"Non-Definitive" Cow Tests Negative For BSE

[silverback]

And how many have died from salmonella or E coli in the same time frame?

It is so unbelievably ridiculous how the media (and everyone for that matter) will concentrate on something that sounds good on the TV instead of putting some truth out there.

[grassfarmer]

I'll withdraw from this thread as everyone seems to think I am saying Canadian beef is unsafe - which I'm not. I'm merely trying to highlight some potential pitfalls in a post BSE environment. Just don't get too cocky -we're not out of the BSE woods yet.
One thing that might stand looking at for example is the SRM removal standards. A recurring problem in Europe has been small lengths of spinal cord turning up in shipments of beef imported into the UK from Germany, Holland and France among others. Given that slaughter line speeds are many times faster in N. America than in Europe I just hope that the job is being done properly here. This is the kind of thing that can lead to problems if someone cuts corners and the story comes to media attention.

[cowman]

Well science is science, and snakeoil is snakeoil and sometimes its hard to tell the difference?
When you have groups like R-CALF doing their best to smear the science and say the product is unsafe, what can you do? A lot of people don't buy into the concept of all knowing "experts"...in fact they tend to take everything with a grain of salt? So when you have a group of cattlemen saying the "science" is flawed who can you believe?
Consumers are swayed fairly easily? They tend to believe the National Enquirer more than the government?
I'm with grassfarmer on this one...test the OTM cattle! Being squeaky clean is never wrong in the eyes of the consumer?