March 14, 2001
		U.S. Bans European Red Meat The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced March 13 that it had suspended imports of livestock and meat from all 15 countries included in the European Union (EU) as evidence of foot-and-mouth disease has been found in France. Argentina has also confirmed at least one case, though the EU had already decided to ban Argentinean imports of livestock and dairy products, citing rumors of outbreaks in large parts of the beef-producing country. The appearance of foot-and-mouth disease in France also sent soybean and corn prices plummeting because of fears on the stock market that the mass slaughter of pigs in Europe will lead to a depressed market for feed. The EU estimated that import restrictions to the U.S. would reach $500 million in lost sales. The ban will primarily effect imports of pork from the Netherlands and Denmark, but it included unpasteurized dairy products. Imports of beef from the EU had already been banned because of mad cow disease. Last month, the U.S. suspended all meat and animal imports from Britain and increased monitoring of travelers arriving from the United Kingdom. Farm Minister Jean Glavany warned that foot-and-mouth disease could spread across France, as their case of the infection could possibly be traced to 20,000 sheep imported from Britain in late February. Those sheep had been dispersed to at least 20 provinces. France had already been reeling from the discovery of mad cow disease within its boundaries. On Tuesday, a group of angry farmers in the northern city of Lille blocked the main highway to Paris to demand additional compensation from the government for the money they lost to mad cow disease. In Great Britain, the English Tourist Council, a group which oversees $18 billion in rural tourism, said that revenues were down by 75 percent from their average of about $225 million a week. The rural areas of Britain have been hardest-hit by foot-and-mouth disease repercussions, but officials say that hotel bookings are also down in cities such as London and Edinburgh, Scotland. One hotelier in northwest England's historic Lake District said that he has lost more than $25,000 since the foot-and-mouth outbreak. Many tourists have canceled their vacations because walking and mountain climbing has been banned and restricted in many rural areas. Howard Christie, owner of a hotel near the Lake District, said he had just one couple staying in his 54-room hotel, and that he'd had to start laying off staff. In Devon, another popular tourist area, the Southwest Tourist Board estimated that losses could reach $750 million. In addition, Irish troops have been deployed on the border with Northern Ireland and additional checkpoints have been set up after a new case of foot-and-mouth disease was discovered Monday in the north. In Belgium, activists from the animal rights group GAIA (Global Action in the Interest of Animals) blocked the entrance to the office of Belgian Agriculture Minister Jaak Gabriels in Brussels to protest against the massive slaughtering of cows and sheep intended to halt the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.