OT: BSE (aka Mad Cow Disease) in the US

[TerranC]

Originally posted by Renegade 13:
Isn't there still a ban on Brazilian beef imports to Canada?

The US did the same thing, however theirs were never tracked down. Personally, I think the US has cases, and simply doesn't have the testing facilities (or the will??) to be able to detect BSE.

I think Canada and the States should stand together on this, and tell Japan to go f*** themselves. (No offense intended to any Japanese people reading this ) The only reason BSE is treated as a huge deal is because of the way Britain screwed up with their outbreak. A single case is really no big deal. It was contained. That should be the end of it. Or is the US more interested in placating Japan than their neighbors and friends to the north?

IMHO, The Brazilian ban was lifted. Too much demand for Canada to keep blocking it.

US also had a close case with BSE, when a herd of cattle in Vermont (or could be New Hapshire) was suspected of being infected. They were all slaughtered I think.

Canada and the US are technically together on this, as many CDC officials said quietly that Canadian beef doesn't pose a risk. What's stopping the Americans from opening the border is Japan's adamant threat to close it's borders to American and Canadian beef if the ban is lifted without the approval of Japanese inspection teams, and a labelling system that would differentiate Canadian beef from American beef. Should Japan close it's borders, the most fetching American beef market in asia would vanish, and American beef producers would riot.

And there's no need for us to tell the Japanese to mind their own business; They've recently had their 8th case of Mad Cow disease.