International Rules, Food Safety and the Poor Developing Country Livestock Producer

PREFACE This is the 25th of a series of Working Papers prepared for the Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative (PPLPI). The purpose of these papers is to explore issues related to livestock development in the context of poverty alleviation. Livestock is vital to the economies of many developing countries. Animals are a source of food, more specifically protein for human diets, income, employment and possibly foreign exchange. For low-income producers, livestock can serve as a store of wealth, provide draught power and organic fertilizer for crop production and a means of transport. Consumption of livestock and livestock products in developing countries, though starting from a low base, is growing rapidly. The present study is a part of the PPLPI effort to identify significant political and institutional factors and processes that currently hinder or prevent the poor in developing countries from taking greater advantage of opportunities to benefit from livestock. Michael Halderman and Michael Nelson's PPLPI Working Paper No. 18 identified the development of international sanitary and phytosanitary standards as an important factor and suggested further research was needed in this area. This study focuses on what can be done to make international rule-making friendlier to poor livestock producer interests if international rules regarding the safety of livestock food products are considered a factor. Another study, carried out by Brian Perry and colleagues (PPLPI Working Paper No. 23) seeks to identify the impacts of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules on access to livestock markets by developing countries. Disclaimer The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not constitute in any way the official position of the FAO. Author Michael Nelson is a doctoral candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. His main research interests are international and transnational economic law, the international relations of African states, and international food politics. He can be reached by Acknowledgments: The author is thankful to everyone who helped during the course of this study. Special thanks are due to David Leonard and Joachim Otte for support during the research and for comments on the …