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STATEMENT OF SENATOR TOM HARKIN ON AVIAN FLU IN AGRICULTURE
11/17/2005
Senator Tom Harkin: “Thank you, Mr.
Chairman, for holding this hearing to look at the role of U.S.
agriculture in the control and eradication of avian influenza. We’re
all aware of the human aspects of this disease, but there has not been
as much attention to the threat of avian flu to agriculture. If this
disease comes to the United States via birds – and not by humans, as
some experts fear – we will still have a problem on our hands. A
widespread avian flu outbreak in poultry will not only be costly to
producers, states, and the federal government in controlling and
eradicating the disease, but avian flu in our poultry has the ability
to instill fear in American consumers. And in agriculture, that can be
more devastating to the industry than the disease itself.
“Poultry is an important
part of agriculture in Chariman Chambliss’s state of Georgia and my
state of Iowa. Iowa is the nation’s top producer of eggs and its 10th
largest turkey producer. I would like to welcome Gretta Irwin from the
Iowa Turkey Federation. She brings Iowa’s perspective on avian flu and
how the industry is preparing for it. Iowa produces the most hogs of
any state. Pigs are another animal that factor into a discussion of
avian flu because swine can contract both the avian flu virus and the
human flu virus. Many experts have said that swine is the mixing vessel
that can lead to a pandemic, as both viruses can co-exist in pigs and
transform into a virus that can readily infect humans. Nevertheless, I
would like this panel to address issues of surveillance between species
and how we are linking that up. We need to build better surveillance
capacity for animal health in general, and find the best way to inform
producers of various animal species what diseases are where in order to
avoid cross-species virus transmission.
“Another concern I have
is how we will help local and state officials in the event of a flu
outbreak in poultry or any other animal disease or biosecurity crisis
for that matter. State departments of agriculture play a critical role
in controlling and eradicating a deadly animal disease such as avian
flu. Funding is needed for surge capacity in laboratories for rapid
diagnosis of large quantities of samples, to protect first responders
from animal diseases that can be contracted by humans, and for
interstate coordination of response plans. State and local officials
also must be adequately informed about federal indemnification programs
to make producers aware of resources available to them. All of these
needs come at a time when the federal government does not provide
enough financial resources to states.
“Today’s hearing will
highlight the crucial role that agriculture plays in the management of
this deadly disease. If we tackle the disease at its root, we may never
have a human disease problem. However, should avian flu reach our
shores via birds, we will have a serious economic problem on our hands,
and somewhat greater risk to humans, although fear will be far greater
than actual risk. Americans eat more chicken than any other meat. Our
poultry industry is valued at over $25 billion, and our poultry exports
are valued at over $1.7 billion. Other countries would quickly close
their markets to our poultry and poultry products upon the discovery of
this disease in the United States. But more frightening is the
potential rejection of U.S. poultry by American consumers. Recently,
Dr. David Swayne, a scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, stated if the virulent H5N1
strain of avian flu was found in the United States, poultry demand
would drop by as much as 50 percent. Yes, the United States has had
some experience with avian influenza, but we have never had experience
with an animal disease that can cause this much consumer fear. I hope
that today we can cover issues that not only will help us prevent,
control, and eradicate this disease, but that will also help us respond
and recover from what could potentially be a tremendous blow to our
economy.”
