Third herd quarantined while Ag. dept. wears smiley face.

[spanone]

The agricultural department put a smiley face on the mad cow disease quarantining of a third herd today. You'd think that this dept works for the cattleman's association the way they were downplaying this, but our food supply is by no means a trivial pursuit. This is as serious as it gets folks and with the beef lobby out in full frontal force you can bet we're hearing all the "happy news" about this that is available. Meanwhile, enjoy your Mac double cheese burger. Remember, W* lives on a ranch.

[Superfly]

1. Ha, ha...that's funny...

being an Army guy, when I first read your "third herd" title, I thought you were referring to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, also referred to as the "third herd"

[spanone]

3. Sorry, how did they get that moniker???

[Superfly]

5. I guess they just took

the "third" from "one-seventy-third" and tagged on a rhyming word like "herd"

[montanacowboy]

2. Remember that Venemann

was a lobbyist for the cattle industry - just say "NO" to meat folks. you DON'T need it!

[izzie]

7. I gave up meat years ago and I do not miss it ........

It was awful, every time I went to the meat counter I saw the animal looking at me. I guess for years those ads were moving in and I did not even know it.

[pnorman]

8. "... was a lobbyist for the cattle industry"

can someone here give me a source for the above? It's about what one would expect, but I need specifics to run with it.

pnorman
STAND UP, KEEP FIGHTING http://shows.implex.tv/wellstone/

[ConsAreLiars]

9. lobbyist for agribusiness

http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/veneman.cfm
------
Between her service with the FAS, during which time she help negotiate the Uruguay round talks for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and California's Department of Food and Agriculture she worked for the influential lobbying and law firm of Patton, Boggs and Blow. Among her clients was Dole Foods Co., the world's largest producer of fruits and vegetables.

She also has served on the board of directors of Calgene, a Davis,
California company, later acquired by Monsanto, which pioneered genetically altered tomatoes and, in 1987, was the first company to obtain a USDA permit to field test a genetically engineered crop.
------

The cattle industry lobbyist:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/opinion/02SCHL.html
------
As spokeswoman for Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, Ms. Harrison has helped guide news coverage of the mad cow crisis, issuing statements, managing press conferences and reassuring the world that American beef is safe.

For her, it's a familiar message. Before joining the department, Ms. Harrison was director of public relations for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the beef industry's largest trade group, where she battled government food safety efforts, criticized Oprah Winfrey for raising health questions about American hamburgers, and sent out press releases with titles like "Mad Cow Disease Not a Problem in the U.S."
-------

[theoceansnerves]

4. well

they are basically working for the cattleman's beef association, as well as the fluid milk processor board, the national pork board, the national dairy council, and any other meat/dairy lobbying group you can think of.

[spanone]

6. Hence..........