Jeremy

Main Argument: The important question comes to mind, where does the U.S get all its meat from? Due to the large factory farm, the U.S produces its own meat but also imports billion pounds of beef from Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, other Central and South American countries but mainly from Australia. Supermarkets say on their packaging label where the meat comes from. The dangerous part about fast food is that there is no way to to find out where the animal meat came from. Chipotle is the only safe healthy known fast food that gets its meat from farms that do not inject their animals with hormones.


Link and Analysis:

•  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o23hTuPUhMg

The link above shows how beef imports are increasing in the U.S and Australia being the U.S's top meat exporter. The U.S imports about 1/3 of its beef from Australia. About 2.4 billion pounds imported to the U.S as of 2012.
For more info on meat industry: www.obsono.com or call 800-932-0617

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klHLFGN8yrg

In the youtube video Gregg Doud the president of Commodity Markets Council explains that it is important for the U.S to import and export beef because it helps agriculture in the U.S and develops better business markets with other countries.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkccifNUXvA

Lance Zimmerman discusses the value and demand of beef and veal exports from 2011 to 2013. He states that beef and veal exports are worth $2.86/pound. Their demand is up 7.6% from the previous 2012 year. Beef value is expected to go up during 2014.

Visual Argument:
 
The image above shows the goat meat imports of the U.S as the years go by people start to consume more meat which forces the U.S to import more. Australia exporting most of the goat meat.




The chart above shows the annual rates for the three different U.S meat exports chicken, pork, and beef. By looking at each of the three we can see that more meat is being exported, in 2004 pork seemed to have a demand increase while chicken and beef dropped. The chart only shows up to 2011, but by examining the chart we can tell that meat exports have the greatest numbers.


Significant Quotes/Facts:
 "Even if you believe a food item is able to enter the United States you must declare to the officer that you are bringing food back. Failure to declare food products can result in up to $10,000 in fines and penalties."

The quote above explains that even if it is not such a big deal like importing food, you will be fined so it is best to just let an officer know you are bringing food. It is not worth it to pay a fine.

"U.S. beef imports for the first quarter of 2013 totaled 590 million pounds, 1.4 percent higher than a year ago."

As each year passes the imports of meat for U.S. have increased dramatically compared to a decade ago and according to "CattleNetwork" imports will rise for 2014.


Conclusion: Even though there are so many diseases out there that people get from eating meat, people continue to have a demand for meat. Also imports to the U.S continue to rise as the population continues to grow. Comparing the statistics from 2002 and 2006, it seems that the imports of meat have doubled in just those few years. Australia being the most dominant exporter of the U.S has been exporting less to the U.S, however beef exports from Mexico are getting stronger. Nevertheless, Australia and Canada are the largest beef exporters of today.

Works Cited

• "Can I Bring Any Meat, Poultry or Pork Products into the U.S.?" Bringing Meat, Poultry or Pork/swine Products into the U.S. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/944/~/bringing-meat%2C-poultry-or-pork%252Fswine-products-into-the-u.s.>.
• Mushrush, Laura. "U.S. Beef Imports Set to Expand into 2014." U.S. Beef Imports Set to Expand into 2014. Ed. Mary Soukup. John Nalivka, 1992. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/US-beef-imports-set-to-expand-into-2014-207748051.html>.
• "Rising US Beef Imports; 2013 Chicken Broiler Meat; Aldi Expands in Florida."YouTube. YouTube, 17 Aug. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o23hTuPUhMg>.
• Roybal, Joe, and Jamie Purfeerst. "New Zealand Beef Imports To U.S. Surge In First Quarter." BEEF Magazine Home Page. Ed. Burt Rutherford. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <http://beefmagazine.com/sectors/new-zealand-beef-imports-us-surge-first-quarter>.