Does anyone care?

glatt · 06-25-2005, 02:31 PM

At first, a few years ago, the experts at the USDA said Mad Cow disease would never appear in the US.

They made sure they would never find a case by only testing one out of every 12,000 cows. Well, against all the odds, they found a mad cow. "Shit!" they thought, "we better fix this public relations disaster fast!"

They blamed Canada, changed a few rules, said they were increasing testing tenfold (didn't bother to mention that it means they would still only be testing one out of every 1,200 cows) and told the public that US beef is safe. They prohibited small organic cattle ranchers from doing their own tests of each and every cow and labelling their beef as "mad cow free." Wouldn't look good to the public to have some expensive shrink-wrapped packages of beef clearly labelled as "mad cow free" while other less expensive packages sat there unlabelled in the display case.

Well, it took a year and a half, but they just found a second infected cow. Confirmed. Not just an initial screenig test.

They still claim the US beef supply is safe. They are scrambling to find a way to claim this is an anomaly.

They are liars. The US beef supply is not safe.

I've ranted about this topic in previous threads. I apologize if my continued ranting is annoying. Thing is, I LOVE beef. I MISS beef. I stopped eating beef when they found the first mad cow and I read how little testing is done. Sure, the change in rules was a good first step. But we need to follow Europe's lead, and test at least 1 out of every 3 cows. This 1 out of 1,200 shit has got to stop. Japan tests 100% of the cows they eat. We could test 100% of our beef for only $.25 to $.50 per pound more. Would you be willing to spend that to be sure your beef is Mad Cow free?

I love beef. I miss beef. I want the officials who have been charged with ensuring that our beef supply is safe to do thier jobs so I can eat beef again.

Do any of you care? In previous threads, only one or two Dwellars have cared.

Trilby · 06-25-2005, 03:04 PM

I care, glatt. But maybe I am not fully informed. I thought if you bought ground sirloin you were ok--that only "ground beef" (not specified) was dangerous?

Oh, and I would spend an exta .25-.50 cents a pound to be sure the meat was not mad.

glatt · 06-25-2005, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

I thought if you bought ground sirloin you were ok--that only "ground beef" (not specified) was dangerous?

In theory, yes. In reality, the meat processing plants are so messy, everything gets all cross-contaminated.

Undertoad · 06-25-2005, 03:26 PM

Buy the ground beef that is packaged at the grocery store - not pre-packaged brand name - and you'll get only beef ground at the store that day, which is less likely to be contaminated.

More expensive grinds (round, sirloin) come from the back of the cow where there is less spinal cord and brain to comtaminate.

BigV · 06-25-2005, 05:00 PM

No more sweetbreads.

But I don't have the time to worry about this one, the odds of getting run over in the parking lot are far far greater than a serious problem from CJS. I feel I have to budget my finite worry resources, and this one doesn't make the cut. It's important, but there are more clear and present dangers to occupy me. I guess I'm piggybacking on your worry, glatt.

Elspode · 06-25-2005, 05:37 PM

Since we are missing thousands of infected cows with our inspections being so poor, there must be hundreds of thousands of cases of CJ in human consumers, then, yes?

Any stats on all of these drooling, dying carnivores?

Clodfobble · 06-25-2005, 06:16 PM

Just to clarify, glatt, the correct statistic without the typo was 1 in 1,200 cows, right?

glatt · 06-25-2005, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Just to clarify, glatt, the correct statistic without the typo was 1 in 1,200 cows, right?

I understand that it's currently 1 in 1,200. It was 1 in 12,000 when the first sick cow from Canada was found. After they found the first cow two years ago, they increased the testing tenfold as part of the campaign to re-assure the public that they were on top of things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elspode

Since we are missing thousands of infected cows with our inspections being so poor, there must be hundreds of thousands of cases of CJ in human consumers, then, yes?

Well, several million old people with memory loss and dementia are diagnosed with alzheimers. It's very possible that a large portion of them actually have cj disease and were mis-diagnosed. The two diseases are very similar.

Carbonated_Brains · 06-25-2005, 09:18 PM

I'm sorry, but that's a horribly flawed and uninformed thing to say.

You have no idea whether CJ and Alzheimers are similar from a medical standpoint.

It infects one in a million people worldwide, yearly, making it extreme rare. There are three types, "sporadic", "hereditary", and "acquired".

Sporadic accounts for 85+% of cases, people with no risk factors, and nobody knows how they get the disease.

Hereditary is exactly as it sounds, 10% of cases are hereditary.

Acquired accounts for less than 1%, and is when the person is exposed to infected brain matter or nervous system material. So 1% of 1/1,000,000 of cases are from infected cows and other contaminants (bad surgery procedure, etc).

Boy, am I ever scared.

Elspode · 06-26-2005, 01:04 AM

So, if 1% of 1,000,000 cases are from angry bovines, this would seem to indicate that perhaps there isn't exactly a torrent of diseased beef being foisted upon unsuspecting American consumers.

xoxoxoBruce · 06-26-2005, 01:31 AM

Quote:

You have no idea whether CJ and Alzheimers are similar from a medical standpoint.

No, but I do from a NPR standpoint. A few years ago my Dad died of Alzheimers complications in July. The next thankgiving weekend I got caught in a traffic jam outside of NYC. While I was changing my prerecorded music the NYC NPR radio station came on. I listened for a bit because they were talking about Alzheimers. They said they had been trying to autopsy as many Alzheimer cases as possible but the number was still in the low hundreds which isn't much of a sample for a study. Even so, they found something like 10 or 12 % really had Mad Cow.

I won't try to convince anyone because I don't know who I was listening to or what they're credentials were but it caused me to wonder. I rarely eat beef.

cowhead · 06-26-2005, 01:19 AM

well.. the way I figure it.. since this practice of feeding cows to other cows has been going on for quite a while. there's really no point in freaking out about it now.. odds are we have all contracted it.. I mean. the greedy sons of beeyotches who have been valueing dollars over any sort of respect for themselves, the customer or thier product.. are bound to have some sort of 'karmic' backlash... looks like it's going to be us dying and going mad in droves.. eat the damn beef.. it's already too late.

Trilby · 06-26-2005, 09:21 AM

Ok...I am NOT gonna read this thread any more! I've tried being a vegetarian and it didn't take. You guys are not going to ruin meat for me!!! I remain, as always, blissfully ignorant.

Thank you.

Griff · 06-26-2005, 09:57 AM

Hmmm.... bison farm fantasy rears ugly head again. Self-contained organic operation, absurd pricing, bbq, yummy.

xoxoxoBruce · 06-26-2005, 10:31 AM

Sorry Griff but it seems several of them have failed in Lancaster County recently. If they can't do it there, it's a tough row to hoe.

06-25-2005, 02:31 PM	#1
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Does anyone care? At first, a few years ago, the experts at the USDA said Mad Cow disease would never appear in the US. They made sure they would never find a case by only testing one out of every 12,000 cows. Well, against all the odds, they found a mad cow. "Shit!" they thought, "we better fix this public relations disaster fast!" They blamed Canada, changed a few rules, said they were increasing testing tenfold (didn't bother to mention that it means they would still only be testing one out of every 1,200 cows) and told the public that US beef is safe. They prohibited small organic cattle ranchers from doing their own tests of each and every cow and labelling their beef as "mad cow free." Wouldn't look good to the public to have some expensive shrink-wrapped packages of beef clearly labelled as "mad cow free" while other less expensive packages sat there unlabelled in the display case. Well, it took a year and a half, but they just found a second infected cow. Confirmed. Not just an initial screenig test. They still claim the US beef supply is safe. They are scrambling to find a way to claim this is an anomaly. They are liars. The US beef supply is not safe. I've ranted about this topic in previous threads. I apologize if my continued ranting is annoying. Thing is, I LOVE beef. I MISS beef. I stopped eating beef when they found the first mad cow and I read how little testing is done. Sure, the change in rules was a good first step. But we need to follow Europe's lead, and test at least 1 out of every 3 cows. This 1 out of 1,200 shit has got to stop. Japan tests 100% of the cows they eat. We could test 100% of our beef for only $.25 to $.50 per pound more. Would you be willing to spend that to be sure your beef is Mad Cow free? I love beef. I miss beef. I want the officials who have been charged with ensuring that our beef supply is safe to do thier jobs so I can eat beef again. Do any of you care? In previous threads, only one or two Dwellars have cared.

06-25-2005, 03:04 PM	#2
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	I care, glatt. But maybe I am not fully informed. I thought if you bought ground sirloin you were ok--that only "ground beef" (not specified) was dangerous? Oh, and I would spend an exta .25-.50 cents a pound to be sure the meat was not mad. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

06-25-2005, 05:00 PM	#5
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	No more sweetbreads. But I don't have the time to worry about this one, the odds of getting run over in the parking lot are far far greater than a serious problem from CJS. I feel I have to budget my finite worry resources, and this one doesn't make the cut. It's important, but there are more clear and present dangers to occupy me. I guess I'm piggybacking on your worry, glatt. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not. Last edited by BigV; 06-25-2005 at 07:00 PM. Reason: micredited thread starter

06-25-2005, 05:37 PM	#6
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Since we are missing thousands of infected cows with our inspections being so poor, there must be hundreds of thousands of cases of CJ in human consumers, then, yes? Any stats on all of these drooling, dying carnivores? __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

06-26-2005, 01:04 AM	#10
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	So, if 1% of 1,000,000 cases are from angry bovines, this would seem to indicate that perhaps there isn't exactly a torrent of diseased beef being foisted upon unsuspecting American consumers. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

06-25-2005, 03:26 PM	#4
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Buy the ground beef that is packaged at the grocery store - not pre-packaged brand name - and you'll get only beef ground at the store that day, which is less likely to be contaminated. More expensive grinds (round, sirloin) come from the back of the cow where there is less spinal cord and brain to comtaminate.

06-25-2005, 06:16 PM	#7
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Just to clarify, glatt, the correct statistic without the typo was 1 in 1,200 cows, right?

06-25-2005, 09:18 PM	#9
Carbonated_Brains Does it show up here when I type? Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Between the smoky layers of a prosciutto sandwich! Posts: 355	I'm sorry, but that's a horribly flawed and uninformed thing to say. You have no idea whether CJ and Alzheimers are similar from a medical standpoint. It infects one in a million people worldwide, yearly, making it extreme rare. There are three types, "sporadic", "hereditary", and "acquired". Sporadic accounts for 85+% of cases, people with no risk factors, and nobody knows how they get the disease. Hereditary is exactly as it sounds, 10% of cases are hereditary. Acquired accounts for less than 1%, and is when the person is exposed to infected brain matter or nervous system material. So 1% of 1/1,000,000 of cases are from infected cows and other contaminants (bad surgery procedure, etc). Boy, am I ever scared.

06-26-2005, 01:19 AM	#12
cowhead halve your cake and eat it too. Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Georgia.. by way of Lawrence Kansas Posts: 1,359	well.. the way I figure it.. since this practice of feeding cows to other cows has been going on for quite a while. there's really no point in freaking out about it now.. odds are we have all contracted it.. I mean. the greedy sons of beeyotches who have been valueing dollars over any sort of respect for themselves, the customer or thier product.. are bound to have some sort of 'karmic' backlash... looks like it's going to be us dying and going mad in droves.. eat the damn beef.. it's already too late. __________________ no my child.. this is not my desire..I'm digging for fire.

06-26-2005, 09:21 AM	#13
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	Ok...I am NOT gonna read this thread any more! I've tried being a vegetarian and it didn't take. You guys are not going to ruin meat for me!!! I remain, as always, blissfully ignorant. Thank you. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

06-26-2005, 09:57 AM	#14
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Hmmm.... bison farm fantasy rears ugly head again. Self-contained organic operation, absurd pricing, bbq, yummy. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

06-26-2005, 10:31 AM	#15
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Sorry Griff but it seems several of them have failed in Lancaster County recently. If they can't do it there, it's a tough row to hoe. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

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