The new blood test

[Muttley]

With all this talk of BSE and disease it's just about making me become a vegetartian. I guess there is no way we can assure everyone meat is safe.
Think about it, it can take years for something like BSE to show signs. Who's to say a healthy looking animal doesn't harbour the disease.
If you go through all the posts it just about makes a cattleperson want to eat lettuce and carrots for supper.( I said just about, got to go now the wife says my tofu burger is ready)!!!!

[ivbinconned]

NOT ME! I didn't evolve to the top of the food chain eating brocole!

[enough]

You have to admit that our evolution of the food chain has changed over the last years. More heart victums, cancer is on the rise. Perhaps many of you need to eat more healthy.
I believe that much of our disease and illness can be linked to our perservatives, chemical on plants, and now perhaps cattle.

[enough]

One thing I forgot to mention is to ivbinconned. By reading what you say I doubt that you are anywhere near the top of the food chain.

[cakadu]

I have to say that I haven't heard much about the calves and I'm sorry that they will all have to needlessly be slaughtered. From what I have heard, it is because they cannot readily identify the calf in this herd which seems to me to point to having a better record keeping system.

Some years ago, when Quebec had problems with scrapie in sheep, they had to cull many whole flocks because they could not go out into a field and say that is sired by this one, this is a dam to another one so rather than take any chances, they killed them all. It seems to me this is a similar circumstance there? Is this true?

I would prefer to see less chemicals on my food Cowman, and believe that genetic engineering has to be looked at on a case by case basis. Too much of it was blown out of proportion by the media and minority groups who have been very vocal about it. It was also very poorly handled by the companies proposing it - so all in all it was and has been a marketing nightmare.

After discovering how many times a potato can potentially be sprayed - more than 7 - (and Rod can correct me if I'm wrong) I would wholeheartedly opt for a bt potato that doesn't have to be sprayed as much.

Many of the plants require less spraying, therefore it is better for the environment - which is what many of the organic people want too. Let's face it cowman, the whole thing is based on big business. Groups like Greenpeace have gotten over $175 million for "the cause" and who ever heard of the Council of Canadians before the GMO issue surfaced? Don't kid yourself - it is big business. It is also big business for organic groups as well, because that is one of the so-called 'allowable' chemicals that they can use. I have never been able to understand why it is okay to spray it everywhere and yet it is so very bad to have it contained in a plant. Again - big business.

I don't advocate for a moment carte blance and damn the consequences. Canola is the perfect example of genetic engineering and has anyone gotten sick from it, notwithstanding too much fat in one's diet?

I think it comes down to people not understanding traditional plant breeding techniques and the fact that you don't plant the same seeds that your grandmother planted because of improvements to the seed.

We all have to find our credible sources of information and I do go to mine when I need answers. Trust me, I do ask the tough questions and expect to have a dialogue with the scientists.

The blood testing will be no different. Carebear, from what I can gather, because BSE is a reportable disease, we wouldn't be able to just test and pull the animals off the line. Wouldn't we be required to report every time we came across a case? Then the next step wouldn't the next step be to quarantine to see what else happens? It seems to me that with the testing, certain other things are going to have to happen as well, such as a total ban on animals in animal food and that ban would have to be strictly enforced with stiff penalties. Wouldn't a whole host of protocols have to change?

[cowman]

Linda: I suspect your ideas and mine are not much different when it comes to food safety and the need for chemicals. I'm not "Mr. Organic"! I'll use chemicals if that is what is called for...but I also see a lot of overuse.
There is an organic farmer just north of Innisfail Alta. who grows veggies using no sprays and chemical fertilizer. In fact he uses no manure even. He sells his products at the big farmers market in Calgary. His produce, especially his potatoes, are superb! So it can be done. Of course it comes with a healthy price tag!
I believe GM canola is a good thing. It sure cleaned up the thistles! And Roundup is close to one of the safest chemicals.
I also believe "Enough" has stated some things that I can agree with about how we need to look at our eating habits. If he could phrase his comments in a more gentle manner I'm sure most would agree with him?

[cakadu]

Cowman, I know whom you're referring to and he does do a very good business. I'm glad to see how well he is doing and I hope it continues. Part of his success is that he is close to his market i.e. on the Highway #2 corridor and he does it all himself, which comes with it's costs, make no mistake about it.

His success is also a limiting factor because he can readily be copied, he can only get so big before he has to get more into the mainstream and once he does that, there goes some of his margin.

If you look at the organic business, many of them are direct marketers and small, with only a handful of companies that hold most of the market share and surprise, surprise, they are in the U.S.

I know of a fellow out in the Maritimes who has a goal of becoming the biggest organic farmer in Canada and that would be with 800 acres. I don't have any idea of how close he is to his goal as I haven't talked with him in a while.

I sometimes smile at the organic statistics - they report 20% growth per year, but it is relative too. 20% of a 2.5% marketshare is not all that big. It is great growth there is no doubt about it. I haven't heard much about the growth statistics recently so I don't know if it is continuing at that pace or not. What I have heard though is that people are giving it up because the cost/benefit just is not there.

[ALICIA]

ENOUGH- Meat eaters are on top of the food chain because they eat vegie eaters.