Although the
U.S. banned beef imports and frowned upon the UK when Mad Cow Disease
related CJD began to take the lives of British citizens, recently
revealed documents show little has been done to protect U.S. consumers
from similar outbreaks within our own borders. In fact, internal USDA
papers dating back to 1991 show that the U.S. government (and related
lobbyists) have been basing food safety related decisions on corporate
profit margins over human health.
Specifically, the USDA refused
precautionary measures that would mitigate the possible outbreak of Mad
Cow Disease, stating that "the cost to the livestock and rendering
industries would be substantial." This assessment may be true, depending
on what the price of human life is. Indeed, the cost of testing all
cattle for this fatal disease would add 3 to 5 pennies per pound to the
price of beef.
Reference: Rampton, S and J. Stauber. Mad Cow USA Common Courage
Press; http://prwatch.org/books/madcow.html
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