USDA Prohibits Mad Cow Testing: By Jimmy Petrol

In a move that is Orwellian in its aspect, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has refused to allow a large Midwestern meat packing plant to test its product for mad-cow disease.

The USDA is a functional arm of the Bush administration and acts in direct accord with the policies and direction of the White House.

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all its cows to meet the market demand for beef that is proven free from the deadly disease. Oddly opposed to this market driven and consumer friendly testing, the Bushies refuse to allow testing on the basis that it will raise the cost of beef.

The government reports that "other" beef suppliers fear that if Creekstone is allowed to label its product as "tested", that all suppliers will have to follow suit, adding expense to the already over-burdened consumer. These un-named "others" are hard to find. I have not been able to find them and suspect that they are another of the administrations fantastic fabrications, as were the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) that provided the excuse to invade Iraq and install Lord Cheney's company as government-in-fact.

The USDA does do some testing for Mad Cow; the press reports that fully one percent of the beef slaughtered in the US is tested. It also reports that no cattle that are visibly ill are tested. The Orwellian Doublespeak that the Bushies use to explain all this is of the best quality; without a doubt, they employ only the finest, most diabolical minds to produce the official position statements and court briefs.

What you and I know is simpler: for an administration (and congress) that is so pro-market forces to alter position like this is a sure sign of deeper trouble.

United States beef is currently believed to be clear of mad-cow, due entirely to the fact that nobody is allowed to look for it. Creekstone has been in court fighting this prohibition since March of 2006, when it filed suit to gain access to mad-cow test kits. It wants to assure foreign buyers that its meat is safe to eat; currently, US beef is barred from foreign markets in a variety of ways and conditions because the people in other countries find US testing inadequate to protect its citizenry.

The Bush's, hailing from Texan cattle country, have a Machiavelian purpose in preventing us from knowing whether our beef is safe to eat. What is really at stake here is the preception American beef-eaters have of safety. Since no mad-cow disease can be found if no effective testing is allowed, no market panic can result.

The amazing fact that sick animals are not tested, due to the convoluted reasoning in the USDA testing protocols, coupled with the fact that voluntary testing is prohibited by law can mean only one thing: the USDA is certain that mad-cow will turn up in US beef if tested for.

What the USDA and the Bushies claim is that new standards in processing, feeding and the like are sure to eliminate the threat of contamination. But the testing standards are designed to protect the beef-market from boycott, not to assure the safety of the consumer.

The USDA has authority to administer treatment for livestock disease. Claiming that the test for mad-cow is part of a "treatment" is the highest order of double-think; Creekstone intends to test the animals after they are killed. If this is "treatment", then we can expect the administration to soon reveal success in resurrecting the dead, since my understanding is that treatment of a disease is meant to provide a cure, unlike the autopsy, which can only investigate the cause.

When a government finds it acceptable to mislead its people, when the primary purpose of the intelligent people in the government is to mislead and trick the people, it is time for those in office to be replaced.

It is foolish to expect government to be more than we demand it to be; if we elect anyone who is supportive of the Bush regime, we send the message that we don't mind being tricked and laughed at. Do you suppose that the brilliant lawyers, pressmen and whatnot that provide these fabricated, Orwellian positions do anything but laugh at you and I?