The latest outburst of campaigning against Brazilian beef is an unnecessary and unjustified response by Irish and UK industry representatives to its re-admission to European markets. Last month, the EU's FVO inspectors carried out a thorough audit of Brazilian beef producers and approved a number of them for export as fully compliant with new EU rules. Brazil is the world's biggest beef exporter, supplying 182 countries. Supplies into Europe may currently be only a tiny fraction of their former volume, but this will grow as more farms are approved in the coming months. In the meantime, what has all the anti-Brazilian campaigning achieved? Has it made European livestock (or consumers) safer? No, Brazilian beef imports have never been responsible for a case of foot and mouth disease in the EU, and there is no risk to human or animal health from imports because FMD cannot be transmitted in boned, matured, fresh or frozen beef - the only kind imported from Brazil. Has it taken a lower-cost competitor out of the market (for the time being)? Yes, and it is possible that some of the current price rises for UK domestic beef are a result of this. UK domestic farmers find it impossible to compete on price with beef from Brazil that is fed year-round on pasture (rather than increasingly expensive grain) and produced on farms the size of English counties. Is this good for consumers? Most certainly not. Denied the good quality and excellent value of Brazilian beef they will have to pay much more, for British and Irish. But, worryingly, there is already evidence that caterers are taking beef dishes off the menu, rather than use a substitute, and consumers are likely to follow suit in retail. The Irish Farmers' Association's recent objections to beef from Brazil were based on an outdated FVO report from November last year, which has since been superceded. All of the issues raised have been addressed by the current EU/FVO stance on Brazil. There are few less appealing sights than Northern hemisphere politicians and farmers' leaders attacking their Southern counterparts. It undermines public confidence in beef per se as healthy and is counterproductive in promoting increased consumption, which would be of benefit to all. There is sufficient demand for beef among consumers for both British and non-British producers to benefit. Or perhaps the industry is afraid of a more competitively priced product proving popular.

Topics