"Lacks rigor": silence in the Government and rejection from the agricultural sector to a controversial phrase by the United States Secretary of Agriculture on foot-and-mouth disease

Following a controversial statement by the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who claimed yesterday that Argentina "faces a foot-and-mouth disease problem" and that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) must "ensure the safety" of its cattle industry if further purchases of Argentine products are made, the agricultural sector responded firmly. Meanwhile, the national government has remained silent on Rollins' statement so far. Foot-and-mouth disease affects cattle, but not consumers. Argentina had its last outbreak in 2006. The president of the Argentine Rural Society (SRA), Nicolás Pino, emphasized that the remarks by the U.S. official "lack valid arguments." From Jujuy, where he made a visit with the Mesa de Enlace, in an interview with LA NACION, the rural leader stated that Rollins "before making a statement of this tone should inform herself and know that Argentina has not registered a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak for almost two decades." ...