U.S. rejects Japan's mad cow test

[DuctapeFatwa]

There is no scientific justification for administering mad cow tests to all 35 million cattle slaughtered in the United States annually, even though Japan imposes that standard on its own beef industry, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Wednesday.

U.S. agriculture and health officials are in Tokyo this week to discuss steps Washington could take to convince Japan to resume buying American beef.

Japan banned U.S. beef after the first American case of mad cow disease was discovered on December 23.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/01/21/madcow.japan.reut/index.html

[cprise]

1. duhNile is a brutal river

[sonias]

2. Well Japan can decide for itself

I'm sure there will be some enterprising country willing to meet their needs and their safety standards. I applaud Japan on this call. There should be no reason to take the utmost care here. This is a fatal disease and if you're going to eat beef then you should be as close to 100% sure it's safe.

The government always falls back on that "sound science" bullshit they use to delay everything they don't want. Pollution, global warming, testing etc.

The US Beef industry is totally wrong on this one. Consumers will pay higher prices for safer food.

Sonia

[bubblesby2002]

3. Sound science......

....bullshit only counts when it's the US's sound science bullshit. If science was all that counted why hasn't the US gov't opened up the border to Canadian beef?

I agree with your last statement too. I'd be willing to pay more for food that I knew was safe, but no one is asking me.

[daleo]

4. Bush says the U.S. has the right to invade any country it likes, anytime.

If it makes him feel safer.

But the Japanese are not allowed the luxury of testing as many cows as they like for BSE, just to make themselves feel safer.

"There is no scientific justification for administering mad cow tests to all 35 million cattle slaughtered in the United States annually, even though Japan imposes that standard on its own beef industry, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Wednesday."

So, waging aggressive war requires nothing more than a gut feeling, but testing for an inevitably fatal disease requires 'scientific justification'. Nice.