following the border issue? another great article from Leo Banks

[Kali]

in the Tucson Weekly



http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=oid:77469


This one looks at the risk of animal and other disease.

<snip>

Experts say it's only a matter of time before an animal disease disaster strikes the unsecured U.S.-Mexico border

But this problem affects more than border ranchers. It threatens the economic health of Arizona's $2 billion a year beef industry, and the nation's beef industry overall, which comprises an estimated 3-5 percent of the American economy. And it goes even deeper than that, according to Dr. Rick Willer, the Arizona Department of Agriculture's top vet and a recent president of the prestigious U.S. Animal Health Association.

He says an outbreak of the wrong foreign animal disease could significantly impact the whole American economy. "If we had a foot-and-mouth outbreak here, our entire beef export market would cease to exist overnight, and the effect would ripple through the economy," says Willer. "When I travel around, farmers and ranchers from New York, Indiana and all over ask me, 'What are you doing on the border to protect us?' They know that what's happening here is vital for the whole nation."

But wandering cattle might not be Arizona's biggest concern. They come only from Sonora, while the human foot traffic across our border includes people from around the world, many carrying food from their homeland. The foot-and-mouth virus, for example, can live for long periods in smoked and processed meats. FMD is fast-moving, highly contagious and can spread through contact with vehicles, on clothing, on manure on boots, even on the wind.

[Kali]

1. can I self kick for the weekday peeps?

also because it got no replies yesterday :-(