Last week the (meat) industry agreed to a downer ban, pointing to
concerns over consumer confidence and strained international trade
relations. The American Meat Institute, The National Meat Association
and The National Milk Producers Federation, which together represent
most of the nation’s meat producers, filed a petition seeking an
absolute ban prohibiting any downers from entering the food supply.

Animal-rights groups, lawmakers and California meat producers all
hailed the move.

Wonder why it took the “rocket scientists” so long to figure out that people absolutely should NOT be eating sick and downed cows?

Oh Yeah! Their “concerns” over consumer confidence and their bottom line…may have fuddled the thinking on that issue in the past. Perhaps even they have seen now that this issue regarding downed cattle is one that can affect even themselves and their bottom line when it makes people sick!

“One in 4 Americans are sickened by food-borne illness each year;
that’s 76 million people,” Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust
for America’s Health, said during a morning teleconference Wednesday
[30 Apr 2008].

…the federal government has devoted very limited
resources to the problem, despite a presidential directive and recent
serious outbreaks of food-borne illnesses. Not enough money is spent
on fighting bacterial threats such as salmonella and _E. coli_. About
85 percent of food-borne illness outbreaks occur among foods
regulated by the FDA.

See our previous articles on this issue here:

Clinton and 2007 Food Safety Plan

Warning, You WILL think about this next time you eat Beef!

How safe is our food supply? Things you need to know!