The Daily Background

File this under “WTF?”

The Bush administration said Tuesday it will fight to keep meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease.
[…]
There have been three cases of mad cow disease identified in cattle in the U.S. The first, in December 2003 in Washington state, was in a cow that had been imported from Canada. The second, in 2005, was in a Texas-born cow. The third was confirmed last year in an Alabama cow.

The Agriculture Department argued that widespread testing could lead to a false positive that would harm the meat industry. U.S. District Judge James Robertson noted that Creekstone sought to use the same test the government relies on and said the government didn’t have the authority to restrict it.

I guess this is another case of watching out for big business instead of the public.

Filed under: Z-TDB Blog