A news release yesterday from Rep. Cindy Axne (D., Iowa) stated that, “Today, the House unanimously passed legislation led by [Rep. Axne] to protect our nation’s pork supply and the Iowa pork industry from the threat of deadly African Swine Fever (ASF) through expanded agricultural inspections.
“The Protecting America’s Food and Agriculture Act authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to hire, train, and deploy 240 new agricultural specialists to prevent this dangerous disease from reaching our food supply. While harmless to humans, ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease with no vaccine that affects hogs and would be devastating to Iowa’s pork industry.
“The bill, which Rep. Axne helped introduce in the House of Representative last September, passed the Senate in October and now heads to President Trump’s desk for signature.”
Yesterday’s update added that, “As many as half of China’s entire breeding pig population died or were slaughtered because of the recent spread of African Swine Fever. In recent days, the spread of the disease has also been reported in the Philippines and Greece, and ongoing outbreaks have also been reported in Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Cambodia, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, and South Africa.”
