I'm actually optimistic - if we accept all their recommendations it would bring the US in line with other Western countries's common sense regulations not dictated by agribusiness. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=4&u=/nm/20040204/ts_nm/madcow_dc_7 Top Stories - Reuters Expert Panel Sees More U.S. Mad Cow Wed Feb 4,11:50 AM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Randy Fabi RIVERDALE, Md. (Reuters) - A panel of international experts said on Wednesday there was a "high probability" of more cases of mad cow disease in American cattle, and recommended the U.S. government ban cattle brains and spinal material in all livestock feed and pet food as a safeguard. The panel was appointed by Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman after the United States' first case of the brain-wasting disease was reported in a Holstein dairy cow in Washington state on Dec. 23. Discovery of the disease halted some $3.8 billion in annual American beef exports. . . . The panel recommended several additional precautions the U.S. government should take. "All SRM must be excluded from all animal feed, including pet food," Kihm said. The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites), which regulates livestock feed, should eliminate all animal protein from cattle feed as another safeguard, the panel said. "The prohibition of the use of all meat and bone meal (MBM), including avian, in ruminant feed is justified partly due to the issues of cross-contamination as well as the current problems in differentiating mammalian and avian MBM," it said. That means sheep and goats -- as well as cattle -- would not be allowed to eat feed containing MBM. . . . One of the panel's goals was "removal of all SRM from both human food and animal feed," according to documents released at the USDA meeting. The USDA should consider banning brain and spinal cord from all cattle over 12 months of age from human food, it said. . . .
i can tell you a lot about this stuff. i know about it because the main stock i am holding deals with cattle tracking. the USDA is really dragging their feet on the mad cow issue and Ann Venemen isn't on top of things either. USDA is trying to downplay mad cow and act like its not as bad as it was or could be. they are just trying to get the ban on beed lifted ASAP, but that won't happen because no one else is falling for this BS act that is being put up by the USDA. not a lot of stories about the mad cow problem are getting publicity lately because there hasnt been a major outbreak lately. however, our nation is basically in the stone age when it comes to the ability to track cattle who could be infected within a reasonable period of time or even at all. i saw a couple stories that recommended that the US just give up looking for the rest of the infected cows and instead get on the surveillance issue ASAP. i know i have somewhat of a personal stake in this issue because i am holding a cattle tracking company, but i am holding it because i understand how outdated the US is and how nothing is going to change unless the government takes strong actions to show other nations that we are making an effort to control mad cow and future outbreaks...which we simply are not doing. sorry, i kind of rambled but if you want to get an idea of what is going on go here http://search.messages.yahoo.com/search/messages?tag_M=pinvestment&fname_M=txt_author thats a guy from the stocks message board i post on. he is very reliable with his research and has been right about things before they came out thru the government...meaning he is very up to date on the mad cow issue
At least congress may have to take another look at this, since they rejected this last year. Since it's an election year, maybe the Bushies will do the right thing, but I doubt they would push it, just take credit for it if it passes.
The meat industry can virtually end the threat of Mad Cow Disease by simply removing cow brains from their cow feed. That's it. But that extra nickel per ton of beef is more important than ensuring the safety of the American public. You'd think the meat industry would want to be pro-active and make these changes before a giant outbreak hits, which would destroy their market.
well its a bipartisan effort to get stuff done in congress....the USDA is the one who is not on top of things. check out bills S-2007 and S-2008 that will tell you everything they are being lead by Leahy and a prominent democrat whose name i can't think of right now
Maybe they'll whitewash this... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001858777_madbrains16m0.html Dangerous cow parts still enter food supply By Sandi Doughton Seattle Times staff reporter Even before the nation's first mad-cow case, few Americans chose to dine on cow brains, spinal cords or intestines. Learning that those parts are most likely to carry the disease only strengthens the aversion. But despite new rules adopted in December to keep the riskiest tissues out of the food chain, some of the unsavory ingredients can still wind up on the table, hidden behind innocuous labels like "beef flavoring" or as accidental contamination in taco filling or processed meat. People can get a fatal, human version of the disease by eating tissue from infected animals, though no one knows what dose it takes. Cows can become infected by eating less than one-thousandth of an ounce of brain tissue from a sick animal, a panel of international experts said in a report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this month. . . .
yup...thats all the USDA has been doing...whitewashing stuff. they are trying to get the bans lifted without having to implement all the crap they will have to implement. the USDA and Veneman are a joke. its pretty funny because the senators really get on their asses and the USDA just sounds like a bunch of fools answering their questions. there is a lot of money at stake here in the cattle industry. it doesn't seem like the government is going to be funding a lot of the stuff either. from what i am hearing its mainly going to be done thru private organizations.
its getting REALLY ugly now for the USDA http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49516-2004Feb17.html USDA Accused of Misleading Public on Mad Cow Whether Diseased Animal Was a 'Downer' Speaks to Surveillance System, Lawmakers Say By Marc Kaufman Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, February 18, 2004; Page A02 After a month-long investigation, the Republican and Democratic leaders of a key congressional committee yesterday accused the Agriculture Department of misleading the public about a central fact in the nation's first known case of mad cow disease. Since federal officials announced in December that an animal had tested positive for mad cow disease, they have consistently said the animal was a "downer," an ailing animal that could not walk. The USDA national surveillance system for mad cow disease is based primarily on sampling brain tissue of downer cows. But an inquiry by the House Committee on Government Reform reported yesterday that three eyewitnesses to the slaughter of the sick animal have testified that it was not a "downer" and did not appear to be sick at all. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, the committee's chairman, Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), and its ranking Democrat, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.), said the new information "could have serious implications for both the adequacy of the national [mad cow] surveillance system and the credibility of the USDA." The issue of whether the animal was a downer is important in the ongoing debate about how much testing and surveillance of the American cattle herd is required now that mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has been found. The UDSA has said that recently expanded surveillance and sampling of downer and other sick animals is sufficient, while importers of American beef in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere have said it is not. In addition, an international panel of experts created by the USDA concluded earlier this month that the American surveillance system was not broad enough, but the recommendation was hotly rejected by American cattlemen. "For the chairman, this boils down to an issue of public awareness and public trust in government," committee spokesman David Marin said on behalf of Davis, who is in Iraq. "If indeed it is true that the only . . . infected cow in the nation was walking around, then clearly it's not safe to assume that all infected cattle will be downers," Marin said. "That in turn has serious implications for the Agriculture Department's surveillance program and serious ramifications for the information that has been shared with the public." USDA spokeswoman Julie Quick said yesterday that the department will not comment on the letter but that it is "important to get to the bottom of this issue." She said the USDA inspector general's office opened an investigation several weeks ago into the question of whether the infected animal was a downer. Quick said the USDA based its conclusion that the animal was a downer on the report of an agency veterinarian at the scene when the animal arrived at the slaughterhouse. He reported that the cow was a downer, but the slaughterhouse co-manager, Thomas A. Ellestad, said that the animal stood up in the delivery truck soon after the vet left and that the animal walked to slaughter. For the USDA, identifying the animal as a downer allowed the agency to say its surveillance system -- which focuses on visibly sick animals -- was working. It also conveyed a reassuring message to the public that diseased meat could be readily identified and kept away from consumers. In their letter to Veneman, Davis and Waxman said they had reviewed affidavits or statements from Ellestad; from Randy Hull, who trucked the cow to slaughter; and from David Louthan, who killed the animal. All three said that the animal was ambulatory and showed no signs of sickness. While the statement from Hull is new, Ellestad told reporters at his slaughterhouse, Vern's Moses Lake Meats, that the animal was not a downer soon after the mad cow infection was found in December. In their letter to Veneman, the committee leaders also reported that Ellestad provided a contract showing that he did not accept downer cows for slaughter, and Hull provided one saying that he did not haul them. The committee letter also introduced a Jan. 6 letter faxed by Ellestad to USDA officials in Boulder stating that the brainstem sample that tested positive for mad cow disease was not sent because the animal was a downer, but because of a preexisting contract that his business had with the USDA to provide a supply of brain tissue samples. Davis and Waxman pointedly wrote that the Jan. 6 fax had not been released to Congress or the public, and concluded that "if it is confirmed the BSE-infected cow was not a downer, public confidence in USDA may suffer." The letter cited reassuring public statements made by Veneman soon after the diseased animal was found. On Dec. 24, the secretary said on NBC's "Today" show that "the cow had difficulty standing on its own, which is why it was a downer cow. My understanding . . . is that this cow had given birth, and that it had not been able to get up since then." The new information contradicting that account released by the committee was "checked and double-checked," said Marin, the committee spokesman. He said that some of the new testimony came directly to the committee and some was made to a Washington state senate committee. Ellestad's long affidavit was written with the help of the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit organization that usually works with government whistle-blowers. Marin said the committee did not believe that the USDA veterinarian who called the cow a downer was being deceptive. "He may have seen what he said he saw," Marin said. "But others saw something different."
ok, very simple question that has not been answered... is it safe to eat beef? or am I going to find out that it wasn't several years down the line when the virus breaks out of incubation period?
Yes. You're far, far, far more likely to die from good ol' "regular" food poisoning - e-coli, salmonella, etc... - than to contract CJD. The Harvard Risk Assessment Center did a study in the late 90's, after the outbreak of BSE in Great Britain, and said the risks in the US were greatly overstated. However, that doesn't meant that the USDA & Ag. Dept. don't need to seriously revamp their procedures. P.S. It's caused by a prion, basically a protein gone bad, not by a virus.
You're actually more more likely to randomly get CJD rather than variant CJD in England IIRC. Anyways, now American's have a choice in beef. http://www.newsday.com/news/nationw...,0,6436817.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines Kan. Meatpacker Plans to Test for Mad Cow By ROXANA HEGEMAN Associated Press Writer February 26, 2004, 11:22 PM EST WICHITA, Kan. -- A premium-beef producer has become the first U.S. meatpacker to volunteer to test every animal it processes for mad cow disease, an expensive move that the beef industry and the federal government contend is unnecessary. John Stewart, chief executive officer of Creekstone Farms, said Thursday his company has assurances from its Asian customers they would accept its beef products if it tests every carcass. The company exports about 25 percent of its beef products. "We believe it is the right thing to do: to test every animal to give the American public and consumers a comfort level that every animal coming from our facility, all the meat coming from our facility, has been BSE-tested and is BSE-safe," Stewart said. Japan has insisted on 100 percent testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, before it reopens its market to U.S. beef. The Agriculture Department has received a request from Creekstone Farms to perform voluntary testing at its Arkansas City slaughter plant, said J.B. Penn, undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services. If the department does not approve the testing within 60 days, Kentucky-based Creekstone Farms will be forced to lay off 10 to 15 percent of the slaughter plant's 750 workers, Stewart said. The Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is the only agency now authorized to test for BSE in the United States. The department announced last month it would accept applications from companies who want to conduct rapid tests for BSE that return results in 24 to 36 hours. But department spokeswoman Julie Quick said it could take a year before those companies could begin testing. Creekstone Farms, which kills about 1,000 cattle daily, said the cost of testing -- about $20 an animal -- would be passed on to consumers. Stewart said as a seller of premium beef, Creekstone Farms is better able to handle the expense than many other companies. . . .
The reason this is important is that we currently only plan to test cows that are downers. This cow was not a downer and it had mad cow disease. So any healthy looking cow could potentially have this disease and show no symptoms, theoretically. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/04/politics/04COW.html Official Tells of Investigation Into Mad Cow Discrepancies By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. Published: March 4, 2004 The government has begun a criminal investigation into whether documents were falsified in the lone case of mad cow disease found in the United States, the Agriculture Department's inspector general said yesterday. The official, Phyllis K. Fong, told a House appropriations subcommittee that the investigation focused on whether the Holstein dairy cow was a "downer" — a cow too sick or injured to walk — when it was slaughtered on Dec. 9 at Vern's Moses Lake Meats in Washington State. The inquiry was "based on allegations that were reported in the media in early February concerning possible alteration of official records," Ms. Fong said. She declined to identify any targets of the investigation. The official records of the veterinarian at the slaughterhouse, released by the Agriculture Department in January, said the animal was "sternal, alert," meaning that it was conscious but down on its sternum, or chest, before it was killed. But three witnesses — the worker who killed the animal, the trucker who hauled it to the slaughterhouse and an owner of the slaughterhouse — have all said publicly that it was walking. Dave Louthan, the slaughterer at Vern's, said in a February interview that the cow walked to the edge of the truck when he killed it with a "knocking gun" to keep it from doubling back and trampling the downed cattle inside. At the time, Mr. Louthan said he believed that the slaughterhouse veterinarian had falsified the records. He repeated that assertion yesterday in more detail. On Dec. 23, the day it became known that a cow from Vern's had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy and a team from the Agriculture Department arrived, he barged into the office of the veterinarian, Rodney D. Thompson, and found him "hip deep in the paperwork and writing like a madman," Mr. Louthan said. The paperwork included the slips a veterinarian fills out on each animal in which illness is suspected. "I said, `Hey, this is wrong, that cow was a walker,' " Mr. Louthan said. "And he got mad at me and said, `Then why the hell do I have him down as a suspect?' " ("Suspect" describes any animal suspected of being seriously ill, including downers.) Dr. Thompson did not respond to phone calls or e-mail messages left for him yesterday and has not spoken to the press. . . .
Well, it's looking like the GOP will have to modify those new Bush ads... Just picture it: the statue of liberty, a flag flying bravely over the smoldering remains of the WTC, firemen carrying a dead colleague from the rubble, a ... cow teetering, frothing at the mouth, and falling over... then fade in Bush's stern, sincere face. I love it! They should hire me.
