Whaddya know... two confirmed cases of mad-cow in the US and the latest one... totally home grown.
~ US FDA neglect with regard to the US testing regime is deplorable and rather ironic in consideration of the economic havoc they have reaped throughout the canadian beef industry.
~ The nature of this beast... the prion birth place of the disease (a medical geek moment I only passingly understand) is simply a fact of the north american herd. Now it's a numbers game to see when it will show itself.
~ Closing the border to canadian beef imports was reactionary and understandable. Keeping it closed is stupid... and all the scientists were saying the same thing when the tests were done. Oh, and they recommended the US step up re-test protocols... (didn't do it though...). Kinda makes you wanna say "Where's the beef!"
~ The danger to you and I is the mass process behind ground beef production ... especially for fast food joints... where representative meat from literally hundreds of cows can be found in a single meat patty. The risk factor of hitting "a" cow with the prion is low when you eat, for example, a cut of beef from the butcher. The risk factor in eating a mcdonalds burger... astronomical, by comparison. The risk factor of removing the now clearly meaningless restrictions on trade? Non-existent.
