Summary
This article by Diane Farsetta takes a closer look at why the USDA bans independent testing for mad cow disease. When one beef producer wanted to test its own products in order to meet international safety requirements, the USDA actually threatened to sue them for doing so!
Why? As explained in this article, the real answer may be because too much testing may reveal vast numbers of cattle to be infected with mad cow disease in the United States, and the USDA certainly doesn't want that to be front page news.
Remember: in the same way that the FDA protects drug companies, the USDA protects the very industries it's supposed to be regulating. And that makes the agency a public health hazard.
Original source:
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2004Q1/beef.html
Details
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U.S. beef from 100 percent screened cattle determined to be free of mad In February, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, a slaughterhouse and meatpacker in Kansas, said it was going to build its own testing laboratory for mad cow disease, or BSE (for bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
- Currently the only USDA-approved laboratory for BSE testing is in Ames, Iowa, although the USDA says it's adding more labs in the near future.
- The USDA warned Creekstone Farms that it could face criminal charges if it carried out any independent testing.
- And when a Missouri rancher called the Ames facility to ask whether he could pay to have his cattle screened there, he was denied in no uncertain terms.
- Ingesting BSE-infected meat can lead to an always-fatal neurological wasting disease in humans called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
- In one fell swoop, ten percent of the U.S. beef market--some $3 billion in international sales annually--collapsed, cattle prices plunged, and some industry sectors have had to lay off workers.
- Consumers Union, the non-profit interest group that publishes Consumer Reports, conducted a study in mid-January that found near-universal awareness of mad cow disease among those interviewed (more than 99 percent).
- Nearly one-third of survey participants said they are concerned or very concerned about the safety of U.S. beef, and over 70 percent said they would pay more to ensure that cattle going into the human food supply are BSE-free.
- Nearly half of the meat packers surveyed said they would consider testing every animal they process, if the tests had USDA approval.
- When told that the USDA forbade independent testing, one of his customers responded incredulously, "If people want to have their beef tested, they should be able to.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams created TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. 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 the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Friday, November 19, 2004
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