Fragile Food Security

Dozens of containers full of illegal animal feed are free to pass through the ports of Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak. This worrying state of affairs has continued for a whole year. There are no permits and no income into state coffers. Yet again, the government seems powerless in the face of these growing abuses.

Animal feedstuff is not a complex matter. It is either made from corn seeds and is known as corn gluten meal (CGM), or from bones and entrails, in which case it is called meat and bone meal (MBM). Supplies of meat remnants must be imported because there are not nearly enough domestic cattle. So far, the government has only allowed imports of MBM from Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Bones and entrails cannot be imported from Europe because of the risk for mad cow disease.

October 27, 2015