National Cattlemen Make Trip to European Union

California cattle producer John Maas and NCBA Director of Food Policy Leah Wilkinson are back in the U.S. today, after last week’s extensive meetings with animal agriculture representatives in both France and Belgium. NCBA originally requested these meetings to allow U.S. cattle producers and other agriculture groups to see ‘in-person’ the workings of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

“This was a great opportunity for us to examine the work of the OIE and witness how they develop animal health guidelines — which are adopted based on the latest scientific evidence— for all member countries to follow,” says Maas. “As a rancher from the West Coast, the decisions of this international group used to seem pretty foreign – unattached  to my daily life. This one-on-one visit changed that.”

NCBA, along with other livestock industry groups and U.S. government officials, visited the international headquarters of the OIE in Paris and met with Dr. Bernard Vallat, OIE Director General and technical OIE Staff. They also toured a cattle farm in St. Jean des Echelles, France, discussing traceability systems with French veterinary officers. Finally, the group traveled to Brussels, Belgium for in-depth discussions with U.S. representatives of the U.S. Mission to the European Union (EU), and meetings with members of the EU’s General Directorate for Health and Consumer Protection (DG-SANCO). 

“There’s been a lot of confusion out there about the OIE – what it means, what it does, and what it doesn’t do,” says Maas. “The best way to understand the OIE was to go there, and conduct an information swap with fellow industry people who care about these same animal health issues.”

The OIE is an intergovernmental organization that was created in 1924, with 164 member countries. The organization attempts to develop animal health related guidelines based on the best available science and then get agreement from all members before the guidelines are adopted. 

”U.S. cattle producers want to assure that all the OIE guidelines are science-based, using the latest evidence and risk standards,” says Wilkinson. “All the guidelines they develop, including those relating to BSE, are continually changing as new information is made available. They are intended to provide guidance to countries, not hard and fast rules.”

NCBA will continue to work towards the harmonization of animal health standards across the globe. NCBA believes the U.S. should continue to provide leadership for all beef producing nations in development and refining of policies that will help protect the public and cattle health.