Some previous posts have lamented the rise of grain cropping and grain finished beef in S. America. Consider the situation:

The United States and European Union agreed in May to end their two-decades-long row over an EU ban on hormone-treated beef by increasing the European quota for other beef. . .

A document circulated to WTO members by the EU and U.S. missions at the WTO, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, confirmed that the European Union would admit an extra annual duty-free quota of 20,000 tonnes from August this year.

If the two parties agree to move to a second phase, the additional quota will rise to 45,000 tonnes in the fourth year.

The EU already admits a quota of 60,000 tonnes of beef, of which the United States has a share of 11,500 tonnes, charging a tariff of 20 percent. Imports outside that quota pay 100 percent.

Under the agreement, the definition of high-quality beef says it must derive from heifers and steers less than 30 months of age which have been fed for at least 100 days before slaughter on a diet containing no less than 62 percent of concentrates and/or feed grain products.

The beef can be labelled "high-quality beef" in accordance with existing EU food labelling regulations.

The quality definition falls short of the grass-fed beef exported by Latin American breeders.

Besides Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, India, New Zealand, Nicaragua and Paraguay expressed concern at the deal at a meeting of the WTO's dispute settlement body in June.

But Brussels and Washington have hailed the agreement as a pragmatic way of resolving trade problems.

It's no wonder that Argentina is plowing up the pampa and penning its cattle to feed the grain to them. What a joke that the EU is concerned about growth hormones but insists that "high quality" beef must be grain fed.