AUSSIE PIES IN MAD COW DISEASE RISK

Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/aussie-pies-in-mad-cow-disease-risk/story-e6frfkvr-1225833650184

Image taken from: http://www.news.com.au/national/aussie-pies-in-mad-cow-disease-risk/story-e6frfkvr-1225833650184





The beef in Aussie meat pies could soon be imported from countries that have had epidemics of mad cow disease, News.com.au reports. Australia will loosen its tough beef import rules, enabling countries such as Mexico, Canada, the US and UK to export their beef into Australia. The federal government said it was important to revoke the decade-long ban from those countries, however, opposition parties contend that the ban should remain to safeguard the health of the nation.



The humble meat pie could soon pose a health risk

The story has proximity and conflict – covering two the of the key news values in journalism. News.com.au is an Australian news website and this story directly affects all Australian consumers, thus the story has proximity.


News.com.au has added conflict in the story by incorporating quotes from Opposition Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who both oppose of the changes to the ban.


The article also provided medical information on mad cow disease and the fatal ramifications of consuming mad cow disease-infected beef, which is useful for readers who are unfamiliar with this disease. The 5 W’s and 1 H are addressed early in the article.

However, one criticism is that the article should have elaborated on why the federal government has made the decision to lift the ban on beef imports. There is only one sentence saying that the government believes it is “important” to lift the ban. This was not supported by a quote from the Trade Minister, Health minister, Agriculture Minister or a relevant spokesperson, who could have provided further details behind the government’s decision.

Quotes from consumers of meat pies could have also been included to get a sense of what Australians think of this decision, after all, the angle of the story is on how the government’s decision to lift beef import restrictions will affect the nation. Do Australians agree or disagree? Will this deter them from eating beef pies? What is their opinion on eating foreign beef?

Quotes from the Australian Beef Association would have also been useful. Will the government’s decision adversely affect the beef industry? Eg: Competition on the market, pricing, issues pertaining to labelling and manufacturing that may arise etc. The latter was included in a similar article by the SMH which provided an insight for their readers into food labelling standards and the production of imported food in Australia.

Under Australian food labelling laws, a manufacturer could exploit the “Made in Australia” tag simply by importing meat and proving that it has been “substantially transformed” here, and that over half their production costs were accumulated here (cited in SMH). This could potentially affect consumers because they will be oblivious as to whether the meat they are eating is in fact from Australia or has stemmed from overseas - from a country where there have been outbreaks of mad cow disease. This is important and relevant information to readers, as they are also consumers who will be impacted by this.

The SMH supported this with a quote from Greens MP John Kaye, who said the labelling laws in Australia and the government’s decision to overturn the ban on beef imports, essentially means that consumers who want to avoid the risk of mad cow disease will be unable to do so. SMH have done a better job in their reporting of this story than News.com.au, as they have provided additional important and relevant information that will directly affect readers who are also consumers.

Overall,  this was a good article with a relevant and appropriate picture of a sliced open beef pie accompanying the story. The visual helps News.com.au to draw the interest of its online readers to the story.