By JOHN BERNSTEINBERG and ROBERT JOHNSONPublished April 09, 2018 07:37:59As the world’s largest food producer and exporter of beef, chicken and pork, the United States imports more than 80 percent of its food, and Americans have long been known to be skeptical of imports from other countries.
But as the United Nations food agency reported on Monday, American consumers have become increasingly concerned about the safety of imported meat, dairy and eggs.
They have been increasingly concerned with the safety and quality of imported vegetables, meat and grains, and are becoming more aware of the threat that animal welfare and health is posed by imports from countries with lax animal-welfare laws.US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue speaks during a meeting of the Council of Agricultural Ministers of the world in Beijing, China, April 8, 2018.
In the last three years, imports of beef and pork and eggs by the United Kingdom have increased by about half.
But the United Arab Emirates imported just one chicken from the United United States in the year to April 2018, while France imported one.
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Sates imports more beef and poultry from the Arab world than any other country.
The United States accounts for more than one-fifth of the global total of all cattle and pigs.
But imports of the poultry and beef are declining, with the United State exporting more to the Middle East and Africa than the rest of the globe combined.
The United States also imports a growing number of poultry from Asia.
In the year ended March 2018, it imported 1,876,857 chickens from China, up from 933,846 in the previous year.US poultry imports have been increasing in recent years, as US producers have been forced to shift their operations to Asian countries, where chickens are cheaper and more plentiful.
In addition to beef and chicken, American pork is increasingly a hot commodity, particularly with the rise of organic pork producers, such as Beyond Meat, and other producers who have moved to reduce waste and animal welfare standards.
The US meat industry is also concerned about imported eggs.
The number of imported eggs increased from 0.6 million in 2015 to 0.9 million in 2018, according to the USDA.
But according to a recent report by the Center for Food Safety, the amount of imported pork has decreased by more than half since 2006.
The number of imports of egg products has also declined.
In 2018, imports increased by just 5 percent from 4,800,000 to 5,200,000.
But since 2010, the number of US poultry imports has dropped by over 90 percent, according the FAO.
The U.S. poultry industry has been working hard to find ways to reduce the amount that goes to animals raised in factory farms.
The FAO report highlighted a new global campaign called the “Chicken Pledge,” which encourages companies to pledge not to import pork from any country that fails to live up to international standards.US President Donald Trump speaks at the US Open of the American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.K., April 21, 2018, as he unveils the American brand of the 2018 International Auto Expo (IAEA) in Detroit.AP/Mark Ralston, FileUS Agriculture Secretary Sonny Percea speaks at a press conference at the Department of Agriculture on March 26, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Reuters/Carlos BarriaUS Agriculture Department Secretary Sonny D. Perceas speaks during the State of the Union address to Congress at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, U…