Some of my staff were talking about the one mad cow in Canada and I thought while you guys/gals are relaxing today, drinking and bbqing, here is a little question for you. Do you think the US should open it's borders to Canadian beef?

Of course, I am still eating beef from here, just make sure you wash it down with some cold beverage. The alcohol should kill anything.

Happy 4th.

 

I do not know what the test procedure is to “formally” conclude there is no longer a mad cow problem. If there is one and it concludes the problem is no longer existent then sure export a way. However, if there is yet a conclusion as to weather or not the beef is ok, then NO, no beef from Canada.

With that said, I would say the same if there was a beef problem here in America. Personal responsibility would dictate not to export a product unless it was known to be safe within reason, nothing is guaranteed.

 

although current reports suggest that the cow was infected from a US cow. Meaning you could have mad cow right now and your politicians are keeping it quiet.

 

Current reports, from where? Do you have any credible sources for that “report”?

Now, I don’t know one way or the other, but I can tell you that “politicians” never stay quite about anything. This would be another great problem they could blame on President Bush, so trust me when I say that the politicians don’t know anything about any mad cow in America.

Anyway, since the problem is known to exist at this time in Candia with an authentic report of a mad cow, then exports to America should cease until further notice. It is the right thing, it is just, it is fair, and it is “personal responsibility”…

 

The report stated that "So there remains a very remote chance that this animal might have been imported from the U.S." but this is about a 5-10% chance. This was from Dr. Claude Lavigne of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

I agreed with the ban when the single case was reported but now after about 3,000 cows were destroyed and 18 farms in quarantine, I think that it should be lifted. What has to be done to remove the ban.

 

Not sure, maybe there is a certain amount of time for the quarantine and after that time if everything is negative for mad cow disease it can be lifted. I am sure it will not be in place for years. I am sure there is a predetermined amount time that must elapse prior to someone giving the ok and proclaiming the mad cow disease to be over.

You would think someone would know for sure one way or the other if a cow has been imported from the U.S. it’s not like someone sent it in the mail…

 

Looking at it from a producers' point of view, I would say we should keep the ban. The economic boost that we see in higher markets is more than enough reason to keep the ban. We can still export our beef to other countries and make a profit from selling mad cow free beef to them. We have enough competition from Argentine beef to worry about..don't need another country in the mix to take business away. That is my opinion from a producers' point of view.

 

if I was an American producer, then I would say never lift the ban for the same reasons as our frien from the Dakota's..just good for business. Likewise if the issue was reversed, and the cow was found in the US, we here in Canada would want that ban for as long as possible...again good for business.

However it seems that the ban is still around not due to the are there more mad cows in Canada issue but due to the Japanese refusing to import US beef if they do not label it as free from being in CONTACT with any Canadian beef. Considering the movement of cattle back and forth across the border, particularily for breeding, and for feed lots this poses some big problems for the US...lift the ban and you cannot readily convince the Japanese that the cattle that the beef came from were not in contact with Canadian cattle...Japan bans the US beef and goes elsewhere. Result the US loses abig market, and dilutes there own market with additional beef driving prices down..bad for business.

This is why the Canadian PM and others are lobbying Japan more than the US....if they drop there no contact with Canadian cattle regulation then the US can drop the Canadian cattle ban without losing the market.

It's more politics than safety right now....

 

Well that kind of sucks.

You know what is funny, is I was stationed in Yokosuka Japan on the aircraft carrier USS Midway when I was in the Navy. I was there for 4 years. They don't have many places where you can get beef. Very, very few steak houses, and when you find them they are ok at best, nothing like here in the west.

I can understand the concern for the beef being healthy, and hopefully your situation in Canada will come to a quick conclusion.