U.S. Department of Apprehension [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
"It is ironic in the extreme that an administration that's so interested in letting industry come up with its own solutions would come down with a heavy government hand on a company that's being creative," said one public health expert, commenting on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision [3] not to allow Kansas' Creekstone Farms to test every cow it processes for mad cow disease. Creekstone wants 100% testing in order to resume sales to Japan, South Korea and other countries banning U.S. beef; the inability to export "is costing [Creekstone] $40,000 a day and forced it to lay off 50 employees." Industry associations, including the American Meat Institute and National Cattlemen's Beef Association [4], applauded the USDA, saying 100% testing is "not based on sound science [5]."