Mike wrote:
Terry, although the body bags are scary, I am worried about our way of life if the cattle market tanks here in the U.S. like it did in the UK. I don't think we will ever see the epidemic of BSE here like they did over there, nor the vCJD, but many people have their whole life invested in this business. It was said that BSE caused many cattlemen in Canada to choose suicide. The results are still the same.
The UK Mike is an extreme example of how the situation got out of control very easily and very quickly. First of all, the UK Government had no idea what they were dealing with. They continued their overseas shipments even though the scientists there warned them to stop. They continued the shipments of offal and other by-products throughout Europe for many months after the flag went up all because the advisory committees that were appointed were made up of those groups that had the most to lose if the shipments stopped!!! Subesequently Mike, the situation turned into a domino effect of biblical proportions. 185,000 animals destroyed and God knows how many human lives placed at risk and the only way we will know how many will be when the ticking clock hits the alarm in how many decades from now when we see clusters of vCJD hitting the UK and parts of Europe from so many directions at once, in numbers that will stagger the mind.
My position is clear on testing Mike, as you know. Not just because I own a test, but because I believe that 100% testing of the national herd prior to shipping the product into the human food chain is the only way to maintain a strong and effective "Risk Management Program," that ensures the produc is safe. I firmly believe that anyone who states that any test has some sort of attachment to it that reads, "jsut because it is BSE Tested doesn't mean it is BSE Free," is farting into the wind on all eight cylinders. If a BSE test is is capable of detecting PrPsc in an animal, regardless of its age or whether it is displaying clinical symptoms or is still in the sub-clinical stage, then it is absolutely correct to either certify that animal as having BSE. Of course, if there is no evidence of PrPsc in the animal then it is equally ok to certify that animal as being free of BSE. There should not be any middle ground and only a Test that has been proven and validated will allow for such claims to be upheld.
What the heck does it mean to say that it is BSE tested and yet it is not necessarily BSE Free??? What kind of test is that?? It is the same as telling a woman that she is only a little bit pregnant and that a good cough and two Aspirins will make it go away - maybe!!!!
The product is either free of BSE or it is not - period!! No middle ground on this one!!!
Consumers are going to ultimately demand BSE Free status, and the producers will benefit from this greatly. The markets will embrace it and the product will flow freely within those markets. No more will we see embargoes and closed doors. All we have to do is get rid of this stonewalling crap that is continuing to stiffle the ability of the producers to get their beef to market. That stonewalling is being carried out at the political level on a daily basis and has to stop. It took years for the British Government to realize that they were not convincing the public at large and they began to losen their stance. The USDA cannot continue to evade the facts that science has moved on and that they, in their own testing protocol have strayed far behind the current science and they continue to think 2 years behind and a day late, and for what reason??? Is it because they are propping up an inductry that caters only to the majors players like the Cargills and the Tysons at the expense of the individual producers, or is it for some other higher goal that we have not even thought of yet??
I firmly believe that if producers were allowed to test their product prior to taking it to market, the industry would benefit greatly. Why? Because the international end-users of the product will embrace it. simple as that. Sorry to ramble on Mike.
