Talking about…JBS, Animal abuse, Ethanol, Korea, 13 mad cows

"By reducing the number of major buyers for ranchers' cattle from five to three -- and in some regions even one or two -- this deal will give the remaining beef processors enormous buying power. The antitrust laws should not countenance such a dangerous outcome. I therefore urge the Justice Department to bring an antitrust enforcement action to block these acquisitions.”
(Source: New York Times, June 24, 2008)
Herb Kohl, (D-WI), head of the senate’s anti-trust subcommittee, in a letter to the Justice Department’s Thomas Barnett, pointing out the deal would leave just 3 beef packers controlling more than 80% of the market.
>PS: Kohl’s group has influence but no real decision-making power.
>PPS: The subcommittee could require the divesture of Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding LLC, if the deal is approved, though.

“R-CALF USA acknowledges that the JBS proposal would be good for JBS and its shareholders. The problem is that what is good for JBS and its shareholders is not at all good for R-CALF USA and its cattle-producing members. That is why this is a fight and not a negotiation. JBS wants to capture a greater share the U.S. beef market, just as it wants to capture a greater share of the profits from each animal it slaughters, and the proposed merger would help it accomplish both.”
(Source: Cattlenetwork, June 27, 2008)
Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALFUSA, expressing his extreme opposition to the JBS merger.
>PS: Expect this to be an ongoing battle worthy of a WWE Smackdown, a Super bowl brawl reminiscent of the Giants vs the Patriots; it will be a titanic struggle.

“The food-animal production system failed these animals. Everyone involved in animal agriculture, whether on farms or in processing facilities, shares an ethical responsibility to protect the health and welfare of animals used for food production."
(Source: Meatpoultry.com, June 25, 2008)
Dr. Ron DeHaven, ex-APHIS administrator, now CEO of the AVMA, talking about the latest stealth video taken by undercover HSUS agents.
>PS: It was taped in May 2008 at the Portales Livestock Auction. Abuse is serious and critically damaging to the industry. It should be dealt with swiftly – shut down the offending operation. Period.

POINT
"While I have no doubt this mandate was a well-intentioned effort to move our country toward energy independence, it is doing more harm than good and must be modified before our livestock industry suffers permanent damage,"
Rick Perry (R), Texas Governor, leading the following industry heavyweights in a concerted effort to cut the ethanol mandate in half.
POINT
"Cattlemen are now confronting $7 and even $8 corn, and that may just be the beginning. Even before the wet spring pushed into June, we were already seeing a lot of acres migrating away from corn this year. By the time conditions improve in many of these fields, planting corn will no longer be an option."
Gregg Doud, chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
POINT
"The prices for beef, pork and dairy products have risen dramatically over the past few months and this upward trend will continue, as the food used to feed these animals is washed away by flood waters and the projected size of the corn harvest shrinks. Mother Nature is refusing to adhere to Congressional mandates for corn production.”
J. Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of the American Meat Institute.
POINT
"However, with the current ethanol mandate diverting one-third of U.S. corn to gas tanks, feed prices have shot higher and higher, making it difficult for the industry to keep high-quality foods reasonably priced."
Joel Brandenberger, president of the National Turkey Federation.
POINT
"We must ensure that we are not forcing our needs on food and fuel to compete against each other. The restaurant industry supports the development of efficient renewable fuels -- including the promotion of the use of recyclable restaurant oil -- while safeguarding against price distortions in the food supply. These prices distortions have harmed our customers and businesses."
John Gay, senior vice president of government affairs and public policy for the National Restaurant Association.
POINT
"At a time when tens of thousands of Americans are turning to food banks to feed their children, no Administration could reasonably conclude that ethanol refiners should be given priority over working families, food companies, and livestock farmers"
Cal Dooley, Grocery Manufacturers Association President and CEO.

"We will start the inspection on Friday morning (June 27), and the first meat that passes the test will be released from the facilities around July 3 or 4."
(Source: New York Times, June 27, 2008)
Lee Byung-kwon, spokesman for Korea’s National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, talking about the availability of American beef.
>PS: Don’t start the party just yet - ‘availability’ doesn’t mean sales. McDonald’s and Outback steak houses have placed newspaper ads declaring they aren’t using American beef and consumer group and massive street protests continue.

"We can tell by the intensive surveillance that the cases are not increasing. If the checks and balances were not working, one would expect (the disease) to become more common over time, and that's not the case."
(Source: Canada.com, June 28, 2008)
George Luterbach, senior veterinarian at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, trying to put the best face possible on the 13th case of mad cow disease found in that country.
>PS: This one was born 5 years after the feed ban indicating there was an incredible amount of suspect feed in Canada’s hoppers.