USDA Quarantines Two More Herds
By George Anderson
The U.S. Agriculture Department quarantined two additional cattle herds in Washington over the weekend as links were found to the cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE) or mad cow disease.
The latest action brings the total number of herds to be quarantined since mad cow was discovered to six. To date, the USDA has found 23 of 98 herdmates of the cow with BSE.
Finding the additional cows is critical in the U.S. government’s effort to have trade bans lifted on imports of beef from this country. According to Reuters, “More than
40 nations have halted U.S. beef imports, valued at some $3.2 billion annually.”
Moderator’s Comment: What is your evaluation of how the government, meat producers and food retailers have reacted to the discovery of mad cow disease?
Will the reluctance of other nation’s to reopen their markets to U.S. beef begin to play on the psyche of the American public?
In the interest of candor, when the most wanted list went from 81 to 98 because a new group was identified as being in the U.S. from the same Alberta farm
as the first cow, we found ourselves questioning whether anyone really had a handle on this. –
George
Anderson – Moderator