STOP Mad Cow Disease
The following is the body of an e-newsletter from Farm Sanctuary, which was sent out today:
Urge USDA to Ban Downed Animal Slaughter to Reduce the Threat of Mad Cow Disease
With the announcement of the first confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States, Farm Sanctuary is renewing its effort to ban the sale of downed animals.
Please write today and urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ban the slaughter of downed animals (animals too sick to stand) for human food. The animal who tested positive for mad cow disease was a downed cow.
Even before the December 23rd USDA announcement confirming mad cow disease in Washington state, the USDA was aware that downed animals could be afflicted with mad cow disease, and that infected animals could pass USDA inspections and enter the human food supply.
Downed animals are widely accepted to be at increased risk for mad cow disease, among many other diseases, and it is not possible to transport them humanely. There is no reason or excuse for the USDA to permit downed animals to enter the human food supply.
Please e-mail and write today, and urge USDA Secretary Veneman to immediately ban the marketing and slaughter of downed animals.
Secretary Ann Veneman
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250
E-mail: agsec@usda.govEarlier this week, the Associated Press reported on Farm Sanctuary’s recent victory on our lawsuit against the USDA to ban the sale of downed animals. Please visit
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/media/index_monthly.htm for the full news story, additional news coverage of the threat of mad cow disease, and its direct relation to the sale of downed animals.For further information, please visit: http://www.nodowners.org
On a semi-related topic, have you ever noticed that food recalls generally happen weeks to months after the food has been sold to consumers? (Just a little ‘food for thought’.)
Now that there is a little bit of fear in the air here, as indicated in the Stock Market and Commodities market today, and enough fear that other countries are banning the import of US beef, there may be some unpleasant outcomes with the supply that exceeds the demand, or the opposite — the possibility of a major “cull” (extermination), similar to what happened in other countries due to Mad Cow and also F&M.
I hope, if there’s a shortage of beef due either to embargo, or to a “cull”, people in the affected countries will use this opportunity to adapt to cattle-free recipes without resorting to increasing their consumption of other hapless species. Most industrialized countries have vegetarian alternatives, and not just veggie-burgers. The vegetarian “ground beef” works just as well in chili, spaghetti, sloppy joes, pizzas, burritos, tacos, etc. There are many other forms of vegetarian “meat” substitutes. This would be an excellent time to try some, not just for your own peace of mind, but to make up for the wasted lives of countless cattle, who might be killed “just in case” they could be a threat to the food supply, compounded by countless numbers of other species who will no doubt have to make up for the loss. (It takes a lot of chickens to make up for one cow.)
If interested, check out my 7/9/2003 blurb that links to various articles, and also shows how the Downed Animal Protection Bill which would have banned the slaughter of downed animals for human consumption, was defeated by 3 votes.
Or to see how your Representative voted, click here.
The following linked articles were included on today’s VegSource Special Alert:
Mad Cow Disease found in USA:
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/ny-usmadcow1224,0,6747920,print.story?coll=nyc-topnews-short-navigation
Beef industry’s dirty little secret: Feeding public downer cows:
http://www.kirotv.com/station/2249324/detail.html
Report: Hundreds of thousands in US may be dying of undiagnosed mad cow disease:
http://www.upi.com/print.cfm?StoryID=20030721-102924-4786r
USDA refuses to release mad cow records to media:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031223-103657-3424r
[See the bottom of the home page for an icon you can click, to order a free "Vegetarian Starter Kit". Try it out for the New Year. Or, if that is too big a commitment, try it for the 6 1/2 weeks of Lent.]
Tags: Lent