-----Original Message-----
From: ...

Originally from: Coleen Taylor [...] Sent: 03 September 2001 16:36
To: ...
Subject: Re: [farmtalking] NFU is still at it!

Sticking my neck out here, but here goes.
I think it is wrong to vaccinate in any one particular area – vaccination when it eventually arrives( sooner than later I hope) should be done throughout the whole of the Country.
It would be very easy to go in and vaccinate Northumbria – or the pigs in North Yorkshire – and have ALL the assurances under the sun that buyers etc etc will not discriminate against that meat. Is any farmer seriously going to fall for that. They could be alienated left right and centre – left with worthless stock on their hands, with NO compensation. If there is a supply of unvaccinated meat in the UK this to my mind is the source that the buyers will go for, same with the milk. I wonder what the reaction from the farming community as a whole would be if mass vaccination was on the cards. What would the farmers in the South who have remained (FMD free so far ) reactions be. Lets not forget this does effect them in the long run, I wonder if they will sit back and accept it – or will we see them stand out against it – what will the NFUs advise be then – I wonder. We do only seem to talking in terms of the North regarding vaccination – surely to make it carry any credibility that stock will not be discriminated against it has to be done nationally. Or more farmers will in effect loose their living through what was originally meant to save them and their animals.

Coleen

----- Original Message -----
From: ...

Originally from: "susanstaunton" <...>
To: <...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2001 3:09 PM
Subject: Re: [farmtalking] NFU is still at it!

Thank you for that Professor Robb. Personally I find it ludicrous that we
should be worried about vaccination for FMD any more than we should for

the

numerous other vaccines which are permissable, but as we all know public
perception is key and since I have had guests from the US here who are
clearly refusing to eat meat of any kind whilst on their stay in Britain

(I

run a B&B as most of the others on the group know now) and some even asked
us if we had to burn humans if they got FMD (I kid you not!) it is clearly
impossible to underestimate human intelligence levels on emotive matters
such as this, particularly when there is still such a climate of
misinformation.

----- Original Message -----
From: Fenton F Robb <...>
To: <...>
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 3:18 PM
Subject: Re: [farmtalking] NFU is still at it!

Yes Susan – it is even worse than that this time –

Ben Gill sought an assurance from Government that, if retailers refused

to

sell products from fmd-vaccinated animals, Government would buy up the
rejected products! The actual words are to be found in the NFU web

page17th

April Press Release listing the questions Ben Gill put to Government and

the

actual words are :-

"Will food processors and retailers buy product from vaccinated animals,

now

and in the future, and if the products aren't marketable will the

Government

act as a purchaser?

As to special labelling – the Food Standards Agency is absolutely

clear –

and so is the national Consumers Council – at present animals can be
vaccinated with up to 33 things, fmd vaccination is absolutely harmless.
Neither organisation wants special labels on products. Neither do the
supermarkets nor the major producers (milk products etc) as I was told

by

Kevin Hawkins Chairman of British Retail Consortium (Food Group) and
Communications Director of Safeway.

Hope this is helpful.

-- Fenton F Robb (Prof)

From: "susanstaunton" <...>
Reply-To: ...
Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 13:51:18 +0100
To: <...>
Subject: Re: [farmtalking] NFU is still at it!

Now I am just throwing this idea into the arena for consideration, it

is

not

my opinion. Perhaps they are suggesting this as they are concerned

that

the

consumer will condemn all British meat and dairy produce as "tarred

with

the

same brush", ie all from vaccinated animals and will boycott it all
accordingly. At the moment the vast majority of British produce is

still

mercifully completely free of Foot and Mouth and so in effect the NFU

is

performing its duty in protecting the interests of British farming as

a

whole rather than sacrificing it. I also seem to recall that the NFU

was

trying to obtain assurances from the Government the last time

vaccination

was on the agenda that farmers with vaccinated animals would receive
compensation for losses as a result of public resistance to their

product so

perhaps this lends greater credence to this theory than less?

Before anyone reminds me, yes I know that we are eating vaccinated

meat

now,

(well we havent been technically since I understood meat imported to

the

EU

thus far from FMD countries – prior to the Argentinian situation –

was

nominally from FMD free zones within those countries, though like you

I

question and seriously doubt how possible it is that those zones

havent

become rather "blurred" around the edges) but that is a very different
matter from knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are

----- Original Message -----
From: Fenton F Robb <...>
To: <...>
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 1:02 PM
Subject: [farmtalking] NFU is still at it!

Local NFU officer at Northumberland hot spot is still repeating the

mantra

"would the public buy the products from vaccinated animals?"

Obviously

NFU

has not been in a hurry to tell its officials that this line is no

longer

a

non-runner. No special labelling will be needed by the Food Standards

Authority but there was more than a hint of a threat that NFU would

insist

on special labelling "for the enlightenment of customers".

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visit http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/farmtalking

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