>>What is a "downer" in this context?
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>An animal that has been injured while in transit. Sometimes they break a leg or some other problem (which could be a disease like BSE-mad cow). These were immediately sent to slaughter. No more with the new laws since last week.
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>I believe that over 140,000 cows per year are considered downers in the US alone. I understand, and agree that they should not enter the food-chain without being checked as before. But this poses a huge problem now. What to do with 140,000 carcases, most of which do not have any disease, simply bad luck?

Hmmm, there may well have been 140,000 "downers" last year, but it has been repeated often, across several days, that the number of beef animals tested last year was 20,000.

I could see a farmer (read farm corporation) deliberately breaking the leg of a cow to divert attention from other factors that HE might know about. I'd personally prefer to not have a chance of eating ANY beef that was from a SICK cow for any reason.

I should think that it is very possible to address the 'bad luck' argument... make sure that cows (or pigs or whatever) cannot break their legs in transit. Also seems a humane thing to do. So what if beef and pork and lamb and goat has to rise 5 cents a pound for such handling!?