Another reason you can't depend on governmental agencies to protect your health: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials recently overturned a recommendation to retest a Texas animal suspected of Bovine Spongiform Encepholopathy (BSE), better known as mad cow disease.

USDA officials, according a report, failed to pull the trigger on additional testing based on their fear a positive result would call further attention to their testing procedures. No need to worry about more tainted meat hitting your corner grocery store, however. A sample of the same animal sent for a different battery of tests confirmed the mad cow diagnosis.

Even worse, the USDA couldn't confirm if American slaughterhouses were following federal rules governing mad cow disease, based on inadequate records kept at nine of 12 manufacturing facilities that were checked.

All the more evidence you should be seeking out healthier alternatives such as grass-fed beef, with higher amounts of higher conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a natural and potent cancer-fighting chemical.

Washington Post February 3, 2006