If you've ever wondered why I recommend eating meat from grass-fed animals for your good health, this harrowing story about the entry of spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)--better known to all of you as mad cow disease-ought to have you very concerned.
While doing some Net research, I found this must-read article written by a Washington farmer, David Louthan, who says he killed the mad cow. Yes, THE mad cow he killed along with 50 others last Dec. 9 that was processed into hamburger, shipped to eight states, eaten by thousands of people and scared the public as well as big business and the federal government.
Unfortunately, the government machinery in place to prevent diseases like mad cow from happening slowed the discovery process to a deadly pace. Once the farmer extracted a brain sample from the cow, it took TWO WEEKS to get the results back from USDA's lab in Ames, Iowa.
However, it took just ONE DAY to bring that meat to market!
As of this farmer's last posting (in late May), USDA hasn't tested any beef since. Although some meat producers have asked for that very thing, he doubts USDA will do so any time soon, because the feds want to put the clamps on any potential mad cow controversy, a reflection of the stranglehold the country's top meat producers have on the industry.
What are the consequences of ignorance? This courageous farmer spells it out in a rather matter-of-fact yet frighteningly effective way that I couldn't improve upon:
"If you have had a hamburger in the last year you have probably got a belly full of prions. These prions are small and tough. They go through your stomach lining into your blood stream. From there they find nerve tissue in your spinal cord, brain stem, and brain. They live there for a few years eating and multiplying until a few prions turn into billions and then they get down to some serious brain consumption."
I definitely encourage you to read the entire article for more on this, and then check out the other links on Louthan's site include the telling "Mad Cow Comic" and the "Updates from Dave."
davelouthan.org