Gov. Greg Abbott told Texans on Friday there is “no food safety issue” tied to the first U.S. detection of the New World screwworm in decades, signing an expanded statewide disaster declaration that pulls every arm of state government into the fight against a parasite threatening the country’s largest cattle industry.
As of Friday evening, the only confirmed case remains a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, near the Mexican border.
At a news conference in Austin, Abbott drew a clean line between contamination and supply.
“What we’re dealing with is an infestation of animals; however, there is no food safety issue,” he said.
“There’s a food production issue, but not a food safety issue.”
The screwworm fly does not infect meat, and federal inspectors keep affected animals out of the food chain, but a sustained outbreak would cut into herds and push beef prices higher.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the detection June 3 after testing a sample from La Pryor at the agency’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
Larvae were found in the calf’s umbilical area.
USDA has drawn a 20-kilometer quarantine zone around the site, barring movement of warm-blooded animals without inspection, while the Texas Animal Health Commission set an infested zone covering parts of Zavala and Uvalde counties.
Abbott’s Friday order expands a January declaration that had covered only the two affected counties, reassigning resources statewide and making university personnel available to accelerate sterile fly shipments and speed construction of a federal production plant in Edinburg, Texas.
Funded by a $750 million USDA investment and built with the Army Corps of Engineers at Moore Air Force Base, the facility is designed to release up to 300 million sterile flies per week, but is not scheduled to open until fall 2027.
Abbott said he had offered Texas A&M and state agencies to run construction “24 hours a day, seven days a week” to move that timeline up.
The governor told ranchers the parasite is manageable if caught early.
“This is a highly treatable condition if acted on quickly, whether it be for someone’s pets or someone’s cattle,” Abbott said.
“Constant contact with your veterinarian is very important.”
He urged pet owners with outdoor animals to watch for untreated wounds, and closed with a confidence note: “The bottom line is Texas is resilient, and our producers, veterinarians, and state officials are among the very best in the United States.”
During the public portion of his briefing, Abbott also called the broader response inadequate and said the pest can spread like wildfire, though he offered no specifics afterward.
The economic stakes are concentrated in South Texas but national in reach.
Texas anchors a $15 billion state cattle industry, and a USDA estimate cited by the Texas Tribune puts potential economic damage from a potential outbreak at $1.8 billion.

The food trailer used by Brother George’s BBQ was heavily damaged by a fire Thursday in downtown Kankakee.
Kankakee Fire Chief Bryan LaRoche said he was heading to another fire when he spotted the fire from the food truck, which was parked in a lot on the corner of South Harrison Avenue and East Court Street.
Fire crews quickly extinguished the fire. The cause is being investigated, LaRoche said.
There was about $50,000 loss to the trailer and pickup. There were no injuries.
Brother George’s BBQ is known throughout Kankakee County and surrounding area for tasty food and its sauce.
A GoFundMe titled Help Brother George’s BBQ Rise Again was started shortly after the incident to assist George Smith with recovery and rebuilding efforts.
This is a food truck that has spent countless days feeding families, supporting events, and bringing people together, organizer Sydney Bailey wrote. They’ve been more than just a business. They have been a part of our community’s memories, celebrations, and gatherings. Now it’s our turn to give back to them.
The initial goal of $5,000 had been surpassed as of Friday afternoon, with a new goal of $9,000.
Brother George’s BBQ said in a Facebook post that the business will not be attending any festivals, pop-ups or events until further notice while they assess the damage and determine next steps.
It is with a heavy heart that I share that due to a devastating fire, my food truck was significantly damaged today. First and foremost, I am incredibly grateful that everyone involved is safe. While this loss is heartbreaking, lives are irreplaceable, and for that I am thankful.

A teenager was arrested for her vile attack on a Chipotle worker after surveillance video showed her chucking a dish in the employee’s face.
Samantha Dominoe Salomon, 18, was arrested Thursday after police released footage of the teen throwing the food inside a Santa Anna Chipotle on May 12.
Video showed the teen arguing with the worker at the register before violently tossing the container, which exploded on the victim’s chest and face.
Police released the footage in an Instagram post on May 27, asking the public for help identifying the suspect.
Thanks to our Correctional Officers and several community members, the suspect was positively identified as Samantha Dominoe Salomon (18) of Santa Ana, the police department wrote in a follow-up post on Friday. Yesterday, detectives arrested Salomon.
Viewers celebrated the arrest on social media.
Good work. No one should treat anyone the way she did, one wrote.
Excellent. Little dirt bag, another added.
Santa Ana PD don’t play!! a third chimed in.

UNITED NATIONS () — The U.N. food agency said millions of people are being pushed into acute hunger by the Iran war, as it warned would hpen if the conflict escalated and oil prices remained high.
The World Food Program said an analysis in three vulnerable countries found that an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 2.3 million in Afghanistan and 1.3 million in Sri Lanka are struggling to meet their basic food needs.
In March, WFP predicted that 45 million people could be pushed into food insecurity by the end of June. That would be on top of the 318 million people around the world who are already food insecure.
We remain by that prognosis, WFP’s acting Executive Director Carl Skau told U.N. reporters. That’s mainly because the correlation between the prices of energy and food is so tight in many places, and also that in the poorest countries people are already spending all their money on food, and hence when food prices rise, they eat less.
WFP said in its report, circulated late Thursday, that its findings indicate the Mideast crisis is generating significant spillovers, particularly on the prices of food and fuel, and disrupting trade. Especially in already vulnerable countries, the Rome-based U.N. agency said, these factors interact and quickly impact food security and livelihoods.
These impacts are expected to intensify in the coming months, even if the crisis in the Middle East de-escalates, WFP said.
Skau cited other global hotspots with food insecurity, including Sudan, Gaza, southern Lebanon, Yemen and Haiti.
WFP has had to limit aid to millions of needy people because of funding cuts, and Skau urged donors to step up, especially for Somalia and Afghanistan because the human consequences of not doing more will be massive.

In Arkansas, 669 people die each year in homicides and suicides by gun. This inglorious stat, the product of lax gun safety laws and rabid gun culture, puts Arkansas in the top 10 most dangerous states when it comes to firearms.
On Sunday, June 7, the tireless members of Moms Demand Action will circle up the food trucks and convene conversations from 1-3 p.m. at Station 801, 801 South Chester Street, Little Rock.
A roundtable discussion starting at 1:30 p.m. will include Scott Hamilton, CEO & president of the Arkansas Urban League; Eric Brown, executive director of Seis Puentes Hispanic Outreach; Susie Reynolds Reece, a national leader in suicide prevention; and Dr. Whit Hall and Mariah Hatta, volunteers with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Representatives from Parents of Murdered Children and the Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits will also join in.
The Sunday afternoon event, which will include snacks, drinks and kids’ activities, is part of Wear Orange Weekend and National Gun Violence Prevention Month, observed to honor lives lost to gun violence and elevate gun violence prevention efforts.
All are welcome.