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Where's the beef?
American consumers enjoy the safest meat and poultry supply in the world. State agriculture departments and regulatory programs play a critical role in assuring that our food supply is safe, wholesome, unadulterated and properly labeled. Our state-inspected, locally-produced meats are some of the best, high quality specialty products in this country. They are mostly small, family-owned businesses who make popular and award-winning products such as bratwurst, smoked sausages, organic lamb, beef jerky and other ethnic specialty meat products. An outdated law prohibits the sale of state-inspected products (beef, poultry, pork, lamb and goat) across state lines--even though these products must meet or exceed federal inspection standards. Ironically, meat and poultry products from 38 foreign countries can be freely shipped and sold anywhere in the United States. Meat and poultry imports from foreign countries have increased significantly in recent years, with the U.S. importing more than 4.3 billion pounds in 2005. Currently, imported meat products comprise 20 percent of the red meat consumed in our country--more than double that of state-inspected meat sold and consumed. Imported meat and poultry products do not face the same rigorous safety and inspection standards that state inspection programs undergo. State inspection programs undergo annual audits containing more than 125 pages of compliance procedures. By comparison, USDA's audit document for evaluating the 38 foreign inspection systems is a one-page checklist. In fact, USDA estimates that less than 10 percent of all meat and poultry imports were physically examined in 2005. There are many reasons why the restriction on interstate meat sales doesn't make sense. No other food commodities inspected by state authorities are prohibited from being shipped across state lines. Other state-inspected food products, including perishable items such as milk, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, fish, and shellfish, are marketed freely across the country. Lawmakers in Washington have studied the issue of interstate meat sales for more than a decade. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to deal with this issue. Sens. Herb Kohl, D- WI, Orrin Hatch, R-UT, Kent Conrad, D-ND, Mike Enzi, R-WY, and Max Baucus, D-MT, have introduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate to remedy this situation. This legislation (S. 1149 and S. 1150) would level the economic playing field for American producers and allow them the same U.S. market access that 38 foreign countries currently enjoy. It is time for Congress to act. American consumers deserve greater access to safe, nutritious products from state-inspected meat and poultry processors. And American livestock producers, processors and small businesses deserve to compete in the national marketplace. It's just common sense and it's the right thing to do. --Roger Johnson, Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture and President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and Adrian Polansky, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Date: 10/17/07
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