US bans sick 'downer' cattle for meat

[Guest guest]

 

KD Weber <wvadreamin

 

Wednesday, 31 December 2003 11:34

US bans sick 'downer' cattle for meat

 

 

ED NOTE: Didn't you know you were eating downer cows? Some US Slaughter

Houses Specialize In Downer Cattle! http://www.rense.com/general46/spec.html

and remember this? From Dec. 23, 2003 First Suspected U.S. Mad Cow Case

Found http://apnews.myway.com//article/20031224/D7VKF6O00.html QUOTE: " She

[ Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman] said tests are made of all downed

cows - old cows that are not mobile - that are sent to slaughterhouses. "

liar liar pants on fire .... Humans Eating Downer Cows

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/downer122303.cfm

 

U.S. Bans Sick 'Downer' Cattle for Meat

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20031230/D7VOV8HO0.html

 

 

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Dec 30, 4:55 PM (ET)

 

By MARK SHERMAN

 

(AP) Unidentified ranchers use the Optibrand on a cow Friday Dec

19, 2003 in Fort Collins, Colo. The...

Full Image

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Agriculture Department dramatically upgraded the

country's defenses against mad cow disease Tuesday, banning meat from all

so-called downer cows and promising to create a nationwide animal tracking

system, steps long advocated by critics.

 

These are " very aggressive actions, " Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said

Tuesday, one week after the first case of mad cow disease surfaced on U.S.

soil in a Washington state Holstein slaughtered on Dec. 9.

 

The changes will produce more rapid testing of cattle for the presence of

mad cow disease, and meat will not be processed until test results are back.

 

Veneman also said small intestines from cows will no longer be allowed into

the U.S. food supply, nor head and spinal tissue from cattle older than 30

months. In addition, the Bush administration is ordering changes in

slaughterhouse techniques to prevent meat from being accidentally

contaminated with brain or spinal cord tissue that can spread mad cow

disease. (ED NOTE: See also 'Mad Cow' Proteins Form In Muscle As Well As

Brain http://www.rense.com/general21/madcowproteins.htm)

 

 

(AP) Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman speaks to reporters

during a news conference on Tuesday, Dec....

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" Sound science continues to be our guide, " Veneman said.

 

Many of the changes were implemented by Canada last May, when a single case

of mad cow surfaced in Alberta. " We felt good about the system we had in

place, " said Dr. Ron DeHaven, the Agriculture Department's chief

veterinarian.

 

Under the new U.S. regulations, the sick cow slaughtered in Washington state

earlier this month would not have been allowed to enter the food chain.

 

The meat from that cow was allowed to be sold for human consumption after

its brain and spinal column were removed and a federal inspector saw no

indication of neurological disease. The Agriculture Department estimates

that 130,000 down cattle are sent to meatpacking plants each year.

 

USDA ordered a recall of more than 10,000 pounds of meat from 20 cows

slaughtered with the Holstein on Dec. 9. The recalled meat was distributed

to eight states and Guam, although officials said 80 percent of it went to

Oregon and Washington.

 

 

(AP) Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman speaks to reporters

during a news conference on Tuesday, Dec....

Full Image

 

USDA officials have said they ordered the recall as a precaution, insisting

there was no threat to the safety of the U.S. food supply. " The risk of BSE

spreading in the U.S. is extremely low and any possible spread would have

been reversed by the controls we have already put in place, " Veneman said.

 

The other new measures include:

 

_Any animal tested for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) will not be

allowed into the food supply until test results are confirmed. The

Washington cow was sent to meatpacking plants almost two weeks before test

results showed that it had mad cow disease.

 

_Prohibiting air injection stunning of cattle, a pre-slaughter practice that

can disperse brain tissue.

 

_Stricter controls on automated carcass stripping systems to better insure

that spinal cord tissue isn't nicked.

 

 

(AP) Dr. W. Ron DeHaven, chief veterinary officer for the

Department of Agriculture, speaks about the...

Full Image

 

_Creation of a national animal identification that would enable officials to

respond faster to an outbreak.

 

Veneman said the announced changes have been planned for a while. But they

come just as U.S. agriculture officials in Tokyo are trying to persuade the

Japanese to lift that country's ban on American beef. The U.S. officials

went to South Korea after their stop in Japan.

 

" These actions are not being taken in response just to our trading

partners, " Veneman said. " We should take these actions that are appropriate

and consistent with actions that many other countries have taken. "

 

The agriculture secretary called the regulatory changes " very aggressive

actions. " She said they should not impose any hardship on the cattle and

meatpacking industries, nor consumers.

 

" I don't expect an increase in the price to consumers, " she said. " The

number of cattle that enter the food supply currently as downer animals is

very small. "

 

Veneman acknowledged that banning downer animals from slaughter means they

won't be tested for the presence of mad cow disease. She said officials are

looking for other ways to test those at-risk animals but added that doesn't

necessarily mean on-the-farm testing.

 

Gene Bauston, president of the New York-based animal rights group Farm

Sanctuary, which has been suing the government for years to try to stop the

use of downed animals for food, said the changes were huge.

 

" This is a good thing for animals and a good thing for people, " said

Bauston. " These animals are made to suffer horribly, humans are put at risk,

and there has never been an excuse for this practice. "

 

Democratic presidential candidates have seized on the mad cow emergency to

criticize the Bush administration for policies they said have left the

nation more vulnerable to such problems.

 

For Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said the administration shouldn't have objected

to efforts in Congress to ban the slaughter of downed animals for meat nor

resisting efforts to improve the system of tracking cattle. Dick Gephardt

criticized the White House for siding with meatpackers against

country-of-origin meat labeling as required under the 2002 farm bill, and

ignoring the need for more federal money to inspect agricultural imports.

[Guest guest]

This is just so disgusting to me. I wonder how many people will end up

vegetarians over this. Downer cows?

That was news to me, although I’m not surprised. Sick cows, cows

that can’t even stand up – in our grocery stores. Sure looks pretty in that packaging, doesn’t it!

 

Carol

 

 

 

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Misty

[misty3]

 

ED

NOTE: Didn't you know you were eating downer cows? Some US Slaughter

Houses Specialize In Downer Cattle!