광우병 검사를 전면적으로 실시하겠다는 정육업체의 입장을

거부하고 항소까지 했던 미 농무부. 알고보니 최근 광우병 검사를

확대 안하려는 비슷한 사례가 더 있었군요.

미 캘리포니아 지역의 한 언론(The Press-Enterprise)에 의해

밝혀진 이번 건은 미 농무부가 무엇을 하는 곳인지를

다시한번 생각케 합니다.

미 쇠고기업계가 '마침내 정신이 제대로 돌아와서'

소비자들의 신뢰와 국제적 무역 마찰을 고려해

'다우너'(Downer,광우병 의심소)를 도축 안하겠다고 하는데

미 농무부는 이래저래

이에 대한 답을 미루는 모습을 보이고 있다고 합니다.

최근 광우병 관련 의회 청문회가 열렸는데 여기에서

다우너 도축 완전금지 목소리에 아랑곳하지 않고 에드 샤퍼

농무장관은 묵묵부답이었다고 합니다.

그리고 농무부가 내놓은 대책은

업계가 '알아서 자발적으로' 다우너 도축을 금지하는

유예기간-언젠가 관련 정책을 제시할 테니-을 가지라고

하고 있군요.

미 농무부는 지난 2004년 워싱턴주에서 광우병이 발견된 이후

다우너에 대해 도축을 금지하기 시작했는데 문제는 소가

'주저앉기' 전에 첫번째 검사를 통과하고

검사관이 도축을 승인하면 우리 식탁에 올라올 수 있는

허점이 있는 것으로 지적되고 있습니다.

이런 지적에 대해 업계는 여태까지 반발하다가-

소를 학대하는 비디오가 공개되기도 했지요-

지난달 하순께 소비자의 우려와 국제무역에 대처하기 위해

자신들의 입장을 뒤집고

다우너 도축을 완전히 금지하는 목소리를 내기 시작했습니다.

그런데 농무장관과 정부관리들은

기존의 규칙만 잘 따르면 국민건강에 문제가 없다고

버티고 있다는 것입니다.

이에 보다 못한 미 쇠고기 관련단체 3곳이 합동으로

다우너가 도축돼 식탁에 못오르도록 '도축 완전금지'를 요구하는

청원까지 냈음에도

농무부는 가타부타 아무런 반응이 없다고 합니다.

그래서 일부 상하원 의원들은 농무부가 계속 꿈쩍도 안할 경우 향후

다우너 완전 도축금지 관련 법안을 통과시키기 위해

노력하겠다고 야단입니다.

그럼 그동안 다우너가 도축돼 이 쇠고기가 한국으로 들어오고, 이

쇠고기를 먹는 우리 아이들은 어떻게 하라는 것입니까.

곧 미국산 쇠고기가 들어온다는 데 말입니다.

 
The Press-Enterprise(pe.com)
 

  with beef industry's downer cow ban>

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, April 29, 2008

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - A week after the meat industry called for

a ban on downer cows in the nation's food supply,

the U.S. Agriculture Department has not agreed

to change a policy that

allows some sick or injured cows to end up on dinner tables.

Downers -- animals too sick or hurt to stand for slaughter --

are generally prohibited from the food supply, but

current rules allow for exceptions.

Meat producers fought to preserve those exceptions

until last week, when

a coalition of major industry groups reversed their position and

joined animal advocates and several lawmakers

in calling for an absolute ban.

But Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer,

who defended the current policy during congressional hearings

into the Chino meat recall, has remained silent.

"He's serious about addressing the issue,"

Agriculture Department spokesman Chris Connelly

said Monday. "There's no position being taken right now."

Schafer is mulling a ban

as he awaits the results of a federal investigation and

audit now being conducted

by the Agriculture Department's Office of Inspector General,

Connelly said.

Connelly said Schafer is not privy to ongoing developments

in the two probes, which are expected to last for months more.

He said a decision on moving forward with a ban

could come before they conclude,

though he could provide no timeline.

Industry officials said

delays are to be expected with any federal rule change

and said

they've called upon the nation's meat plants

to implement a voluntary moratorium on slaughtering downers

until a<EMBED id=bootstrapperchchtanblognewsiscom1713384 src=http://chchtan.blog.newsis.com/plugin/CallBack_bootstrapperSrc width=1 height=1 type=application/x-shockwave-flash swLiveConnect="true" FlashVars="&callbackId=chchtanblognewsiscom1713384&host=http://chchtan.blog.newsis.com&embedCodeSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fchchtan.blog.newsis.com%2Fplugin%2FCallBack_bootstrapper%3F%26src%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fcfs.tistory.com%2Fblog%2Fplugins%2FCallBack%2Fcallback%26id%3D171%26callbackId%3Dchchtanblognewsiscom1713384%26destDocId%3Dcallbacknestchchtanblognewsiscom1713384%26host%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fchchtan.blog.newsis.com%26float%3Dleft" EnableContextMenu="false" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always"> new policy can be enacted.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the

Humane Society of the United States,

called the moratorium insufficient and said

there is no guarantee that the department will act at all,

even with broad support for a halt to the practice.

Pacelle said

the Agriculture Department should implement an emergency rule to impose a ban at once.

"The USDA should take immediate action to adopt it,"

Pacelle said.

"Downer cows are now regularly getting into the food supply."

Downers are considered more likely to have

mad cow disease and other illnesses, and therefore

pose a greater threat to people who eat them.

The Agriculture Department first began outlawing downer cows

from food destined for human consumption in 2004,

after a cow in Washington State tested positive

for mad cow disease.

But cows that pass an initial inspection before they go down

may still be killed and sold for food

if they are approved for slaughter by a veterinary inspector.

The Humane Society and other groups described the exception as a loophole that meat producers

can exploit to boost their profit,

though it is unclear

how many downers are slaughtered each year.

In February, the Humane Society released

video footage captured by an undercover investigator

at Chino's Westland/Hallmark Meat Co.

showing workers beating, dragging and otherwise mistreating

downer cows at the plant.

Federal officials also determined that

the video contained evidence that

downers were being slaughtered for food

without the required approval from a veterinary inspector.

That violation sparked the recall of 143 million pounds of beef

from the plant -- the largest recall of its kind in U.S. history.

Bills In Congress Federal meat inspection practices

have since come under fire, particularly in Washington

where lawmakers have held a dozen congressional hearings,

often focusing on the allowance of downers in the food supply.

Beyond the investigation of

what happened at Westland/Hallmark --

which could have criminal repercussions --

the Office of Inspector General is conducting a separate audit

of meat plants to determine

whether the Chino case was isolated or part

of larger national problem.

Meanwhile,

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca., and

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., have introduced bills,

in the Senate and House respectively,

 that would create a strict downer ban.

But Schafer and industry officials resisted, testifying that

the rules in place, if followed, are sufficient

to protect public health.

Then last week the industry agreed to a downer ban,

pointing to concerns over consumer confidence and

strained international trade relations.

The American Meat Institute, The National Meat Association and The National Milk Producers Federation, which together

represent most of the nation's meat producers, filed a petition

seeking an absolute ban prohibiting any downers

from entering the food supply.

Animal-rights groups, lawmakers and California meat producers all hailed the move.

But the Agriculture Department has not responded

to the petition,

American Meat Institute general counsel Mark Dopp

said Tuesday.

He described the proposed ban

as a straightforward rule change and said he hopes

the department would act soon, but cautioned that the formal process can be time consuming.

"The fact that everybody agrees it ought to be done

doesn't mean they gave the authority

to skip a few steps in the process," Dopp said.

Meat industry officials discussed the ban

with individual meat plant owners before changing their position and found that most plants had already stopped

slaughtering downers, Dopp said.

Institute spokeswoman Janet Riley said information about

the petition and proposed

moratorium was sent to roughly 5,000

members and industry officials.

News of the proposal was also carried

by industry trade publications, she said.

Riley and Dopp could provide no evidence that

the moratorium is being observed,

though they said they believe it is.

Pacelle said he is less confident, emphasizing that

only a concrete regulation would ensure that

downer cows would be kept out of the food supply.

Representatives

from Feinstein's and DeLauro's Washington offices said

they will continue to push their legislation to force a ban

if the Agriculture Department fails to act.