Canada's Partial Ban On Us Beef

[Morgan]

Brainiac said:

If it did come from Canada that doesn't mean it was infected in Canada. How does the cow coming from Canada have anything to do with the incompetece of Canadian authorities? Please explain that.

a. Feed bans were implemented in the USA in 1997, whereas Canada did not implement the same feed bans until 1999.

Mad-cow in Canada just a matter of time Globe and Mail July 30, 2003

Mr. Vanclief [Federal Agriculture Minister]argued Wednesday that Canada has put in a number of regulations since the mad-cow crisis began, including banning the use of specified risk materials — brains and other high-risk materials — in cattle feed. He said Canada had begun changing its feed practices in 1999 in response to the threat of mad-cow disease

2. It appears that the Washington state BSE infected cow was born in Alberta in April 1997, before the feed ban was implemented, and only came to Washington in 2001. BSE has an incubation period of several years so the cow was infected before it crossed the border.

USDA resolves dispute about age of infected cow, CTV.ca ,Dec.29/03

The U.S. Agriculture Department said Monday they have found further evidence that the U.S. cow infected with mad cow disease originated from Canada.They say they have resolved a discrepancy between Canadian and American officials on the age of the animal. American officials originally said the cow was 4½ years old. But Canadian records suggested the animal was born in April 1997, making it 6½ years old.But USDA Chief Veterinarian Ron DeHaven told reporters Monday the cow's owner in Washington state re-checked his records over the weekend and found he was wrong. "He located original documents that indicated the cow in question was indeed an older animal when he purchased her in 2001. Those records are consistent with the Canadian records indicating this animal was born in April 1997," DeHaven told reporters.

3. a) Canadians should not be giggling and rooting for financial losses to befall the "Bush empire." They should worry that the US will not lift its partial ban of cross border beef trade with Alberta, which was to have come about early 2004, which will cause Canada's "Golden Goose"[ie. Alberta] to face continued financial losses in 2004 and not be able to pony up golden egg transfers to the 8 have-not provinces.

Canadians should worry that there are more BSE infected cattle in the food chain than the single one reported in Alberta this spring, who contracted BSE "spontaneously" according to the geniuses in Ottawa. Mad cow disease in cattle has an incubation period of approx. 5 years, whereas in humans it doesn't show itself for approx. 10 years. Dum-tee-dum dum...

[Brainiac]

a. Feed bans were implemented in the USA in 1997, whereas Canada did not implement the same feed bans until 1999.

Canada introduced its feed bans in 1997 along with the United States.

CFIA Feed Ban

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) feed ban was introduced in 1997 to prevent "mad cow disease" or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from entering the food chain. Scientists believe that the spread of this disease in cattle in Great Britain 20 years ago was caused by feeding protein products made from infected cattle or sheep

It appears that Mr. Vanclief must have misspoke or was misquoted in the article you cited.

Canadians should not be giggling and rooting for financial losses to befall the "Bush empire."

I agree. I think that it is irresponsible for anyone to do any finger pointing or to wish ill will towards the States. Where the animal came from is not as important as how the animal was infected. The cattle industry in both countries is so interwoven that it is in the best intrest of both countries to try and figure out how the animals were infected in the first place. I don't understand why they don't kill every cow born before the bans were put into place. It would be costly, but I think the cost is worth it for the long term.

Craig Read wrote:

What you miss...are the major points i mentioned which in good Cdn fashion you don't refute just ignore with the 'we are perfect premise...'

When did I say Canada is perfect? I didn't think I ignored any of your post...some of it I agreed with, some I didn't and the rest I asked for some clarity. What major points did I miss?

Here is a nother one for u - IF the cow was Cdn - and probably it was - the US has now suffered a ban from more than 20 trading partners valued at $3 billion US annually.

The thing is Craig, the cattle industry in North America is pretty interwoven between the two countries. So it only makes sense that countries would ban US beef as well as Canadian beef. When the outbreak happened this summer, the US was faced with bans from Japan as well. I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few more incidents of this type in the next couple of months or years. We need to find out how the animals were infected, that is what is important here. Then we can try to fix it.

[Morgan]

Brainiac said:

Canada introduced its feed bans in 1997 along with the United States. It appears that Mr. Vanclief must have misspoke or was misquoted in the article you cited.

Mr. Vanclief mis-spoke... slightly...He should have said that though the ban was introduced in 1997, routine monitoring of compliance of the food ban by the Canadian Food Agency inspectors was not implemented until 1999.

Sergio Tolusso, feed program coordinator at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, told UPI "in some cases" firms were found to be in violation of the ban. Tolusso said for 2001-2002, about 97 percent of Canada's 600 commercial feed manufacturers and 28 rendering plants were in compliance with the ban. For 1999 and 2000, compliance was 100 percent. But for the period from 1997 to 1999, compliance rates are unavailable, he said. The ban went into effect in the summer of 1997, but the agency "didn't really get geared up to doing inspections" until the following year and officials did not begin doing routine inspections until 1999, he said.

[Craig Read]

Canada the Great - home to BSE and SARS. Socialised systems and over regulated industries with ineffective processes work - really they do. Now the count of infected Cdn cattle is up to almost 80 - Rah Rah Rah !

Previously, federal investigators said 73 dairy cattle had come into the U.S. in August 2001 from the same herd in Canada's Alberta province that is thought to have been the original home of the infected Holstein.

Investigators hope to find and screen those cattle for BSE, which creates holes in the brains of infected cattle. By eating contaminated beef products, people can catch a similar form of the affliction, known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

In all fairness the chance of getting ill from BSE infected beef as Klein stated is about zero. The media love it - much like SARS - another 'disaster' and 'you will die' story to drool over. You had more of a chance of being touched by God when SARS was 'raging' in Toronto, then actually falling prey to the disease.

The CBC and most Cdns were quite glad that those bastards had BSE - it was expressed in the media and in common discourse quite a lot. It just shows the adolescent nature of the country. Why did the US go to Britain and not Canada first for testing and confirmation ? Simple - the Cdn process is not that good, lacks detailed checks and the Americans knew what i know just from living here a while - the Cdns will deny anything is wrong and claim they are perfect.

In any event the Cdns have costed the US economy U$ 3 billion per year. Let's add this to the bill we owe them for the military, drugs and health care technology that Canada uses.

What exactly is the risk for vCJD from beef? Britain's experience in the last decade is instructive. A massive outbreak of BSE there affected some 200,000 cows, and resulted in the slaughter of many herds and great economic loss. .....

In the ensuing years after BSE was recognized, the cumulative number of patients with vCJD in Britain reached about 150. Such numbers, though tragic for the individual and their families, suggest a very small risk given that 60 million people in Britain might have consumed beef. And vCJD seems to be associated with eating brain (or other nerve tissue), a dish not as popular in America as it is in Europe. If it turns out that the Holstein in Washington state is the sole cow with the disease in America, and if, as the government hopes, it can prove that the cow came from Canada, the risk of vCJD in our population might turn out to be minuscule.

[Greg]

The CBC and most Cdns were quite glad that those bastards had BSE - it was expressed in the media and in common discourse quite a lot.

Quit generalizing Craig. We get your point - you hate the social welfare state and its liberal roots are the cause of all evil in Canada.

Now lets move on and discuss some relavent points and facts about BSE.

[maplesyrup]

Canada's Agriculture Minister, Bob Speller, at a press conference in Leduc, Alberta, has just stated that Canada, although obviously co-operating with the Americans to help find the food source that might have contributed to this situation, during the investigation of this particular isolated BSE incident, has no confirmation that Canada is involved, at this point in time, and that the investigation is ongoing.

Canada is conducting its own investigation, including its own DNA testing, and is awaiting the results of its own DNA tests.

The US Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman just announced that the US is putting in sweeping reforms including some based on Canada's expertise.

This article from the CBC is quite informative and easy to read.

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/12/30/madco...w_veneman031230

The tone from both sides has changed quite drastically, stressing co-operation rather than blame, and I believe Ralph Klein, among others, has contributed to that.

[Craig Read]

Well dialogue is important obviously, but this matter, and the jingoistic emanations from Canada during the Chretien regime's tenure does nothing to improve a critical relationship. Especially when during the early days of this scare the attitude in Canada was one of smugness and self satisfaction that the US had problems with BSE.

There is something deeply flawed about systems that allow BSE and SARS to germinate.

Canada is ruining its trade relationship by not reforming its industrial and agricultural practices by; subsidies, poorly managed regulatory regimes, oligopolistic practices.

Combined with a grade 6 determined foreign policy and miliary strategy and we have the makings of a huge problem in the relationship. CDN BSE induced paranoia is wiping out stock value and damaging US trade with 20 other countries.

The infected Holstein cow, which spent the last two years of its life on a dairy farm in Mabton, Wash., was born in April 1997, shortly before the governments of Canada and the U.S. banned their feed industries' practice of recycling cattle remains as a source of protein in cattle feed.

As a result of the uncertainty, cattle prices in the futures pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange are falling faster than ever allowed before by its officials. Under emergency rules adopted by the exchange, which expanded trading limits in order to help investors get out of the mad-cow-rattled market, the prices of futures contracts for delivery through April plunged by their maximum permissible limit of five cents a pound Monday.

The prices of many contracts have fallen by more than 10% of their value since the U.S. mad-cow announcement late Dec. 23.

[Cameron]

Good points. We should not be smug, but offer help.

A situation like this should not have been allowed to happen with the technology we have today. Japan tests all of its beef for BSE, we should be doing the same. If that causes the politicians to mope and whine about costs, just look at what this is costing us right now. Build the labs, hire the people and stop this sort of crap from happening....

[maplesyrup]

'Canadian food safety investigators have established a tentative link between an Edmonton rendering plant and North America's two cases of mad cow disease, The Journal has learned.'

http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=AC...C0-BC4C217BCDF9

Canadian investigators may have found a link, connected with the feed, although it is too soon to be definite.

DNA results expected by end of this week.

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/12/31/madcowlink031231

Canada's point of view

http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-12-31-0007.html

[Craig Read]

The Irony is delicious. After laughing and sardonic media reports that the 'Bastards' had BSE - the Canadians are of course to blame.

So let's play forecaster - what do you think will happen now ? I bet:

-Furious denials will last for weeks

-Alta and Ottawa will strike Commissions to investigate

-Months will past before reports are issued

-The system will be praised as good and only minor adjustments are necessary

-Meanwhile the US economy suffers a $3 billion hit and trade tensions behind the scenes rise

-A partial reformation of the regulatory body that inspects cattle will be implemented though it will be done in the most inefficient way possible

Have to love all the regulatory agencies that fail. But no reforms please. In fact we need more rules and more bodies - just like Manitoba's new Ministry of 'Health Well Being'.

So how many of the 39 Federal Ministries will be involved ?

[Brainiac]

Mr. Vanclief mis-spoke... slightly...He should have said that though the ban was introduced in 1997, routine monitoring of compliance of the food ban by the Canadian Food Agency inspectors was not implemented until 1999.

Sergio Tolusso, feed program coordinator at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, told UPI "in some cases" firms were found to be in violation of the ban. Tolusso said for 2001-2002, about 97 percent of Canada's 600 commercial feed manufacturers and 28 rendering plants were in compliance with the ban. For 1999 and 2000, compliance was 100 percent. But for the period from 1997 to 1999, compliance rates are unavailable, he said. The ban went into effect in the summer of 1997, but the agency "didn't really get geared up to doing inspections" until the following year and officials did not begin doing routine inspections until 1999, he said.

In January 2002, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) concluded that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “has not acted promptly to compel firms to keep prohibited proteins out of cattle feed and to label animal feed that cannot be fed to cattle.”  According to the GAO, noncompliant firms had not been re-inspected in two years, firms with multiple infractions evaded any penalty and the FDA’s inspection data were “severely flawed.”  Consequently, the GAO stated, “FDA does not know the full extent of industry compliance.”  As recently as July of this year, FDA was still issuing consent decrees against feed mills for non-compliance with the feed ban.  Even if compliance with the feed ban is now perfect, that provides little reassurance regarding compliance between 1997, when the feed ban was passed, and the present.

Taken from The Health Research Group

Looks like both countries implemented some tough talk, but were a little slow on the action.

[Brainiac]

Cameron said:

A situation like this should not have been allowed to happen with the technology we have today. Japan tests all of its beef for BSE, we should be doing the same. If that causes the politicians to mope and whine about costs, just look at what this is costing us right now. Build the labs, hire the people and stop this sort of crap from happening....

I second that! Now if only North America could have gotten serious about this before it happened here.

[Morgan]

Brainiac,

You're missing the point of my answers to your initial questions on why it's likely that Canada is to blame for this particular instance of a mad cow infected animal.

You said:

If it did come from Canada that doesn't mean it was infected in Canada. How does the cow coming from Canada have anything to do with the incompetece of Canadian authorities? Please explain that.

1. The Washington farmer has found the paperwork which suggests that this is a Canadian born Canada[1997] which was sold to him in 2001. It crossed the border when it was 4 years old.

2. Given that BSE has a long incubation period before it exhibits BSE, the cow was infected with BSE in Canada BEFORE it crossed the border to the USA . From 2001 to 2003 is not long enough to show symptoms of "end stage" BSE. The cow under discussion was totally immobilized from what I hear. It could not even walk to the milking machines. It was probably showing initial symptoms a year ago or so.

3. Pointing out that the USA has its own problems with enforcing/monitoring the feed ban is a moot point for the case under discussion in this thread.

If this cow is indeed the 1997 Alberta born cow the Washington state farmer bought in 2001, the cow was infected pre-2001 in Canada and it's the lack of stringent enforcement/monitoring of the feed ban in Canada that will be the contributing cause. The geniuses in Ottawa will not be able to pull off a second "spontaneous" incident tall tale this time round.

The chance for "spontaneous" BSE infecting cattle is next to nil anyways. Why Canadians bought that questionable conclusion from Ottawa the first time round is amazing to me. But 2 "spontaneous" cases of BSE in less than a year will not be easy to promote as a believable story.

Please try to focus on this specific case.

4. I find the ban on feed to be a stupid law anyways. On smaller farms, there are often cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep all co-existing in the same general environment.

To say farmers can't feed certain food to cows but it's okay to feed the stuff to the other animals misses seeing "the big picture." There are still chances for the banned feed to be eaten by cattle due human error, unfortunate circumstances like broken bags of feed co-mingling, etc. etc.

Unbeknown to the Cdn. and US officials, farm animals cannot read. Farm animals will eat what's accessible to them, banned or not. The banned feed should be banned from production. Period. Burn the left over cow innards. Don't recycle it into "food" for any animal.

[Brainiac]

Morgan,

I got your point. I just don't believe that there are only two BSE cases in North America and I think it is useless to blame one country or the other for this 'outbreak'. The fact of the matter is both countries have been less than thorough with their measures towards stopping this problem from happening here. The fact that the States has an equally shoddy system is not moot to the broader picture. Cattle does not just flow from Canada to the States. What if the feed that the cow in Canada ate was from a rendered cow from the States? It is an integreated system that demands cooperation and openness from both sides of the border. Just because the second cow came from Canada doesn't mean Canada is the reason for the problem alone.

I agree that the idea that these are spontaneous is utterly ridiculous. I haven't heard that explanation myself, but I am sure it was the idea of the beef industry who has a lot of influence in both Canada and the United States.

[maplesyrup]

'Alberta rendering plant under investigation'

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/...Story/National/

This appears to be an informative and up-to-date (published at 5:03 PM EST today) article, about the BSE situation. It includes the devastating impact on cattle prices that has occured:

'Live-cattle futures prices fell in Chicago for the fifth straight session Wednesday by its maximum limit. Futures for February delivery fell 2.65 cents (U.S.) to 73.525 cents a pound on the exchange.

Since the United States discovered mad-cow disease in Washington state, cattle prices have plunged 23 per cent on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.'

[Morgan]

Brainiac,

1. Here's the link to the "spontaneous" explanation Canadian authorities gave for the first case of BSE that was discovered in Alberta:

National Research Council paper on "spontaneous" case of BSE in Alberta

In May 2003, Canada became the 22nd country outside of the United Kingdom to report a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an animal not known to be imported from a country with cattle previously affected by this fatal, transmissible prion disease. Despite extensive testing of thousands of other animals that may have been exposed to contaminated feed at the same time as the affected animal, no evidence has been found for other infections. This finding leaves room for conjectures that the single confirmed case arose spontaneously, perhaps (by analogy with human Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease) as a result of a somatic protein misfolding event or a novel germline mutation. Here we present DNA sequence data from the affected animal's prion protein coding sequence that argue definitively against the latter hypothesis.

By "latter" I am taking this to mean "novel germline mutation." One needs a paid subscription to read the full text article.

2. Btw, there is a potential problem on the horizon that has been touched on by researchers... that being BSE being spread to humans and then humans spreading the human variation to other humans in the blood supply. It's the long incubation period in cows and the subsequent longer incubation period in humans that is scary. Similar to HIV?? Currently, the blood supply is not being tested for Creutzfeldt–Jakob/BSE. Yet the NRC researchers state:

thousands of other animals that may have been exposed to contaminated feed

Worrisome, indeed.

3. Look we're talking "likely" cause here not "definitive" cause. And yes, I think fault finding is important because if it's Canada's fault, it better start doing something more than smirking and blaming America, and we know Paulie Wallie and the liberals would use this as their typical fallback position and do nothing to protect the Alberta beef industry and protect Canadians' health unless their faces are shoved into "poo" that is identified as their RESPONSIBILITY.

While the PMO and LPOC has been wasting time wringing their hands and devoting energies to pass same sex marriage and pot decriminalization bills, it has carefully side stepped issues that needed $ and their focused attention since May.

IMO, the Bush Admin. has shown itself to act more quickly and decisively when a problem has been identified to them. This is not the case with the Chretien/Martin Admin. unless they are faced with zero escape hatches/ ballout possibilities.

[maplesyrup]

Japan seems to be much further ahead than North America at least in tracking animals. They are going to have a system in effect this coming year, whereby consumers will be able to look up data on the animals, on the Internet, based on a label code, on the beef, in the stores.

I don't know what they would do though, if the ear tag falls off and gets lost.

'Tech lasso for mad cows'

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...tory/Technology

----

The rumours about the rendering plant is growing in leaps and bounds, and now there appears that there will be a delay in obtaining the DNA results, which should help to pinpoint the location of the origin of the diseased cow.

'Birthplace of BSE cow won't be known until next week'

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/12/31/dna_delay031231

[Morgan]

Here's the Edmonton Journal's article about latest BSE news developments as linked from NealeNews.

It's obvious that Paulie Wally Martin wants the US partial ban on Canadian cattle lifted in January, come hell or high water.

Now we know why Canadian officials did not bother to track other farms which may have used the same feed mill as the farm which had the first case of BSE in May.

BSE infected cow may be linked to Edmonton feed plant Dec. 31/03 National Post

Canadian food safety investigators have established a tentative link between an Edmonton rendering plant and North America's two cases of mad cow disease, The Journal has learned. The city plant may have provided contaminated materials to feed mills which mixed feed for both the Alberta-born Holstein at the centre of the current U.S. mad cow investigation and the Saskatchewan birthplace of a diseased cow from northern Alberta discovered in May .

If the link is proven, it would rule out the United States as the feed source for either cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, since the plant's rendering materials came from northern Alberta.

Canadian investigators are not tracing other farms which might have used the protein-rich feed and will not do so until DNA tests confirm the diseased animal found in Washington state did come from a Leduc area dairy farm, Spiller said.

Investigators are tracking down the 81 other cattle that came from the farm. It closed in 2001 due to the longtime owner's health problems. Most or all of the cows were marked for export to the U.S.

The food inspection agency's investigation has not confirmed that the mill's protein supply came from the plant, but it is the most likely source, Spiller said. "We think we know where it most likely came from, but we have to explore all the potential suppliers," he said.

The Edmonton plant stopped rendering cattle remains last August, when it began rendering only non-ruminant materials. Until then, it took in slaughterhouse waste from most abattoirs in northern Alberta.

Using data from an ear tag, U.S. and Canadian investigators traced the diseased cow in Washington state to the Alberta farm, which a food inspection agency official confirmed Tuesday was in the Leduc area, south of Edmonton, not from a farm north of the city as previously suggested.

Northern Alberta Processing Co., coincidentally, processed Marwyn Peaster's cow last February, after the downed animal, which had been born on McCrea's farm was declared unfit for the human food chain. Three months later, the animal tested positive for mad cow disease.The six-year-old cow was rendered into feed for chicken, pigs and horses, which Canada still permits.

[maplesyrup]

'Mad cow rendering report downplayed

'Hard to believe' because to infect a cow, there has to be a case of BSE in place'

http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/Conte...ol=968793972154

'"While it has been reported in the media that a possible link was identified between a rendering facility and the two North American BSE cases, it is premature to draw such a conclusion at this time as the investigation is not yet complete," the statement said.'

[Morgan]

The Star and Globe and Mail...LPOC stooges.

I hope Canadians don't believe this type of nakedly stupid misreporting that borders on gross negligence.

'Mad cow rendering report downplayed'Hard to believe' because to infect a cow, there has to be a case of BSE in place'

What rock have The Star's staff been living under?

[maplesyrup]

Nothing definite yet in Canada's search.

'Canada widens mad cow probe'

'Agency tracing animal, feed Several plants'

http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/Conte...ol=968350116467

'BSE-infected cow may have come from Canada: U.S. officials'

http://www.producer.com/current_news/bse/2...0031230bse.html

'Alberta premier Ralph Klein said he is frustrated with American claims that the animal has Canadian origins.

"And, even if it turns out that it was from Alberta, there are many other questions that will need to be answered, such as where the cow became infected, where its feed came from, and so on," said Klein.

"I ask all Albertans and Canadians not to jump to any conclusions until that work is completed. To do so would be pointless and perhaps even harmful to the industry ... ."

Regardless of the origin of that Washington cow, Canada's status for BSE risk should not change. Our beef is safe," he said.'

'Canada penalized for honesty on BSE case'

- note this article is dated December 4, 2003

http://www.producer.com/articles/20031204/...1204news04.html

Very interesting and has given me some room for thought.

This bse issue is turning out to be such a big event, it's overwhelming. I just did a search on google for 'mad cow' and received 13, 400 hits. If you want to learn and understand about what's going on, it's all out there. There are some very informative articles, I just read a couple in Forbes and also in the Western Producer.

I think it is too bad that story got out about the rendering plant in Alberta, without any confirmation. It has spread like wildfire in the media, and there may not be any substance to it. And then again there may be, but it is too soon to know for sure.

Morgan....I appreciate your challenging us to be careful about our sources of information. You appear to have some awareness about bse.

And those dubious, devious, and dumb awards are a hoot. Gotta like that "Beneath the Call' Award.

Happy New Year to you and to all the participants here at Mapleleafweb!

[Craig Read]

I love the irony it is really grand. The perfect Canadians saddled with SARS and BSE. Great.

What i would like the media to investigate is:

1. Public Dollars spent on regulations and inspections in Canada per capita vs. other nations - where for instance in Japan each cow is tested for BSE and in the US only 1 in 1700 is tested. What is the total amount spent on regulations of livestock in this country and what is the return on that investment ?

From 2 BSE cases in a short while and the attendant economic costs the benefits are negative.

2. The split in dollars for health regulations pertaining to livestock between field workers and administrators and then compare this to other countries. I would bet that 50 % of regulatory budgets are eaten up by swivil chair administrators.

3. The future of reform and health safety in livestock handling. The Minister of Agr. and his staff -at both levels of resp. gov't - get paids lots of money to do something. So where is the push for reform, better controls and better use of our money ?

4. Lastly why aren't people fired for this screwup ?

I would hope that given the fact that Canada will cost the US economy $3 billion through its lax management of its livestock that someone in responsibility actually DOES something instead of spewing feel good rhetoric and assorted nonsense.

[maplesyrup]

Some ramifications in the US for adopting Canadian strategy based on Canada's experience with BSE last May.

'Ban on 'downers' could change way cattle are raised'

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/f...dcow-usat_x.htm

'Officials said Wednesday that they believe they have found a herd-mate to the infected Washington cow. DNA test results on the animal, one of 81 believed to have come into the USA from Canada with the infected cow, are expected early next week.'

[maplesyrup]

'Ex-Cattleman's Warning Was No Bum Steer'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...2004Jan1_2.html

"Anybody who thinks we only have one mad cow in America," he says, "is smoking the No. 1 crop out of California."

-------

'Expert Warned That Mad Cow Was Imminent'

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/25/national...&partner=GOOGLE

'So six weeks ago, Dr. Prusiner, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on prions, entered Ms. Veneman's office with a message. "I went to tell her that what happened in Canada was going to happen in the United States," Dr. Prusiner said. "I told her it was just a matter of time."'

Are we only dealing with the tip of the iceberg here?

There sure is a lot of controversy surrounding this industry.

[udawg]

Toronto Star:

Lift beef ban, US pleads

I hope Canada follows the US lead on this one, banning downer cows. I still don't think US beef should get the A-OK this fast, but they've taken steps in the right direction. Now all they need is more rigourous testing. As do we here in Canada.