In response to the news that ranchers in 15 Brazilian states have begun vaccinating cattle against foot-and-mouth disease, Roger Williams MP, Liberal Democrat Rural Affairs Spokesperson, has written to the Government, asking for imports of Brazilian beef to be banned.
Mr Williams said:
"The foot and mouth crisis of 2001 was caused by imports of infected meat, and Brazilian beef could trigger another outbreak of this dreadful disease.
"However, foot-and-mouth is not the only problem. Brazilian beef is cheap because of its poor production standards.
"Vast areas of the Amazon are being cleared for cattle ranches causing local environmental disasters and releasing enormous quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. These clearances are a major cause of climate change and biodiversity reduction.
"I believe that imports of Brazilian beef to the UK must be stopped to protect British beef farmers being put out of business by foot and mouth disease and cheap imports based on slave labour and destruction of the rainforest."
