The USDA, which has said it will not even require the testing of herds
for mad cow disease, is now being criticized for being
too tough
on the cattle industry. Who's laying out this criticism? Two lawmakers
from Virginia and Texas, of course. You can hardly blame them, though:
they're just trying to protect their jobs by pressuring the USDA into
releasing cattle ranchers from any mad cow testing whatsoever.
And
herein lies the problem: the USDA is an agency known for caving in to
industry pressure. In fact, it's more of a marketing branch for
agriculture than a regulatory department, because when it comes to
making hard choices between industry profits and consumer health risk,
the USDA always seems to side with industry profits. That's where the
Food Guide Pyramid came from, by the way: it's a great way to promote
the sale and consumption of grains, which occupy the largest section of
the pyramid even though the consumption of grains and carbohydrates is
clearly linked to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
But back to
cattle: countries around the world -- like Japan and the U.K. -- are
demanding that the U.S. do the obvious and test every cow for mad
cow disease, like other civilizations nations already do. The U.S. has
so far refused, and so Japan and other countries say they simply won't
import U.S. beef until a testing policy is put into place.
The
dynamic here remind me of the current U.S. effort to derail the efforts
by the World Health Organization to fight obesity around the world by
recommending that people consume less sugar. This suggestion earned the
ire of the Bush Administration, which is closely tied to the Big Sugar
industry in the U.S. Representatives from Washington are arguing that
sugar doesn't cause obesity at all, and in fact there's no proof of any
negative health consequences of eating sugar, and thus recommending that
people eat less sugar is bad policy, says the Bush administration.
And thus, with the Big Sugar debate and the mad cow fiasco, the U.S.
takes center stage yet again as a country led by bumbling idiots who
understand neither science nor health, and who quite predictably put
politics above sanity at every turn. God bless America.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded a well known email marketing software company whose technology currently powers the NaturalNews email newsletters. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and pursues hobbies such as martial arts, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Thursday, January 22, 2004
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