From the Center for Science in the Public Interest
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http://www.cspinet.org/new/200503211.html>CSPI Says Profits, Not Public Health, Drives Effort to Keep Canadian Border Closed
Despite the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in four older Canadian cattle, including one discovered in Washington state, there is no public health basis for preventing young Canadian animals from entering the United States, according to a new report from the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The report says that since Canada has an effective mandatory cattle identification system, it would be much easier to track a Canadian cow from the slaughterhouse back to its farm of origin than it would be to track an American animal. That safeguard is essential, says CSPI, if public health authorities are to prevent cattle contaminated with BSE, E. Coli, or other hazards from entering the food or animal feed supply.
"American ranchers’ alleged health concern about young Canadian cows exposing American consumers to BSE is all sizzle and no steak—-it has nothing to do with human health and everything to do with protecting their profits," DeWaal said.
"The question is how much longer USDA will delay implementing mandatory national cattle identification and other common sense reforms," DeWaal said. "That kind of food-dragging is isolating our cattle industry from the rest of the world."