The other workers (mostly immigrants from Pakistan btw) just laugh and say ‘as long as its going to the US, may Allah smight the US devils’. Toronto is now about 60% immigrant vs 40% Canadians who were born here.

If you knew what I knew about the meat we’re sending, you’d be protesting every truckload at your boarder right now!

Sean

Thank you for so stating the real USDA/Creekstone Farms issue so clearly. The bottom line is that the USDA has decided (with strong influence from the NCBA) the risks of exposing the U.S and our trading partners to BSE is one that doesn’t bear close consideration. The incubation period for the human form of “mad cow” Disease (vCJD) is long (can be up to 20 years) so this administration will not have to bear any responsibilities should the unthinkable happen.
A small group of us, (including one of the worlds leading prion disease experts, a representative from the Consumer Federation of America and a represetntative from Science in the Public Interest)met with Secretary Johanns last July to request that BSE testing in the U.S not be cut back from the 375,000 in place after the discovery of a BSE+ cow in Dec 2003, to the 40,000 figure up until that time.(you know I’m sure that 35M cattle are slaughtered for the U.S. food chain per year) We discussed, very honestly, the risk of exposure the U.S meat eating population would be placed under at such minimum testing figures. Mr Johanns said he would consider our deep concerns and one week later announced the cutback.
There is so much more to say on this issue yet the USDA isn’t interested, presently, in further discussions or in hearing again from our most repsected scientists including those from the U.K.
Please continue to watch and write about BSE testing and the USDA’s lack of concerns regarding BSE and human risk exposure.
I would be happy to talk to you if you want further information.
Sinclerely,
Florence Kranitz
President
The CJD Foundation
330-665-5590
800-659-1991

an unreasonable restriction

Yep, our government is very reasonable.

Your talking about a government that thinks it’s fine to wiretap the nation when a president who wiretapped the other party got in trouble.

Or maybe you mean the government who handled post-Katrina cleanup and aid with such finesse.

Or the government that thinks habeas corpus is too good for them terrorist types.

Thankfully, this isn’t a question of every company HAVING to test, this is a question of HAVING THE OPTION to test every one. There is no way that the government is going to be able to prevent this from happening, it’s an unreasonable restriction on fair trade and the rights of business to operate in a safe, responsible matter.

How accurate are the Mad Cow tests? If there is a significant false negative component, then the meat company could be advertising falsely that their product is “free” of the disease. Of course the tiny percentage currently subject to random sampling is, I’m sure, catching all beef that is even remotely likely to have been exposed, so beef is safe for us to eat, and byproducts can be safely reintroduced to feed, and ranchers/meat extractors only have to test/report on animals that they actually determine could have the disease, as opposed to those they slaughter when they start acting funny.

I say let ‘em test, but at the rate we’re going, I’m going to have to go vegan soon.