[ OUR OPINION ]
U.S. must beef up
inspections of cattleDISCOVERY of mad cow disease on the mainland puts a hitch in plans of Hawaii ranchers to export local beef to Japan even though the islands' isolation and feeding methods should give their product a clean bill of health. Local growers, many of whom raise grass-fed cattle, ought to continue their efforts despite a ban on U.S. beef by Japan and a number of other countries.
THE ISSUE
The first case of mad cow disease showed up just as Hawaii cattle producers were negotiating exports to Japan.
That said, confirmation of the first case of the dreaded disease within American borders calls for more stringent testing and tracking of cattle to safeguard the industry and, more importantly, the consumer.
Although producers fear such screening will be costly and cut into their thin profit margins, faster and already available tests would raise the price of beef by just two to three cents a pound, a small price to pay to avoid devastating the cattle industry and spreading a disease for which there is no cure.
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy gets its common name from the brain-destroying effects of bizarre proteins called prions that kill nerve cells. The disease is spread when cattle are given feed made from tissue of infected animals, a practice that has been banned for U.S. beef production -- but not for hog and poultry -- since 1997. Prions can also form spontaneously, although science has yet to determine if that form can be passed to humans.
It was by chance that the lone U.S. case was detected. The dairy cow had apparently caught the attention of inspectors because it had pelvic injuries, not because it displayed mad cow symptoms, and, showing no outward signs, was cleared for human consumption. However, a routine brain sample tested positive 13 days later and was confirmed by British pathologists Christmas Day.
The discovery sent the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration scrambling to recover meat products and trace the animal's origins, revealing the extreme shortcomings of inspections and the lack of tracking systems. Given the absence of records, it may take months to learn where it may have contracted the disease. The incident also points to the inadequacy of current inspections. Only 20,000 of the estimated 40 million cattle slaughtered this year were tested and even the USDA's proposal to up the number to 38,000 next year is insufficient.
Moreover, 500,000 animals called "downers" -- ones who cannot stand or walk on their own, an indication of sickness -- are allowed to enter the food stream each year. An amendment sponsored by Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Gary Ackerman of New York that would have halted this practice was stripped from an agriculture bill at the urging of segments of the livestock and meat-packing industry.
The government must do more to assure that the beef on American tables is safe. Then maybe Japan, which buys 90 percent of the $3 billion in beef exported by the United States annually, will put American and Hawaii steaks and roasts back on the grill.
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Disease may pose
new tourism threatAFTER several years of declining tourism from Japan, the travel industry is expecting a small rebound unless discovery of mad cow disease in America has a negative effect. Uncertainty about the extent of the disease presents tourism promoters with the challenge of persuading the Japanese to overcome any wariness about visiting Hawaii.
THE ISSUE
Tourism from Japan is expected to increase in the months ahead unless mad cow disease discourages travel to the United States.
Japan's troubled economy has caused a steady drop in tourism to Hawaii since 1997. However, Japanese bookings for the first three months of next year are back near to the level before the plunge that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Daily arrivals from Japan are expected to average 5,000, compared with an average of 3,800 during this year's first quarter, even though Japan's economy continues to struggle.
The sharp decline in overseas travel generally by the Japanese following the SARS outbreak several months ago probably did not greatly affect Hawaii, which was not touched by the epidemic. However, concerns about diseased American beef, even if confined to a single cow on the mainland, causes some to worry.
"The Japanese are very sensitive to those things," says Ryokichi Tamaki, vice president of Jalpark, a travel affiliate of Japan Airlines.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority has hired Dentsu Inc. of Japan to market Hawaii in that country. Dentsu recently designed a new marketing plan that focuses on families, seniors and weddings to enhance a fresh image of Hawaii as a travel destination. It also should find a way to cope with any unwarranted reaction to diseased cows.
Hawaii tourism from the U.S. mainland is expected to be stable for the next year, even if visitors from Japan may continue to be lower than in the past. Visitor spending this year is expected to total $10.5 billion, up from $10 billion. The Hawaii Tourism Authority has set its 2004 goal at $11.3 billion.
