Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Mad Cow - I was asleep and weblogs woke me up
I admit it, I fell for the government spin. Even two days ago when my wife was sounding worried after watching the news, I was chirping the government line - calm down, it's no big deal. Then I read about the authors of "Mad Cow USA" via MetaFilter.
Their book can be downloaded for free. I'm going to start it tonight. I know I'll be staying off of beef for a while.
The power of weblogs really strikes me here. I'm new to this community but I'm happy to be a part of it. The service provided by these alternative and independent souces of information cannot be denied.
Update: More about the current mad cow situation:
Scientists disagree on cause of infection - Seattle PI
USDA Bans Risky Cow Parts from Hamburger Production - Reuters
New Steps to Control BSE in US - ABC Online
Update: In April, 1996 Oprah Winfrey aired a show about the hidden dangers in food and the discussion turned to mad cow disease. Oprah and her guest were sued by a group of Texas cattlemen under the (bizzare) Texas Food Disparagement Act - you aren't alowed to say lies about beef...yikes. Well Ophra and her guest did not lie and this came out in court after millions of dollars in legal fees were spent. This same (frankly scary) law is mentioned in conjuntion with the Mad Cow USA book. This article is about the resolution of the case.
Those who did read "Mad Cow USA" when it was published in November, 1997, however, realized that the United States assurances of saftey were based on public relations and public deception, not science or adequate regulatory safeguards. We revealed that the United States Department of Agriculture knew more than a decade ago that to prevent mad cow disease in America would require a strict ban on "animal canibalism," the feeding of rendered slaughterhouse waste from cattle to cattle as protein and fat supplements, but refused to support the ban because it would cost the meat industry money.
Their book can be downloaded for free. I'm going to start it tonight. I know I'll be staying off of beef for a while.
The power of weblogs really strikes me here. I'm new to this community but I'm happy to be a part of it. The service provided by these alternative and independent souces of information cannot be denied.
Update: More about the current mad cow situation:
Update: In April, 1996 Oprah Winfrey aired a show about the hidden dangers in food and the discussion turned to mad cow disease. Oprah and her guest were sued by a group of Texas cattlemen under the (bizzare) Texas Food Disparagement Act - you aren't alowed to say lies about beef...yikes. Well Ophra and her guest did not lie and this came out in court after millions of dollars in legal fees were spent. This same (frankly scary) law is mentioned in conjuntion with the Mad Cow USA book. This article is about the resolution of the case.
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