Science should prevail in 'mad cow' tests
By The Standard Staff - 06/30/2005
Summary: The United States can't proclaim Canadian cattle unsafe while discounting the BSE detected in our own country.
Plan on grilling steak or burgers for your July Fourth barbeque? Don't change your menu because one old cow sent to a pet food plant in Texas last fall tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is correct: U.S.-produced beef is safe from BSE. After more than 388,000 cattle tested with only one positive, consumers can be confident that there's not widespread incidence of this disease in U.S. cattle. This beefed-up testing program was initiated after an infected Canadian-born cow was found in Washington state in 2003.
Update safety standards However, the fact that it took seven months and the intervention of Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong to retest a suspect sample to confirm its infection doesn't bolster consumer confidence. The USDA must do better. The standards for food safety must constantly be re-evaluated and raised to reflect the best, most up-to-date scientific knowledge. Johanns, who took the helm at the USDA in January, has promised that testing procedures will be upgraded because of this BSE case.
Johanns reaffirmed the USDA's decision to reopen the border to Canadian cattle. "This simply does not change our position relative to reopening the border. We're going to continue to aggressively pursue that litigation to a successful result," he told reporters.
As researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health concluded, Canada has the same safety measures in place as the United States. The four Canadian cattle found with BSE in the past two years didn't become anyone's dinner. Those incidents don't make Canadian beef unsafe any more than the Texas cow makes U.S. beef unsafe.
Border economics Borders remain closed because of politics and economics. U.S. producers have been enjoying record-high cattle prices. Japan, which had been one of the largest customers for U.S. beef, is protecting its small domestic producers by keeping its border closed to U.S. producers.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and a U.S. District Court judge in Billings have hearings scheduled next month in a lawsuit the Billings-based Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund filed to keep the U.S.-Canada border closed. A ruling in favor of scientific evidence would force American producers to compete directly against Canadians eventually. It also would show reluctant Japanese customers that we Americans trust our food safety standards. The United States can't proclaim Canadian cattle unsafe while discounting the BSE detected in our own country. The risk is infinitesimally small on both sides of the border.
— The Billings Gazette
By The Standard Staff - 06/30/2005
Summary: The United States can't proclaim Canadian cattle unsafe while discounting the BSE detected in our own country.
Plan on grilling steak or burgers for your July Fourth barbeque? Don't change your menu because one old cow sent to a pet food plant in Texas last fall tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is correct: U.S.-produced beef is safe from BSE. After more than 388,000 cattle tested with only one positive, consumers can be confident that there's not widespread incidence of this disease in U.S. cattle. This beefed-up testing program was initiated after an infected Canadian-born cow was found in Washington state in 2003.
Update safety standards However, the fact that it took seven months and the intervention of Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong to retest a suspect sample to confirm its infection doesn't bolster consumer confidence. The USDA must do better. The standards for food safety must constantly be re-evaluated and raised to reflect the best, most up-to-date scientific knowledge. Johanns, who took the helm at the USDA in January, has promised that testing procedures will be upgraded because of this BSE case.
Johanns reaffirmed the USDA's decision to reopen the border to Canadian cattle. "This simply does not change our position relative to reopening the border. We're going to continue to aggressively pursue that litigation to a successful result," he told reporters.
As researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health concluded, Canada has the same safety measures in place as the United States. The four Canadian cattle found with BSE in the past two years didn't become anyone's dinner. Those incidents don't make Canadian beef unsafe any more than the Texas cow makes U.S. beef unsafe.
Border economics Borders remain closed because of politics and economics. U.S. producers have been enjoying record-high cattle prices. Japan, which had been one of the largest customers for U.S. beef, is protecting its small domestic producers by keeping its border closed to U.S. producers.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and a U.S. District Court judge in Billings have hearings scheduled next month in a lawsuit the Billings-based Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund filed to keep the U.S.-Canada border closed. A ruling in favor of scientific evidence would force American producers to compete directly against Canadians eventually. It also would show reluctant Japanese customers that we Americans trust our food safety standards. The United States can't proclaim Canadian cattle unsafe while discounting the BSE detected in our own country. The risk is infinitesimally small on both sides of the border.
— The Billings Gazette
