What a mess!... Made much worse by people worrying far more about their (livestock and related) businesses than about the health of their customers.

After the UK experience is it even the least bit believeable that "downers" have been allowed to enter the food chain because test results only arrive LONG after slaughter and butchering?!?!?! Gotta make that buck and we'll worry about the test results later. Love that logic.

20,000 cows were tested last year in the U.S. out of 35,000,000 slaughtered. Downers ONLY. And they all got into the food chain too!
That mad cow is a lot like Alzhiemer's disease in humans (slow degeneration of brain cells until trouble become obvious) seems to mean that any non-downer is free and clear for entry into the food chain! How comforting is that!?!?!?

There is talk of now testing and holding downers AND also testing/holding any animal over such an age (30 months I think). That should give us all great comfort when it is KNOWN that calves have been observed with the disease!

New robotic/mechanical butchering equipment is said to be so efficient that it leaves virtually no meat on the bones. Except I read a report that said that it is SO efficient that spinal column matter ALSO comes along with the meat!

Who the hell ever came up with the idea of serving meat to herbivores in the first place???? And why do we continue to tempt fate by permitting ANY use of rendered ANYTHING to domesticated herbivores????

Recent reports suggest that the two mad cow animals in North America (so far) had feed that came from a common feed/rendering plant in Alberta. I heard some talking head (maybe the plant manager) say something to the effect of 'well if it is the plant it still doesn't answer where the actual source of the bad animal that was processed came from'. Don't these people realize that mad cow doesn't come from another mad cow but that it is the simple act of feeding ruminant to ruminants that causes the problem???? Apparently the same kind of disease is found in other species that eat their own kind, including humans!

We've got a mess that needs cleaning up while its still a small problem! As well as testing/holding every animal, it also seems that outlawing ANY rendering plant output from getting anywhere near ANY food animal is only sensible.

I can see it now... outsource ranching/butchering to China so that local rules can apply and more profit can be made. Some guy is aleady building an organic produce processing/freezing plant in China to make frozen meals for the North American market, so how far away can cattle be?!?!

cheers