RobertMac, some of us have been feeding "longer on grass and a shorter time on feed" for a very long time. It isn't anything new out in the west. IMO, the matter of Grass-Fed Beef, versus Grain Fed Beef, is more a matter of personal choice, than any real health benefit from Grass Fed, AT THIS POINT IN TIME. There is much that has to be sorted out yet regarding genetics, type of feed, climates, and fatty acid research etc. to have hard facts on comparison of the values of varying fatty acids and other micro-nutrients in the beef between the two methods.
CLA is real...it is a proven cancer fighter...it is known to be created by rumen bacteria digesting chlorophyll!
Omega-3 and Omega-6 are essential fatty acids that humans must get from our diet(we can't produce them). The balance of these is the critical issue...in nature and the healthy the ratio is 2-1(omega-6) to 1(omega-3), which is the ratio in grassfed beef. Excess omega-6 in the western diet is receiving blame for health problems...the ratio in the avg. American diet is 20 to 1...grainfed beef is 4 to 1. Does this mean grainfed beef is harmful? ABSOLUTELY NOT...it just makes it the second best, most nutrient dense, health beneficial food humans can eat!
And, I wasn't "comparing" the numbers of UK BSE cases with US cases, but the disaster that being totally unprepared for BSE is over there as compared with the benefit of informing consumers of the known facts had for US cattle producers.
This is what you wrote...
mrj wrote:
It has been very widely acknowledged (....) that NCBA efforts kept BSE from being the total disaster here that it was in England.
The "total disaster" was thousands of cattle carcasses burning throughout the country...do you really believe it would have mattered what NCBA's "efforts" were if we had the same "total disaster"????
Too, I was thinking of, but didn't get it down, that the difference between the UK practice of feeding by-products from scrapie infected sheep to their cattle might have been a saving grace for US producers.
We don't feed industrial byproducts?
Re. the "fault" for BSE and E. coli, how can that be determined when there is too little known?
E.coli 0157:H7 is a product of acid rumen and digestive tract problems.
More needs to be learned about BSE. I think the key is finding out the reason for the 185,000 cases in England...a management problem!
Do we know absolutely that it is only carelessness in the packing plant that exposes the meat to E Coli?
It is, undeniably and by far, the most likely place...and IS preventable...per your sited reduction in recent outbreaks!!
Why was there such a drop in incidence as the 72% between 2000 and this recent outbreak?
Increased testing by FSIS...above and beyond plant HACCP protocols! In other words, proactive inspectors...which more of is needed!
Why, and where, did the protocols put in place which helped to drop that incidence fail?
Failure to test "USDA Inspected" product coming into plants!
Whose fault is it when a company puts many expensive systems designed to stop E coli into action and they, after being successful for some time, apparently fail for no reason that can be found?
I know about the steam problem where the bacteria road the water vapor throughout the plants. Tell what others you are referring to.
Certainly it is the "fault" of Topps for failing to follow their own rules for cleaning their machinery and testing incoming meat. NO ONE has disputed that, so far as I've heard. They are being punished. What more do you want, a firing squad????
Firing squad...you're being juvenile.
Topps is at fault for not following their HACCP protocol. USDA inspectors are responsible for making sure that management follows their HACCP protocol. I'm not sure that FSIS allows testing of "USDA Inspected" product coming into a plant...this should be a requirement for all grind plants and allowed in 'further processing' plants.
Until you show us a plant up and working that can and will guarantee NO possible contamination of the beef going out, it seems we have to expect everyone to do the best they can to safeguard our product, and that includes proper sanitation in homes and other places where food is prepared, and personally, I'd want workers in contact with food tested for the bacterial counts in their own gut!
Contamination in homes and restaurants are isolated events. There can be no laws to prevent stupidity in homes and restaurants will suffer the local health department and public opinion.
mrj