I have herd it on several Canadian News programs.

CBC, CTV, I even heard it on a Hot 103.5 radio out in Victoria BC.

You're awesome. I'm a vegetarian. :)

I don't have access to Canadian news. I usually watch ABC World News which is a national news program and read the NY Times. I consider them credible especially the latter. As far as I recall, they didn't mention Alberta, just Canada.

The whole situation is extremely upsetting. I attended a medical conference recently with several doctors and researchers from Toronto. They said that the US probably had already had cases of Mad Cow, but they hadn't been recognized. They said it was only a matter of time before a case was diagnosed. This conference was only one month ago. I guess they knew something that I didn't. I think that I might jump on the vegetarian bandwagon or at least eliminate beef from my diet.

Did I hear this right-they think 70 or 80 cows may be involved, not just the one and her two surviving calves?

Often it's the little news bite that is the precursor to the story.

I'm really ticked off about this. I honestly believe it all boils down to greed.

I'm sure you can get CBC radio via the internet. That's how I listening to the Victoria, B.C station considering I'm on the other side of Canada.

Here's an article from the Toronto Star indicating that U.S official believe the cow came from Alberta.


http://thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Content...=1072567809093

They have quarantined 3 herds of cattle in Washington while they are trying to track down all the cattle who may have fed from the same feed supply as the cow in Alberta and the one they've found with mad cow. Why did they not do this as soon as the one in Canada had it?

Dee

Ahhhh! Thanks!

You have asked a very good question!

Well I'm back after my little trip to the hospital.... (Mono, Flu, and Bronchitis yaa!).

As for the comments about me eating crow.... the main angle of my first post was to point out that the man that was so intractable, accusatory, and reactionary last year was now asking for understanding and calm this year... the old two-faced PR shuffle.

Okay I've done some searching to try and find more background info on the history of BSE in North America..... I could only find a Canadian timeline though:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/madcow/

Kind of interesting info.... it sounds like they went full bore when the BSE case surfaced in Canada last year. I have to wonder though (as Justamom and AGDee do) why it sounds like the feed source wasn't checked and referenced at that time.

I'd also like to know why the Dec.23 animal was actually slaughtered though; shouldn't it have been passed by if it was as the USDA says "non-ambulatory" (ie. it could walk under it's own power). Hopefully enough questions will be asked as a result of this that the NA beef industry re-examines it's standards and practices.

i didn't read the whole thread- but i was thinking about this anyway- so i'm sorry if someone already posted this.... but there is danger everywhere... in all forms of daily life- in your own body-... your environment- your drinking water- you could step out your front door and get killed (god forbid- but i'm just saying)... my point is.... life is dangerous- and this mad cow disease is awful- but its just like anything else- SARS.. malaria... the flu- your everyday common cold... someone will get it... and i was watching an interview on NBC with ann curry interviewing some beef spokeman- and she was harrassing him to find out how the beef got into this country... lay off lady- he didn't put it there.. so... i guess i'm saying that there is too much hysteria about this.....

You could use the same "life is dangerous" argument on the other side too. Life is dangerous, so why add unnecessary risks? This disease is SOOOO preventable by simply not feeding cow remains to cows who are herbivores to begin with. I sure wouldn't want them tossing human remains into my morning cereal! Why shouldn't we take all the precautions we can to be safe? Air bags in cars, universal precautions by health care workers, testing of our drinking water, quarantines of people with SARS (and other highly contagious diseases), life jackets when boating, etc. We can't prevent all bad things, but we might as well try!

Dee

For whatever it's worth, NPR reports this morning that DNA has positively proven the cow to be from Alberta. I suppose that allows the investigation to be narrowed some, but certainly should not be considered an indictment of Alberta's (or Canada's) cattle industry.

To some extent, this entire Mad Cow thing reminds me of the SARS and Flu "epidemics." They are something to taken seriously, but in reality a lot more people die of AIDS, heart disease and any number of other diseases yearly. Or in traffic accidents. Or in shootings.

Much ado about an itty bitty something.

I saw a woman on the news who is suffering from Mad Cow Disease. It is terrible. She contracted it when she lived in England, but now she and her family live in the United States. There is no cure. I think that the FDA and the government need to do what they must to prevent the spread of this disease to humans.

I certainly agree with that, Cream, but I think (at least hope) there are better ways to deal with the problem in a more rational way.

Thanks Lady Pi Phi, I missed your post earlier. :)

I don't think anyone could fully understand how much I LOVE BEEF!

Remember that scene in Forrest Gump about the shrimp? I could go on and on about beef the same way.
You got your sirloin steak, T-bone steak, ribeye steak, flank steak...



BEEF-It's What's for Dinner! (!*@%!)