The Wire

Australia’s decision to allow beef to be imported from 25 countries affected by Mad Cow disease has caused an outcry from consumers and given several politicians an excuse to do meat pie stunts. Primary Industries minister Simon Crean says the decision has been driven by requests from the industry – which does seem an unlikely scenario considering how much clean beef we produce ourselves. Ausbuy is an organisation which encourages Australian-owned businesses – CEO Lynn Wilkinson says much of Australia’s farming sector is now owned by overseas intests and it’s their influence driving the decision to relax import controls.