Something that can be used in a letter.

[sitaangel]

US horsemeat violates EU laws and US export regulations

Here are the FACTS. With no "food animal" regulations applied to horses in the US, the three foreign-owned horse slaughterhouses are in violation of US FDA regulations -

See: http://frwebgate. access.gpo. gov/cgi-bin/ getdoc.cgi? dbname=browse_ usc&docid= Cite:+21USC381 -

Look at Sec. 381. Imports and exports,(e) Exports, specifically:

(1) A food, drug, device, or cosmetic intended for export shall not be deemed to be adulterated or misbranded under this chapter if it--

(B) is not in conflict with the laws of the country to which it is intended for export

The three foreign-owned horse slaughterhouses are in violation the European Council's 'Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2005' - in other words, they're in conflict with the laws of the country which they export to.

Drugs banned from US "food producing animals" are routinely given to horses, drugs banned in the EU for "horses intended for slaughter" are routinely given to US horses. Here are the EU laws:

See European Council "Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2005" described in "Horse Passports - British Equine Vet Association" here:

http://www.beva. org.uk/index. phptopic= 2817a0590c849175 b918aab8eeb99bbe

Which ultimately classifies US horsemeat as "adulterated" and not eligible for human consumption, hazardous to human health, and "in conflict with the laws of the country to which it is intended for export."

Note also from the EU regulations: "Products which contain active substances which are not entered into one of those Annexes can never be used in horses which might be slaughtered for human consumption at a future point in time so may only be used in horses which have been declared as NOT intended for human consumption in their passport."

Phenylbutazone (aka: Bute) is one of those substances listed that US horses receive, most routinely I might add.

The Federal Meat Inspection Act is another issue -

http://www.fda. gov/opacom/ laws/meat. htm

§695. Payment of cost of meat-inspection service; exception.

'The cost of inspection rendered on and after July 1, 1948, under the requirements of laws relating to Federal inspection of meat and meat food products shall be borne by the United States except the cost of overtime pursuant to section 394 of title 7.'

Who gave the 3 foreign owned slaughterhouses the right to bypass a US federal act? Oh yeah, the USDA took that upon themselves.

Here's more facts, not myths or baseless predictions -

And please note that the more than 50% decrease did not result in 137,800 horses being left to starve, nor did it result in 137,800 horses in need of euthanasia or 137,800 carcasses in need of disposal (do the math) -

www.fda.gov/ cvm/Documents/ bse2.pdf - 12-02-2005 - Text Version

Excerpt -

2.9 Profile of Horse Producers

Horse producing, slaughtering, and rendering activities are also among the agricultural operations that could be affected by the FDA regulatory options. In the U.S., horses are not raised for specifically for slaughter, but old (false, facts show majority of slaughtered horses are young, healthy, and sound) horses are sold at auction to slaughterers.

In 1995, 106,200 head of equine were slaughtered at federally inspected plants (USDA, 1996). Horse slaughtering has been decreasing in the U.S. due to public outrage over horse slaughtering and foreign embargoes on the imports of U.S. horse meat. The 1995 figures represent a decrease of more than 50 percent from a total slaughter of approximately 244,000 equine in 1992 (Bauer, 1993).

And here's another Fact of Farmlife -

www.rendermagazine. com -

Rendering as a means of animal disposal offers a safe and integrated system that will comply with all the fundamental requirements of environmental quality and disease control. The rendering industry has to abide by State laws regarding "dead stock" disposal, which establish a time limit within which the disposal must take place (usually 24 or 48 hours after death) to avoid the nuisances associated with odors, and the potential transmission of disease causing pathogens from the carcasses. The "dead stock" are picked up by specially designated and equipped trucks to preclude any possibility of contamination of the roadways. The trucks are also cleaned and disinfected after designated routes, are subject to inspection, and authorized by law in facilities that are also licensed and approved. The aforementioned processes maximize government's ability to monitor and regulate disposal and assure compliance with sanitation and hygiene that are vital factors in the prevention and transmission of infectious agents and the subsequent spread of disease.

A recent report indicates that renderers process roughly 50% of all livestock mortalities approximating 3 billion pounds in 2000. Of this number, beef cattle accounts for the largest proportion of the mortalities requiring disposal, based on a by weight analysis. The rendering industry has typically charged modest fees to collect the on-farm/feedlot mortalities. A comparison to the operating costs and likely fixed costs associated with other animal disposal methods, the rendering option remains highly cost effective.

Rendering also offers other environmental and regulatory benefits that are not duplicated by other forms of disposal. Unlike landfill and composting, both methods that increase volume and contribute to ecological challenges, the rendering process reduces mass/volume. Rendering conforms to the traceability aspect of regulations as mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

National Renderers Association, Inc. - www.renderers. org

So tell me please, WHY ARE SO MANY IN THIS COUNTRY BENDING OVER BACKWARDS TO ACCOMMODATE 3 LITTLE FOREIGN OWNED HORSE SLAUGHTERHOUSES THAT EMPLOY A COMBINED TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 150 MOSTLY ILLITERATE IMMIGRANTS WITH QUESTIONABLE LEGAL STATUS?

150 people lose their jobs if all three slaughterhouses shut down? Ah well! I wonder how many of the immigrants are actually legal. Hm.