Meat & Poultry -- January 2014 - 28

Special Report - Part 2

10 years later
The United States' first bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case in December 2003 remarkably had no mea able
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impact on Americans' confidence in beef or on domestic beef sales. However, the opposite was true in nearly all the US's export
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markets. Many of the immediately imposed bans on US beef and cattle are still in place. In the second of the two- part report:
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BSE:10 Years Later, Contributing Editor, Steve Kay examines BSE's costs and the challenges involved in getting U beef
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US f
back into key Asian markets.
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BY STEVE KAY
meatpoultry@sosland.com

he pressure was intensifying. Ja-

so that Acord, APHIS administrator

both countries it would take for trade

pan, by far the US's largest beef-

since November 2001, abruptly re-

to resume.

export market, was telling US trade

signed March 23. Yet, Acord's oppo-

Preparations for those negotiations

officials that if it tested all slaugh-

sition to testing ultimately prevailed.

in some countries read at times like

ter cattle for BSE, it would resume

In all likelihood, his stand saved the

something out of a spy novel. Patrick

accepting US beef again. Some US

US beef industry $1 billion per year.

Boyle, president of the American Meat

Dept. of Agriculture officials saw this

"That's how much it would have

Institute, recalls the final week of ne-

as the only way to re-start what had

cost the US to test all slaughter cattle

gotiations in Seoul on the US-Korean

been a $1.4 billion trade in 2003. But

each year," says Ron DeHaven, for-

Free-Trade Agreement and the side

other officials, notably Bobby Acord,

mer USDA chief veterinary officer,

agreement on beef access.

administrator of USDA's Animal

who succeeded Acord. "Acord really

"Whenever colleague Jim Hodg-

and Plant Health Inspection Service

spoke up and said, 'We can't do this.'

es, myself and other industry repre-

(APHIS), strongly opposed the idea.

I give him absolute credit for the US

sentatives would meet with our US

The debate over blanket testing

not testing all slaughter cattle today."

government negotiators in a hotel

intensified in early March 2004, af-

Acord and DeHaven knew that

room, they would turn up the TV

ter beef processor Creekstone Farms

Japan's testing request was a result

and make us talk in whispers and

Premium Beef, Arkansas City, Kan.,

of its own government's terrible mis-

pass handwritten notes on strategic

asked USDA for permission to test all

handling of BSE cases in their own

negotiating objectives. Were their

of its slaughter cattle. Creekstone, like

country, starting in 2000. The Unit-

hotel rooms actually bugged? I

other US beef exporters, was anxious

ed State's handling of its first case

don't know, but it was a rather

to get back into the lucrative Japanese

was just the opposite. But they knew

amusing and a memorable way

market. But there were flaws in its ar-

it would take time to get beef back

to hold a meeting."

gument. The biggest was that testing

into Japan and South Korea, which

Japan and South Korea

would have been scientifically point-

was the second-most valuable mar-

were two of 75 countries that

less as BSE had never been detected in

ket ($877 million in 2003). Korea had

immediately shut their doors

cattle under 21 months of age.

been expected to follow Japan's lead

to US beef. One notable ex-

Nonetheless, Creekstone kept

ception was Canada, which

ever, no one foresaw how many years

continued to allow ship-

agency's officials divided - so much

on banning US beef and it did. How-

pressing USDA for a response and that

of protracted negotiations and trips to

ments of boneless beef from

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Meat & Poultry -- January 2014

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