U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has urged his Brazilian counterpart Carlos Favaro to address timely disease reporting in Brazil in order to continue to access the U.S. market. The concern about timely disease reporting is certainly incredibly important but reflects only one of several concerns many cattlemen’s groups have communicated.

In his Aug. 7 letter to Carlos Favaro, Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Vilsack doubled down on the responsibility of the U.S. and Brazil, the world’s two largest cattle-producing countries, to protect cattle herd health, but he did not close the country’s access to U.S. beef imports.

Recent bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) detections in Brazil grabbed the attention of the U.S. in 2021 after Brazil revealed two cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, more commonly known as “Mad Cow Disease.” According to releases from the USDA, the cases were discovered in June and not reported until November. Conversely, the United Kingdom and Germany both reported cases to the World Organization of Animal Health within days of occurrence that same year. My Feb. 27 column might be helpful as reference but to summarize, Brazil has demonstrated a pattern of refusal to report BSE cases for months or even years. The limited number of cases themselves (single cases in 2012, 2014 and 2019) may not indicate health issues in the Brazilian cowherd, the pattern of delayed reporting hints at a lackadaisical or disorganized food safety and animal health reporting system.

Following the most recent delay in reporting, U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota ) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) revived their 2021 legislation early this year to suspend Brazilian beef imports to the U.S. until a “robust review of the commodity’s impact on food safety and animal health.” Within a matter of hours, Brazil again – for the third time since 2021 – reported a case of atypical BSE. Tester and Rounds’ bill was introduced and assigned to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry committee on Feb. 16 and it hasn’t moved an inch.

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In a recent call with Sec. Vilsack, representatives from the three largest cattle producer trade groups made clear their concerns about Brazil’s habit of delayed reporting, it’s practice of forced labor and its illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Not only are the practices unethical, but they also take U.S. producers off the level playing field when it comes to producing the final product for consumers. Most concerning is the lack of commitment to food safety demonstrated in Brazil that, in an outbreak situation, could likely reflect poorly on U.S. beef producers and call into question the safety of the U.S. food supply.

One of the Big Four, JBS, of course, is wholly Brazilian-owned, while together with Cargill, Tyson Foods and National Beef Packing (in which Brazilian-owned Marfrig owns a 31% interest) they control 80% of the meat packing in the U.S. While I’m sure Vilsack is hesitant to play hardball with these companies, his letter to Favaro mentioned only the concerns about delayed BSE reporting and did not close the U.S. market to Brazilian beef imports, or communicate the urgency communicated to him by the trade organizations on their call. At this writing, the United States Cattlemen’s Association was Johnny-on-the-spot issuing a statement that they “remain adamant that the U.S. should immediately halt any further Brazilian beef imports” until they address and resolve the concerns communicated to Vilsack.

Brazil plays a major role in the protein business in the U.S. and right here in Colorado. Brazilian-owned JBS-USA began in 1953 when founder Jose Batista Sobrinho began processing beef at a 500 head per day plant in west central Brazil. In 2007, Wesley Mendonca Batista arrived in Greeley, after the family acquired Swift and Company. As the tale goes, according to reporting in Forbes more than a decade ago, Mendonca Batista arrived wearing boots and jeans, spoke no English, and got his hands dirty, demonstrating to butchers on the line how to carve every cent off the proverbial bone.

In 2018, Wesley and his brother Joesley Batista spent time behind bars in Brazil awaiting trial on allegations of insider trading. The brothers are now free men, and JBS is worth considerably more today. The Batista name is often mentioned in headlines about bribery of government officials, major acquisitions and major debt. JBS has significantly beefed up their government relations game in Washington D.C. as well, announcing the hiring of Vilsack’s former chief of staff during his first appointment, Karla Thieman, in June of 2022, bringing on additional government relations staff and contracting with a lobbying powerhouse.

The Brazilian cowherd is comprised of 232 million head and Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world, accounting for 20% of total global exports according to the USDA. As I earlier reported, China has historically been the largest importer of Brazilian beef, even with a since-lifted, three-month embargo driven by BSE concerns, along with Hong Kong, South Africa, Iran and Iraq, among others. Brazil is also the largest producer of halal meat, which opens tremendous demand in heavily populated Muslim markets where incomes are climbing and with it, demand for beef.

Rachel Gabel writes about agriculture and rural issues. She is assistant editor of The Fence Post Magazine, the region’s preeminent agriculture publication. Gabel is a daughter of the state’s oil and gas industry and a member of one of the state’s 12,000 cattle-raising families, and she has authored children’s books used in hundreds of classrooms to teach students about agriculture.