Ractopamine is a drug that is used as a feed additive to promote leanness in animals raised for their meat. Pharmacologically, it is a beta-adrenoceptor agonist. It is the active ingredient in products known as Paylean for swine and Optaflexx for cattle, developed by Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company, for use in food animals for growth promotion. Ractopamine has been banned in the European Union, Taiwan and mainland China and now in Russia… (Link)
In fact a 160 countries have banned ractopamine…
Now America (USA) is having a stinker fit and falling in it as they have it! The threats are coming hot and fast and this is while the USA just shipped 210 shipping containers of US pork and beef worth $20 million and Russia has said, “Hold on just a second!”
It is a meat war and the US is very very unhappy about the loss of a huge market like Russia’s, but as I have said several times Russia is developing their meat market and tainted product from America is not right…
Washington has urged Russia not to restrict beef and pork imports from the U.S. Russia’s plant and health regulator, Rosselkhoznadzor, earlier ruled that meat imports from producers using feed additive ractopamine must be tested and certified. The U.S. says the move violates the WTO norms…
Russia, which joined the world trade club as its 156th member in August 2012 after 18 years of negotiations, announced on Friday beef and pork imports from US producers using ractopamine must be tested and certified free of the feed additive…
The move came a day after the US Senate repealed the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik restrictions on trade with Russia and simultaneously passed the Magnitsky Act, which targets Russian officials deemed by Washington to have violated human rights…
“The United States is very concerned that Russia has taken these actions, which appear to be inconsistent with its obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a joint statement…
“The United States calls on Russia to suspend these new measures and restore market access for U.S. beef and pork products.”
Russian officials denied allegations that the decision to restrict US meat imports was made in response to US sanctions against Russian human rights abusers adopted in conjunction with the trade bill.
The Magnitsky Act specifically targets Russian officials considered by the White House to be involved in the death of Russian whistleblower lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009, but it extends to other purported violators of human rights in Russia as well.
“The United States sought, and Russia committed as part of its WTO accession package, to ensure that it adhere rigorously to WTO requirements and that it would use international standards unless it had a risk assessment to justify use of a more stringent standard. Especially in light of its commitment to use international standards, this is an important opportunity for Russia to demonstrate that it takes its WTO commitments seriously,” the statement further said.
But….
European Union, Taiwan and mainland China and now in Russia does not want this (ractopamine) crap in their food and these are some big markets. Looks like the USA needs to start raising food correctly and not poisoning all our asses – all the time…
Ractopamine is responsible for hyperactivity, muscle break down and 10 percent mortality in a recent pig study. It is banned in 160 nations world wide – but not in America. In China ractopamine was banned in 2002 after more than 1700 people were “poisoned” from eating Paylean (trade name for ractopamine) fed pigs. In Taiwan it has been banned since 2006.
Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…
Related articles
- Russia Announces Barriers on Imports of U.S. Meat (nytimes.com)
- Meat wars: Russia denies US meat ban is a revenge for Magnitsky Act (rt.com)
- Toxic Meat (schweingehabt.wordpress.com)
- US Awaits Possible Russian Retaliation Over Magnitsky Act (news.windowstorussia.com)
- Magnitsky Bill in US Senate Targets Only Russia (news.windowstorussia.com)