Canada is the latest country to fall under the international specter of Mad Cow Disease. Diagnosis of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in one cow in Alberta on May 20, 2003 triggered an immediate trade embargo by over 30 countries around the world for all Canadian cattle and sheep livestock and meat products.

The irrationality, or indeed the madness of capitalism is always more apparent during times of crisis. Over $11 million a day is being lost in export sales as well as $7 million for domestic losses due to depressed beef prices. Canada=s livestock industry has grown exponentially in the past decade primarily to serve export markets. Now these markets have been shut off and farmers are facing ruin. There is a massive surplus of livestock and a depopulation program is being considered. While Canadian agri-food exports have more than doubled in the last ten years, imports have increased faster. In the midst of this crisis the retailing and food service giants continue to import US beef.

The US remains one of the few countries yet to diagnose this disease. Experts, however predict that it is only a matter of time before more cases are detected in North America. All aspects of the beef industry in North America are integrated so this disease is expected to be present, at least at low undetected levels, in the US as well. There has been lax enforcement of the partial ban against recycling beef by-products back into cattle feed. In addition, import controls from countries with BSE have been weak and sampling programs to detect the disease have been inadequate. Farmers and working people are now paying the price for the deregulatory environment and public service cutbacks of the past decade.

This disease found in one cow is being used as an excuse to close off a major part of agri-food trade. Japan is threatening to shut out US meat exports if the US re-opens the Canadian border. In order to maintain rural political support, many countries such as Japan and the US have already been taking measures to protect their farmers from the ravages of the international food marketplace. For example the US has dramatically increased farm subsidies and is about to introduce country of origin labeling legislation.

In order to feed their families and avoid loss of their farms to the banks, farmers have had to enlarge their herds and maximize growth efficiency through the use of growth promoting hormones and feeding of recycled animal proteins. This creates a more favourable environment for the development and spread of animal diseases such as BSE. In attempts to convince trading partners to open their borders once again, the Canadian government is rolling out a series of measures similar to those the UK and other European countries have instituted in recent years. Meat processing practices as well as feed recycling and disease surveillance programs are all being reviewed and reinforced.

The large packinghouses have always squeezed farmers by paying the lowest prices possible to maintain a supply of cattle. During this BSE crisis, farmers have seen the value of their cattle drop in half while the consumers continue to be gouged at the supermarkets. The rural economies in many parts of Canada are in peril as businesses are dying and farmers are forced to the wall.

Livestock disease or trade disease

The emergence of BSE or Mad Cow Disease is a product of the agricultural production system itself. The recycling of animal protein of cattle or sheep origin back into feed for dairy and beef cattle causes this disease. Cattle were made into cannibals to maximize growth potential. BSE has spread across Europe primarily as a result of the export market. This disease has gained attention in the media and government circles, not simply because of the 121 human deaths to date, but the risk it represents for the multinationals and for the export markets. Once again an epidemic has occurred due to a badly controlled process of globalization of economic relations, which has given primacy to economic interests over the right to protection of health.

High yields and high profits are prioritized over rationally optimizing production in a sustainable way. The autonomy of producers and consumers with respect to the multinationals is disappearing. Poorly controlled intensive agricultural production is destroying the very physical and biological basis of production.

Canadian farmers are preparing to downsize to serve a domestic market perhaps for years to come. There are alternatives to the current Aproduce-more, export-more@ model of agriculture --organic agriculture, supply-management, and reduced input agriculture. These alternatives embody principles that stand in direct opposition to the production and trade-maximizing principles of the WTO, NAFTA, and proposed FTAA. National Farmers Union leaders have called for a new vision for the world agricultural trade and production system, one that promotes stability, health, biodiversity, and culture: one that respects and builds the health and well-being of all people, the earth, the air, and of our animals, now, and for future generations.

The article above was written by Frank Atwood.