Bush Administration Goes to Court to STOP Meatpackers from VOLUNTARILY testing for Mad Cow Disease

[Faryn Balyncd]

The Bush Administration is making clear (to those just catching on) what it means when it CLAIMS to believe in "free markets".

Not only has the administration bowed to lobbyist demands that it NOT INSTITUTE comprehensive testing for mad cow disease, but is now using federal power to protect Big Agriculture from competition from Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, a small Kansas company that wants to test all of its own products VOLUNTARILY.

Yep, for today's Republican Party, "free markets" ,makes for great rhetoric.

(For the GOP, "free markets" are dandy. . . . . just don't let some upstart entrepreneur become a threat to the wallets of the fat cats stuffing your campaign coffers. Why, if you let some little Kansas operation offer beef actually inspected for and free of mad cow disease, that might force the big boys to inspect their beef too. . . . . Or worse. Why, what if Americans were to hear about a sick cow? Holy cow, they might choose vegetables!)

US on Mad Cow: Don't Test All Cattle

Agriculture Department Fights to Keep Meatpackers From Testing All Cattle for Mad Cow


By MATT APUZZO
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Bush administration said Tuesday it will fight to keep meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease.

The Agriculture Department tests less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows for the disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat tainted beef. But Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all of its cows.

Larger meat companies feared that move because, if Creekstone tested its meat and advertised it as safe, they might have to perform the expensive test, too.

The Agriculture Department regulates the test and argued that widespread testing could lead to a false positive that would harm the meat industry.

A federal judge ruled in March that such tests must be allowed. U.S. District Judge James Robertson noted that Creekstone sought to use the same test the government relies on and said the government didn't have the authority to restrict it.

The ruling was to take effect June 1, but the Agriculture Department said Tuesday it would appeal effectively delaying the testing until the court challenge plays out.

Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is linked to more than 150 human deaths worldwide, mostly in Britain.

There have been three cases of mad cow disease in the U.S. The first, in December 2003 in Washington state, was in a cow that had been imported from Canada. The second, in 2005, was in a Texas-born cow. The third was confirmed last year in an Alabama cow.


http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3222947

It would appear that the GOP is as sincere about "free markets" as they are about the responsible fiscal policy, "small government", the "rule of law", "defending the constitution", "individual liberty", and "spreading democracy". :sarcasm:


What next from the "conservative" linguistic geniuses who have enlightened us with "unitary executive" theory?







:dem:

[lurky]

1. They don't even pretend to be serving the public good anymore.

n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

33. Besides, 'W' may have MAD Cow Disease?

he wants you to have it too?

[Swagman]

40. that's an insult to all mad cows

[Mnemosyne]

62. Dairy cows aren't mad, that's just the ones being

chowed down on. I stay out of the way of pissed off cattle!

:evilgrin: Welcome to DU, Swagman! Are you on walkabout? :) :hi:

[Faryn Balyncd]

63. mmooooooooooooo !

[eleny]

2. Kicking you to the greatest page

This is important reading.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. K&R

[Buzz Clik]

4. k&r. I'm sick of this.

[Tellurian]

5. Thanks for posting.. good premise for the next Michael Moore movie..

[gratuitous]

6. This IS a free market issue

And you, apparently, do not choose to hire your own food testers to screen your own food, but instead you're relying on the evil government* to test your food for you. Why do you hate individual freedom so much that you're willing to turn the safety and wholesomeness of your food supply over to the government?! Next thing you know, you're going to be expecting the government to pre-chew your food for you! You commie! Arrest my case!

*Insert scary "whooo-ooo-oooooo" sounds here - you'll know you have the right sound combination when the Libertarian next to you spontaneously pees his pants.

[ClintonTyree]

44. "Arrest my case".

:rofl: I haven't heard that in a while. I miss Bob Boudelang. His stunning political and social commentary were a real treat to read each week. Too bad Mr. Benchley got tombstoned. :shrug: Oh well.

And our great President would NEVER do anything to disrupt the free market system in this country, so stop saying that! ;)

[SnowGoose]

7. They should ship the samples to Canada for testing.

The samples will be test-tube tiny, you could probably fit 500-1000 in a cooler the size of a microwave oven. Packed with dry ice, overnight fedex across the border, and there you go! No testing done in the US. We're shipping the beef itself across international borders, so how could the government object to shipment of tiny "taste samples" from the same cows across the same borders?

No, the government would rather help their cronies in big agribusiness make a quick buck, and wait to settle up until people start coming down with mad cow and then suing for a tobacco-sized settlement. How many billions was that again?

Always with the quick profit, and long-term consequences be damned. Fools.

[tanyev]

8. Wasn't there a similar hullabaloo when some companies were putting labels on milk

specifying that it had come from cows that were rgbh free and the other companies didn't want them to be able to make that claim? Disgusting.

[eShirl]

12. Monsanto sued(is suing?) Oakhurst Dairy over it

Oakhurst's label still says, "America's 1st Farmers' Pledge (tm): No Artificial Growth Hormone Used."


edit: also on the lower corner of the label in fine print, "FDA states: No significant difference in milk from cows treated with artificial growth hormone."

[sce56]

32. Ditto for Knudsen

Choose Whole, 2%, 1% and Non Fat milk. Knudsen and Foster Farms Milk are free from rBST. BbST (Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin) is a controversial, genetically engineered hormone used for increasing milk production in cows.

[Progress And Change]

9. spread the word about the truth about the nefarious entity called the "republican party"

[Vanje]

10. False positive? Thats not what USDA is afraid of.

From the article:
"The Agriculture Department regulates the test and argued that widespread testing could lead to a false positive that would harm the meat industry."

False positive would harm the meat industry?
What would REALLY harm the meat industry is a TRUE positive.

Thats what USDA is afraid of.

[nealmhughes]

38. That is what they claim. It would not look good for sales to have to say:

"We kowtow to the big boys, and it's dollars and cents, and their costs will increase because their sales will drop if they don't test and a few smaller companies do, and if they do test, then it will cost $$$." I think that is the actual rationale, but is hidden behind the aegis of "scaring the public."

I have never in my life heard of anyone who is voluntarily more strict than the law requires be ordered to stop doing it!

Only in the United States of America, INC, and in 2007.

Would someone please place their copies of Voltaire somewhere safe until a future generation discovers the Enlightenment again.

[suziedemocrat]

11. Didn't they want to (or actually) make it illegal to label milk as "hormone free" too?

This is just awful!

[kestrel91316]

13. This case is old news. And yes, it's completely disgusting.

[stillcool]

16. I saw that ...

from May...I wonder what happened.

A federal judge ruled in March that such tests must be allowed. U.S. District Judge James Robertson noted that Creekstone sought to use the same test the government relies on and said the government didn't have the authority to restrict it. - A federal judge ruled in March that such tests must be allowed. The ruling was scheduled to take effect June 1, but the Agriculture Department said Tuesday it would appeal, effectively delaying the testing until the court challenge has played out.

[pleah]

14. WTF?!!!

[tecelote]

15. Free Market Bull

Their definition of "free market" is that they, big business, want control over regulation instead of the government (of and for the people).

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. They're trying to hide something. And I'm afraid it's worse than lying

about knowing about Iran's nuclear capabilities.

[arikara]

18. Its worse than even it sounds... they flat out lied about the cow with BSE

USDA officials repeatedly referred to the first cow found in the US to have BSE as a "downer". However, the butcher did not accept downer cattle in his facility. The cow that was found to have BSE in actual fact did not appear to be sick because that is the only ones he ever tested. Because they are more concerned with industry than with public health, the USDA stopped testing for mad cow disease in cattle that were not downers. And lied.

The Honorable Ann M. Veneman
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Madam Secretary:

We are writing with new information about the cow found to have Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, in Washington State in December 2003. Senior U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials have repeatedly asserted that the BSE-infected cow was tested because it was a "downer." We have now learned, however, that'the co-manager of the slaughter plant and two other eyewitnesses state that the
cow stood and walked on the day of slaughter. If this information is true, it could have serious implications for both the adequacy of the national BSE surveillance system and the credibility of the USDA.

In responding to the first case of mad cow disease in the United States, USDA officials have emphasized that the USDA's BSE surveillance program protected the public. This response was based on the assertion that the BSE-infected cow could not walk, because the surveillance program is designed to sample only downer cows and cows with symptoms of central nervous system disease. You have said that the discovery of the cow was "a result of our aggressive surveillance program" and "a clear indication that our surveillance and detection program is
working."

According to three individuals who actually observed the BSE-infected cow the day it was slaughtered, however, the cow was not a downer. Contrary to USDA's assertions, the cow appears to have been tested only because USDA had an agreement to accept samples from nondowner cattle slaughtered at the Washington plant. <snip>

read all the sordid details here:
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/2004060810500...

[alfredo]

19. My doctor advised me to stop eating ground beef, not because of

Mad Cow, but feces. Think about it. Damn, this burger tastes like shit.

[rucognizant]

41. Literally!

When I was a kid,( '50's) my friend's father raised black angus cattle, ( small herd just for family consumption and business, gifting steaks!!)
Her birthday slumber parties, in an original old log cabin they had on the farm, always included, home grown grilled burgers!
I stopped eating grocery store ground beef in the 80's because it did taste like s--t!
I now eat bison! Buffalo won't eat ground animal parts, they have to be grass grazed, and I hope that the slaugher process is a more sane one. I think the whole small industry is based on wholistic principles before profit! Tastes good anyway!
As for Monsanto vs Oakhurst............I thought Monsanto won the case and forbid Oakhurst to label their products as bovine hormone free' however everyone in the state knows the story and buys Oak hurst with a vengence!
A friend's niece lived on dairy products; ( parents weren't savy to food issues/ AT FIRST) The child was almost 6' tall with breasts, before the age of 10! Aunt ultimately, effected a change in diet through education of her niece!

[alfredo]

53. I wish my wife would eat bison. She will not eat anything that

is or has been seen as game animals. She will not eat Elk or Venison. That sucks. She will eat Lamb and I have a good clean source for Lamb.


Forgot to add:

One way to cure people of factory farmed beef is to drive them down wind from a feed lot.

[patricia92243]

20. This sort of thing is so bad that I wouldn't believe it if I had not seen it with my own eyes!

Unbelievable!! The love of money is the root of all evil - so true.

[CrispyQ]

21. "There have been three cases of mad cow disease in the U.S."

Does anyone really believe this number?

[Bjorn Against]

23. I believe there were only three cases which weren't covered up

I would be willing to bet there are thousands of cases of infected cattle which were either not tested, or had their positive results covered up. I have a feeling this country is going to be in for quite a shock in a few years as it can take several years after consumption of tainted beef for symptoms of mad cow disease to show up in humans, when those symptoms do show however they are extremely painful and deadly. Upton Sinclair is about to get a lot of renewed attention.

[Occulus]

35. I would take that bet

and bet further that some of the Alzheimer's cases people are currently suffering from are actually Mad Cow- and I would bet the farm that that's the real reason behind the adamant refusal to allow across-the-board testing: they don't want us to know just how badly we've been screwed... again.

[lynnertic]

50. the symptoms look remarkably similar to Alzheimer's.

I read this spring about a treatment for vCJD (Mad Cow) that essentially filters your blood of prions (the malformed proteins that cause Mad Cow).

Don't beleive for a minute that the only susceptible meat is spinal tissue and brain. Cows become infected by eating prions, which can't be destroyed by cooking. The prions go in their stomachs, out their gut, into the bloodstream and *then* settle in to work on the brain. But the same blood that carries prions to the brain is also going through all the cow's roasts and steaks and ribs too...


... Beef, it's what's for dinner!

[mcg]

57. an article about prions discussing transmission

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion#Transmission

Current research suggests that the primary method of infection is through ingestion. Prions are deposited in the environment through the remains of dead animals and via urine, saliva, and other body fluids. They linger in the soil for at least three years by binding to clay and other minerals. This process in many cases makes the disease more transmissible.

[lynnertic]

59. In 2003 I researched this. At the time an alarming number of elk and deer

were reported to be infected with Chronic Wasting Disease (deer and elk version of Mad Cow. both conditions are caused by prions.)

In 2003 I read figures of 25% infection rates in areas of Wisconsin.

If prions live in the soil 3 years, and deer are infecting the ground as they pass (or pass on) their prions, then grass-fed cattle could possibly be worrisome, couldn't it? Cause when I pull chunks of grass outta the ground there's dirt attached.

And for that matter, how do the deer become infected? Maybe just like I would: the dry dirt that their prions are all over turns to dust that the wind scatters onto the steak (or chicken or eggplant) I'm barbecuing for dinner...

[earth mom]

22. This is the very reason I gave up eating beef.

Bastards! :grr:

[rockybelt]

24. Well now that the bushies

have the courts packed with these neocons and the top jobs at all the agencies that are supposed to protect us are filled with crones. There is no way that the interests of giant corporations are not going to be met. They are, after all, "paying the bills".

[cornermouse]

25. Something else they don't tell you.

Cows are usually considered market weight at 16 to 20 months. Check around on the internet for yourself.

And from Wikipedia.
"BSE has a long incubation period, about 4 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to five years, all breeds being equally susceptible."

We got a little bit of a negative time gap here folks.

[RaleighNCDUer]

26. The big guys wouldn't HAVE to test all their meat.

They could just let it slide, and accept the loss in sales that comes with the territory in an open marketplace.

[MasonJar]

27. I surmise that there are now so many illegal and/or unconscionable

acts by this administration that we, the people, are so saturated in the cabal's slime that we do NOT know what to do to stop the sludge from perverting our lives and that of the planet.

[femrap]

28. GWB makes mad cows look sane. nt

[Faryn Balyncd]

29. MOOOOOOOOOOO !!

:rofl:

[rasputin1952]

30. The only reason there are regulations, is the fact that NONE of the

voluntary aspects EVER worked.

If they do not abide by Gov't Regs, why would ANYONE think they could be trusted to do the right thing on theor own? If it costs money, it is not going to get done.

This admisnistration ahs done NOTHING for the citizens of this nation other than send some of them to war and make the wealthy just the more wealthy.

Worst administration ever, bar none

[Mrs. Overall]

31. K&R

[progressoid]

34. Democrats MUST pick up on this or

it will be lost down the memory hole.

Would love to see our candidate whomever it is, pose this to the Repuke candidate in a debate. How would a "free marketer" defend this?

[thepurpose]

45. LOL. Democrats actually pick and stick to a message that shows the GOP

doesn't care about americans. Has that happen in recent memory?

[NewJeffCT]

49. SCHIP maybe?

That one springs to mind.

That was another "free market" decision from Bush.

[tavalon]

36. This is why I don't eat red meat anymore.

I'm not that stupid.

[MadMaddie]

37. Hey Freeper Lurkers how is that Deregulation working for you?

Maybe as punishment once these guys are prosecuted....

Maybe we should let them eat the meat of the cows that should have been destroyed but put into the food chain.

Maybe we should place them in prisons with all of the lead bearing products that come form China..

And when they are sick lets reduce the funding to their prison so they get below standard care....

I could go on...

They are destroying the very fabric of America with this Free Trade bullshit.

[Mnemosyne]

39. Make these dicks eat commercial beef 3 meals a day and 2 snacks,

see how fast this crap would change.

[rucognizant]

42. Yeh sure...

They have their own private herds! WHen Ann Venamon stood there on TV several years ago and announced that her family would be eating beef for Christmas dinner, it didn't persuade ME that beef was safe to eat!

[Mnemosyne]

58. I would also enjoy seeing every Congressional, Senatoral and

Presidential candidates be required to live six months on minimum wage before they could take office.

I'm a sadist I guess. :evilgrin: :hi:

[autorank]

43. He's showing Huckabee that he's the mack daddyof death! n/t K*R

[MetaTrope]

46. If 1 percent of cattle are tested, one positive found means 99 infected animals are being sold

Or have I got my basic math wrong?

[robbedvoter]

47. Been staying off red meat for years....It's why the meatpackers WANT to do it

to regain the trust of the public

[Cass]

48. Absolutely appalling.

The fact that only less than 1% of slaughtered cows are tested is shocking enough, but this just takes the cake. There is nothing they won't destroy and nothing they won't compromise for their greed.

This story should be covered as obsessively by the MSM as their coverage of missing white women, but I won't hold my breath.

I cannot wait until this bunch of thugs is out of power and a more sane, responsible Administration is running things. Thank you for posting this, charles t...I'm sending it on to my friends and family.

[whistle]

51. BUSH WANTS MAD COW DISEASE IN OUR FOOD CHAIN!

:wtf:

[Mnemosyne]

61. * signed away most of the food safety laws Clinton pushed into place after the ecoli, listeria

and shiggelosis(sp) outbreaks in the mid-1990's within two months of the coup.

My first thought then? :wtf:

[JBoy]

52. This is disgusting

They don't give a shit about health and safety, just money.

You know that if protecting against mad cow disease would increase production they would not only do all the testing, but would by now have already bred a cow with a built in mad cow disease sensor that if positive would light up a red light growing out of the top of its fucking head.

[Time for change]

54. Anyone who believe ANY of his rhetoric isn't living in the real world

[cosmicdot]

55. wonder if there's any update of the court action's status?

the OP article was published on May 29, 2007

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=3222947


Likely rhetorical question: what are the Congressional Democrats doing about this issue/situation?
Is it queued behind repealing HAVA and restoring habeas corpus, or queued behind 'how did your stock portfolio do today'?


paging Upton Sinclair ...


the Creekstone Farm website
http://www.creekstonefarms.com/

Subject: USDA VS CREEKSTONE BSE/BASE/TSE TESTING Civil Action No. 06-0544
Date: September 4, 2007

USDA

AUGUST 21, 2007

Mr. Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Post Office Box 42
Bacliff, Texas 77518-0042

Dear Mr. Singeltary:

This is in response to your e-mails to Secretary Johanns concerning private
testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and a ruling by the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia involving Creekstone Farms
Premium Beef, LLC. We regret the delay in responding.

As you may know, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) filed an appeal
of the U.S. District Court's order on June 15,2007. While we recognize your
views, we cannot comment on any matters at issue in the pending litigation.
However, we can assure you that USDA remains committed to ensuring
effective, scientifically sound testing for significant animal diseases and
to protecting U.S. animal and public health from BSE. ~snip~

Sincerely,

Jere L. Dick
Associate Deputy Administrator
National Animal Health Policy and Programs Veterinary Services

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/madcow/messages/1001536.html


Have years passed since the Creekstone incident occurred???
Such urgency to protect our foods and provide for our security.


The Cost Of One Sick Cow

Jun 1, 2004

~snip~

While, collectively, the beef business chugs along despite BSE, the industry is fighting itself. Controversy over BSE testing erupted after Creekstone Farms submitted a request to USDA in February for the OK to conduct private BSE testing at its Arkansas City, KS, processing plant. Creekstone says it has assurances from Asian customers that such voluntary testing will reopen the markets for Creekstone products.

~snip~

http://beefmagazine.com/mag/beef_cost_one_sick/index.html


Food terrorism and tyranny from the WH ... fear is a killer ...

[Skidmore]

56. Interesting since Leavitt testified in Congress this week that

they wanted industries to voluntarily develop standards of food safety and to sign on to meeting those standards in practice. Seems like one hell of a contradiction to me.

[lynnertic]

60. maybe one farmer doesn't equal "Industry"

which on the whole, we are shown, would rather make money than be bothered with product safety.