AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FRANCE — A cold war is being waged between the U.S. and the European Union. The weapons of choice? Beef and cheese.Since the late ’80s, a sore spot has existed in trade relations between the two communities, stemming from a ban of U.S. imported beef treated with hormones. Since then, the U.S. has retaliated with various tariffs on European imports.The latest tariff, put in place by the Bush Administration, targets Roquefort cheese — a revered French blue cheese known for its strong taste — with a 300 percent added cost. But earlier this month, the Obama administration put a hold on the tariff expansion amid discussions with the EU’s trade director, who said progress has been made on lifting the ban.Critics claim the ban — which the World Trade Organization condemned in 1998 — was a protectionist measure meant to bolster European meat prices.Of course, the controversy over growth hormones in cattle is not the first the American beef industry has endured.Any discussion of the beef production in the U.S. inevitably began in 1906 when Upton Sinclair published “The Jungle” — a scathing portrayal of the destitution of meat factory workers’ lives and the filthy process they oversaw. As a result of Sinclair’s muckraking, a wave of food safety regulations were put in place by an angry and disgusted public.Still — more than a century later — health and safety issues persist in the increasingly industrialized agrobusiness. It has become increasingly centralized, with 80 to 85 percent of production being controlled by just four companies. After merging with IBP in 2001, chicken giant Tyson Foods became the largest of these multinational corporations, commanding a 27 percent market share.Seeking its profits through high volume and low costs, criticism of the industry extends to multiple levels. As the film “Fast Food Nation” portrays, many meat packing employees are immigrant workers — some of whom claimed to have been exploited. The breakneck speed of the cutting line has been blamed for making work in beef-processing one of the most dangerous occupations in America. Industry turnover rates are incredibly high, and many walk-offs have been staged by employees protesting poor conditions and sagging wages.Then there have been the outbreaks of disease and bacteria, displaying what critics say is a poorly managed industry. The treatment of livestock in particular was brought under public scrutiny in 2007 when the Humane Society released an undercover tape showing sick and injured cows being moved with forklifts and shocked with cattle prods — clear violations of federal law. The result was the nation’s largest beef recall in history. Still, inspectors claim they are stretched too thin and that companies track their movements, among other ploys, during their inspections.Maybe if the American public could see first-hand how the food got to the table, they would demand stricter regulations. It seems that, despite the numerous flashes of beef industry impropriety in the media, Americans keep their heads down. Even common sense approaches, like requiring video surveillance of meat processing, are easily defeated by beef industry lobbyists.In France the beef industry is also moving toward highly centralized beef processing by large companies. This trend directly threatens the French tradition of steak tartare — a plate of ground beef consumed raw. It highlights a part of the culture that is incompatible with meat from the industrialized beef business.Perhaps with an engaged public, adequate resources for inspectors, common sense laws and confidence, such a dish could catch on in America.Until then, I’ll just stick with a hamburger. Mark Macmurdo is a twenty-two-year-old economics and history senior from Baton Rouge.–Contact Mark Macmurdo at [email protected]
Murda, He Wrote: America’s beef industry still a jungle, needs reform
March 24, 2009