The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s continued effort to keep Arkansas City-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from testing all its cattle for mad cow disease is downright un-American. A federal judge ruled in March that Creekstone could begin testing all its cattle Friday. But the USDA is now appealing the ruling, which puts the testing on hold. Creekstone wants to go beyond the USDA standard and test all its cattle, because that’s what its overseas market demands. And if Creekstone and its customers are willing to pay for the testing, they should be free to do it. This is America, isn’t it?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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26 Comments
That’s udderly ridiculous. It would behoove Creekstone to moove on the action so the Feds won’t stick a horn in their business.
This is Kansas, we don’t need no stinkin’ science. We can go to propaganda websites like junkscience.com to tell us that Mad Cow disease is completely fictional despite evidence to the contrary.
Well I guess we have to look in the Old Testament for guidance on this!
“This is America, isn’t it?”
Not in this country. Not with this administration. I wonder, who is Creekstone Farms NOT paying? After all, to get things done right via the USDA, ya gotta be paying someone.
And our tax dollars are going to try and stop Creekstone Farms from testing? Anyone else see something wrong with this picture?
It’s all the cattle ranchers who been making the call to the USDA to not allow testing of the beef, because once one company does it, they all will start to and to cattle ranchers, they fear that a positive test on their cows will wipe their herd or that the cost will be placed on them by cattle buyers will pass the cost in reduce purchase prices of their cows.
Follow the voters, it’s the cattle ranchers and their selfish endeavors that are behind this.
“It’s all the cattle ranchers who been making the call to the USDA to not allow testing of the beef, because once one company does it”
I would tend to agree… but all i have to say to thoes ranchers is “Tough $#%&!”
The move by the feds to halt this is just stupid. The testing IS expensive, but once demand goes up, the price for testing should go down. I would rather have the tests done.
Doug,I searched JunkScience.com. Found no reference ‘debunking’ mad cow. Just another lie from you?
Joe, your post got it exactly right. But you also need to include the big meat packing companies as well. They are as much to blame as the big cattle producers.
So who do you think the Department of Agriculture represents: consumers, or the interests of the (usually large) businesses being regulated?
We would be much beter off relying on markets for food safety.
“Market-generated information about the quality of meat undoubtedly would be much greater in the absence of government regulation. Government inspection tends to preempt market inspection, much as taxpayer-financed education crowds out privately funded schools, by reducing the incentives of sellers and buyers to look after safety on their own. There is little demand on the part of meat handlers for services that would be provided by private firms in the absence of government inspection. Business firms are, of course, also happy to have the taxpayers pick up the tab for inspection.
Similarly, with assurances by the USDA (and the media) that government regulation is crucial to consumer safety, there is little impetus for consumers to change the current institutional arrangement. Moreover, when problems of meat safety occur, there is no discussion of ‘government failure.’ Instead, regulatory officials plead for more power.”
This is Kansas, we don’t need no stinkin’ science. We can go to propaganda websites like junkscience.com to tell us that Mad Cow disease is completely fictional despite evidence to the contrary.
Posted by: Doug | May 31, 2007 at 02:39 AM
Well I guess we have to look in the Old Testament for guidance on this!
Posted by: Kev | May 31, 2007 at 05:50 AM
Well, now you’ve shown your bias and your ignorance. A Kansas company is the one wanting to test,not stop the “scientific” test and religion has nothing to do with it.Irrevelant comments by the both of you.
Tyson, Swift, Cargil, NBP, are the four leading beef slaughter operations in America. (500,000+ cattle per day) They are the owner-operators of the feedlots and they control directly or indirectly their cattle supply. They do not want meat inspection or testing for any human illness or injury causing agents other than the USDA stamp guys now in their plants. This industry owns the USDA and the politicains that run it. These companies can direct millions to their favorite politicans like our own Pat Roberts. No, America will never test for mad-cow on an industry wide basis. Not as long as they can pay for the politicians.
Gee Sol, it was too difficult to put “mad cow” in the search engine and come up with a result?
http://www.google.com/custom?domains=JunkScience.com&q=mad+cow&sitesearch=JunkScience.com&sa=Google+Search&client=pub-3841204415070352&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&safe=active&cof=GALT%3A%230066CC%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23999999%3BVLC%3A336633%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AFF9900%3BALC%3A0066CC%3BLC%3A0066CC%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A666666%3BGIMP%3A666666%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en
Looks like you’re either a liar or your are just stupid. Take your pick.
Wow! There are actually people blaming this administration for this as well. Is everything Bush’s fault. That, my friends, shows ignorance. This goes way beyond what any of you people are talking about. We have had “ONE” mad cow case in the US….”ONE” Did I mention there was “ONE” case in the US. Why??? WHY??? WHY??? would we change protocal and put the industry in a position to change standards which by the way would be an economic disaster for the beef industry which is already struggling? If Creekstone does this they are bowing to foreign countries and creating a standard which will then be required of all packers. We need to put our foot down and tell Korea, Japan, and all other countries that if they don’t like the way we produce beef then eat the grass fed crap that every other country produces. This whole thing is a political mess over “ONE” mad cow case.
I find nothing wrong with a company that wants to 100 percent test its beef.
Kosher producers undergo different standards and are allowed to market their product world wide.
I remember the controversy about the ELISA test for AIDS - it came up with quite a few false positives. However, the procedure was sound and a re-test was done on all positives, whether the ELISA test implicated it might be positive when it was not.
The Japanese have stringent standards for their food. To them food is much as art as it is science. If Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to adhere or be better than the Japanese standard, then by all means let them.
One can be sure that the Japanese will send over their own scientists to overview the process from time to time.
Uh Jared,
They are buying other countries beef. That really helps the industry, doesn;t it. The fact is that Creekstone wants to distinguish itself from it’s competitors and supply what the customer wants. It’s called capitalism and needs not to be strangled by the government. The FDA is bowing to the needs and wants of the larger packers.
Other posters have noted the obvious: regulatory agencies routinely become captured, and beholden to, the very interests they are supposed to regulate.
No different at the USDA. And that’s true, no matter who’s sitting in the White House; the career bureaucrats were there before the current occupant, and will be there after he’s gone.
It’s ridiculous for Creekstone to be barred from testing their own beef. But this is government, after all, which routinely specializes in the ridiculous.
“But this is government, after all, which routinely specializes in the ridiculous”
Agreed. But that doesnt make it ok.
Jared sounds like the business people in these little towns out here that mistakenly think they have a captive market and they can dictate to the market, instead of listening to the market.
They love to do what they do and sell what they sell, no MATTER what the market wants. They live in a delusional world that fails to see how EVERYTHING competes in a global market place.
Bowing to foreign interests? Jesus man, get a grip. The MARKET is telling the US what it wants to buy. And in an arrogance very telling of the bush administration, the government is saying “hell no. You buy what we have, not what you want”.
The problem with that? Brazil, Argentina, Canada are VERY glad to sell them what they want.
So you see jarod, you can be right or you can be successful. Us small cattle guys need to be successful. We dont have the luxury of being “right” just to spite the market.
Which in case you havent noticed, isnt captive anymore.
Still laughing here….
Dont ya just love guys like jared who ADORE the free market?
Until they dont? heheheheheheheh
Here is what gets me…
Bush is not the government.
Bush is the President.
Everything that happens is not Bush’s fault.
Our government is so full of studpidity it is hard to begin. The stupidity existed long before Bush and it will be there if/when a Democrat takes office.
When it took my Mom over 6 months to change her address with Medicare that was not Bush’s fault. It is government idiocy at it’s worst.
When I went to the courthouse to figure out how to claim a small estate and was given the run around, that is not Bush’s fault.
My goodness.
Doug,Did you bother to look beyond the 1997 posts?
January 7, 1999
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government should set up a system to monitor deaths from the human equivalent of “mad cow” disease because the toll could be much higher than previously thought, three groups said in petitions filed on Thursday.The groups also asked for federal action to reduce the chance that livestock would consume feed carrying agents of the disease. The human variant is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.About 200 people a year die from CJD in the United States, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CJD usually strikes people over 50 years old.http://www.junkscience.com/jan99/cowpet.html
So are you ignorant or a liar. The choice is yours and it is a big one. Either put on your big girl panties or ask an adult for help.
I’m all about free market and capitalism. I love it. And if Creekstone wants to test 100% of its beef that is fine by me….i just think that it is ignorant to do so. Ok…let me re-phrase that…I think it is ignorant that the consumer demands that. And lets be real here……..do you honestly think that BSE is the true concern for Japan and Korea or would you agree that they have found an area were they can economically gain from exploiting the US beef situation so they are taking advantage of it. The US has become week in its older age and tends to bend to everyone. This whole problem is about control…not about BSE testing. If we held firm….they would end up giving in and buying US beef again. It’s the best in the world. And by the way…..
KSFrmgrrl…..I’m a beef trader and I understand the market and the beef market has never been captive. When have the big four ever paid attention to market demand? Beef consumption has been going down for two years and yet prices rise. It has absolutely nothing to do with BSE. It has to do with the fact that people can not justify paying 14.99/lb for tenderloins at the grocery store and the packers do not listen. Our cattle market is flawed…..USDA reporting is flawed and no one is paying attention to what the market is demanding which is to be able to afford a steak.
I would rather buy my meat from anyone that practice quality, safety and take pride in the products that they produce.
Sol, I’d be ignorant or a liar if the posts weren’t on the junkscience website. Nice pathetic attempt at trying to insult me but you just look as moronic as ever.
Perhaps you ought to look past 1999 and look to the 2004 article penned by the webmaster:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107188,00.html
In your zeal to portray me as ignorant or a liar you just make yourself look more moronic. Keep amusing me if you must.
I read the Junkscience link. Said nothing that Mad Cow doesn’t exist. It just says that there is currently no threat of Mad Cow entering the human population.
This is OBVIOUSLY the new republican meme. Or the meme of the day, but I’ve seen four posters here use it today, and a few in the last two weeks.
I wonder who issued this talking point?
“Wow! There are actually people blaming this administration for this as well. Is everything Bush’s fault.”
Solly, nathan, jared and paulie have all said similar things. Come on guys, ‘fess up. Who’s talking point is this?
The repukes will do ANYTHING to avoid accountability in government.
It may be way too late for any response on this thread, and I’ll freely admit I know next to nothing about BSE (”Mad Cow” disease).
But - this is an interesting take on the issue. It seems the USDA’s position may be defensible from both a scientific and legal standpoint. I’ll just post the link and let those who may have an interest check it out . . . .
http://stuartbuck.blogspot.com/2007/05/just-when-i-think-ive-heard-it-all-this.html