WorldWatch:

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Monday, March 26, 2012
Expanding the Footprint of US Red Meat in Russia
RUSSIA - American beef and pork took centre stage across western Russia this month with high–profile participation in an international culinary competition; the leading hospitality industry trade show, ExpoHoreca, and master classes for Russian chefs.
 

The Baltic Culinary Star Cup drew top young chefs from Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia to compete against one another and develop creative dishes using US beef top blade and sirloin as well as US pork loin. The Lithuanian team won the Cup this year with a dish featuring top blade.



The Baltic Culinary Star Cup was won by the team from Lithuania



A competitive field included chefs from Russia



Two Russian chefs cooking with US beefAmerican beef was well-represented by Marr Russia and GrandFoods, two leading importers of US beef, at ExpoHoreca, the 10th International Specialized Exhibition of Hospitality Industry, which drew food industry professionals from the Baltic region’s hospitality sector and abroad.

“The large attendance this year – estimated at 10,000 – could signal a positive change in the HRI (hotel, restaurant, institutional) sector, which was heavily affected by the financial crisis,” said Yuri Barutkin, St. Petersburg representative for the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

Mr Barutkin noted that the financial downturn created a good opportunity for USMEF to successfully promote alternative cuts of US beef, creating new interest among HRI distributors to invest in flank and skirt steaks as well as top sirloin. USMEF also is working to develop interest among Russian chefs in pork loins.

Both US beef and pork received added visibility at ExpoHoreca through USMEF master classes that ran through all three days of the show. American beef striploin and beef ribs as well as pork loins were featured in dishes prepared by leading chefs from top hotels and top restaurants in St. Petersburg who demonstrated different preparation techniques for the participants.

“The master classes featuring US pork and beef enabled us to reach a wide range of professionals and consumers with information about the quality attributes of US red meat, which is so different from our competition,” said Mr Barutkin. “And, as always, tasting the product spoke louder than a thousand words for consumers.”

Mr Barutkin also noted that USMEF’s participation in this type of culinary competition is an investment in the future.

“Most of the participants are very young chefs,” Mr Barutkin said. “They are right out of culinary school, so they are developing their skills and reputations, and this is the perfect time to educate them about working with the highest quality ingredients, such as US beef and pork.”

Support for USMEF’s participation in ExpoHoreca, the Baltic Culinary Cup and the master classes was provided through the USDA Market Access Program, the Beef Checkoff program and the Pork Checkoff program.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Monday, March 26, 2012
Dairy Consumption in the Philippines Growing
PHILIPPINES - Dairy consumption in the Philippines is growing, writes Michael Hussey, Food and Beverage Division, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board.
 
The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia and has a population of over 93 million. The country is almost completely dependent on imports of all dairy commodities. Domestic milk is used only for ready-to-drink milk. Traditional Philippine cuisine does not have any place for dairy products. Despite this, dairy consumption has grown, encouraged by Government policies. Milk powders are largely used for reconstitution as ready-to-drink milk (either fresh or UHT). The major players in the market are Fonterra Philippines, Alaska Milk Corporation (USA), Nestle and Snow Mountain Corporation.

The country has an import requirement of around 180,000 tonnes of milk powders. SMP accounts for around 110,000 tonnes while WMP imports and whey combined make up around 70,000 tonnes. Milk Powders (SMP, WMP, Whey and Buttermilk powder) constitute about 79 per cent of total imports.

New Zealand is the largest supplier to the market, accounting for 36 per cent of imports. This is followed by the United States at 25 per cent, Australia at 11 per cent and Malaysia at six per cent.

Australia and New Zealand have tariff free access due to a free trade agreement. The most recent Philippine trade agreement entered into by the country is the AANZFTA (ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement), which was signed in February 2009.

Parties to the AANZFTA are Australia, New Zealand and the ten ASEAN members. As of 2010, milk powder, cheese, whey and buttermilk from Australia and NZ enter the Philippines duty free, while milk powder and whey from the United States have an MFN duty of one per cent; cheese three to seven per cent and buttermilk three per cent.

Imports of milk powders have been growing at around one per cent per year while butter and cheese have been growing at 18 per cent annually. While these sectors are dominated by New Zealand and US suppliers there may be opportunities for Irish dairy producers as the demand grows further.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Canada & Japan Launch Economic Agreement
CANADA & JAPAN - Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz joined Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Japan to launch negotiations of an Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan that will benefit both countries' agricultural industries.


Minister Ritz led a diverse delegation of Canadian agriculture industry to Japan and met with Japanese beef, pork, grain and oilseed buyers in an effort to grow market opportunities for Canada's safe, high-quality products.

"Free trade between Japan and Canada will help ensure agriculture and food products are available in both countries for the mutual benefit of farmers and consumers," said Minister Ritz. "Canada's agriculture producers and processors are a key part of Canada's economy which is why our Government continues to make international trade a priority."

Canada is committed to deepening its economic ties with Japan by ensuring that trade flows freely between the countries. Japan is the third largest economy in the world and is Canada's second largest agriculture market. Japan's market is worth almost $4 billion for Canadian farmers and food processors. Japan is the second largest market for Canadian exporters with total pork and pork products worth almost $900 million in 2011. Canada's "heart smart" canola oil also holds 40 per cent of Japan's edible oil market and is worth approximately $1.4 billion to Canada.

Minister Ritz met with his Japanese counterpart, Minister Michihiko Kano, and thanked Japan for its recent decision to review its domestic and import regulations for beef, which Canada hopes will lead to expanded access beyond under 21 months. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association estimates that this move will more than double Canadian beef sales to Japan for a total of $160 million in the first year of full access.

By partnering with the Canadian Wheat Board, the Canadian Grain Commission and the Grain Growers of Canada, Minister Ritz was able to guarantee the Japanese grain industry of continued supply of Canada's world-class wheat and barley. Japan is Canada's third largest market for wheat with exports in 2011 totalling $471 million. Canada is Japan's largest malt supplier and is responsible for 40 per cent of malt imports.

After Japan, Minister Ritz travelled to South Korea to reiterate Canada's support for increased agriculture trade between the two countries. Canadian agriculture and food exports to South Korea totalled more than $1 billion in 2011. Minister Ritz expressed support for South Korea's recent science-based decision to allow the import of Canadian beef under 30 months of age. Canada's beef industry estimates that this restored market access could mean more than $30 million for Canadian producers by 2015. South Korea was Canada's fourth-largest market before the 2003 bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Epigenetics: The Next Frontier in Livestock Genetics
GLOBAL - While controversial, epigenetics does appear to offer potentially significant value to livestock genetic programmes, say the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) and GenomeAlberta.


Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression and other genomic functions without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

Epigenetic studies show that not all genetic information is in the DNA sequence as a significant portion is found in modifications on the epigenome, particularly in DNA methylation (DNAm).

It makes sense that manipulating both DNA and methylation of the epigenomes could add significant value to overall livestock genetics efforts. What doesn’t make sense is that such has yet to be explored on any appreciable scale.

In the scientific article “Epigenetics: A New Challenge in the Post-Genomic Era of Livestock,” author Oscar Gonzalez- Recio, of the Departamento de Mejora Genética Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria in Madrid, Spain, explains the significance in variations in methylation patterns between individuals, even, if not especially, between those that are genotypically identical and what that can mean to breeders and farmers.

The article explains the impact: “…the environment may affect the methylation pattern of up to three generations cohabiting under the same specific circumstances at a given time during pregnancy: the productive female, the fetus, and the fetus’ germ cells. Hence, what happens to an animal during its lifetime may have consequences in future generations.”

While epigenetics is increasingly popular in genetic studies of cancer and other human diseases, it has yet to gain much attention in livestock genetic studies although the potential benefits in veterinary medicine alone are enticing.

Mr Gonzalez- Recio explains in the article that: “Farms could use epigenetic information to reduce disease incidence and the use of antibiotics in animal production. Personalised medicine using methylation on DNA is currently carried out on cancer research in humans (Peedicayil, 2008; Gomez and Ingelman-Sundberg, 2009), and seems to be a promising strategy for veterinary medicine as well.”

While some farming operations may be unsettled at the thought that they may need to change the environment not only for the current animals' welfare but for future offspring three generations deep, they can likely see profits exceed the costs of doing so, according to Mr Gonzalez- Recio.

“For instance, animals with concentrate and uni-feed diet systems are expected to be differently methylated than animals in a less intensive system based on a pasture feeding systems. It will be important to detect what practices are associated to favourable methylation patterns that affect disease resistance and other economically important traits. Finding this missing causality would assist in rising animals under favourable circumstances and reduce unfavorable methylation patterns.”

Among those “other economically important traits” are likely to be higher profits for epigenetically "certified" livestock and genetic material sales and improved public relations that can lead to better acceptance of meat products and fewer incidents of animal activist protests.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Monday, April 02, 2012
EU Agricultural Policy Reform Delay
EU - The European Parliament has stated it will delay on deciding its final position on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform until the EU Budget Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) has been decided (scheduled for late December 2012).


The MEPs claim they must know the total amount of ‘budgetary resources’ available in order to decide how policy should be reformed. It had been expected that the Parliament and Council of Ministers would publish their positions in the autumn; even then their two positions will need to be reconciled before policy can be agreed.

This delay might push the subsequent procedures into panic mode, especially if the implementation is to remain as January 2014, says UK farm business consultants, Andersons.

UK Agriculture Minister Jim Paice has started stating publically that implementation might be 2015, something Andersons has been saying for several months. Some commentators have been suggesting that the EU Budget negotiations will not be completed at the Summit in late December this year when it is planned to be signed. This could raise the chance of a second year of postponements before implementation, making a new CAP start date of 1st January 2016 possible.

Commissioner Ciolos has confirmed that the Commission will be publishing a series of ‘nonpapers’ (informal explanatory notes) by the end of June. These are designed to provide more detail on the very broad polices set out in the October 2011 draft legislative proposals. They are primarily for the benefit of the Council of Ministers and European Parliament, to allow more informed discussions of the proposals.

One area where more detail has been called for is on the ‘greening’ proposals, but further detail may also be forthcoming on areas such as ‘capping’ and‘active farmer’. Whilst it may be nice to have a better of idea of what is being proposed, it still does not really help planning very much, says Andersons. Until the final CAP deal is agreed, any policy is subject to change.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Drought Pushes Feed Prices up 12 Per Cent
SPAIN - Feed prices have seen a dramatic rise in prices since January, up 12 per cent to 0.33 euro per kilo.


The Agri-Food Cooperatives has said that due to a lack of grass caused by the drought feed prices have rocketed, reports Besana.

Increasing production costs and a lack of profitability are making livestock production unsustainble, the Cooperative said.

For the dairy industry feed costs account for 70 per cent of total costs, and have increased 50 per cent since 2010.

The opposite is happening to milk prices though, with the price paid to producers and sold to consumers dropping.

"This demonstrates a serious imbalance of the value chain," said the Cooperative. It is supporting a true rebalancing of the sector, with increased power for producers in the market.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Wednesday, April 04, 2012
China Becomes Biggest Grocery Market
CHINA - China has overtaken the United States (US) as the world’s biggest food and grocery retail market, according to the latest research published today (Wednesday) by IGD.


According to the findings the Chinese grocery sector was worth £607bn at the end of 2011, while the US market came in at £572bn over the same period – the second largest in the world.

By 2015, the Chinese market is forecast to be worth £918bn compared to a US value of £675bn.

Between 2011 and 2015, the US grocery retail market should see growth accelerating to reach a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2 per cent, but China’s rate will be double this at 10.9 per cent over the same period.

All the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations will be in the top five grocery markets by 2015, with India displacing Japan as the world’s third largest grocery market by value.

Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive, IGD, said: “China’s grocery growth story is phenomenal. Between 2006 and 2015, the Chinese grocery market is forecast to triple in value and to be worth nearly a trillion pounds. This rapid expansion has been fuelled by three main factors: rapid economic growth, population and rising food inflation.

“Despite its various logistical and bureaucratic challenges, China is a crucial growth market for many of the world’s largest grocery retailers. Even beyond the major cities there are huge opportunities: forecasts suggest there will be over 200 Chinese cities with a population over a million people by 2025. But given China’s size and diversity, it’s essential not to treat the country as one homogenous market.

“All the BRIC nations have been steadily increasing in value and by 2015 they are tipped to dominate the top five grocery slots, and many UK food and grocery companies are already pursuing this opportunity."

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Food Prices Remain Nearly Unchanged in March
GLOBAL - World food prices in March remained virtually unchanged from their February levels, according to the latest FAO Food Price Index, published last week. The Index averaged 216 points in March, compared to 215 in February.


According to FAO, among the various commodity groups, only oils prices showed strength, whereas dairy prices fell.

The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 227 points in March, up 1 point from February. Maize prices registered some gain, supported by low inventories and a strong soybean market, but wheat changed little as supplies remained ample. After several months of declines, prices of rice recovered somewhat in March, underpinned by large purchases by China and Nigeria.

The FAO Oils/Fats Price index rose in March to 245 points, up 6 points or 2.5 per cent from February, as markets reacted to the prospect of growing tightness in the 2011/12. Weak growth in world palm oil production and limited global soy oil export availabilities combined with declining rapeseed production contributed to the rise in oils prices.

The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 178 points in March, up marginally from the previous month, sustained by a slight rise of bovine meat price but still reaching an all time high. Prices of pig meat and sheep meat changed little, while they weakened in the case of poultry amid slowing import demand and generally ample export availabilities. On average, meat prices in the first quarter were 3.5 per cent higher than last year.

The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 197 points in March, down 5 points or 2.5 per cent from February and registered the lowest level since August 2010. All the dairy products showed weakness last month, in particular butter, as well as skim milk powder and casein. Since reaching record levels in March 2011, dairy prices have followed a downward trend, as supplies rose in Oceania, Europe and North America. As a result, prices in the first quarter were 12 per cent lower in 2012 than last year.

The FAO Sugar Price Index averaged 342 points in March, and remained unchanged from February but was 30 points or 8 per cent lower than in March 2011. Overall, sugar prices were volatile, as the market looked for direction ahead of the beginning of the new season in Brazil, the world's largest sugar producer and exporter. India, the EU and Thailand, have all reported increased output, which contributed to keeping prices below their high levels of last season.

Cereal stocks expected to rise
The forecast for world cereal carryover stocks in 2012 has been raised by 1 million tonnes over the previous month to 519 million tonnes. Much of the upward revision relates to expectations of higher rice inventories.

At the current forecast level, the world cereal stocks-to-use ratio in 2011/12 reaches 22.1 per cent, up slightly from 21.7 per cent in 2010/11. Among the major cereals, rice inventories are forecast to increase the most - by 11 million tonnes to 152 million tonnes, the highest level since 2000. Wheat stocks are also expected to rise sharply by 7 million tonnes to 196 million tonnes, the second highest level since 2003; however, coarse grains stocks could decline by nearly 3 million tonnes to 171 million tonnes, the lowest level since 2008.

Early outlook for 2012/12
The FAO's production forecast for wheat in 2012 remains at 690 million tonnes, 1.4 per cent below the record in 2011 and unchanged from last month. In spite of this decline, world wheat supplies in 2012/13 would still exceed projected need because of large inventories, according to this month's report. Rice markets also appear to be well supplied in 2012/13 given consecutive years of record production which have helped boost inventories. However, coarse grain supplies will be particularly tight in the coming months, especially for maize in the United States, the world's largest producer and exporter.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Food Costs Could Rise with Relocation & Reduction
US - Paying more for food may not be out of the question for consumers if regulations on the US poultry and livestock sectors increase. In fact, consumers could pay up to $16.8 billion more annually for meat, milk and eggs if regulations are imposed on US poultry and livestock farmers that raise input costs by 25 per cent.


According to United Soybean Board, the Consumer and Food Safety Costs of Offshoring Animal Agriculture, a soy-checkoff-funded study released last month, evaluated current US supply and demand for poultry and livestock products and the impact of regulations on retail price. The study indicates that potential regulations could raise consumer costs. For example, requiring cage-free housing for laying hens would increase the cost of eggs from $1.68 to $2.10 per dozen, a total cost of $2.66 billion per year to US consumers.

“This could have a big impact on everyone – it’s not just that dozen eggs you and I buy at the grocery store,” explains Vanessa Kummer, a soybean farmer from Colfax, North Dakota, and chair of the United Soybean Board (USB). “As Americans, we have abundant, nutritious and affordable food choices that rely heavily on protein from animals, and, as farmers, we continue to work hard on improvements because we share consumers’ concerns for our country’s land and resources, and the quality of America’s food.”

The United Soybean Board says that the report cites increased regulations that could drive up costs of production meat, milk and eggs by anywhere from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. It shows that a 25 per cent increase in costs to animal agriculture would reduce US exports by $1.1 billion and cause nearly 9,000 Americans to lose their jobs.

“US agriculture leads the world as a global producer and exporter of animal products, and we need that to continue,” adds Ms Kummer. “The poultry and livestock sectors not only support the US export market, but also make our economy stronger here at home by creating jobs and tax revenue.”

According to the United Soybean Board, the most recent statistics compiled by the soy checkoff show the poultry and livestock sectors support 1.8 million jobs and generate more than $283 billion for the US economy.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Thursday, April 12, 2012
Farm Produce Prices Fall for Third Week
CHINA - The prices of major farm produce monitored by MOFCOM fell in three consecutive weeks last week (2-8 April), while price of material for production was stable.


The prices of eight aquatic products dropped 0.3 per cent over the last week, of which small cutlass fish, carp and big cutlass fish saw a decrease of 1.7 per cent, 1.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

The retail price of eggs dropped 0.2 per cent, 7.6 per cent lower than in the beginning of this year. The prices of eggs in Beijing, Guangzhou and Tianjin dropped 13.6 per cent, 13.4 per cent and 11.9 per cent.

The prices of meat fluctuated slightly, wherein pork dropped in ten consecutive weeks, 1.2 per cent lower than that of last week, 12.5 per cent lower than that of the end of January, while the prices of pork in Shanghai, Beijing and Chongqing dropped 26.1 per cent, 24 per cent and 15.8 per cent respectively. The price of chicken was down by 0.1 per cent while that of beef and mutton were up by 0.8 per cent and 0.5 per cent.

The retail prices of grains grew steadily, of which rice was stable while that of wheat flour was up by 0.2 per cent. Due to the increasing prices and increasing imported costs, the retail prices of edible oil rose, of which rapeseed oil, soybean oil and peanut oil were up by 0.3 per cent, 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Wednesday, April 18, 2012
China Expects Slowing Farm Produce Price Growth
CHINA - China's farm produce prices are likely to fall back to 10-percent growth this year as supplies of most agricultural products are becoming more plentiful, a think tank forecast on Wednesday.


As the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) released a new green paper on the issue, it predicted that grain prices are likely to grow 7 per cent and livestock prices may jump 12 per cent year on year in 2012.

It is estimated that fishery products will see a 5-per cent rise in price, according to the paper, which analyzes the development of China's rural regions in 2011 and predicts their development in 2012.

China's food prices, which account for roughly a third of the weighting in calculating the consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation in China, surged 11.8 per cent year on year in 2011, pushing the index to grow 5.4 per cent, well above the government's control target of 4 per cent.

Prices of pork, China's favorite meat, saw great rises in the middle of last year, stirring public concerns of stubbornly high inflation in the country. However, the CPI has shown signs of easing in the first quarter of 2012.

It rose 4.5 per cent in January and narrowed to a 3.2-per cent increase in February before rebounding to 3.6 per cent in March. The government aims to keep the CPI increase at around 4 per cent this year.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Thursday, April 19, 2012
Joint Efforts to Address Animal Welfare
GLOBAL - FAO recently convened the First Global Multi-stakeholder Forum on Animal Welfare, with participants representing the food industry, farmers, the civil society, inter-governmental organizations, governmental authorities and the academia, reflecting the growing conviction that animal welfare is an issue of widespread interest.


According to FAO, the Forum was organized with the support of the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Commission. The meeting was a stocktaking experience convened to share and scale-up best ideas, practices and innovative solutions to the complex animal welfare challenges. It provided a comprehensive overview on activities addressing animal welfare and on the variety of stakeholders providing them.

The Forum was attended by over 250 participants from 35 countries (including Canada, USA, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Suriname, almost all EU ones, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel, South Africa, Kenya, the Gambia, China, Mongolia, Malaysia, India, Australia and New Zealand). It included a wide range of speakers, representing governmental institutions (e.g. Norwegian, Australian, Israelian, and Surinamese authorities); private sector representatives like the USA National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the Animal Transport Association (ATA), the International Wool and Textile Organization (IWTO) and GLOBALG.A.P.; civil society organizations like the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals (RSPCA), Animals' Angels, the Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW), the Pan African Animal Welfare Alliance (PAAW), etc.; academic, research training centres; professional organizations and inter-governmental agencies.

The meeting gathered a plethora of interesting experiences and modalities of partnership to enhance animal welfare, but also showed the constraints faced by all stakeholders. There was a clear commitment of all stakeholders to participate in the process to enhance animal welfare in the context of a responsible and sustainable development of the livestock sector.

FAO, as an honest broker, will continue to facilitate the joint, multi-stakeholder approach through specific activities to enhance partnerships that will take into account similar existing initiatives and scale up successful experiences to provide a platform to develop a global, common, road-map for animal welfare.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Monday, April 23, 2012
Olympic Athletes Could Get Branded as Cheats
CHINA - An official from the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) denied reports that athletes were banned in January from eating untested pork, beef and lamb in an attempt to avoid doping scandals in the run-up to the London Olympics.


Still, extreme caution is in order.

"The administration has never banned athletes from eating meat. It just reminded them to be on alert," said Chen Zhiyu, head of the general office of GASC's science and education department.

Chinese media reported earlier this month that Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang hasn't eaten pork for years due to fears he could accidentally consume clenbuterol - known in China as "lean meat powder" - the banned performance-enhancing substance that led to Olympic judo champion Tong Wen's two-year suspension in 2010.

"I specifically checked with the 110m hurdles team's leader, Yang Jimin," Chen said. "He felt pretty angry (when he heard the report). He emphasized Liu has never stopped eating pork."

With the Games approaching though, athletes are being kept within the system.

The athletes assembled at the national training center in Beijing are not allowed to have meals in restaurants outside the base.

"The food is totally reliable here at the base," said Ye Zhennan, manager of the national gymnastics team, during a media session last Friday. "But no one knows whether it is safe or not in other places. So we don't allow them to eat out.

"We can't afford to take any risks at the crucial moment now. All our athletes have to eat only in the center's canteen, even when they have a day off."

Mr Zhennan's concern comes as a handful of star athletes claim to have failed drug tests due to dinning out.

Earlier this year, three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador from Spain was banned two years from cycling and stripped of his 2010 title after testing positive for clenbuterol, claiming he unwittingly ate contaminated beef.

There were similar stories from Tong, female former world No 1 shuttler Zhou Mi and budding German table-tennis star Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

The World Anti-Doping Agency issued a warning last November to athletes traveling to China and Mexico, urging them to exercise extreme caution when eating meat.

To guarantee a drug-free environments leading up to London, experts from the national anti-doping center closely examined every link of the catering service, routinely tested food ingredients from their sources and provided education to athletes.

The center has started to conducts doping tests more frequently, examining more than 10,000 samples annually, according to deputy director Zhao Jian.

Still, the athletes' own vigilance is key, Mr Zhennan said.

"The food security standard for athletes is much higher than the one that applies to ordinary people," Ye said. "Players have to make it a priority, just like preventing injuries in their daily training."

he The athletes don't seem to mind eating all their meals in the cafeteria.

"It actually doesn't bother us at all," said Guo Ailun, a guard on the men's national basketball team, which is practicing at the center. "I didn't hear of any meat ban. We still have all kinds of meat dishes here on the menu. Beef and pork steaks, they are safe and yummy."

Mr Ailun said the players are required to consult with the team doctor if they ingest any new food, medicine or other nutrition.

If there's a reason athletes must eat out, the team will ask for a note that lists the exact date, restaurant and dish, just in case a test is later needed.

"This is a way to be able to defend yourself and appeal your innocence in case you unexpectedly fail a test," said Zhang Xiong, manager of the men's basketball team.

"It can at least prove that it happened because of food, not drugs."

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Thursday, April 26, 2012
Experts Challenge Sustainability of Food System
CANADA - A report released by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has criticised intensive livestock operations for their use of antibiotics, effect on the environment and rural communities, poor welfare and cost to the taxpayer.


What's On Your Plate? The Hidden Costs of Industrial Animal Agriculture exposes the destructive impacts of intensive livestock operations (ILOs) on our health, the environment, animal welfare and rural Canada, said WSPA.

"Intensive livestock operations or ILOs are producing drug resistant super bugs, destroying our planet's life support system and transforming the social fabric of our rural communities" says Melissa Matlow, WSPA Campaigns Manager, Humane and Sustainable Agriculture.

"Food-borne illnesses are costing our healthcare system between $12 and $14 billion annually," says report contributor Dr Eva Pip. "Animal agriculture uses more land and water than any other human activity."

"The running of ILOs also involves significant energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions", notes Dr Tony Weis.

Darrin Qualman says that ILOs are costing Canadian taxpayers directly.

"Government of Canada data shows that hog ILOs couldn't exist without huge tax-funded subsidies". Farm animals are paying a high price too. They suffer painful mutilations, bred to grow faster and crammed into small cages, all to make ILOs possible. "There is solid evidence that our industrial farming practices are causing acute suffering for animals," concludes Dr Ian Duncan.

Key findings of the WSPA report include:

The huge amounts of manure from ILOs contain antibiotic residues, heavy metals and pathogens (like E. coli). When applied on to fields or illegally dumped in ditches, these toxins end up in our drinking water and on crops. It also flows into lakes and rivers, killing fish.


Non-therapeutic use of antibiotics is causing drug resistant super bugs to be found on ILOs in manure and in groundwater near fields — risking the effectiveness of live-saving medicines.


ILOs are causing species loss, soil erosion and lake and river pollution.


Tax-payers are subsidising the largest industrial farms. Hog farms with annual revenues over $1million collected 72 per cent of the subsidies in 2009. Since 1996, Canadians have given nearly $4 billion to subsidise the hog industry.


ILOs have caused the hollowing out of rural communities as increasing debt, diminished quality of life and soaring unemployment mean businesses, people and infrastructure are abandoning these areas.


Painful mutilations done to farm animals (beak severing, hot branding, teeth breaking, etc) without anesthetic would be illegal if performed on a cat or dog and are purely surgical solution to human-made problems.
WSPA is calling for changes by all levels of government to policies and practices that will safe-guard the health of Canadians, protect our environment, revitalise rural communities and improve the lives of farm animal across the country, said a press release.

One of the recommendations of the report is to improve labelling requirementsm so that Canadian producers could identify production methods such as free-range, local and antibiotic free meat, milk and eggs.

WSPA also recommends that practices such as de-beaking and castration be done with anaesthetic or be phased out. It supports the Canadian Medical Association’s call to require veterinary prescriptions for all agriculture antibiotic use

The group has said it will work with industry and farmers to end the worst confinement systems, which they believe are battery cages, sow stall and veal crates.

Finally, WSPA believes that industrial livestock operations should be regulated like other major polluting industries.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Thursday, April 26, 2012
Viet Nam's Middle Class Lifts Food, Feed Demand
ANALYSIS - The growth in China has garnered a lot of attention lately, but China's neighbour - Viet Nam - is another emerging market that is building our global middle class and increasing grain demand, writes Sarah Mikesell, senior editor.

By 2020, 600 million households, primarily in the developing world, are going to join in the global middle class, said Thomas Dorr, US Grains Council president and CEO, at the Commodity Classic in early March. These new markets, in terms of sheer size and dollar value, will exceed existing middle class markets in the US, Europe and Japan within the next decade.

Viet Nam Emerges in a New Way
Viet Nam is one of the emerging new markets. With a population of nearly 90 million, it is larger than any European country. Mr Dorr said it is an excellent example of a country that is 20 years behind China on the development curve at this point but it will not take the same 20 years for them to catch up because Viet Nam is learning from China by example.



Thomas Dorr, US Grains Council president and CEO, speaks to US farmers at the Commodity Classic in early March."The ability to communicate and inform people is speeding up Viet Nam's development process," he said. "It is going to be replicated throughout the world as these two emerging economies grow. It's also clearly defining significant new growth opportunities for US agriculture producers, as well as agribusinesses."

Viet Nam and other emerging markets will be unable, due to land, water and other resource constraints, to build out their food systems on a US-style commodity production system, he said.

While developing a strong middle class and a corresponding food demand, Viet Nam is going to meet that demand by creating new systems for production and marketing that are likely to be very different from the legacy systems that the US and developed countries have now.

Meat Consumption Drives Demand
Grain demand is being driven by meat consumption increases in Viet Nam. For the last five years, their domestic production has fallen short of domestic consumption and domestic feed consumption. Imports for US corn in 2011 dropped from 1.7 million tons down to one million tons. Mr Dorr said the drop was due to Viet Nam replacing US imports with feed imports from Argentina.

Looking at corn-for-feed demand projections through 2015, Viet Nam is growing at about a 30 per cent rate, and the corn growth from local production is growing at about a 30 per cent rate, Mr Dorr said. However, local production is starting from a much smaller base, which means there will be a continuous increase in demand for corn.

As for total US agricultural product exports to Viet Nam, in 2006 it equalled $215 million and in five years that has grown to $1.3 billion, suggesting that the investments of time, effort and capacity and working on the political policy side of the programs was quite effective, Mr Dorr said.



Dried Distiller Grains (DDGs)
(Photo courtesy of the US Grains Council)Feed Opportunity
Overall, Viet Nam is the fastest growth market for US feedstuffs, with the majority being soybean meal. Today, Viet Nam is the eighth largest market for US feedstuffs. They are the fastest growing market in the ASEAN community - that excludes Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Viet Nam is the number one market for US Dried Distiller Grains (DDGs) in Southeast Asia, and it's the fourth largest in the world behind China, Mexico and Canada. Last year, Viet Nam imported close to a half million tons of DDGs.

Mr Dorr said the USGC is seeing a mix of intensive, large-scale commercial livestock operations moving into countries like China and Viet Nam. These operations provide a huge opportunity for feed products.

Currently, a dairy operation is being built in Viet Nam that will result in 130,000 cows under one management structure. There are 10,000 cows currently in production, and the project is being implemented by a team of 20 Israeli animal scientists and technologists.

"They will build a very sophisticated dairy processing facility, and I can assure you that this particular project is designed to provide more than just dairy products for Viet Nam," he said.

Building a Standardized System
The US Grains Council (USGC) became active in Viet Nam immediately after the US and Viet Nam normalized relations. Mr Dorr said the USGC immediately began to develop policy recommendations for Viet Nam's Ministry of Agriculture, creating their first five-year development plan.

"Building on those opportunities and policy changes and the ability of the USGC and its partners to develop credibility, we were able to access the government," he said. "We have been effective collaboratively to build up capacity in Viet Nam's meat, milk and poultry industries to ensure consumers can have a higher level of confidence and a larger level of variety in their domestic food systems."

The USGC, the United Soybean Export Council and the US Meat Export Federation have developed a relationship with the Ministry of Agriculture in Viet Nam. This relationship resulted in the teams assisting with writing the Viet Nam Animal Health Law, their plant laws and other laws relative to Viet Nam's food systems, as well as developing the regulatory implementation needed to make the laws effective.

"The team of US collaborators developed an international standardized system that was not inherently designed to detract from the development of trade," he said. "As a result, we now have a platform which all of our industries collectively can trade in a WTO-compliant, regulatory-compliant manner throughout Viet Nam, and it's been built on a well-defined scientific base. And that is going to facilitate growth in this economy."


Sarah Mikesell, Senior Editor