Pork, poultry producers not celebrating

Officials: Mad cow disease may affect whole meat industry

PAM EASTON, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

- National Chicken Council: www.nationalchickencouncil.com
- National Pork Producers Council: www.nppc.org

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HOUSTON -- New concerns about U.S. beef safety don't offer any glee to producers of pork and poultry -- they figure Americans' concerns about one food can easily translate to suspicions about others.

"This is not good for chicken," said Bill Roenigk, an official with the National Chicken Council. "Consumers should be and are concerned about their food supply. Anything that jeopardizes consumer confidence in the food supply is not good for us."

British scientists Thursday confirmed the initial diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in a dairy cow slaughtered earlier this month in Moses Lake.

The largest importers of U.S. beef -- Japan, Mexico and South Korea -- have halted shipments, while others have imposed temporary bans.

But an even bigger issue for U.S. agriculture will be how deeply Americans' confidence is shaken in the safety of the overall meat supply.

"It's just anybody's guess," said Jon Caspers, president of the National Pork Producers Council and a hog farmer in Swaledale, Iowa. "Markets don't deal with these things very often. It is hard to predict."

Bad timing

The mad cow scare hit just as chicken and pork producers had seen prices improve in August and September, in tandem with higher beef prices attributed to the popularity of high-protein diets like the Atkins diet.

It was "sort of like the water in the harbor lifting all the boats," Roenigk said.

Now, concerns about food safety could have a negative effect for all producers, said Mike Ovesen, executive director of Kentucky Pork Producers.

"It's not even going to help the apple industry," he said. "Although, I'm sure everything is contained and everything is going to be fine. I still think we've got the safest food supply in the world."

Roenigk said poultry producers aren't expecting a bonanza of business as people switch to chicken.

"I believe given the current situation that we will not see a real depression in beef prices or a real run up in chicken prices," he said. "We would not be surprised to see a little reaction in that direction. ... If there has to be a bump in the road for beef demand, and I am suggesting the bump is a very minor bump, this is a better time to have it."

As long as consumers retain confidence in beef and other meats, there will not be much of a change in supply or prices, Roenigk said.

"That is likely to be the case as people are assured their meat supply is wholesome and is safe to eat," he said.