First off, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), the condition which causes "Mad Cow Disease" cannot -- repeat
CANNOT be spread from animal-to-animal nor from animal-to-human like a viral or bacteriological infection.  The only
way that it can be passed along is either genetically from one generation to the next, or through consumption of brain or
spinal column tissue from an infected animal.  Animals that have been proximity to a BSE-infected cow cannot contract
the disease, nor can humans who consume the meat of an infected cow, unless the meat itself came into contact with
infected tissues.  Because of procedures put into effect by USDA after the British BSE outbreak, the likelihood of this
occuring during the rendering process is negligible.

I have never had the pleasure of seeing a cow carcass split down the middle with a band saw.
The people who have been there say the "bad stuff" flies all around the room, like blood from a gunshot on C.S.I.
I believe they call them "spray patterns."

I'm sorry, but I don't want my steak in the same room where the mad cow went all "red wind" on it
 
I heard today (can't trust the media) that the USDA checks TWO PERCENT of the "downed cows."
Hey, raise my goddamn taxes, hire more inspectors and don't serve me any more "downed cows."
 

Despite what you seem to be claiming, harvesting of meat is not how the disease is spread; this occured in England
for example when cattle were fed protein supplements comprised in part of brain and spinal cord tissues from infected
cows, and then later their brain tissue was consumed by humans.  The USDA banned this practice in 1997, and while
feed manufacturers were admittedly slow to implement it, today there is 100% compliance.

I'm from Missouri.
If we have 100% compliance in a system that works, why are eight states on a mad cow alert?
 

Second, while there is certainly room for improvement in terms of USDA meat inspections, this is irrelevent to the issue.
Again, it's not the MEAT that spreads BSE and its human equivalent -- that can only happen if humans ingest infected tissues.
And since 99.99% of Americans wouldn't even think of eating cow brains or spinal tissues, realistically there is simply no chance
of this happening.

You and I are certainly getting different information.
I hear that hamburger is produced from many "leftover" parts
Today's USA Today says the "T" in t-bone steak is part central nervous system.
Granted, I don't eat the t-bone itself, but who wants a benign disease on their steak?
 

However, today the USDA announced several procedureal changes which includes a ban on all meat from "downer"
cows from entering the food chain, along with a national identification system.  While these are all positive steps, again I
would stress there is no evidence to support the contention that meat from these animals poses any health risk.
Which doesn't mean people want to or should have to take the risk of course, small as it may be.

I disagree, but again, I'm getting my seemingly different information from the American whore media,
which exist for the sole purpose to protect Bush's image as the fearless warrior of truth..
 

Finally, all the evidence seems to point to the fact that this particular cow, purchased from a farm in Alberta, Canada
was approximately 6 1/2 years old at the time of slaughter, meaning that it was born and contracted BSE prior to the
USDA ban, and well before the Canadian outbreak.  The key issue now is to track the offspring forward for symptoms
of BSE, as well as to track this particular cow back to its original herd for the same purpose.  The greatest concern right now
is to determine whether any other animals from this same herd also are infected, and to eliminate them as quickly as possible.

The reason you're probably not hearing a lot of response from either the beef or dairy industries is simply that they'd prefer
not to fan the flames as it were, by drawing more attention to the situation than it warrents.  Yes, everyone is concerned about
both the effect this will have on their respective industries, as well as ensuring the highest degree of public safety, but at the
same time, there is no desire to encourage a state of panic when there is literally no need to do so.  The fact is that industry
and government are cooperating extensively on tracking down the source herd for the infected cow, and it's offspring to
make certain that this doesn't happen again.

It's my opinion they are downplaying this story and hoping it won't turn into a major issue.
I'm not seeing a responsible response to this potential multi-billion dollar crisis.

Koresh, we're talking about beef, which is as American as apple pie, Chevrolet and  bartcop.com
Everything is a poker game, and Bush is betting beef will skate thru this scare unscathed.
 

Like most things in life, there are no absolute guarantees, but in this case, everything that can be done is being done
to correct the problem, such as it is, as well as to make sure the procedures are in place (as they were when the initial
testing was mandated) to ensure the health and safety of the general public.

CHRIS C
Seattle, WA
 

Chris, I don't understand how you can make the claim that, "everything that can be done is being done." 
If ranchers all over the country were screaming at the feds for cracking down too hard on this, I'd feel a lot better.

This isn't like most catastrophes.
When China shot down our spy plane, and Bush begged them on his whore knees to please, please forgive us,
that didn't increase the likelyhood than another 200 planes would be shot down the following week.

When his Enron buddies killed 9 students while playing with that submarine south of Hawaii, it didn't increase
the likelyhood that another 1800 Japanese students would die from future Enron submarine attacks.

But mad cow is different.
Bush can screw this up and spread a mere eight-states contagion into a full "The US is infected" mad house.

The time to put the American mad cow crisis to bed was two weeks ago.
It's a mistake for Bush to let this disease fester in our food supply.

Reminder:
bartcop.com  offers free political advice to any major political opponent opposing Bush.
I doubt I'll affect the swing of history, but what if your campaign gets just one idea that clicks?
 

I'm absolutely nobody, ...but eight years in, ...I'm undefeated.
It's easy to do when the truth is on your side.
 

The best part is I'll certainly help you behind the scenes.
The last thing you need is my "Invisible Cloud Being" baggage.
 

I'll give you my advice for $100 a problem.
 

ha ha
BartCop is "The Wolf!"
When you have a clean-up problem, just call, "The Wolf!"
 

Swear to Koresh, send your opponent's attack to me and I'll castrate it.
Have Experience - Will Travel.
 

  back to  bartcop.com