Canada's Mad Cow Mystery

CFP ^ | March 7, 2005 | Judi McLeod

[MikeEdwards]

One single cow. That’s all it took for the ultimate loss of an estimated $7 billion to the beleaguered, over-regimented by government Canadian cattle industry.

There were no Sherlock Holmes-type detectives out on the hunt trying to find out how the sick cow showed up one day in land-vast Canada.

A long-term, proud Canadian tradition, the once thriving cattle industry, was plunged into crisis by the discovery of a single infected cow.

The clues of the Canadian Mad Cow Mystery are worth at least a serious look: In May of 2003, an Alberta Black Angus with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease, was discovered.

In December 2003, a dairy cow with BSE was found in Washington State and traced back to a farm near Edmonton, Alberta.

It had been business as usual for Canadian farmers in August 2003, when Uncle Sam was allowing the import of Canadian boxed beef from animals under 30 months to cross the border.

Is it of interest to anyone but the farmers that only after American officials had set March 7 as the resumption of trade in live young cattle and beef products over 30 months in January, that two more BSE-infected cows were discovered in Alberta--two weeks apart?

As recently as last month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns confirmed plans for today’s reopening, but further delayed trade of beef products from cattle over 30 months.

There can be little doubt that the Agriculture Secretary was impacted by the decision of a Montana judge, who ruled on the side of an American rancher’s lobby group, Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, or R-CALF. . . . .

[trebb]

Ooh! I just love a mad cow conspiracy!!! I guess the question would be - How did we supposedly infect these cows that were traced back to Canada?

[An Old Marine]

According to Ward Churchill its a Rovian conspiracy being implemented by the FBI. Danny Rather has the documents to prove it. Howard the Deany is lining up his best screams.

[jrd]

maybe if they would stop bringing them up from Mexico without checking them they would not have that problem!

[newgeezer]

Yeah, and then we found a single mad cow of Canadian origin in Washington state, and the world did the same thing to us (shut off imports from the U.S.). U.S. producer prices dropped by one-third. Meanwhile, retail prices dropped very little, if at all. Go figure.

[Calpernia]

ping

[Bernard Marx]

Ooh! I just love a mad cow conspiracy!!!

There are some interesting suspects on the list: Robert Kennedy Jr., Ted Turner and by implication the PETA bunch and other anti-meat activists. I'm not buying into that theory right away but I'm going to think about it a little.

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!!

[Carry_Okie]

U.S. producer prices dropped by one-third. Meanwhile, retail prices dropped very little, if at all. Go figure.

Because of mergers allowed under Janet Reno, there are now effectively but three big beef packers that control over 60% of the market: Cargill, ConAgra, and Tyson. Together they control the producer market and ranchers have been getting screwed ever since.

[TXBSAFH]

Mad cow, sorry I thought they were talking about Hiltery.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

"In the wake of the Mad Cow disease scare, soy products have benefited from increased demand in affluent countries for meat from cows that are fed soy meal, rather than animal-based feed." (CorpWatch, Dec. 16. 2004).

I was under the impression that the U.S. had outlawed animal-based feed for cattle for quite a while. It is the only known transmission mechanism for BSE.

[farmfriend]

Yes, they outlawed it right after the outbreak in England that was attributed to animal-based feed. Corn fed beef has always been big in the U.S. anyway. I'm not sure the practice was even done here or at least not done much.

[Inge_CAV]

"Yes, they outlawed it right after the outbreak in England that was attributed to animal-based feed."

Don't know who came up with this brilliant scheme of animal based feed. But they deserve special recognition ..... and a ride on a rail, outta town.

[farmfriend]

Don't know who came up with this brilliant scheme of animal based feed.

I think it was a British thing. I agree. Herbivores should not be fed sheep intestines.

[Inge_CAV]

Caption "Mad Cow ... I am not mad at anyone. Um, got another one of these, mister?"

[farmfriend]

Awww, cute picture.

[Inge_CAV]

Thanks, every once in a while one has to be bottle fed until it can make it on it's own.

[kalee]

"Environmental activist Robert Kennedy Jr., who publicly vowed to rid the world of pork products in 2003, said that beef and chicken were next on his hit list.

CNN founder Ted Turner owns the largest buffalo ranch in the world and restaurants where buffalo is King of Meat. Turner is not the only environmentalist looking at buffalo as a replacement for politically incorrect-beef products."


I kept waiting for that "It's all Bush's fault." garbage and was really surprised to learn it'a all the leftist enviro- wackos fault. Maybe I could buy into this conspiracy after all. lol