Purchase Solution

Imports impact on safety

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

Imports Endanger Consumer's Food Safety

Beef imports have only a one percent testing by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The food safety has become a risk because of beef products being imported from Canada and other countries. Mad Cow disease cases found in the Canadian beef supply; not detectable in animals under 30 months old. Canadian beef imports continued after the ban. The ban was lifted in August, 2005. Mad Cow disease does not show up for years after the meat has been eaten. (Health News, 2006)

Another scare in 2007; China imports 90% of the shrimp consumed in the United States. If only one percent of food imports are tested, food imports have food safety concerns. (US FDA/CFSAN, 2007) Beef, shrimp, and other food imports put the American people in danger.

Free Trade Needs to be Fair Trade

DeBruycker (1999) stated that American cattle ranchers can not compete with imports from Canada. Products used in the livestock industry cost twice as much in the U.S. as in Canada. Canada has no property tax on cattle like the United States. Ranchers in the U.S. have to pay property tax on farm, ranch, feedlot buildings, and equipment and the Canadian ranches do not have the tax overhead. Small family ranches have been unable to stay in business because of overhead. Beef cattle imports in pounds exceed beef cattle imports and exports by about two to one ratio. The beef imports personally affected my family.

The United States imports more beef than we export. This is not fair trade. (Hahn, W., Haley, M. Leuck, D., Miller, J., Perry, J. Taha, F., Sahniser, S., 2005)

Purchase this Solution

Solution Summary

Imports impact on safety is debated.

Solution Preview

Imports help a country make up for what it cannot produce indigenously on its own. Of course, the quality of the imported product should be at least as high of the country to which it is imported in, but more or less the economy and social welfare of the people depends more on the ...

Purchase this Solution


Free BrainMass Quizzes
Pricing Strategies

Discussion about various pricing techniques of profit-seeking firms.

Basics of Economics

Quiz will help you to review some basics of microeconomics and macroeconomics which are often not understood.

Economic Issues and Concepts

This quiz provides a review of the basic microeconomic concepts. Students can test their understanding of major economic issues.

Elementary Microeconomics

This quiz reviews the basic concept of supply and demand analysis.

Economics, Basic Concepts, Demand-Supply-Equilibrium

The quiz tests the basic concepts of demand, supply, and equilibrium in a free market.