Wouldn't it be convenient if the cow was from Canada? LOL
Why do I get the same feelings when I hear that woman in charge of the USDA announce "the food supply is safe!" as I do when I hear some Wall Street parrot say "economic recovery! buy stocks!"? Notwithstanding the assurances, I'll bet the people who recently bought ground beef in the PNW aren't feeling so good right now.
These prion diseases sure are a bitch. Long incubation period without symptoms, no treatment for symptoms when they appear, and always 100% fatal. They cause these little holes in the brain and the victim suffers memory loss, dementia, loss of coordination and other faculties and eventual death.
It's pretty obvious that BSE is the bovine version of kuru, and I think it's a much bigger problem in this country than is being let on. The scientists know it, the factory farmers know it, the USDA knows it. The USDA says there's never been a human death in this country from BSE. That's a laughable statement considering that nvCJD cases are probably being reported as Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.
Is it just mere coincidence that there's been an explosion in reported Alzheimer's and other dementia cases since the 1970's which is about the time factory farms started feeding rendered animals to natural herbivores turning them into cannibals and sending them into the food supply? Who knows, but you have to admit that they're practicing some weird shit on these factory farms in the name of Profit.
From where I'm looking, the history of the USDA is that it's been a shill for the U.S. beef and rendering industries. It's never really been for the consumer. The idea of tagging all the cows is good, and it's already being done in Europe. But who do you think would most argue against such an idea here? Not too hard to figure out.