NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, March 27, 2001

Leland Swenson of National Farmers Union and Bob Stallman of American Farm Bureau Federation said they think federal laws concerning the importation of livestock will halt the viruses from taking hold in the U.S.

"We have the most productive agriculture system in the world, and we can address the foot-and-mouth problem," Stallman said. "In America, we have food safety rules that will prevent infected livestock from getting in.

"I have full confidence in our system," he said.

Equally convinced was Swenson, who said that the same politically conservative farmers in the United States who complain about over-regulation by the federal government should thank the U.S. Department of Agriculture for having such strict rules on livestock importation.

"One of the reasons we are fortunate not to have the foot-and-mouth or mad cow problem is the regulations we have," Swenson said.

"Some people might say the regulations are too expensive, but now we're proud that we have it," Swenson said. "These are regulations that benefit people, and they are an investment in an infrastructure that we should be proud of."

Their national agriculture view comes at a time when many state officials are concerned about the viruses spreading.

Foot-and-Mouth Inevitable in U.S.?

Illinois Pork Producers Association officials said they think it is inevitable the foot-and-mouth virus will hit the Midwest because Chicago is an international port.

Illinois Farm Bureau President Ron Warfield is concerned officials might not be able to deal with the virus.

"If it does spread here, we have to make sure we discover it quickly, quarantine the herd to make sure it does not spread," he said. "We have to be vigilant. [The Agriculture Department] is gearing up to make sure it doesn't happen, but there's always a risk."

In Colorado, state Agriculture Department officials are dealing with the mad cow disease threat by having 13 inspectors who are visiting cattle feed manufacturers and feed warehouses for spot inspections make sure feed does not contain cattle tissue.

U.S. Agriculture Department officials said they are not as worried, noting they are monitoring livestock across the United States that have been exposed to the viruses. Thus far, they have found no signs of infection.

They also have created a telephone hotline for people with questions about livestock restrictions and for those who want to make reports of possible infections.

See more articles about "mad cow" disease.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

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