To the people who do not think they care about agricultural policy:
Right now, in America, there are more than a million farms and ranches producing beef, creating more jobs than exist in Vermont. This does not include the poultry industry or the jobs in processing and packaging. Agriculture accounts for more than 15 percent of U.S. jobs and more than 15 percent of our economy-even more so in a state known for cheese and beef.
And now all the meat-based jobs are in jeopardy. The downside of knowing more about animal diseases is people want to control them. Immediately after one cow was found with mad cow disease in Washington, countries like China, Canada and Japan barred exports of beef from the United States. The same bans plagued U.S. poultry after the bird flu outbreak.
Luckily, there is a solution. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and business groups agreed on a large-scale animal identification system. Incorporating animal testing and building a database of the businesses that livestock pass through, the U.S. Animal Identification Plan offers protection to the industry. Instead of banning pork exports countrywide, restrictions would only go to a limited region.
The trouble is, President Bush refuses to fully fund the USAIP or increase the number of cattle tested for mad cow disease. Despite the $600 million the plan needs to move forward, Bush's 2005 budget appropriates only $33 million to USAIP. He only asks to fund testing of 40,000 of our 35 million cattle.
We need more. If tax cuts are to create jobs, we can permit taxes to be raised for job security. Family farms cannot afford the burden of export bans. Small cattle producers have announced fear of bankruptcy unless the system rights itself. For $50 per head of cattle, all cows could be tested for mad cow disease. For less than a thousandth of a percent of the military's budget, the USAIP could be in place. It is time to make agricultural policy a national issue.
Joe Uchill is a senior majoring in math. Send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
