Mad Cow: FDA has decided to drastically lower testing to almost zero

[Robbien]

Many EU and Asian countries test each cow. We use to test about one percent of our cows, or about 360,000 cows per year.

This new GOP/FDA has decided to lower the testing to zero point one one percent, about 40,000 cows per year. We slaughter 100,000 cows a DAY but will only test 40,000 per year. Zero point one one percent.

Well at least the government can no longer take a cattleman to court if that cattleman decides he wants to test all his cows. Previously the government demanded everyone keep testing down to the FDA limits and sued anyone who increased their testing.


Info taken from http://agonist.org/ian_welsh/20070421/mad_cow_dont_ask_dont_find
and
http://jmhm.livejournal.com/1706684.html


Like Sean at Agonist said Mad Cow. Don't Ask Don't Find.

[LibertyorDeath]

1. The FDA

Has there ever been a finer American organization

I mean their work at the behest of Corporate America is second to non.

They must be very pleased with this stellar decision.

This will bite the American beef industry HARD
in the not so distant future...

I haven't touched beef in 12 years and I'm the better for it.

Thanks for posting this important info.

Rec!

[babylonsister]

2. I guess it will take a bunch of people getting really sick or dying

before the FDA sees a need. Why do we need the FDA again exactly? It seems they're woefully failing in everything they're supposed to be doing.

[Robbien]

3. The FDA under the GOP will never see a need

Heck, most of the cattleranchers are on the side of the treehuggers in this instance.

The FDA waited months to notify anyone in relation to the pet scare and still didn't open an investigation until the Canadian manufacturer started complaining.

[Rex]

4. The FDA was gutted by the Bush Administration long ago.

Now it sits in the corner with the EPA and the CIA.

[Subdivisions]

5. Ok, hold on juuuust a sec while I strap this here

tinfoil hat on. Good...now..

I think they're trying to kill us.

I've been seeing the righteous meme here lately that says "There are too many people". I happen to agree that there are, indeed, more people than this planet can support.

Meanwhile, I don't have to fill you guys in on Bushco. You know they are actively attempting to separate the population into two classes: Us poor and them rich. The poor will get the untested beef while the rich enjoy their tested Wellingtons and fillet mignons raised in optimum conditions.

They're already coming after our pets, the reasons for which my hat has yet to provide insight. I'll tighten the straps a bit and see if anything comes through. Uh...oh...yes I've got something now. Maybe they plan to put wheat glutin from nefarious Chinese profiteers into our food supply. The signal from my hat is giving me something to the effect of the FDA cutting inspectors while e-coli, melamine and other nasties are cropping (pun intended) in ours' and our pets' food obtained from our strip shopping center groceries, a place you'd never catch the elitists patronizing. I don't know about ya'll, but compared to Wally World I can't manage a food budget from Whole Foods Market. Perhaps that's why they are always located in the rich neighborhoods.

Ok, I'm taking my hat off now as 9/11 is trying to get through and I don't have time to get into that today.

[Shallah Kali]

20. lemme borrow that hat for a sec

:tinfoilhat:

why would anyone deliberately go after pets? well they are even more useless than the poor folk. Can't use 'em for labor, can't tax 'em. if some group wanted to eliminate useless consumers pets are a good place to start.

:tinfoilhat:

[WinkyDink]

6. That's why I've reduced my beef consumption to zero.

[babylonsister]

7. PS So how to they explain the pigs? If pigs can be a problem, why not

cows? Maddening...

Melamine has contaminated pork sold in California; criminal probe underway.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

"The Food and Drug Administration has opened a criminal investigation in the widening pet food contamination scandal, officials said yesterday, as it was confirmed that tainted pork might have made its way onto human dinner plates in California.

More than 100 hogs that ate contaminated food at a custom slaughterhouse in California's Central Valley were sold to private individuals and to an unnamed licensed facility in Northern California during the past 2 1/2 weeks. The hogs consumed feed that contained rice protein tainted with melamine, the industrial chemical that has sickened and killed dogs and cats around the world.

Almost a dozen companies have found that they have used melamine-contaminated ingredients from China in their animal foods, either wheat gluten, corn gluten or rice protein concentrate. In the United States, more than 60 million containers of cat and dog food have been pulled from the market in the past five weeks.

People who bought pork from the American Hog Farm, a 1,500-animal facility in Ceres, Calif., between April 3 and April 18 are being advised not to eat the meat, California health officials said yesterday, although there have been no reports of illness in either people or the hogs. Authorities are tracking down all the purchasers.

SNIP

[Robbien]

11. Canada decided to push

and American people were upset
so the US opened an investigation on pig products.

The FDA will let Canada continue the study while the US FDA employees will be told to spend its time finding out how to kill all the regs involved.

The GOP/Gov't really couldn't give a care unless bottom line profit is involved.

[Shallah Kali]

18. The pig problem is one farm. The Mad Cow problem is every farm, every slaughterhouse, every butcher

Look at how mad cow brought the british beef industry to it's knees. entire herds slaughtered and incinerated. one day it will be exposed over here as well. until then people will be exposed, some will get it and end up diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

[Bjorn Against]

8. My god how far will these people go to put corporate profits ahead of human lives...

I don't eat beef but I seriously fear for my family and friends who do. These people could care less about food safety, all they care about is profits.

[w4rma]

10. There is no limit to their greed. (nt)

[cassiepriam]

9. Does ANYBODY in the US govt work for the people?

You know, the people who pay their salaries?

[Robbien]

12. Their paychecks may say USA, but party affiliation has to be GOP

Non-GOPers don't count

That is what this whole attorney purge story is all about.

[Bjorn Against]

13. Nobody counts to them, not even Republicans

Remember Republicans eat beef too, in fact I would wager to bet that they eat more beef than Democrats do. After all I know lots of vegetarian Democrats but I have never met a vegetarian Republican. If only the rank and file Republicans would open their eyes and see that they are voting against their own best interests.

[cassiepriam]

17. I know. Our govt dollars at work establishing a dictatorship.

[Robson]

14. It will happen and then they will say what happened?

When it comes to our food supply there needs to be some major accountability put on the GOP that has stated over and over that all regulations are bad and also country of origin labeling is bad.

Voters need reminded everyday about their philosophy.

I'm a believer that some regulation is needed and when it comes to our food supply en total, the more independent govt regulation the better off we will be.

Conversely the less regulation the worse off we will be.

[Robbien]

22. Yes, what is with that

Why aren't Dems going after GOPers for idiotic stuff such as no regs.

Usually regs protect people from getting hurt which is a good selling point to be used against GOPers.

But our DC Dems seem to be more interested in working on giving us bi-partisanship.

[CrispyQ]

15. The corporations & their greedy human minions will destroy everything. --nt

[shenmue]

16. People who eat that stuff...

have decided to drastically die.

:sarcasm:

What the hell is wrong with these people? Cut testing of the food supply at a time when there's more contamination than ever? Scheming, money-grubbing bastards.

:grr: :nuke:

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. This is a part of American culture that I really don't mind dispensing with.

[OneBlueSky]

21. this is such a no-brainer . . . if BushCo had ANY concern whatsoever for you and me . . .

they's insist on doing what many European countries are doing -- testing every cow . . .

of course, this could all just be part of the PNAC's plan to drastically reduce population -- particularly lower and middle class population . . .

[AuntPatsy]

23. Man made "plague" in effect attempting to curb the rising number

of human lives perhaps? Terrifying to read.

[stubtoe]

24. Reduced testing = more BSE out there to find.

Stay away from industrial beef,folks!

[donsu]

25. agree - they don't want to inspect because the herds are full of

mad cow.

[Shallah Kali]

26. yes - why else did the gov. go to court to ban private testing of cattle?

One company wanted to test their own cattle so they could continue to sell beef to japan when the US gov banned them from testing. not long ago I read a judge ruled, after years of fighting, that they could have their cattle tested but that the US gov had 30 day to appeal.

[Shallah Kali]

27. Do you *really* want to know what's in your food?

Health and Consumer Groups Urge USDA to Keep Cattle Spinal Cord Tissue Out of Processed Meat
http://www.cspinet.org/new/madcow_protection.html

“While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 banned the use of processed cattle parts in making cattle feed, USDA has not taken adequate precautions to protect the human food supply,” said Smith DeWaal. “U.S. cattle aren’t allowed to eat cattle spinal cord — and neither should people.”

The CSPI petition urged USDA to ban cattle spinal columns and neck bones from processing through advanced meat recovery (AMR) machines. Those machines strip soft tissue (including meat and spinal cord) from bones and produce 40 million pounds of meat paste annually. That meat paste typically is used in the production of hundreds of millions of pounds of hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza toppings, and taco fillings. Although USDA has asked companies to remove spinal cord from the spinal column and neck bones before they enter the machines, the agency rarely checks the industry’s compliance. Since 1998, USDA has tested approximately 100 samples of AMR meat for spinal cord. Of those, nine samples tested positive for this central nervous system tissue.

CSPI also asked the Secretary to review all USDA regulations to determine what other food products might contain small amounts of brain tissue, central nervous system tissue, or other potentially infective materials from cattle and amend those regulations to ban potentially infectious materials from entering the food supply.

No Downers: USDA Approves Diseased Meat For Human Food
http://www.nodowners.org/usda.htm

Despite its responsibility for preventing adulterated and tainted meat from being used for human food, the United States Department of Agriculture explicitely allows diseased animals into the human food supply.

* A study of USDA slaughterhouse records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act shows that the Agency approves meat from animals with pneumonia, hepatitis, lymphona, gangrene and other ailments. Click here for report.
* When the USDA was petitioned to prevent the slaughter of diseased animals for human food, it responded with a letter explicitely stating that it is acceptable to use meat from diseased animals for human food. Click here to read letter.

Organic Consumer's Assocation on Mad Cow, Mad Deer, & Petition to reduce spread of it
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.cfm

Join tens of thousands of citizens and sign the Mad Cow USA-Stop the Madness petition, demanding that the US Government adopt and enforce the same strict standards required by the European Union and Japan:

Mandatory testing for all cattle brought to slaughter, before they enter the food chain.

Ban the feeding of blood, manure, and slaughterhouse waste to animals.

Stop harassing farmers and food processors who are interested in independently testing their own beef.

[NYC]

28. If we can find out what American beef the Japanese are testing,

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2820007

maybe we can resume eating beef.