Sun, 28 Dec 2003

Blood is Milk, Deer aren't Ruminants

This article goes into some depth as to how BSE has entered the food supply - and it's a tale of simple, raw greed, and an utter disregard for enything except selling every bit of every cow, despite warnings and signs that this would lead to disaster.

Here's a quote from the piece:

But critics say the regulation leaves glaring loopholes. Rendered cattle can be fed to pigs and chickens, which can then be fed back to cows. Cow blood, which cannot be guaranteed free of disease, is widely fed to calves as a "milk replacer." Deer that may be infected with disease can be rendered into cattle feed. Enforcement of the regulation, they say, has been lax.

What's worse, though, is the absolute state of denial about prion biology that the USDA seems to be in:

He said regulators in both countries believed that mad cow illness was akin to a viral disease that "comes from the outside" and can be stopped by putting animals into quarantine.

Prion diseases are only transmitted by eating or ingesting brain matter from infected animals - quarantine won't do a damn thing to keep it from spreading.

This is a case of an industry run amok - trying at all costs, including public health and safety, to maintain it's current position and profit margins. It's a recipie for long term disaster.

Despite Mad-Cow Warnings, Industry Resisted Safeguards. A look at how the crisis developed also reveals broader problems that could complicate efforts to restore consumer confidence and to ensure that no other tainted meat enters the food supply. By Christopher Drew, Elizabeth Becker and Sandra Blakeslee. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

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