in place in the United States.

“They would be engaged in outreach with our trading partners and their counterparts in foreign markets.

“There is no scientific basis for altering our level of market access,” he said, adding that the USMEF has ‘people on the ground’ in many of the major U.S. beef importing nations and they will be deployed to “communicate with the trade” in those markets.

TOM TALBOT, CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL CATTLEMEN’S BEEF ASSOCIATION’S CATTLE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING COMMITTEE:

When asked how long it will take to uncover more identifying information about the cow, Talbot said he expects to get more information each day from now on as USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture “jumped into this headfirst”.

He said an atypical case indicates that the disease arose spontaneously or sporadically, perhaps through some kind of genetic mutation, rather than from contaminated feed.

“The good news is that this was not a breach of the feed ban or anything like that.”

A breach of the feed ban could mean that many animals were contaminated, he said. “In this case, I think it would be extremely unlikely to find another animal found positive related to this cow.”

His biggest concern is any impact to exports.

“I think, if we use sound science and follow what we know, there should be no disruption in trade. I know we are very concerned about that.”

He said various trade groups and organizations are reaching out to trading partners to educate them.

“My guess is we’ll probably see some short-term decline, but obviously we’re hoping that this is a very, very short downturn that will return back to normal business within a very short time.”

But the problem is that “we’re not always dealing with sound science, we’re dealing with political science …. There is absolutely no reason in the world why this should have any impact on whatever Japan has been doing as far as relaxing those issues. But you never know. We’re concerned.”

SENATOR MIKE JOHANNS, FORMER USDA SECRETARY UNDER FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE. W BUSH:

“The most important facets of this detection are that the cow in question was identified through our rigorous system of interlocking safeguards; it did not enter the food chain; and that American beef and dairy continue to be among the safest in the world. Because the U.S. remains fully compliant with international animal health standards, there should be no impact on trade. Americans and the entire world should continue to be confident in the safety of American beef.”

ALEX LOPES DA SILVA, ANALYST AT BEEF CONSULTANTS SCOT CONSULTARIA, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL:

The case in California could have a “drastic impact on U.S. exports” of beef and open space for Brazil to gain market share as the principal global player in this sector.

“The disease has one of the highest sanitary impacts for an exporter… The U.S. could lose a slice of its market share.”

Even though it was discovered in a dairy cow, the impact will be expressive on the export market.

“If there was foot-and-mouth in the country, there would be no imports of its beef or milk. The impact is general on the production chain.

“It was that way in Paraguay, where a recent case of foot-and-mouth for a dairy cow. Countries can impose import barriers and reduce U.S. exports.”

He expects the reaction to be similar to 2004, after BSE showed up in December, 2003. Brazilian exports started 2000 at 620,000 tonnes (610,208 tons). By 2004, exports reached 1.866 million tonnes, in 2005 the rose to 2.204 mln tonnes.

“No doubt the situation will help Brazilian exports, but it is just one factor.”

MAURICIO NOGUEIRA, LEAD AGRONOMIST AT BIGMA BEEF CONSULTANTS IN SAO PAULO, BRAZIL:

“The U.S. surpassed Brazil in beef exports in 2011 for the first time in years. They were slaughtering a lot of their cows to deal with low prices. We expected exports to decline this year due to the smaller productive potential of the herd this year but this news of BSE in the U.S. will precipitate the fall in exports and open room for Brazil to regain market share.

“In addition, all of this beef that won’t be exported will remain on their domestic market, drive down prices again and trigger another culling of the cows, which will prolong the U.S. beef production problems for an extended period.”

“This will be a new opportunity for Brazilian beef exporters, similar to post 2003. It will make no difference if this a dairy cow. Importers will turn away from U.S. beef for a while.”

RON DEHAVEN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (AND A PAST ADMINISTRATOR OF APHIS AND USDA CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER IN DECEMBER 2003 WHEN THE INITIAL CASE OF BSE WAS FOUND IN THE U.S.):

“The finding of this BSE positive cow is not particularly surprising, and it is certainly no cause for alarm.

“It is not surprising because we have known for several years that there is a very low prevalence of BSE in our nation’s cattle population. USDA has maintained a good, targeted surveillance program for the disease, and it is expected that we might find such cases periodically.

“This finding is not cause for alarm because the tissues of any infected cows that pose a food safety risk, i.e., specified risk materials or SRMs, have been kept out of the human food supply since early 2004. What this finding does confirm is that the safeguards put in place by the USDA several years ago are working as they are intended.”

KELLI LUDLUM, DIRECTOR OF CONGRESSIONAL RELATIONS AT AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION:

“Our reaction is that this is really just an indication that the processes that we have in place, most notably our targeted surveillance and testing system, are working as they are supposed to. It is not uncommon to find case of BSE, they are rare, but they do occur. This really just shows that our system that we have in place to detect those problems and keep them from entering the food supply is working just as it is intended.”

Effect on trading relations:

“We don’t expect this to change our trading relationships with other countries. It does not change our standing with the World Organization for Animal Health or the OIE in terms of our BSE risk classification. That system recognizes that we can still have a few cases of BSE, so long as we have those proper safeguards and firewalls in place.

“This should not change any relationships with our trading partners and we’ll certainly be aggressively communicating that message to them. Certainly we want to make sure for those Asian markets that we’ve had some issues with and we’re in the process of beginning to get back to more normal trading relationship with them, we want to make sure this doesn’t raise any undue concerns with them.”

JUDD AIKEN, PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA’S PRION CENTER:

“There appears to be very, very low risk (to anyone who had drunk the cow’s milk). There’s no evidence of prion activity in milk, it’s not considered a major concern. Most of the infectious agents occur and replicate in brain and spinal cord tissue.”

He said even if the animal had an open wound as it was being milked there was very little chance it would infect the milk supplies. “There’s not significant amount of infectivity present in blood either.”

GEORGE GRAY, DIRECTOR OF GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR RISK SCIENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH:

“There’s always been concern that there could potentially be a spontaneous form of mad cow disease that just arrives and doesn’t get transmitted through feed. There’s a disease like this in sheep, and a disease like this in deer and elk”.

He said he did not know enough about the case but, “There is a potential that this is an unusual thing that really shouldn’t be called mad cow disease, it should be called another kind of encephalopathy, but it’s not like classic mad cow disease that’s transmitted by animals being exposed to the infectious parts of other animals.”

“There have been rules in place for many years to prevent the recycling of the disease in the animal herd. With protections in place, and if it is unlikely to have come from the feed, as USDA has said, it may be another disease that is very close but is not really what we think of as classical mad cow disease.”

JOHN NALIVKA, PRESIDENT OF STERLING MARKETING, INC:

“The firewalls and procedures to find mad cow were in place and the process obviously worked. As far futures are concerned, the market is at a point where it doesn’t take a great deal of information to trigger selling.

“Anything that comes around is going to be viewed as negative to the market one way or the other. But, it seems to be more leaning toward the negative side.

He said today’s selloff was a sign of uneasiness among investors who saw futures and cash cattle prices surge to new highs as late as early March and wondered “not how much higher this thing could go, but when is this market going to fall down around us.”

“You had a limited upside, but there were a whole lot of reasons the market should have a downside to it,” he said referring to sluggish beef demand in part because of the “pink slime” controversy. Also, packers resisted paying more for cattle because of deeply negative profit margins.

JOE OCRANT, PRESIDENT OF OAK INVESTMENT GROUP:

“The market rallied 150 points immediately after it was confirmed that it was a cow that had already been rendered.

“We get cows like this going down every week and inspectors come out and they find them to be diseased, they render them and that’s the end of it. And nobody even hears about.”

The difference this time, Ocrant said, is that the rumor was so widespread on the trading floor.

The rumor was not false because it was a confirmed case, said Ocrant. But had the word be out that the cow had already been rendered, the market would not have fallen limit, he said.

“This is a deal where you sell the rumor and stay short until you find out it was true,” said Ocrant. “The rumor was mad cow was found, but in a way that it doesn’t affect anything.”

RICH NELSON, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH FOR ALLENDALE INC:

“Keep in mind the majority of our beef exports go to countries with limitations for U.S. product anyway (beef from cattle aged under 30 months). Japan has the more restrictive 20 months and under standard. World health standards suggest beef from cattle under 30 months is safe because the majority of cases don’t appear until after 30 months of age (though Japan had cases down to 20 – 22 months of age).

“With these limitations our foreign buyers have already been prepared for more cases in the U.S.. This is not a 2003 situation. There will not be any new bans because of these limitations. Exports may dip temporarily but not in a meaningful way.”

DENNIS SMITH, AN ANALYST WITH ARCHER FINANCIAL:

“The key is what the export customers’ reaction is to all of this. My feeling is there won’t be a big reaction and if they do they’ll go with an age restriction like the Japanese do.

“Japan tightened import regulations on imports of U.S. beef after the first case in 2003 and currently only allows imports of beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger.

“The restriction, along with import curbs from other countries, caused U.S. beef exports to plunge, but sales have gradually recovered over the years.”

SHAWN MCCAMBRIDGE, GRAINS ANALYST FOR JEFFERIES BACHE:

“The concern is that importing nations might ban imports from the affected area. Meat exports have been very brisk, so anything like this is bearish for meats and grains too, especially corn and meal. In the past, they’ve banned imports so it now depends on what our overseas customers do.”

(Editing by Marguerita Choy and Jim Marshall)

=======================

<美 정부ㆍ업계, 광우병 진화 `총력'>

백악관 “오바마, 관련사안 인지”

출처 : 연합뉴스 2012/04/26 04:24
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/international/2012/04/26/0601080100AKR20120426007700071.HTML?template=2087

(워싱턴=연합뉴스) 이승관 특파원 = 미국에서 6년만에 처음으로 소 해면상뇌증(BSEㆍ일명 광우병)이 확인되면서 미 정부와 관련업계가 진화에 총력을 기울이는 모습이다.

정부는 농무부를 중심으로 철저한 검역체계를 통해 사태확산을 막겠다는 의지를 강조하고 있으며, 업계 단체들은 국내 소비자들은 물론 수출대상국에 인체에 무해하다는 점을 적극 주장하고 나섰다.

제이 카니 백악관 대변인은 25일(현지시간) 아이오와주(州)로 향하는 에어포스원(대통령전용기) 내에서 기자들과 만나 “버락 오바마 대통령은 이번 사안에 대해 알고 있다”면서 “농무부가 이 문제와 관련해 최선의 노력을 다하고 있는 것으로 안다”고 말했다.

톰 빌섹 농무부 장관은 성명에서 “(이번에 확인된 젖소 외에) 다른 동물들이 영향을 받았다고 믿을 이유는 전혀 없다”면서 “그러나 안전확보를 위해 꾸준히 감시할 것”이라고 말했다.

미국축산협회(NCBA)는 이날 발표자료를 통해 “미 축산업자들이 최우선으로 생각하는 것은 가축을 건강하게 기르는 것”이라면서 “모든 연령의 소를 이용해 생산되는 쇠고기 및 관련 제품은 복수의 안전장치를 거치기 때문에 안전하다”고 주장했다.

미국육류수출협회(USMEF) 필립 셍 회장도 성명을 내고 “농무부의 발표에서 가장 중요한 메시지는 미국산 쇠고기가 안전하다는 것”이라면서 “전세계 무역업자들을 상대로 이번 (광우병) 발견은 우리의 안전시스템이 제대로 작동하고 있음을 증명한다는 점을 강조할 것”이라고 말했다.

현지 언론들은 광우병 확인 소식을 사실 위주로 차분하게 보도하면서도 파장에 주목했다.

CNN방송은 `한국, 미국산 쇠고기 제한’이라는 제목의 기사를 통해 “6년만에 처음으로 미국에서 광우병이 확인되면서 한국의 메이저 소매업체가 미국산 쇠고기 판매를 중단했다”고 전했다.

소비자보호단체인 공익과학센터(CSPI)의 세라 클라인 변호사는 CNN과의 인터뷰에서 “소비자들이 주의할 필요는 없다”면서 “쇠고기나 우유가 안전하지 않다고 믿을 이유는 전혀 없다”고 말했다.

공영라디오방송 NPR는 감염된 소에서 생산된 쇠고기를 먹을 경우 크로이츠펠트-야콥병(CJD)에 걸릴 수 있다면서 실제로 1980, 1990년대 영국에서 150여명이 이로 인해 사망했으나 지금은 발병 사례가 극도로 드물기 때문에 걱정할 필요가 없다고 조언했다.

워싱턴포스트(WP)는 이날 농무부 발표 내용을 중심으로 광우병 확인 소식을 짧게 소개했다.

humane@yna.co.kr