Court of Appeals Reaffirms Safety of U.S. Beef
US - The R-CALF legal challenge seeking to overturn USDA’s rule allowing the import of Canadian cattle was rejected again on Tuesday in a ruling issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
29 August 2007
1 minute read
“And it lays to rest false claims by protectionist groups, such as R-CALF, that such trade presents a food safety issue,”
AMI President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle
The court, as it had done previously in 2005, upheld USDA’s assessment that current BSE “’multiple, interlocking safeguards’ implemented by both the United States and Canada will be effective at preventing human infection domestically.”
AMI President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle hailed the decision, stating that it was a victory for science and a defeat for isolationism. “This decision will help clear the way for fully restoring cattle trade with Canada, which is good for both of our countries,” said Boyle.
“And it lays to rest false claims by protectionist groups, such as R-CALF, that such trade presents a food safety issue,” he said.
At the heart of the case, R-CALF vs. USDA, was a claim by R-CALF that USDA acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner when it published its final rule to restore in part cattle and beef trade with Canada. The Court of Appeals systematically rejected R-CALF’s arguments attacking the USDA rule, observing time and again that USDA had adhered to international guidelines and scientific risk assessments.
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