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NASDA Backs Amendment Banning Argentine Meat Imports
USAgNet - 07/21/2008

The nation's leading state agriculture officials are backing an amendment that would prohibit the importation of most livestock and meat products from Argentina until that country is certified free of foot and mouth disease.

"An outbreak of FMD would have a devastating impact on the U.S. livestock industry," said North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. "The Foot and Mouth Disease Prevention Act of 2008 would prohibit livestock and meat imports from Argentina."

The amendment to the FY 2009 Agriculture Appropriations bill was passed Friday, by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Johnson said the amendment, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson - SD, would effectively foil a proposal by the U.S, Department of Agriculture to allow importation of meat from the southern Patagonia region of Argentina, an area with documented cases of FMD.

"While regionalization is a concept that NASDA supports in some instances for some diseases, NASDA believes importation from a sub-region where the disease has been prevalent and still exists in surrounding areas is unwise at this time," Johnson said.

Johnson also noted that Dr. Sam Holland, South Dakota state veterinarian and current president of the national state veterinarians' organization, conducted an informal survey of state animal health authorities and found they were overwhelmingly opposed to regionalization of Argentina for FMD at this time.

NASDA represents the secretaries, directors and commissioners of agriculture in the 50 states and four territories.