U.S. government fights to keep meatpackers from (FROM?) testing all slaughtered cattle for mad cow

In this Afternoon's special, the government brings you, "How not to keep your population safe from Virulent Disease"

Tune in tomorrow, for the two part mini-series, "Your friend Avian flu, and its benefits as a population control device."

Article found at Digg.com

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/29/america/NA-GEN-US-Mad-Cow.php

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration said Tuesday it will fight to keep meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease.
The Agriculture Department tests fewer than 1 percent of slaughtered cows for the disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat tainted beef. A beef producer in the western state of Kansas, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, wants to test all of its cows.
Larger meat companies feared that move because, if Creekstone should test its meat and advertised it as safe, they might have to perform the expensive tests on their larger herds as well.

I really cannot believe this! The government, those folks who run the country and keep us safe from terrorism, is putting the interests of large mean companies ahead of not only our health, but also the rights of small business.

Ahh, the almighty dollar!

Not only is the administration (and the meat packing companies) saying that the profits of the meat industry are more important than our health, they're ALSO sticking their nose in the way a smaller company runs their business. By battling this, the government is not only saying "Money is more important than you!" but also "Large companies are more important than smaller ones!"

The only argument posed against widespread testing is that it will produce a false positive, and hurt the industry. Now, some of you may call me on a false analogy, but, do we limit testing of HIV in fear of a false positive? How about our other diseases, or our testing of food additives to make sure they're not harmful to people? Of course we don't, it makes little sense to avoid taking a safety measure on the basis that it 'might give a false positive'. If it gives a positive, re-test it to make sure, if it's a false one, then everything is ok! If it's not false, then you may've saved someone's life!


I am not sure how many people remember the catastrophe that Mad Cow Disease caused in the U.K around five years ago, but the impact upon their economy was serious, tens of thousands of animals were slaughtered and dumped. What happens if Mad Cow Disease hits the massive cattle 'farms' of the US? It seems that the government seeks to limit testing so that the larger corporations can gain a competitive edge against the smaller ones (remember, these corporations need every advantage they can get when they take over from Mom and Pop), and that they are ignorant, or at least ambivalent, of the risks that this may pose!

Personally, If Creekstone starts testing all of their cattle, they'll have my business for some time to come. I'm a fan of moral corporations and companies, and I certainly -don't- want to catch mad cow disease!