Julia has a fine collection of news links to get you up to speed on the Mad Cow story. Here’s one link that I’d like to highlight.
During a House debate last summer over a possible ban on using sick and injured cows for meat, Representative Gary L. Ackerman, a Democrat from New York, held up a photo of a crippled cow and cautioned that such “downer animals” carried the highest risk for mad cow disease.
But Representative Charles W. Stenholm, a powerful Texas Democrat and a rancher, countered that the government’s screening program was tight enough to prevent any problems.
“The picture the gentleman is showing, that sick animal, will never find its way into the food chain,” Mr. Stenholm said. “Period.”
Thanks, Charlie. Of course, it was just such a cow that caused all this ruckus in the first place. I call this Exhibit A for why faith-based regulations don’t work. Go read the rest for more.