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Excellence in Agriculture

Excellence in Agriculture. American Veal Association 2005-2006. Why fund legislative initiatives?. Animal Rights Groups See Increase In Funding:

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Excellence in Agriculture

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  1. Excellence in Agriculture American Veal Association 2005-2006

  2. Why fund legislative initiatives? Animal Rights Groups See Increase In Funding: The December 2005 issue of Animal People revealed that animal rights activist groups raised overall donations by an alarming 40% in 2004, the most current period available.  HSUS revenues totaled $74 million, up 3% from 2003. PETA reported $28.1 million in revenues, an alarming 20% increase. The PETA-affiliated Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and the PCRM Foundation combined for $16 million in donations, up from $12 million just a year earlier.  The combined budgets of animal rights organizations which focus at least part of their activities against animal agriculture was $207 million in 2003 and was well more than $290 million in 2004. (Source: Animal Agriculture Alliance)

  3. Their agenda is clear - is ours ? • “There is no hidden agenda. If anybody wonders about -- what’s this with all these reforms -- you can hear us clearly. Our goal is total animal liberation. [emphasis added]”— Ingrid Newkirk, at the “Animal Rights 2002” convention • “People need not consume meat, dairy, or eggs… Everyone who agrees unnecessary animal suffering should be ended must eat no animal food products.”— Farm Sanctuary “investigator” David J. Cantor, complaining in a letter to the Kansas City Star about a reporter who refused to swear off meat for good (December 2000)

  4. Legislative Victories 1. Agro-terrorism Bills A. Ohio Senate Bill 009 1. Passed, awaits House action B. Pennsylvania House Bill 213 1. Passed and signed by Governor Rendell C. U.S. Senate Bill 1926/H.R. 4239 1. Introduced and referred to their respective Judiciary Committees

  5. Opposition Bills 1. Massachusetts Senate Bill 552 A. Testified against bill in June 2005 1. Bill did not pass out of committee 2. Oregon SB934 A. Bill never made committee schedule 3. Arizona Ballot Initiative I-07-2006 A. AVA contributed $10,000.00 B. Total Budget of $1,000,000.00 C. Residents will vote – November 2006

  6. Legislative Agenda 2006-2007 • U.S. veal producers are competing against unfairly subsidized Canadian imports. The U.S. veal industry entered into a Countervailing Duties Case (CVD) in 2004-2005. The final determination was that the Canadian producers were being subsidized at an actionable level; however, we would not be able to prove specificity to the Department of Commerce (DOC) due to a technicality in the way Canada reports their subsidies. The CVD action was handled by David Levine, at McDermott Will & Emery LLP. The U.S. Veal Industry will seek legislative help to assist producers through the 2007 Farm Bill or other appropriations measures as deemed available. • Family farmers need help from the FSIS and the FDA to sift through the thousands of pages of the U.S. Title Code pertaining to producer responsibilities for raising food. Yet, sadly, there is no money and no time for such technical assistance, according to the USDA and FDA. We will be asking for support to form a joint USDA-FDA Producer Tech and Assistance Center, as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.

  7. Legislative Agenda 2006-2007 • Producers need access to more antimicrobials and other animal health products. MUMS failed in many critical areas, including the inclusion of veal as a minor species. AMDUCA has also left much to be desired in the area of off and extra labeling of medications. We will work towards an update of AMDUCA and MUMS. • Farmers need help with agricultural terrorism. The FBI states agricultural and eco-terrorism are our greatest domestic terrorism threat. States like Pennsylvania have passed new laws with stiff penalties for violators. Bold congressional leaders like Senator Inhofe and Rep. Petri have held hearings on ag/eco-terrorism, and it appears that an agro-terrorism bill will find its way to the Judiciary Committee yet this year. We will be working to assure the passage of S. 1926 and H.R. 4239.

  8. 2006 Legislative Outlook 1. Arizona, Arizona, Arizona A. The AVA may attempt to collect a 13th month special assessment. 1. This will allow us to contribute another $15,000.00, bringing our total contribution to $25,000.00 B. Foie Gras takes center stage in ’06 1. Bills introduced in Chicago, Hawaii, and Washington State

  9. Arizona Initiative I-07-2006 I-07-2006 Humane Treatment of Farm Animals Act     Application Date: September 6, 2005 Due Date: July 6, 2006 Signatures required: 122,612 Arizonans for Humane Farms (AHS, ADLA, HSUS, Farm Sanctuary) in Support of I-07-2006 P.O. Box 3095 Tempe, AZ 85280 480/449-7644 Applicant, Chairman Cheryl Naumann Arizona citizens are concerned about the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals; the Humane Treatment of Farm Animals Act, recommended by the Arizona Humane Society and The Humane Society of the United States, requires that pigs during pregnancy and calves raised for veal must be given sufficient space to turn around, lie down, and fully extend their limbs, when tethered, or confined in crates, cages, or other enclosures; includes exceptions, such as for veterinary purposes and during the pig's prebirthing period; the Act allows six years to adopt more humane practices and does not require mandatory expenditure of state revenues.

  10. The AVA Proudly Introduces MARK R. HEILBRUN, Partner – Jenner & Block LLP • Mark R. Heilbrun is a partner in Jenner & Block’s Washington, DC office.  He is a member of the Firm’s Public Policy, Appellate and Supreme Court, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, and Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition Practices. • Mr. Heilbrun joined Jenner & Block after serving as Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. • Mr. Heilbrun also served as Legislative Director to Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), and in that capacity negotiated and drafted significant portions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, among others.

  11. FDA Regulatory Hurdles 1. April 2005 Federal Register Notice A. Added the veal warning label to over 20 commonly used products B. The AVA met with the FDA in January and again in June 2006 to address the notice and other related questions 1. We are still awaiting answers 2. We may have to hire a regulatory consultant

  12. FDA Questions 1. Does the FDA have an audit mechanism in place to assure veterinarian equivalency with importing countries such as Canada? If so, does the agency believe that Canada's regulations on extra and off label use for veal to be imported to the U.S. are equivalent to the FDA's for the domestic production of veal? If the agency believes there is equivalency, would they be willing to share the basis for that conclusion? 2. What is the agency's thinking of the significance of the April 4, 2005 notice published in the Federal Register regarding additional warning labels to be placed on antibiotics that could be used in veal under AMDUCA? 3. Does the "Not for use in veal calves" warning expressly prohibit a veterinarian from using that product under AMDUCA in veal calves, if all the other conditions of AMDUCA are met, such as the presence of a valid vet-client-patient-relationship, proper record keeping by the veterinarian and producer etc.?

  13. FDA Questions – Cont. 4. If the USDA "Blue Book" does not provide for a separate residue limit for veal calves, can we assume that the cattle limits apply? If a zero tolerance level, or a "less than detectable limit" applies for AMDUCA uses, why isn't that expressed in the Blue Book, or it expressly implied elsewhere? 5. Not taking into consideration any marketing issues that may arise once a formal definition of veal is established by the USDA, does the agency feel or believe that if we feed grain along with milk in our 20-24 week production cycle, to induce some rumen function, that we could be entitled to broader antibiotic use under AMDUCA, or in products that are approved simply for cattle? 6. Has the agency ever accepted data that has been submitted to another country's equivalent agency, in part or in whole, to support a B(1) Supplemental Application. Being that almost all of the products that would be considered for use in veal calves domestically have been approved for use in veal calves in the EU or Canada, for therapeutic purposes, would the agency consider the use of their approvals and the data on efficacy, target animal safety, and residue depletion from an approval gained in another country? (The EU produces about 8,000,000 calves annually versus our 535,000, so pharmaceutical companies had the economic incentive to gain approvals for veal calves in the EU).

  14. AMERICANVEALASSOCIATION.COM 1. The AVA will establish it’s own website A. It will be non-restricted by current beef check-off laws B. It will compliment the current vealfarm.com website C. It became operational on May 8, 2006

  15. AVA/VIM Association Outreach 1. AVA Visits During 2005-2006 A. The American Farm Bureau B. The Animal Agricultural Alliance C. The American Meat Institute D. NCBA – Policy Division E. The National Milk Producer’s Federation F. National Pork Producers G. United Soybean Board H. Fur Commission USA

  16. A Little Political Humor To Close A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican.""I am," replied the man. "How did you know?""Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Democrat.""I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?""Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but, somehow, now it's my fault."

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