After a case of mad cow disease surfaced in Washington State late last year, federal regulators vowed to move swiftly to adopt rules to reduce the risks of further problems and restore confidence in the nation's meat industry.
Some rules were adopted this year. But a few weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration, after heavy lobbying from the beef and feed industries, took steps to delay - and to the concern of food safety groups, possibly kill - completion of the most controversial and perhaps most expensive proposal for cattle companies.
That proposal would sharply restrict what could be included in animal feed. Shortly after the administration slowed its consideration of the rule, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association broke its nonpartisan tradition and endorsed President Bush for re-election.
by the way, that 'most expensive proposal' that is being slowly killed? the use of ground up, potentially-diseased deceased cattle carcasses in feed for cattle. and if you've been paying attention to the mad cow debate, you know that cattle cannibalism is the main cause of mad cow disease in cattle. apparently the industry finds this a little too costly for their taste.
for a period of several years, starting from right before i went to study abroad in england, i did not eat beef and strove to eat vegetarian as much as i could. i have stuck with that until recent months when, after a terrible craving for slim jims (one of my true weaknesses), i began to eat beef, sparingly, once again. after reading this article, half out of fear of the cattle industry's utter lack of concern for consumer health and half out of sincere, fiery rage for the same reason, i am going back to not eating beef. i am also calling for as many as you as possible to voice your displeasure to the Cattlemen's Beef Associationand, if you feel as inclined as i do, make a statement of a beef boycott until such time as they accept the proposals being put forth to insure public safety. you can contact them at either of their offices by phone (Washington, D.C. - 202-347-0228 - ask to speak with their political policy people) or through this general email form. tell them to stop playing politics with your health.
Update: this evening i spoke with a representative at the Cattlemen's Beef Association. their comments seem to hold that this is not a consumer health issue and that the proper regulations to prevent the manifestation of BSE (mad cow) have been in place for decades. they also stated that the new york times article i linked to above had some "erroneous" information. i'm not sure what information they were referring to precisely. they seemed a bit irritated at the use of the phrase 'mad cow' in the article.
i, personally, still think this is very obviously a consumer health issue. i am retracting my earlier statement about a boycott, although i am still undertaking one myself. i was a bit hasty to call for one, but unless some clarification (or a retraction from the NYT) is forthcoming, i don't see how it can be written off as not a consumer health issue. the FDA is involved, is it not? that makes it a consumer health issue. i will be keeping an eye on this.
