More Mad Cow? Question: What could be worse for food safety than a global trade agreement negotiated in secret, by the corporations that stand to benefit, and slated to be rammed through Congress using the controversial fast track [ citizenstrade.org/ctc/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/FastTrackFactsheet.pdf ] option? Answer: Finding out, from leaked documents, that the agreements are being written so vaguely that the public will have no idea what hit them-and corporations will have virtual free rein to skirt regulations intended to protect consumers. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) recently got its hands on some of the secret draft texts for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). According to the IATPs analysis [ iatp.org/files/2014_07_24_TTIP_SPS_Analysis_0.pdf ], the texts call for fewer inspections and less testing of meat imported to the U.S. from other countries, putting Americans at risk of diseases like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease. The leaked documents also make it clear that regulations governing animal abuse will be weaker under the TTIP. As the IATP states, trade agreements have a profound influence on public health. Yet the leaked documents contain abstract language and are not consumer friendly. According to the IATP: Instead of a public debate about appropriate protections for health and the type of agriculture we want, these negotiations are taking place behind closed doors, and heavily influeced by corporate trade advisors whose employers are the main beneficiaries of the trade agreements. This is a perverse approach to trade negotiations, forcing the public to read between the lines of leaked, partial texts. This leaked draft TTIP chapter doesnt tell us everything about where negotiations are headed on food safety, but it tells us enough to raise serious concerns. Perhaps those serious concerns are precisely why the Obama administration wants to ram the agreement through, without input or debate from Congress or the public, and with no possibility of amending them.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 14:01:00 +0000