Well, well, well. What a surprise. After some extensive testing, there’s another confirmed case of mad cow disease in Canada. In Alberta, in particular.
The article, of course, is mainly focused on the economic damage to the cattle industry. Hello, what about the health threat to human beings? Perhaps we should accept that the “cattle industry” is economic damage. Not only are the animals fed “rendered” bits of other animals, a proven disease transmission vector, but they’re kept in inhumane conditions and pumped full of drugs, hormones, and other chemicals of questionable utility. Traces of many of these remain in the meat after the animal’s slaughtered, and can cause damage to humans that consume the meat.
I don’t think it’s any surprise that this happened in Alberta, either. While I’m pretty sure that food inspection laws are federal, if there’s any province whose government would try to cut corners wherever they could, it’s Alberta. I hope Canadians think about the consequences of a Conservative federal government when they go to the polls today…
My recent New Environmentalism diary generated a lot of discussion, strangely enough, on food animals. I think that might be worth continuing, as I’m now seriously contemplating finding ways to cut beef out of my diet in favour of grain-fed pork, lamb, and chicken.
So, what’s your approach to the meat you eat?
