Just got on here and see there still is something about the BSE situation that hasn't been touched on, that I know of.
Before going into th small amount I know about that, I do want to say I deplore the treatment on this website of Canadian ranchers, who are VICTIMS of this mess, not perpetrators as some of you on this site seem to regard them. Competition is supposed to sharpen our business skills, and force us to improve our own product and efficiency, not turn us into bullies and jerks!
How many of you knew of the effort to 'de-populate' and cattle that had been imported from England, maybe other countries, too, because of the possibility that those imported cattle might be carriers?
I know that there were MANY seedstock producers in the USA who took a very hard hit well before the Canadians' luck of the draw gave them the first BSE on this continent. I believe there were some producers in Canada who refused to depopulate their imported cattle, so possibly that was the source, though I've never seen any information to that effect that I recall.
I am very sure that the procedures for keeping sources of POSSIBLE contamination out of our food supply and the sharing of information with the public had much to do with the calm public acceptance of BSE cows in this country. It wasn't such a shock to them, having been discussed at length by many in the Universities and medical communities before we had one.
mrj
Before going into th small amount I know about that, I do want to say I deplore the treatment on this website of Canadian ranchers, who are VICTIMS of this mess, not perpetrators as some of you on this site seem to regard them. Competition is supposed to sharpen our business skills, and force us to improve our own product and efficiency, not turn us into bullies and jerks!
How many of you knew of the effort to 'de-populate' and cattle that had been imported from England, maybe other countries, too, because of the possibility that those imported cattle might be carriers?
I know that there were MANY seedstock producers in the USA who took a very hard hit well before the Canadians' luck of the draw gave them the first BSE on this continent. I believe there were some producers in Canada who refused to depopulate their imported cattle, so possibly that was the source, though I've never seen any information to that effect that I recall.
I am very sure that the procedures for keeping sources of POSSIBLE contamination out of our food supply and the sharing of information with the public had much to do with the calm public acceptance of BSE cows in this country. It wasn't such a shock to them, having been discussed at length by many in the Universities and medical communities before we had one.
mrj