What's my beef?! What's my beef?!

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Right now in Canada there is a Mad Cow Scare and the US has named our beef contraband. There was 1 cow with potential symptoms of mad cow. I find it ridiculous since Britain still has 1000 cases a year, yet their beef is sold all over the world. This is softwood to the extreme.

[ September 12, 2003, 01:00: Message edited by: Mystra's Chosen ]

 

It does seem quite unfair that the Us declares Canada's beef bad when Britains is worse. . . but what is a girl to do?!

 

Might want to reign in your righteous indignations for a second and check on US cattle imports (Down the page under US meat and livestock trade annual report):

http://www.ers.usda.gov/news/BSECoverage.htm

You're saying the US decision on cattle has to do with Bush being TEH SUCK and disliking negative comments and that's why the US is trading with Britain. The problem is, the stats don't even list the US as accepting cattle from Britain and so if any is coming in it is in an insignificant amount. On the other hand, with a large amount of beef coming in from Canada it is tougher to monitor and increases the likelihood of something coming through the cracks. Plus, Canada has had less time to implement safety precautions.

Also, the first article on the subject from google also included info about many other nations banning Canadian beef. Are they also being obstinate because the PM said something mean about them?

While Canada has decided their beef is fine the articles say an international body of experts is urging an increase in the monitoring must be done and that Canadaian farmers are still using questionable feeding practices. Are they also under Bush's thumb?

I understand this issue is hurting Canadian beef producers. I also understand that a great deal of rhetoric is coming from Canadian agricultural people regarding this issue; for example recently stopping just short of urging a boycott of US beef in Manitoba. That comment was interesting to me though. There has been an 11% increase of US beef exports to Canada despite the US not accepting Canadian beef any more so there is a huge surplus of Canadian beef.

Apparently even Canadians are reluctant to buy Canadian beef.

So please, rather than falling immediately into an us vs them mindset try to understand that not everything is the fault of your neighbors. I mean, S. Korea, Mexico... all apparently have felt the same.

 

As I said before, Britain has 1000 cases a year, but Japan, for instance, still buys much of their beef from Britain. I was originally going to name the Topic "Culture of Fear", seeing as Canadians are afraid to buy beef too. I think their fears are unwarranted.

 

The fact is, to my knowledge, there has been NOT ONE CASE of humans getting mad cow from a Canadian beef product. Yet we have what amounts to a boycott. The reaction here, by many countries (not just the US) does not fit the stimulus -- it's silly, unwarranted, and just bad trading practice.

 

What are you talking about Tal? Can you read the first post? It talks about the US calling their beef contraband and the poster's respect for their PM for calling "the Prez" a moron. So, the very first post starts with "the Prez" is a moron and the US is doing wrong in naming their beef "contraband" and then you say that this isn't about the US and has nothing to do with Bush? What Prez were we talking about? The Prez of Zimbabwe? Should I have imagined a post specifically mentioning the US and calling the Prez a moron was really talking about the Prez of Jack in the Box Hamburgers?

Come on. The post WAS about the US and it WAS about the "moron" "Prez." Then, the second post starts talking about the US again and how it is unfair for the US to do that when Britain's beef is worse. So, I checked it out because I was curious and it turns out that the assertions just weren't true - the US doesn't buy from Canada but it isn't from Britain either.

So please, don't be blind. The US and moron Prez are all right there in plain sight. I didn't edit them into the previous posts.

 

I'm going to have to go with Laches on this one... it was about the U.S., although I can't really figure out what the first guy's point was...

Our President is a retard?:

Hrm... well I've called him a moron on more than one occasion, but Mystra's Chosen just got lumped into the same category.

So the U.S. *should* be buying potentially suspect beef when it can be purchased elsewhere?

You guys know what happens when you get Mad Cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy)?

You don't get mad... you DIE.

Try another issue to get your blood boiling, this is stupid.

In fact, the Candadian Beef Lobbyists of Sorcerer's Place(TM) can rejoice:

I've heard a lot of bashes on the U.S. before, some right, some wrong, but this is the first time I've heard, I am outraged that your country won't import my countries potentially diseased hamburgers!

 

No one is bashing the US by pointing out that they are making a mistake and overreacting. I refer you to my earlier post -- there is NO evidence that there is a systemic problem in the Canadian beef processing industry that warrants such incredibly reactionary measures. Other, more reasonable countries, will accept beef products from places like Britain because they know that despite problems, the beef is safe.

Millions of Canadians are eating Canadian beef and as I said, there's not one case of mad cow disease in a Canadian on the books.

 

Maybe I am the one reading the first post wrong, but I thought that it was not about USA not importing candian meat per se , but doing it while importing british beef.
Since Lashes pointed out that this is not the case, what are we discussing about ?
As for sanitary measures, I believe any country has the right to implement whatever measures they feel are necessary.
I would also like to remind that no cows showing symptoms of mad cow disease does not mean the agent is not there.
The mechanisms of activation are not completely understood, but the prion can lay "dormant" for years, before it triggers symptoms.

 

If there was suspect beef, why should someone get sick before precautions are taken?

Why not be proactive, and for a *short time*, avoid a potentially dangerous situation, while it can be avoided, and properly looked into?

If the threat, which is a very serious one, turned out to have validity, and people were harmed, it would have been completely sensless.

No one got diseased, great. But why *should* someone have to get sick before any measures are taken?

 

The beef is not suspect. There was ONE case in all of Canada and the cow has been disposed of and now they can't make sure if it was even infected. There is no reason someone should have to get sick, but please prove there is a problem before all our ranchers go into the poorhouse. I am certainly not afraid to eat the beef here because the evidence is ludicris.

PS: I am sorry about what I said before about the president. The fact is I think Jean is a bigger moron for all the boondoggles he's caused. I just don't agree with the US approach to this situation.

 

If there was one case, why is it such a leap of faith that there may have been a second case? Even if it was just an alleged case.

No, no way. When safety is on the line, it would be up to the Canadian beef suppliers to prove that there *wasn't* a problem. You can't come up with a potential problem, even a rumor, then blame the buyer for wanting to investigate (or look elsewhere, or whatever). Its the sellers job to keep the buyer at ease.

"The customer is always right," and all of that.

 

I hate to have to say it, but you cannot prove a negative. The fact is, though I haven't said it so bluntly before, is that this scare is an excuse for protectionism -- like I said, there is no valid, logical, or statistical basis for the reaction of the the States (and other countries as well) for what they are doing -- at least not health or safety wise. IMHO, it has everything to do with protecting American producers from comptetition.

 

Well I don't agree with that one bit. Its simply a fact, if you get stuck in the food business with a potential outbreak on your hands, its up to you, not the buyer, to make things right.

However:

Well , if you'd started with that reasoning, I never would have argued about it in the first place. Yeah, I wouldn't doubt that for one second. Business's exploiting a publically sensitive situation - I can't argue with that.
In fact, it appears that other countries had the exact same idea, lumping the U.S. in with Canada in the scare, so the U.S. in turn, turned on Canada... (I just did some poking around on the web.)

Out of curiousity, this beef ban has been going on for a while, and it looks like its coming to a resolution very shortly, so what made you bring it up now?

 

Art, the evidence indicated from the beginning that everything was right. If someone just says "Oh, I heard a rumor that there's a disease in Canada" and has little or no logical evidence to back that up, that means the canadian producers have to stop everything to disprove something groundless? And they can show all the slaughterhouses they want, under that logic, all someone has to say is "well, it could still be there, hidden, right?" and the whole thing would happen again! It's silly.

Oh, I have no idea why MC brought it up, but it does effect the economy in my area a great degree.

 

I have been off the boards since about July and I havn't seen this topic being discussed here. I wanted to create some awareness that this situation is hard on the economy. With wheat being so bad, cattle was something for the farmers to fall back on. Now with beef being bad the farmers/ranchers are dead in the water. My father is a former farmer with a great deal of friends who have had to dig themselves into a financial hole that they will probably never get out of.

As to ArtEchoke's post

You can't disprove anything when there's no evidence of it being there in the first place. It's a joke that this is even an issue.

 

Whats your beef you say?

Where's the link to show that the UK still have 1000 cases per year I say. There has been nothing in the bbc news in the UK for 9 months about bse, and that was one questioning a link with sheep.

Other than that, last time it was in the news here is 3 years ago. Are you saying there's a conspiracy to hide it, or is it not actually a fact?

Just asking like.