June 3, 2008

EU urged to use animal remains as feed to ease global grain shortage

The EU ban on the use of animal remains to feed pigs and chickens should be lifted so that grain can be diverted to millions of starving people, one of Europe's top food safety advisers says, reports The Times of London Tuesday (June 3, 2008).

Patrick Wall, chairman of the European Food Safety Authority, questioned whether it was "morally or ethically correct" to feed grain to animals in the midst of a global food crisis. He told the UK daily that there was no scientific reason to maintain the ban.

The EU ban was imposed after the mad cow diseasecrisis in UK in 1996. The fatal cattle disease was linked to livestock eating animal products.

Currently, the European Commission is considering a plan to allow pigs to be fed poultry trimmings and chickens to be given pig meat to save farmers from buying expensive grain and have asked for Professor Wall's advice, the paper says.