WASHINGTON, April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tyson Foods, Inc.
(NYSE: TSN) has filed a brief in support of the USDA's appeal of a recent
court decision that has delayed the reopening of the U.S. border to Canadian
cattle imports. The company brief calls the court decision "bad" law and
"bad" for consumers and notes there is no scientific basis for keeping the
border closed.
A preliminary injunction was granted in early March by a federal judge in
Montana at the request of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF).
The injunction has prevented implementation of USDA's minimal-risk rule, which
would re-establish U.S. trade with Canada for live cattle less than 30 months
of age.
According to the amicus brief Tyson filed today with the 9th Circuit Court
of Appeals in San Francisco, the injunction should be lifted and the final
rule should be permitted to take effect.
The company states the USDA rule is supported by an "impressive scientific
record" and is designed to help protect the consumer and the U.S. beef
industry from the threat of BSE. "The district court simply failed to engage
the administrative record in this case." The result is an opinion riddled
with "a number of errors."
Tyson notes, "...the court barely acknowledges that R-CALF is seeking to
halt the implementation of a final rule adopted in 2005 after years of careful
study and analysis by an agency (USDA) acting within its area of expertise."
The factual record compiled by the agency demonstrates that "given the
risk management system in place between Canada and the United States, there is
no basis for barring the importation of cattle less than 30 months of age for
slaughter."
According to Tyson, "The overall result of the district court's approach
is higher domestic beef prices for consumers and greater friction with our
trading partners, all with no corresponding public health benefits. In short,
the district court's approach is bad food safety policy, bad administrative
law and bad for consumers."
Tyson states the district court's decision "undermines the public interest
by ignoring a particularly detailed and well reasoned regulatory analysis in
favor of the views of a small group of self-interested cattlemen who are
concerned only with prohibiting the import of cattle with which they would
otherwise have to compete."
Like most meatpackers, Tyson has been running its U.S. beef plants at
reduced levels of production due, in part, to the continued U.S. ban on
Canadian cattle. About three to five percent of the cattle purchased for the
company's domestic plants have historically come from Canada. Earlier this
year the company temporarily suspended operations for more than month at four
plants as well as second shift processing at another facility.
Tyson Foods, Inc., founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale,
Arkansas, is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and
pork and the second-largest food company in the Fortune 500. The company
produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products, which are
marketed under the "Powered by Tyson(TM)" strategy. Tyson is the recognized
market leader in the retail and foodservice markets it serves, providing
products and service to customers throughout the United States and more than
80 countries. Tyson has approximately 114,000 Team Members employed at more
than 300 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world.
(Note to editors: You may obtain a copy of the Tyson brief by contacting
Gary Mickelson at 479-290-6111 or gary.mickelson@tyson.com .)
SOURCE Tyson Foods, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.tyson.com
CONTACT:
media, Gary Mickelson, +1-479-290-6111, or
investors, Louis Gottsponer, +1-479-290-4826, both of Tyson
Foods, Inc.
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