When the first undeniable American case of Mad Cow Disease broke into
the news last December, a host of Bush officials trotted out to shout
reassurances at us: "Just an isolated case!" "America's beef supply is
the safest in the world!" "Trust us, we're experts!" Even George W. told
the media that he'd eaten a big serving of beef for Christmas
dinner—see, no problem, all clean, don't think about it any more.
Yes, admitted the Ag Department's top animal scientist, the mad cow in
question was part of a herd of 80 cattle that could also be infected,
but, by gollies, our animal tracking system is excellent, so "we feel
confident that we are going to be able to determine the where-abouts of
most, if not all, of these animals within the next several days." Trust us.
Seven weeks later, the Ag Department scientist had to admit that only
one-third of the suspect cattle could be found. "We never expected to be
able to find all of them," he lied in classic Bushite fashion,
apparently hoping that we wouldn't recall his earlier promise. The other
two-thirds couldn't be tracked and presumably had ended up in our
lunches and dinners. Declaring the investigation over, he said, "It's
time to move on."
Move on? To where? To a Mad Cow burger? To the intensive care unit? So
much for our "experts."
When real experts do speak, the Bushites cover their ears. Ag Secretary
Ann Veneman had attempted to calm public concern last December by
convening a panel of international experts on Mad Cow Disease, expecting
the members to do little more than a cursory review of the beef
industry's production system and then rubber-stamp the industry's mantra
that America has no Mad Cow problem, that the government's safety rules
are more than adequate to protect consumers.
But—Holy Big Mac!—the panel bolted. In remarkably direct language, Ann's
rebellious experts found that Mad Cow Disease is common in our cattle
herds, that the USDA's voluntary tracking system is grossly inadequate,
and that the meat industry's method of feeding rendered parts of hogs,
chickens, goats, road kill (yes, road kill), and other animals to cattle
(which, by nature, are not carnivores at all, but grass- grazing
vegetarians—vegans, even) is inherently unsafe.