tasunkawitko
12-31-2003, 09:07 PM
the usda and the media are really handling this mad cow disease scare badly, in my opinion. for starters, they knew the very next day after it was discovered that the animal was NOT american born, but a canadian animal that had been brought to the US a couple of years ago. the usda knew this, but the information wasn't released for another four days. in the meantime, the beef market went to the toilet (and is still there) and people ran around afraid that they were going to die. i still haven't seen on the major network news where the canadian origin of the animal has been released, only on the local news.
this is no slam on the canadians at all; instead, i am frustrated with our own usda and the media for not being forthcoming about this. living in a state which is heavily supported by the beef industry, i feel that it is just plain irresponsible for a myth to be perpetuated that american beef is unsafe, when, in fact, it is not. it is to the point where other countries are banning u.s. beef, and that is not a good thing for the producers in this country.
up until this fiasco, there was a small movement by the legislators from "cattle" states to institute "country of origin" labeling on all meat products such as beef, pork, poultry, etc. this latest scare, and the gross mismanagement by the usda and the media, make it clear that this legislation is important so that people can make an informed decision about where their meat comes from.
i hope that this doesn't alienate our canadian members, and i VERY MUCH hope that this doesn't start another round of canada-bashing. the fault isn't in canada, it is in washington and new york!
this is no slam on the canadians at all; instead, i am frustrated with our own usda and the media for not being forthcoming about this. living in a state which is heavily supported by the beef industry, i feel that it is just plain irresponsible for a myth to be perpetuated that american beef is unsafe, when, in fact, it is not. it is to the point where other countries are banning u.s. beef, and that is not a good thing for the producers in this country.
up until this fiasco, there was a small movement by the legislators from "cattle" states to institute "country of origin" labeling on all meat products such as beef, pork, poultry, etc. this latest scare, and the gross mismanagement by the usda and the media, make it clear that this legislation is important so that people can make an informed decision about where their meat comes from.
i hope that this doesn't alienate our canadian members, and i VERY MUCH hope that this doesn't start another round of canada-bashing. the fault isn't in canada, it is in washington and new york!