Reflection on FMD scare in EU

OA show ('918 '); [reflection of EU on FMD panic] once upon a time, Europe, which "talked about cattle color change", has been "frightened by animals" due to the outbreak of FMD It is said that the foot-and-mouth disease, which can be "spread with the wind", was found in the European continent and Argentina before the day, and then there was a panic all over the world At present, about 90 countries and regions have issued bans on livestock and livestock products from EU countries However, there are still rational voices in the panic A member of the European Parliament pointed out that the first problem that the EU should make clear is the cause of the spread of FMD in the air and the best strategy to prevent its harm European Parliament member George GEHO said in a parliamentary debate on the issue of foot-and-mouth disease on the 14th that what the EU should do is to eliminate disease animals in the most effective way, find out the root causes of disease transmission, and make consumers understand the harm of foot-and-mouth disease to human health The crisis originated in the UK At present, animals suffering from foot-and-mouth disease are also found in the Middle East and Latin America The outbreak in the UK is shocking: since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease last month, more than 200 cases have been found in the country Although foot-and-mouth disease does not directly infect human beings, it can spread the virus through human beings and vehicles, making the disease spread rapidly in herds The sick animals are weak, unable to develop or produce milk until they die There is no doubt that foot-and-mouth disease will cause huge losses to the breeding industry and producers Therefore, countries around the world have taken measures to keep EU livestock products away The U.N Food and Agriculture Organization has also warned that the foot-and-mouth disease, which originated in Britain, has begun to threaten all parts of the world, calling on countries to take various measures to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, including strengthening the quarantine of incoming passengers FAO experts pointed out that factors such as international trade, intensive agriculture, migration, tourism, livestock migration and meat products resale have greatly increased the chances of international spread of FMD The European Union has announced a temporary ban on the import of Argentine fresh meat and its products However, EU member states that have opened their borders and further implemented the unified market are more worried about the spread of foot-and-mouth disease from neighboring countries Some countries even sent a large number of police officers to patrol the border, strictly check passing vehicles, and prevent foot-and-mouth disease from entering At present, the development not only affects the agricultural sector of the EU countries concerned, but also affects the workers of the food industry, tourism, sports activities and all corners of social life Morocco, Tunisia, Slovakia and Hungary have even banned the import of food and its products from EU countries, which is believed to cause an unusual trade crisis Who is the culprit? In this foot-and-mouth disease crisis in Europe, some people complain that Britain is a country that people "cannot avoid" In this regard, de Rosa, vice president of the Social Party group of the European Parliament, believes that it is wrong to blame any country for the foot-and-mouth disease disaster The root cause is the continuous migration of livestock caused by intensive and government subsidies driven EU agriculture He also believes that EU policy makers must seriously consider how to reform the "common agricultural policy" in spite of their anger and censure What European consumers need is safe food with reasonable price and environmentally safe production, and try to avoid producing and processing cheap food that is harmful to the environment and health In fact, all sectors of the EU are rethinking the causes of this "disaster" and the countermeasures to solve the crisis It is generally believed that EU agriculture is at the crossroads of reform after the "mad cow" crisis and foot-and-mouth disease crisis Europeans have begun to debate the merits of "industrialized agriculture" and natural agriculture Some people believe that there are both advantages and disadvantages of everything, such as large-scale burning of livestock to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, which results in environmental pollution It is also believed that at present, the threat of FMD in developed countries is due to their indifference to the fight against FMD in poor countries' agriculture If they had helped poor countries in the first place, they would not have faced such a great disaster and panic According to reports, the foot-and-mouth disease that is currently raging in Europe is a "Pan Asian type" It was first found in India 10 years ago, and then gradually spread to Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Mongolia As the epidemic is limited to individual areas, it has not attracted the attention of developed countries With the promotion of economic globalization, this virus has gained the opportunity to visit all over the world with frequent trade exchanges Experts believe that the foot-and-mouth disease in Britain was introduced from developing countries, and the past blind eye has laid down the root of today's disaster So one of the lessons that Europeans have learned from this crisis is that things in the world need the attention and cooperation of all countries March 15 is the international consumer rights day and the European consumer day The European Union has set the theme of the day as food quality The EU hopes that a number of activities on this day will promote debate on food quality, food safety, nutrition and other issues, and enable policy makers to take a high position in protecting human health and the rights and interests of consumers to view the food crisis in Europe As foot-and-mouth disease is spreading globally, the EU's worries about the crisis may have implications for other regions SZU (author:)