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The BSE infected cow recently found in the US has been traced back to Canada. The beef industry sighs and passes the revolver on to the next participant in this game of Bovine Roulette.

Unfortunately, industry practices and governmental regulations in the US seem designed to harbor BSE rather than protect the consumers.

Some practices include:

1. Cows still eat the ground-up remains of other animals.


2. Calfs are fed bovine blood products.


3. Downer cows (cows that can’t walk on their own) are allowed to enter the human food chain.

I understand that BSE (and CJD, the human variant) is hard to catch, but it seems to me that with the exception of the third item, these solutions would be easy and inexpensive to implement.

As to the third item, perhaps the government should simply have a recompensation fund set up to pay producers for downer cattle.

Update:USDA has now banned downer cattle from entering the human food chain!

Paid subscription probably required.

The BSE infected cow recently found in the US has been traced back to Canada. The beef industry sighs and passes the revolver on to the next participant in this game of Bovine Roulette.

Unfortunately, industry practices and governmental regulations in the US seem designed to harbor BSE rather than protect the consumers.

Some practices include:

1. Cows still eat the ground-up remains of other animals.


2. Calfs are fed bovine blood products.


3. Downer cows (cows that can’t walk on their own) are allowed to enter the human food chain.

I understand that BSE (and CJD, the human variant) is hard to catch, but it seems to me that with the exception of the third item, these solutions would be easy and inexpensive to implement.

As to the third item, perhaps the government should simply have a recompensation fund set up to pay producers for downer cattle.

Update:USDA has now banned downer cattle from entering the human food chain!