Ranchers Criticize USDA Mad Cow Policy
The Rapid City Journal reports that the CEO of a cattle rancher association aimed public criticisms at the USDA's "mad cow" policy. Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF, made his remarks at the annual Stockgrowers Association meeting in Rapid City. Among Bullard's criticisms:
- The USDA' s policy with respect to Canadian Cattle. Bullard complained that the "USDA still has not overturned its rule allowing all Canadian cattle and beef to come into the U.S., despite the discovery of 17 cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in that country's cattle."
- International buyers, including Japan, continue to limit U.S. beef exports due to concerns over "mad cow" or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
- USDA continues to allow mingling of Mexican and U.S. cattle as well, raising concerns of bovine tuberculosis, a threat to the health of U.S. cattle herds.
Moving beyond the topic of BSE, Bullard also criticized sanitary conditions at large slaughterhouses: "We see in the beef industry an increase in e-coli and other foodborne illnesses that originate not from the meat, but from the intestine. These are enteric bacteria that can only contaminate meat if the meat is contaminated with fecal material. It's a sanitary issue."
