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Subscribe to RSSThe U.S. government has confirmed the first case of mad cow disease in six years, but the government is stressing there is no threat to human health. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.
The mad cow that was recently discovered through routine testing in California had been euthanized after it became lame and started lying down at a dairy, federal officials revealed Thursday.
How worried should we be about mad cow in US?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture also said the cow was 10 years and seven months old in its update on the fourth case of mad cow disease ever discovered in the U.S.
California mad cow 'just a random mutation'
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes of California had said Wednesday that the sick cow was 5 years old. It came from a dairy farm in Tulare County, the nation's No. 1 dairy-producing county.
The USDA didn't elaborate on the cow's symptoms other than to say it was "humanely euthanized after it developed lameness and became recumbent."
Routine testing at a transfer facility showed the dead Holstein, which was destined for a rendering plant, had mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The results were announced Tuesday.
Animals at high risk for the disease include those with symptoms of neurological disease, "downer" animals at slaughterhouses, animals that die at dairies or cattle ranches for unknown reasons, and cows more than 2 1/2 years old, because BSE occurs in older cows.
U.S. health officials say there is no risk to the food supply. The California cow was never destined for the meat market, and it developed "atypical" BSE from a random mutation, something that scientists know happens occasionally. Somehow, a protein the body normally harbors folds into an abnormal shape called a prion, setting off a chain reaction of misfolds that eventually kills brain cells.
In other countries, BSE's spread through herds was blamed on making cattle feed using recycled meat and bone meal from infected cows, so the U.S. has long banned feed containing such material.
The last two cases found in the U.S. were atypical as well.
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...And then it was processed into hot dogs.
Hmmm. Yummy hotdogs.
At the request of the American Cattlemen Association, the USDA successfully petitioned the Federal court to stop a Texan cattle rancher from testing every cow for Mad Cow Disease (MCD). Since the FDA action and its subsequent administration regulations, only 1 in 10,000 cattle is tested for MCD. Of the four cows positively identified as infected with MCD, probability wise, there's hundreds and maybe thousands of infected cows released into the food chain.
Today, the USDA and FDA are having the America people consume MCD beef, in addition to 'Pink Slime,' Salmonella and E Coli tainted food. Instead of protecting the American people, these agencies of Big Government protect and shield the Big Business that contribute hefty political funds to certain candidates and party.
and you have mad cow disease...
There is no test for 'MCD'. They test for BSE.
BSE=MCD , your just splitting hairs to be pedantic its like arguing HIV/AIds
Please cite your sources. America has the safest food supply in the world. Also, BSE does not spread through milk.
From CBS News:
The U.S. has one of the safest food supplies in the world, but the report card is mixed, reports CBS News Correspondent Bill Whitaker. Every year 33 percent of Canadians get sick from what they eat. In the U.S., it's 25 percent. But in England it's only 2 percent and in France just 1 percent. In both places food is grown more locally and on a smaller scale than in North America.
and it was a male cow? not a female cow that had been milked and it's milk sold in stores? if there is one, there is another one. right?
Yes it was a male cow at a dairy farm. He got mad cow disease cause the farmers kept trying to milk him
Then he probably would have been a happy cow, wouldn't ya think?
Where did you get the information that it was a male cow? At large dairy farms the female cows are bred artificially from bought sperm. The resulting calves are placed and fed in separate areas. They never see their calves again. These calves are sorted and the bull calf's are castrated and sent to feed lots to fatten up for the meat market. The females are well taken care of ,usually, to be returned to the milking barn when they are old enough. The calfs that show any abnormalities are sent to the livestock sale barn to auction off. Worked there done that. So for a 5 yr old male cow to be at a dairy barn, not done. For a bull ? not likely, too dangerous for a million dollar sperm donor among rambunctous horny cows. For a female cow to still be milking at 10 yrs old, not likely. Something now quite right with the story info.
Folks, COWS ARE FEMALE, BULLS ARE MALE, STEERS are castrated bull calves. For goodness sake start conversing at least HALF WAY intelligently. I WOULD question the milk in the food cycle from this cow. If the cow was DOWN at the dairy why was it sent to the 'transfer station'? Maybe they were hoping it would get through unnoticed???? You are right there are many that 'get through' and the industry breathes a sigh of relief that no one knows. I am now a vegetarian because of this lack of trust in our food chain and now I don't trust the dairy area. Bummer.
Finally, someone who knows the diiference between cows, bulls and steers.
Yesterday the cow was 5 and today he was 10 maybe tomorrow he'll be 15—kind of shows why it is hard to rely on the government new math—Bush used it and now Obama has adopted it. Bush called it fuzzy math, not sure what Obama calls it..
Obama calls it "Hope&Change"
Don't be stupid! If Obama and the democrats had their way, there would be a LOT more testing and screening of our food supplies...it's the GOP that foolishly believes that industry will police itself, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary.
The government is more worried about economic health and not human health, I would take their assurances with a grain of salt.
Mad cow disease infects humans and can be fatal. Steps should be taken to eradicate this disease and a cure should be found for it. Americans can show the way in finding the cure. GOD BLESS THE USA.
Kevin Valentine Moraes
Mira Road (Thane)
5 or 10 -what's in a number? I'm interested in what can transport thru milk that's full of proteins & enzymes. I'm also wondering who's dairy it was, or the milk company label. Guess I'll have to do that investigating myself -which is what I have to do with all cover-ups.
From the behavior, sounds more like "Sad Cow" disease...
I'm sensing another government cover-up, on the heels of a large dairy-industry payoff...
The case was "atypical" because it got leaked to the press. Surely the cattlemen's association pays more than enough in lobbying fees to prevent this kind of negative press, right? Heads will roll. . .
USDA, " nothing to worry about here, just another atypical case of spong brain caused by feeding zombie leftovers to cows."
If you people are so concerned get your meat and dairy products from a local reliable source. Stop with the conspiracy theory.
Or just don't consume these products.
Oh, yes, why keep officials accountable for anything? Ignore the issues and it will all go away with "local" milk and cookies.
It's a matter of trust, if you are sure there is a cover up then do something positive about the problem, stop whining. Also if you think consuming hot dogs is a good idea and healthy for you you're already misguided.
Eat beef that you know where it came from.
Nearly 11 years being mistreated. Poor animal.
THE CIA is killing people in Yemen without even knowing their identities . Obama may okay it today.
Change in age and change from lying down and being lame at a rendering plant to ? Article is a mess.
The US beef industry should test every cow for mad cow disease.
The U.S. beef industry tests less than 0.1% of cows slaughtered each year for mad cow disease.
I wonder how many infected cows slip through the system.
The FDA banned feeding risky cow parts (such as brain, spinal cord) to cattle, but these cow parts are still used to make animal feed and pet feed.
For example, cow parts are used to make chicken feed.
And over 1 million pounds of CHICKEN LITTER are fed to cattle each year.
(Chicken litter consists of floor wastes that include feces and spilled feed.)
I'm not lying. Look it up.
So, an infected cow may be turned into chicken feed, then become chicken litter, then be fed back to cows, then end up as steak on your dinner table. Appetizing, huh?
The American public has spoken out about "pink slime" beef.
Now it's time for us to speak out and ban the practice of feeding cows animal feces!
Oh sure, everyone can believe the FDA.
It was turned into SLIME, enjoy the hotdogs!
Oh, and guess what the cattle industry feeds calves?
(It ain't milk. Look up "calf milk replacers" and see what they use as a cheap source of protein..)