Only one month after Japan lifted the ban on importing American Beef, they have again closed down imports. Why? A shipment of beef which contained "carcass parts" which were suspected possibly posing a risk for BSE–mad cow disease. Why can’t the USDA get it right? They lie to the Americans about Mad Cow, they lie to get meat exported. Why aren’t they dealing with the problem? Instead of refusing to test cattle upons slaughter, they should embrace it and make sure meat is safe again. Instead of allowing rendered by-products of the slaughter industry to still be allowed in cattle feed they should step up to the plate and stop the practice!
It’s time for the American people to stop being complaicent. To wake up and either stop eating beef altogether in protest, or to demand that factory farmed meat is made safe and that safe, sustainable practices are employed. The USDA appears to have gotten lazy and bureaucratically bloated. Instead of protecting the Consumer they are all about protecting the profits of the large Agri-business corporations. This is utter crap. Chefs and Consumers need to demand better products, not cheaper prices.
If you want to keep eating meat in America, my advise is to adopt a local farmer. Make them part of your family and support them. Let them know what you want to eat and help them provide it for you. If the government can’t make our meat safe for us–we can make sure it is safe for ourselves!
And all this before my Great Corned Beef Experiment. Now I wish I had tried much, much harder to source local beef. I hang my head. . . .
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Thank you for pointing this out. We’ve all become complacent here in the US believing the government will take care of us. I think we should all write our congressmen and demand better from the USDA.