❱❱WashingtonUpdate National Chicken Council

BY GEORGE WATTS

Cooling climate . . . and eggs

C ongressandtheexecutivebranch of government are dealing with at least three issues that affect he chicken industry — ranging in impact from very general to very speci;c. I’m thinking of global warming, free trade and hatching eggs.

The jury is still out on how much warming has really occurred and to what degree climate change is driven by human activity, especially the burning of carbon-based fuels.

the chains of “cap and trade” to achieve a trivial improvement in temperature is taking environmental zeal to absurd lengths. If Congress actually approves cap and trade as opposed to a pared-down climate change bill, my guess is that many of its members won’t be back for the next session — and their replacements will repeal it.

Huge cost for ‘cap and trade’

Of more immediate importance is the question, whether the United States should adopt a hugely expensive, highly intrusive “cap and trade” system to begin to ratchet down the use of coal, oil and natural gas — long before any practical

Free trade and exports

Free trade, fortunately, has nothing to do with “cap and trade.” Our country is the largest player in world commerce and bene;ts greatly from freer and expanded trade. But free trade is a tough sell in a Democratic-majority Congress because labor unions are generally opposed. Bush-era agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia

FDA’s new rule would
essentially keep hatching
eggs out of the human food channel.

it released the ;nal version of a rule to control Salmonella enteritidis in shell eggs, which will become effective July 9. One of the key provisions is to require refrigeration of eggs within 36 hours of lay.

The preliminary version released in 2004 did not apply to broiler hatching eggs, some of which are sent to egg breakers for use in food products if they are not needed for hatching. This was reasonable because breakers pasteurize egg products to achieve a 99.999 reduction percent in salmonella — the same as required for table eggs. But when the ;nal rule came out last year, it unexpectedly required hatching eggs to be refrigerated.

alternatives are in place. The costs of “cap and trade” would be enormous but the bene;ts slight. The Heritage Foundation estimates the bill would raise energy prices by 55% to 90%. Yet, the program would supposedly reduce the expected temperatures by only about one-tenth of one degree Celsius. You wouldn’t even notice.

Surely, practical ways can be found to
reduce our society’s “carbon footprint.”
President Obama’s newfound support for
nuclear power is a step in that direction.
But to shackle the entire economy with
have been languishing in Congress.
NCC recently joined a large number
of food, feed and agricultural associa-
tions urging Congress to approve these
agreements.