USDA is too tough on cattle industry, say lawmakers from Virginia and Texas

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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.

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About the author: Mike Adams is a holistic nutritionist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,500 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a manufacturer of mercury-free, energy-efficient LED lighting products that save electricity and help prevent global warming. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, Pilates and organic gardening. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org


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