Company's mad cow tests blocked

[DustMolecule]

<snip>
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. - To Creekstone Farms manager Bill Fielding, his company's idea does not seem unreasonable. In order to satisfy its very important customers in Japan -- customers the company needs to survive -- Creekstone wants to test for mad cow disease every one of the cattle it slaughters.

To do that, Creekstone has spent more than $500,000 to build the first mad cow testing lab in an American slaughterhouse, and it has hired seven chemists and biologists to operate it. The company made the investment after Fielding returned from a trip to Japan convinced that officials there would lift their ban on American beef -- imposed after an infected cow was found in Washington state last December -- only if American companies adopt the Japanese practice of testing every animal.

But there is a big obstacle in the way of Creekstone's mad cow initiative: The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not allow it...

...While Creekstone officials said they were disappointed and are considering a legal challenge, they know the obstacles are great. The largest and most powerful meat-packing companies are dead set against Creekstone's proposal, as is the group that represents ranchers and feedlot owners, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
<snip>

More, much much more:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4752978/

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Lots of issues in there. VERY good article, a bit long, but it covers a LOT of ground, imho.

[burrowowl]

1. I said Creekstone Farms

would not be allowed to test a week or so ago on a DU topic because of CORPORATE MURIKKKA.
Boo$hie does not give a shit about small bidnez, nor do Libertarians, nor do most Murikkkans (becuse WallyWorld is cheaper!), etc.
I highly recommend: A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Kevin Phillips' Wealth and Democracy.

[DoNotRefill]

2. One possible idea....

rather than testing in the US, have the samples sent to the Japanese labs that conduct their routine testing.

[DustMolecule]

3. I like how you think!

:-)

[aquart]

4. This is restraint of trade.

A small company seeks to compete with the big boys, find a market niche.......THIS IS HOW A FREE MARKET IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. If consumers WANT testing, that should be the impetus to provide it. But not in this nation run by fascists who only want to maintain their stranglehold and stifle everyone else.

[arikara]

5. If the farmer is smart enough to set up a testing system for mad cow

you can bet he's also smart enough to not feed his cattle with rendered animals which is the cause of mad cow. The big corps don't want to have to give up that cheap source of food which is what the whole thing is about. Evil morans... the don't care who they poison as long as they make a profit.

[undergroundpanther]

6. Grrr

http://www.unknownnews.net/madcow.html


http://www.unknownnews.net/040204d-up.html

[Occulus]

7. Can the USDA be prosecuted for

callous disregard for human life over this?

They KNOW mad cow is deadly.
They KNOW it can get into the food supply.
They KNOW mad cow can be tested for.

So, let's find ourselves an enterprising prosecutor looking to make a name for himself and prosecute the USDA for even attempted murder (since that is, in essence, what the USDA is doing). Find out where the meat that would be tested ends up, and let's contact every single county prosecutor in the affected areas with this information.

Hey, this affects families in the prosecutors' areas. Children. Whom the USDA will not allow to be assured safety from a deadly, incurable and debilitating disease because it might hurt someone's pocketbook.

Think about that.

Think hard.

When a company acts to disregard human life in the pursuit of bottom line profits and is caught doing so, they tend to be punished rather severely- especially if there's no choice but to act, as in cases of infectious or food-borne disease. However, in this case, is it an agency of our very own US government that is taking action on behalf of the bottom line, in contempt of human life. Just in case you couldn't tell, I AM FSCKING OUTRAGED ABOUT THIS.

So should we all be, every single one of us. This is one of the reasons DU exists. If we were to take action on this, we could make a real difference, and help preserve real lives.

From our own living rooms. Think hard about that, too.

[Habibi]

8. Has this article been redacted?

I read the article at the link you provided, but couldn't find the phrase referencing the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (though they quote "Association president Jan Lyons."}

Hm.

[DustMolecule]

9. I don't think so...

The fourth paragraph I cited is paragraph 22 in the article. It begins just below the sub-heading, "US Rejects Private Tests for Mad Cow".

[DeepModem Mom]

10. I always add to any thread on this topic that we eat U.S. beef...

with no assurance that it is safe.