2 July 2010

2 minute read

Oceania

Guest presenter Suzanne Solvyns spoke on the affect of the prion diseases such as CJD and variant CJD (loosely known as Mad Cow Disease) and the affects these horrendous diseases have on sufferers and their families.

“Any politician who witnessed the video footage, presented by Suzanne of patients suffering from CJD, could not allow beef into Australia from BSE-affected countries with a clear conscience,” said Brad Bellinger, Chairman of the Australian Beef Association.

David Byard from Tasmania spoke about the amount of money the consumer pays for beef, and that the price of cattle has not increased in the last twenty years, while the Supermarkets are making massive profits.

Mr Bellinger said: “I pointed out a few areas that are having drastic affect on beef producers’ profitability, including the NLIS white elephant. NLIS has cost the Industry over half a billion dollars, for no tangible benefit to the Industry. The undemocratic meat industry structure I also explained, and how corruption and unaccountability have not worked to the benefit of most beef producers.

“We were delighted to have Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, as a guest speaker. He spoke about the similarity of the problems both the US and Australian beef producer faces. The information he presented included graphs, which were riveting and emphasized the point that by the closing of Canada’s borders meant a price increase in price for American beef producers. He also mentioned the detrimental affect on Industry by having too few processors, which leads to many problems for the producer, including lack of pricing competition."

Mr Bullard congratulated us in our efforts to prevent the importation of beef from BSE countries and totally supports the ABA’s stand on this issue.

As a result of the Forum the ABA and R-CALF have agreed to form a closer relationship, to counter the predatory action of multinational meat processors and retailers controlling the market place. Cattle producers/ranchers in both countries are experiencing a drop in their share of the consumer dollar as multi-nationals hunger for increased profits at the expense of farming communities.

“We had an excellent roll-up of concerned producers, who went home armed with new information about their Industry. Attendees offered their full support to the ABA and its policies for the betterment of all beef producers,” Mr Bellinger said.

TheCattleSite News Desk