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Downer cow ban intially rejected by USDA finally passed
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You are what you eat! That's right, your body continously rebuilds itself from muscle, blood, cells, etc. Everything you consume has an effect on your health, present and future.
Well, in 2008, a proposed ban of all "downer" cattle, by the meat industry, from entering the food supply was strongly rejected by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). The USDA believed that the established rules and penalties were sufficient at that time. What's a downer cow? It's a cow that can't walk due to causes such as disease or inury. Most farmers considered it humane and safe to immediately slaughter the downed cow for food. Keep in mind, many of these "downed" cows suffered from illness, injury or disease. Some of the ill, injured and diseased meats still made it to the markets due to loopholes that were found by meat producers.
Fortunately, on Saturday March 14, 2009, President Obama and our government (VIDEO) officially banned the slaughter of downed cattle that was too weak or too sick to stand on its own. This reduces the chances of having meats from cows that pose a higher risk of having mad cow disease and infections from bacteria that cause food poisoning, such as E. coli.
This is progress in favor of the consumers and it's one step closer to safer foods but still far from being completely safe.
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