NYT: For Months, Ag Dept Delayed Announcing Result of Mad Cow Test (!)

[DeepModem Mom]

For Months, Agriculture Department Delayed Announcing Result of Mad Cow Test
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. and ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
Published: June 26, 2005


Although the Agriculture Department confirmed Friday that a cow that died last year was infected with mad cow disease, a test the agency conducted seven months ago indicated that the animal had the disease. The result was never publicly disclosed.

The delay in confirming the United States' second case of mad cow disease seems to underscore what critics of the agency have said for a long time: that there are serious and systemic problems in the way the Agriculture Department tests animals for mad cow.

Indeed, the lengthy delay occurred despite the intense national interest in the disease and the fact that many countries have banned shipments of beef from the United States because of what they consider to be lax testing policies.

Until Friday, it was not public knowledge that an "experimental" test had been performed last November by an Agriculture Department laboratory on the brain of a cow suspected of having mad cow disease, and that the test had come up positive.

For seven months, all that was known was that a test on the same cow done at the same laboratory at roughly the same time had come up negative. The negative result was obtained using a test that the Agriculture Department refers to as its "gold standard."...


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/national/26beef.html

[Lilyhoney]

1. 8o % of my diet

is cow and cow products. I don't know if I can live without the cow. But the thought of diseased meat makes me sick. Most of my meat and dairy products are organic but who knows if that makes them free of mad cow disease.

[rodeodance]

2. 7 months ago!!!--and they want us to trust them!!

[DeepModem Mom]

3. I am livid about this -- these people DO NOT GOVERN, even...

when it comes to public safety. They push their extremist agenda, and enrich their suppporters/enablers -- that's all!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. On top of that, they had loosened the filter on their testing....

...who knows what, and how much, has slipped into the general population?

[merwin]

4. Well, typically people who raise organic beef don't feed cows to the cows.

[expatriot]

9. 80% of your calorie intake is beef or dairy? nt

How are your arteries?

[Lilyhoney]

22. Not all beef all day

But cheese, milk, yogur. I had a full battery of tests done in january and everything looks good. My bad cholesterol is low and my good cholesterol is high. I was concered what the tests would say. I don't eat alot of fried food. Maybe that helps.

[warrens]

20. If they are certified organic

That means they were not fed commercial feed, which is distinctly NOT organic. The cause of BSE is infected cattle parts being ground up and used to feed cattle. And they continue to do this, no matter what they try to say. But a cow that ate only grass or grain or corn is no danger.

To play it safe, don't eat hamburgers, particularly commercial ones. Those are made using a nasty method that literally claws the meat from the spine. Which means spine fragments certainly make it into the meat. And the prions that cause the disease cannot be destroyed by cooking. They have to be incinerated, turned to ash, to die.

This article shows what lengths the Bushies will go to to deceive. They just look at you and lie. They are serving a good higher than the truth, they firmly believe. I have spoken to Ed Loyd several times, and I am sure he is kind to his dog and gives a buck to the homeless guy on the street, but I stopped believing a word he says last November.

[Caledonia]

25. I couldn't agree more

Since the UK experience of this horrible disease, I have never touched a piece of meat that I could not recognise. I no longer eat commercially produced hamburgers, sausages, meat pies, or any processed cold meats. Not only do they taste horrible, but we really do not know what is in them.

Find yourself a reliable butcher, buy the good cuts, and make your own.

[OKthatsIT]

31. Our family rule is 'eat beef at home', only organic!

Anybody thinking of opening a restuarant ought to advertise organic meats and non-transfatty cooking oils used with all foods!

We'd pay for the extra, if someone else would cook!

[OKthatsIT]

32. why complain about 7 mos? Its been going on for 2 decades.

feeding herd animals a meat protein is insane

[warrens]

34. There are several dozen organic restaurants, with a lot more coming

And both Costco and Trader Joes are adding a line of organic beef. Whole Foods has had a line for about two years, and more grocers are moving into it. I buy a brand called Favored Beef, which is fed on pure grass and corn, and can be found in independent grocers around the country.

It costs more, particularly the prime cuts, but I just eat smaller portions. We don't need a 14 oz. steak anyway, six ounces is plenty for the average appetite.

[Pirate Smile]

5. NYT: For Months, Agriculture Department Delayed Announcing Result of Mad

For Months, Agriculture Department Delayed Announcing Result of Mad Cow Test

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. and ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
Published: June 26, 2005
Although the Agriculture Department confirmed Friday that a cow that died last year was infected with mad cow disease, a test the agency conducted seven months ago indicated that the animal had the disease. The result was never publicly disclosed.

Shutting the GateThe delay in confirming the United States' second case of mad cow disease seems to underscore what critics of the agency have said for a long time: that there are serious and systemic problems in the way the Agriculture Department tests animals for mad cow.

Indeed, the lengthy delay occurred despite the intense national interest in the disease and the fact that many countries have banned shipments of beef from the United States because of what they consider to be lax testing policies.

Until Friday, it was not public knowledge that an "experimental" test had been performed last November by an Agriculture Department laboratory on the brain of a cow suspected of having mad cow disease, and that the test had come up positive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/national/26beef.html

[Cha]

6. I bet rove and the bushits are

lovin' this :sarcasm:

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Great resource on factory farming, the reason that Mad Cow disease is

spreading, since the FDA and The Dept of Agriculture are tools of the Meat and Pharma industry..

www.farmsanctuary.org

[leftchick]

18. I love the farm sanctuary

just looking at their photos makes you want to stop eating animals. They are our friends! :)

[daleo]

8. Seven months of lying about it.

By Bush standards, that's not really much.

[torque]

11. Please take this threat seriously folks.

There are many in the food industries and within our government who coverup to protect corporate interests.
Please don't ask for more. That's all I'm willing to say about it at this point.

[Daphne08]

12. I wish you would contact a reputable investigative reporter

because this impacts all of us. I'm a mother and am especially upset by this NYT report.

It probably is just the tip of the iceberg.

We need a new Upton Sinclair.
http://www.capitalcentury.com/1906.html

[TrogL]

13. It's time to re-open the border to Canadian beef

Enough already.

[LiberalAndProud]

14. Ann Veneman resigned as Sec of Ag in November. something smells of fish

Bush's Cabinet

Ann Veneman announced after the 2004 elections that she was stepping down. She was replaced by Michael Johanns.

On December 2, 2004, Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns was nominated by President Bush to replace Ann M. Veneman as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. <1> (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/12/20041202-6.html)

[LiberalAndProud]

15. Johanns on publicizing inconclusive BSE testing results:

As governor of the top beef producing state, Johanns was highly critical of USDA's policy of announcing "positive" (or "inconclusive") results from cattle tested for mad cow disease as part of the agency's expanded testing program (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse_testing/plan.html). "These tests are sensitive, and it's very possible that you put the inconclusive results out and say it could be BSE and then find out that it not," he told Associated Press in July 2004, shortly after two "inconclusive" results were announced. "In the meantime, you have had a tremendous impact on the market just like we have been seeing" (Associated Press, July 1, 2004).

Johanns has also stated his opposition to allowing private beef producers do their own testing for mad cow disease - the same position as Veneman's USDA. In response to Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef's petition to test all its cattle, Johanns remarked, "The marketplace, in my judgment, must be based on science-based information. Otherwise there just is no end to what you could burden this industry with" (Omaha World Herald, Apr. 4, 2004).

Johanns' initial response to the December 23, 2003 announcement that a cow in Washington state had been confirmed as positive for mad cow disease was also similar to Veneman's USDA - and meat industry groups. "The discovery ... proves the effectiveness of the surveillance techniques that the USDA has in place," he said (Associated Press, Dec. 24, 2003).

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mike_Johanns#Mad_cow_disease

[Pachamama]

16. Surprised? They alter Climate Change findings, hide risks/links of autism

....with Vaccines containing Thimerserol (Mercury), hide/deny Peak Oil, Lie us into a war on Iraq....

So should we be surprised that they would delay info confirming Mad Cow Disease in our country?

I assume everything from this administration is full of distortions, deceit and lies and cover-ups.

[shadowknows69]

17. we quit beef 2 years ago when this stuff first started breaking

and they had all these new standards and precautions they were going to take to make us all safe. I'm glad I knew to call Bullshit back then. This is our government after all. Things don't get done quickly until it kills a senators kid or makes an airline go bankrupt.

[indepat]

19. The people will be told what they need to know when they need to know it

[mbperrin]

21. Hmmm. Let's see-public health or corporate profits?!

Priority? It's a no-brainer, of course! We can always make more people, but once a profit's gone, it's gone! Grab that buck! Quick!

[salin]

23. Please recall the fact, that in this time, the USDA acted to PREVENT

several small meat packers (going for the organic market) from running tests on ALL of their cattle. These companies wanted to use that safety issue as a marketing tool. BUT the USDA (at the behest of mega packer corps) said NO, YOU CANNOT DO THIS... because then there might be public pressure (free market and all that) on the bigger companies to do the same - and essentially the big boys don't want to pay for it.

[kskiska]

24. This will be very reassuring to Japan

Bush Presses Koizumi on Japan's Beef Ban

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 10, 2005; Page A16

Escalating a rare conflict in U.S.-Japanese relations, President Bush pressed Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday to lift the Japanese ban on U.S. beef imports, but Koizumi gave no assurances when they could restart, U.S. and Japanese officials said.

(snip)

Now, U.S. officials are becoming increasingly irritated at delays in restarting imports.

(snip)

A senior Japanese official said that during a 15-minute phone call yesterday, Koizumi told Bush he would do his best because he did not want the issue to affect U.S.-Japanese relations. But Koizumi said he could not say when beef imports would begin. He explained that the issue is largely out of the hands of the Japanese government, which is relying on an independent food safety commission to determine whether a tentative agreement with the United States meets safety standards.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21910-2005Mar9.html

[barb162]

26. and they post the positive results of mad cow on Friday nights

[VegasWolf]

27. Seven months ago would have been bad election timing. nt

[catzies]

28. I KNEW IT! When they said "...first reported case in ...." I said

"That they've told us about, what about what they DON'T tell us?"

Color me not shocked.

[ecoalex]

29. Grass Fed Beef

Organic, or just grass fed beef is actually healthy in moderation.

Feed lot beef especially is not healthy to eat.

[maddezmom]

30. U.S. Refused to Do Extra Mad-Cow Test

~snip~
That additional test, ordered up by the Agriculture Department's internal watchdog, ended up detecting mad cow — a finding that was confirmed on Friday by the world's pre-eminent lab, in England.

~snip~
If you had what they had, you would immediately go to a Western blot and get a third test method and see which one of the previous two was more accurate," Brown said.

Consumer groups and scientists urged the department to perform a Western blot test and seek confirmation from the lab in Weybridge, England.

In a letter to Consumers Union last March, the department said there was no need for the British lab to confirm the results and that the Western blot test would not have given a more accurate reading.

"We are confident in the expertise of USDA's laboratory technicians in conducting BSE testing," wrote Jere Dick, an associate deputy administrator. Mad cow disease is medically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

Troubled by the conflicting test results, the department's inspector general, Phyllis Fong, ordered the Western blot test this month. By the time an aide notified Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, the testing was under way.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050626/ap_on_re_us/mad_cow_39

[PMSmom57]

33. How do you know you have Mad Cow disease?

I know there's a different scientific name for the disease in humans, but what are some symptoms of the disease? Is it like food poisoning?

Regardless, this is a scary look at the Agriculture department.

[DeepModem Mom]

35. I'm no expert on Mad Cow, mom -- but I'd like to welcome you to DU!

[leftchick]

36. New Variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease

A hideous way to die....

http://health.allrefer.com/health/creutzfeldt-jacob-disease-info.html

Alternate Names : New Variant CJD - "the Human Form of Mad Cow Disease", Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy

Definition
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is a disorder involving rapid decrease of mental function and movement. These are abnormalities believed to be caused by damage done to the brain by a protein called a prion. This protein folds abnormally, and seems to encourage other proteins to become similarly misshapen, affecting their ability to function.



~snip~

More recently, a type of disease called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has emerged. It was first reported in the U.K. in people who had eaten meat from cows who were fed infected bone meal.

The version of the disease found in cows has come to be known as "mad cow disease", and nvCJD has been called "the human form of mad cow disease," in news accounts. This disease tends to affect younger people and has early psychiatric manifestations. There have not been any cases of nvCJD reported in the U.S.

Once symptoms appear, the disorder progresses rapidly and may be confused with other types of dementia -- like Alzheimer's disease. Both forms of CJD, however, are distinguished by extremely rapid progression from onset of symptoms to disability and death. There may be a familial tendency to acquire the disorder. Early symptoms include personality changes and difficulty with coordination.