Kansas beef exporter banned from testing for Mad Cow
Kansas’ own Creekstone Farms Premium Beef found a serious problem in our “free market” here in the good ‘ol USA. Creekstone wanted to test 100% of their animals for Mad Cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). This horrifying disease causes the equally-horrifying Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Sounds like a good idea, right? This is a company that WANTS to test its product for dangerous pathogens. Well, evidently, this quest for cleanliness makes those pesky Kansans downright un-american. From BoingBoing:
…the Bush administration took Creekstone to court, and a US federal appeals court ruled that the USDA has the authority to stop meatpackers from testing more than 1% of its cattle. Mark Frauenfelder
From the AP story:
Larger meat packers opposed such testing. If Creekstone Farms Premium Beef began advertising that its cows have all been tested, other companies fear they too will have to conduct the expensive tests.Matt Apuzzo
Associated Press
If the last eight years haven’t convinced you that we are governed by sociopaths, this is, unequivocally, sociopathic behavior on the part of the Federal Government.
On behalf of my fellow Kansans and the rest of the American people, I would like to say thank you to the good citizens that work for Creekstone Farms. You all made a valiant effort to protect public safety and you deserve praise. Please keep fighting the good fight!
Read the full opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (PDF)
