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Who's on first in battle against BSE?
Friday, October 12, 2007 11:25 AM MDT
Our Views
In the old Superman comics there is an alternative world, an alternate reality, where things are topsy-turvy, or opposite. This alternate reality place was called “Bizarro world.” One might make the case we are experiencing our own “Bizarro world” given what's taking place in regards to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and how two U.S. government agencies are handling the situation.
One might think that since BSE involves cattle, the agency most concerned about keeping the disease out of the U.S. would be the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but that's not the case.
Last month the USDA published a final rule to allow older Canadian cattle into this country. The rule allows for the importation of Canadian cattle and bison for any use born on or after March 1, 1999 - the date determined by USDA to be the date of effective enforcement of the ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban in Canada. The ruling also lifts a delay on meat and meat products from bovines older than 30 months of age that was imposed in March 2005.
What's disconcerting about that decision is that although USDA's Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. John Clifford said the likelihood of BSE becoming established in the U.S. cattle population by allowing additional commodities from Canada is negligible, he went on to say that his agency's risk assessment acknowledged the presence of BSE in Canada and that there likely would be additional cases identified in the future.
Given the number of cases of BSE that have been found in Canada, and the fact USDA admits additional cases of BSE in Canada are likely to be found, we questioned the wisdom of this action.
So, here we have a government agency whose responsibility it is to look out for the welfare of the agriculture industry, making a decision that, if it errs, errs on the side of optimism - that BSE won't enter into the U.S. cattle.
Now, contrast that with the action of another U.S. government agency - the Food and Drug Administration.
This agency is so afraid of BSE that it has imposed a ban on sperm from all European countries with exposure to BSE (mad cow disease). In May of 2005, FDA effectively blocked donors from Denmark to the United Kingdom. So for American parents looking for donor sperm to produce blond, blue-eyed Scandinavian babies - well, that just got a little tougher.
Scientists have said concerned doctors could always screen potential donors to see if they might be at high-risk for BSE.
Hmmm. Very interesting.
Let's get this straight - even though there's no evidence that mad cow disease can be transmitted in human semen, the FDA has imposed a ban that doesn't allow donor sperm from persons located in a country where mad cow was found in cattle for fear BSE could somehow be transmitted to other humans and, somewhere down the line, the U.S. cattle indsutry.
On the other hand, the USDA is going to allow cattle, from which BSE can be transmitted, to be imported from a country where BSE has been found and will likely be found again, according to their own assessment.
It makes one wonder who is looking out for the best interests of agriculture, and who is looking out for the welfare of the population.
Welcome to Bizarro world.
http://www.theprairiestar.com/articles/2007/10/12/ag_news/opinion/letters10.txt