Russian health regulators have announced a new regulation that will require imported meat to undergo testing for and be certified free of ractopamine, a hormone that has reportedly been linked to health concerns. The additive allegedly promotes animal growth and leaner meat and is added to some animal feed in the United States. According to news sources, because the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has no mechanism in place certifying meat as “ractopamine free,” the Russian requirement could effectively halt U.S. pork and beef exports to the country, profoundly affecting the more than $500 million market. Some industry analysts reportedly see the move as retaliation for American legislation punishing Russian officials linked to alleged human rights violations. In a recent press release, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated, “The United States is very concerned that Russia has taken these actions, which appear to be inconsistent with its obligations as a…
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The Center for Food Safety has issued a paper critical of the draft report prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21), which was scheduled to meet August 27-28, 2012, to discuss the draft. According to the advocacy organization, USDA “has increasingly strayed from its role as ‘enhanc[er of] economic opportunities for US farmers and ranchers,’ by continuing to allow genetically engineered (GE) seeds, pollen, and plants to contaminate our nation’s farms without restraint.” In particular, the center calls AC21’s “co-existence” approach to organic, conventional and GE farming “a thinly veiled attempt to sanction allowable amounts of GE contamination in food by establishing a universal GE contamination threshold.” The paper contends that compensating conventional and organic farmers whose crops are contaminated by drifting GE pollen will not address the losses sustained when other countries ban all U.S. seed and crop imports. “Even…
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