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The
aims of the nationwide livestock-identification system are
to find a disease, trace it quickly, and finally, to stop
its spread. The purpose of the identification plan is to
protect the food supply from accidental bacterial, chemical,
or physical contamination – both accidental as well as the
result of terrorism.
While
some livestock handlers and ranchers welcome the move, saying
it will help bolster consumer confidence in U.S. meat and
help them market around the world, many worry about how
much it will cost, who will keep the data that's collected
and how it will be used.
The
tracking system is being implemented after the nation's
first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and an outbreak
of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza occurred
within the past year.
Once
it's up and running in the next few years, agriculture officials
said, the system will attempt to identify all animals and
premises that had direct contact with a foreign animal disease
within 48 hours after discovery, according to an Associated
Press report. The system uses a variety of technologies
to track animals and poultry from birth to processing.
There
are still many unknowns in the ambitious plan, which is
being developed by the government and agriculture industry
as they follow in the footsteps of other countries, such
as Canada, which track livestock. The U.S. government has
awarded initial funding for establishing the project. However,
livestock handlers and ranchers expect to contribute funding
to pay for costs and labor. The government has allocated
$18.8 million in nationwide emergency funding for the first
phase, which involves setting up a system to identify as
many livestock farms, markets and slaughterhouses as possible
in the next year. Minnesota will receive nearly $435,000
in the first phase, which begins in October.
The
agency has yet to determine overall costs for the system,
which will take several years to fully implement. For 2005,
President Bush's budget requests $33 million to continue
identifying premises as well as to identify animals, issue
tags, and test technologies.
Ranchers
in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota, said they want
guarantees that the information they provide will remain
confidential. They fear that agro-terrorists could use it
to introduce diseases. They also worry packers could use
it to discount prices to farmers by using projections of
meat supplies to manipulate cash- market prices. Officials
argue that the ranchers' fears are unfounded.
Ranchers
also worry that they might shoulder much of the program
cost or that they might be sued if disease outbreaks are
traced to their farms. “Producers should not be held liable
for any food-contamination incidents that occur, such as
E. coli when meat is improperly processed or handled,”
Sue Beitlich, president of Wisconsin Farmers Union, was
quoted by the Associated Press. “This is clearly beyond
the farmer's control.”
Confidentiality
is an issue so contentious that the program is starting
out as voluntary while concerns are addressed. It might
become mandatory after officials reassess the system. According
to the news reporting group, Donavon Stromberg of the Minnesota
Farm Bureau fears there will be little compliance unless
farmers are assured that the information will not be passed
to private companies, and that it won't be used for other
regulatory purposes. Stromberg is a dairy farmer from Mora.
William
Hawks, undersecretary for USDA marketing and regulatory
programs, has also tried to allay fears. He said the information
would not be turned over to private companies or overstep
intended regulatory boundaries.
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