The Warring States of NPF - Why everything the FDA says about Beef is prolly BS...

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Why everything the FDA says about Beef is prolly BS...

Here in Vermont, a few years back we sorta had an incident with Mad Cow disease. The suspect was a sheep, but the thing is, no sheep has ever been discovered to have mad cow disease. Plus, the sheep wasn't going to even be *USED* for meat purposes, but merely for making cheese, as well as the obvious usage of wool.

So the FDA killed the whole herd, but that's not all. Since that time, the FDA has not allowed the owner of the sheep farm to put sheep in the same field, as there's worry that the stool might have tainted the grass in such a way that there's potential for Mad Cow to be caught again.

Yet do we hear of these actions being taken against the Cow owner? Or perhaps that beef is less than safe?

Meh. That's what sheep owners get for not having a high power lobbying organisation, I guess.

Sky Warrior Bob
The Original 2000 Story:
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?s=%20%20100287

A crude transcription of Monday's follow-up story, which relates many of the things I just mentioned:

Quote:

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Agriculture officials are ordering 450-calves be destroyed in an attempt to contain Mad Cow disease. The calves are from a herd in Washington State that has an offspring of America's one Holstein afflicted with mad cow. The case brings back memories for one Warren family. The Faillaces had their SHEEP taken by the federal government three years ago because it was feared the animals could be carrying the sheep version of mad cow disease. Anson Tebbetts has more. -3-
18} SHEEP_PKG

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Fresh pies greet the new day at the School House Market in Warren. The Faillace Family specializes in selling homeade Vermont products....like their own cheese. That operation was interrupted nearly 3 years ago, when their animals were seized by the federal government. The United States Department of Agriculture was worried the sheep could have the sheep version of mad cow disease. USDA ordered all 126 sheep killed after it was suspected they might have been fed infected British feed before they were imported from Belgium. The Faillaces say their animals were never sick...and the government has yet to prove they were. Government test showed two members of the flock could have had a version of the disease. Mad cow is now making headlines again when a holstein in Washington State recently tested positive for the disease. It's an illness that eats holes in a cow's brain. The deadly disease can be passed on to people if the meat is eaten. Three thousand miles away, Larry Faillace is reading and watching the scare his family lived firsthand three years ago. (tape 868 4:26) ((Larry Faillace/Warren "I don't understand how in one case you have sheep which the disease has never existed to this day, not a single sheep have ever gotten this disease and they are making this national emergency out of it and in the case of this cow, it is being shown bse does exsist and telling everybody just go ahead and eat beef")) It's a message that irks Faillace. But he has a theory why there is a different approach this time. (tape 868 4:51) ((Larry Faillace/Warren "well in the case of the sheep industry, we are very small industry and has very little affect on the government. There is not a sheep lobby to speak of...The beef cattle industry is very large and very well established. They are heavy contributors to the political campaigns of both parties and they carry a lot of clout.")) It's clout Faillace did not have when his family fought the government. They still have not settled their case... the Government still will not let them have animals on this land fearing something could be in the soil. So the family buys milk where it's turned into cheese. And as this family makes a comeback from their ordeal, Faillace has advice for the Washington farmer that is dealing with the USDA. (tape 868 13:14) ((Larry Faillace/Warren "tell them to beware. I am sure they are telling them all sorts of good things right now. You really can't believe what they tell you and they won't necessarily treat you fairly. I wish them the best of luck")) It's luck this Warren family did not have when they fought the federal government over the health of their sheep. Anson Tebbetts channel 3 news Warren. -3-
19} SHEEP_TAG

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We were unable to get a comment from the United States Department of Agriculture. The representative we talked with in the past for this story has since left the USDA.

A direct link to all of Monday's stories, but they'll be gone by next week:
http://tv3.wcax.com/cgi-bin/roma.cgi?d=1&h=3

My brother is a health inspector for the Yakima health district. He has told me that even though there is little to no threat that the disease will spread between the cattle, the entire heard will be slaughtered and the meat most likely burned in an incinerator. Hell, they might have even done that by now.

The only known way that mad cow disease is transmitted is through brain tissue. unless you eat an infected cow's brain tissue, or unless another cow eats infected brain tissue, then the likely hood of infection is nil. The reason why they take such precautions is because the dormant period of mad cow can up to 9 years and they don�t want to take any chances of a second occurrence. Another reason for such precautions is that the jury is still out on what exactly initially causes mad cow disease. They only know for sure how it's transmitted.

Yet another example of how government organizations royally fuck things up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GatoFiero

If that's true, then you'll have to grant that the reaction of the FDA, to this sheep which was not proven to have contracted Mad Cow, is completely out of whack. I mean, not being able to use the same field is at least a bit extreme.

Also, I read an article in the paper today about a human disease, which is very similar to the disease that is caused by Mad Cow. The article went on to suggest that these deaths might have very well been Mad Cow, and misdiagnosed.

So, Mad Cow could very well have been a problem for years. I mean, we have no clue about the condition of the "downer" cows that they've been using over the years.

Also, what I'd *REALLY* like to know is eactly how long that cow has been in the US. Sure, we've proven its from Canada, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything, as the Cow could have very well contracted it *HERE* and not in Canada.

SWB

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sky Warrior Bob

Also, I read an article in the paper today about a human disease, which is very similar to the disease that is caused by Mad Cow.

That's probably Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (who says the X-Files wasn't educational?). There's some interesting stuff toward the bottom of this page about a connection between "mad cow" and a new variant of the disease.

mad cow is fairly rare to my knowledge. The big out breaks you hear about are from when companies grind up dead cows to feed to other cows, that practice is no longer legal. I don�t think I need to spell out how such a practice could spread mad cow disease.

i'm still not eating beef for months to come. it's not that it isn't rare, it certainly is but the consequences of eating the wrong steak are enormous, and it supposedly kills you over the course of 10 years too. dunno about that, but i don't want to take a chance on my life. it hurts too because i LOVE steak

Quote:

Originally Posted by GatoFiero

Illegal in the UK, but they went a great deal into the fact that in the US, at least some sort of protein mix is made for feed. They didn't specifiy if it was dead cows, but where else will you get the meat?

Also, you do know about the fact that they use downer cows in the meat, don't you? Those are sick & sickly cows. They throw 'em in to the grinder just with the rest of 'em.

No, I don't trust beef much anymore. Although, I would trust organic meat (cows don't get feed meat at all, nor anti-biotics), if I knew where I could find it.

And Mash, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I read about.

Sky Warrior Bob

Just to clear that up, SWB, it is indeed Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease - we had that whole MCD/CJD mess a while back over here. Don't ask me in-depth questions yet, though, I'd have to fresh up my memory a lot to actually be able to discuss deeply.

Ah, yet another reason to be vegan... though it's not glamourous right now for me as I still can't afford to replace my now way too big trousers that have already fallen down in public...