i'm going to bovine university

[Guest guest]

11 mad cows in Canada is okay, but 12 is too many. who thinks up this

stuff? I want that job...

 

And what number of mad cows is okay here? Are we using this

same arguement in pressuring Japan to allow in our beef?

in the recent hearings for the new agriculture secretary ,it came

up (OFTEN)that we need to lean HEAVILY on Japan to lower their standards and

import our beef [cause gawd knows we aren't going to RAISE OUR

standards and actually TEST our cattle.

== == ==

 

At the end of December, the USDA decided to reopen the border to live

imports of Canadian cattle under the age of 30 months on March 7th,

ending the 19-month old ban that was instituted after the first native

case of mad cow disease (or BSE) was found in Canada. They justified

this decision by stating that Canada was a " minimal-risk " country and

could be designated so with up to 11 cases of BSE in its herd!

However, just hours after the USDA's announcement, another case of

mad cow disease was detected in Canada. The USDA said that would not

affect their decision to re-open the border, even as some cattle

producers' groups and consumers' groups protested the decision.

 

However, on January 11th, yet another infected cow was located in

Canada, and this one was born after Canada's feed-ban rules, intended

to stop the spread of BSE, went into effect in 1997. Obviously, this

calls into question the implementation of those rules! Canadian

officials are suggesting that the cow was infected through

contaminated feed still in use shortly after the ban. However,

Canadian government tests in 2004 revealed that 59% of feed labeled

vegetarian actually contained animal parts (cattle consumption of

infected cattle or sheep parts is a main avenue of BSE transmission),

which reveals their ineffective regulation of feed. Mad cow disease

is believed to cause a fatal brain-wasting disease in humans who

consume infected tissue.

 

Will it take 7 more cases for the USDA to back off this plan?

Political pressure, by both cattle producers' groups and politicians,

are upping the heat on the USDA to end the border re-opening, which

will hurt prices for American ranchers and leave American consumers-

who still don't have country of origin labeling- wondering where

their beef originated and whether it is safe.

 

1. Send a sample email Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and

urge her to back off the premature and unsafe plan to re-open the

border

to Canadian cattle!

http://www.citizen.org/cmep/foodsafety/articles.cfm?ID=12795

 

2. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper, to emphasize

the importance of keeping our food supply safe from mad cow disease.

Point out that:

 

* The border should remain closed to imports of Canadian cattle.

 

* Consumers deserve to know where their food comes from.

 

* Congress delayed until 2006 a provision in the Farm Bill that

would have mandated country-of-origin labeling for meat, fresh and

frozen fruits, and vegetables. We need this labeling NOW, not in two

more years.

 

With new cases of mad cow disease continuing to surface, mandatory

labeling on all meat will help consumers make informed decisions on

the food they buy to protect themselves and their families.

 

 

 

***

Audrey Hill

Organizer

Public Citizen

215 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20003

(202) 454-5185

 

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