We are worried about Mad Cow, but the real issue is VS, and

[Tam]

Tam it boils down to in both cases science said minimal risk- Canada said no to the science of Anaplas and BT- but now they want the US to say yes to the science of BSE....

Like I said its hard to have sympathy..........

The different here is the US producers are the ones that don't want to look at the science and it was the Canadian producers that were asking their governemnt to look at the science and drop the restriction. You as a US producer are punishing the Canadian producers for something that was out of our control. Do you really think our government listens to us any better than yours does to you? :roll:
And yes Porker What goes around comes around and that is probably why we recieved this article via Cow Calf weekly this week.

Public Citizen And Its Partners In The Assault On Beef
Unfortunately, we all bear part of the blame for this latest assault on the beef industry. The story first appeared in the Washington Post this week highlighting Public Citizen's criticism that USDA inspectors had filed slightly over 1,000 noncompliance reports regarding the removal of specified-risk material.

It's certainly not surprising that this attack on the American beef industry was instigated by an anti-beef activist group like Public Citizen. In fact, under normal circumstances this would only warrant a passing mention, and the industry's issue management teams would spring into action to mitigate the damage and attempt to make sure the information was viewed in the proper context.

However, this is noteworthy because it's a negative story that will generate national coverage and it has the potential to hurt domestic demand. It will also raise concerns by those countries that have yet to open their markets, and makes our task of earning back market share even more difficult.

The real significance, though, is the one that nobody wants to mention. Public Citizen is one of those groups that some cattlemen supported in attacking consumer's perception of the safety of our product in order to keep the U.S. border closed to Canadian beef imports.This was defended by taking the position that they were merely aligning with consumer groups on a food safety issue. But, we have been uneasy in condemning the actions of these groups that are so obviously contrary to the industry because it involved fellow cattlemen as their enablers.

The only hope to stop this destructive cycle is for the average cattle producer to take a step back and demand more from his or her leadership. The one thing the BSE crisis has proven is that the industry is far too small and has far too many groups aligned against it not to speak with a unified voice.

Will we ever reach consensus on all issues? Absolutely not. Will there be differences of opinion? Yes. We all have a vested interest in improving the business climate for producers, and in improving beef demand. The differences that exist in reaching these goals can no longer prevent us from pursuing them with singular focus. And sadly, that means if the if average producers step back from the process because of their legitimate frustration in the outcome, then they are ultimately responsible for its failure.
-- Troy Marshall

You remember that loaded gun we warned you that you were handing these groups. Well all the stories that R-CALF and the US producers that supported them made up to hurt us are now starting to come back around. You are going to have a very hard time convincing the US consumer that they are wrong after lieing about the safety of Canadian beef for over two years. We all know the reason R-CALF did this was to protect high cattle prices. Just what do you think the price of cattle will be if Public Citizen reaches all those people that R-CALF knows they have the ear of. What goes around comes around, goes both ways. Canada doesn't have over 1000 noncompliance reports regarding the removal of specified-risk material. So maybe if you force M'COOL it will be the best thing you could ever do to get the Canadian beef industry back on its feet. As who will believe your beef is safer than ours when Public Citizen gets done with their campaigne.