mad cow madness

[Guest guest]

MAD COW MADNESS: USDA STANDS IN THE WAY OF BROADER TESTING: (04/26/06): " If

a hospital wanted to advertise that it upholds sanitary standards higher than

any

required by the government, no one would object. A used-car dealer who decided

to

offer only vehicles with the best crash-test scores would be free to do so. But

after a meatpacker announced plans to establish the strictest program around to

protect consumers from mad cow disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture

replied:

fat chance.

 

Eating meat from animals afflicted with the illness can cause irreversible,

fatal

damage to the brain. Last month, a cow in Alabama was found to be infected, the

third confirmed case in this country. Canada, which has similar regulations to

prevent

the disease, has had five. You would think those cases would indicate the need

for more testing of cattle to keep contaminated beef off our tables. In fact,

the

USDA, which now tests only 1 percent of all slaughtered cows, is planning to cut

back on that effort. Crazier yet, it also intends to keep anyone else from

conducting

more tests. The government's attempts to justify its diktat are almost

comically

inept. The USDA scoffs at testing cattle younger than 30 months, insisting that

the disease usually shows up only in older animals. It claims the rules on the

use

of animal remains as cattle feed are all the protection consumers need. "

 

[Edited from from the excellent summarized opinion of issues at:

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0426-25.htm