EDITORIALS : Testing, one, two, three
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/225500/
WHEN WE first heard the term
Mad Cow Disease years ago,
we called a cattle rancher we know in South Arkansas and picked his brain. What does it do to cows ? What does it do to humans ? Can you get it eating the No. 1 burger at Sonic ? One of our last questions was: “Are you for or against testing for Mad Cow ? ’Cause, after all, if a cow tests positive for it in Washington State, it’s bound to hurt business at the sale barn, even in Arkansas.”
His response: Test, test, test. After all, this affects the cattle industry’s whole reason for being. If a diseased cow gets through the cracks in the system, somebody is going to get sick, and the next day, nobody’s eating the No. 1 burger at Sonic.
Smart man.
So we have to admit we don’t understand everything we know about this headline from the Associated Press:
Bush Administration
Urges Court to Prevent
100 Percent Testing for Mad Cow
According to the story, the feds are in court arguing that a particular meatpacker shouldn’t be allowed to test all the animals that go through its plant.
Our considered editorial opinion: Huh ?
From the story:
“The government seeks to reverse a lower court ruling that allowed Kansasbased Creekstone Farms Premium Beef to conduct more comprehensive testing to satisfy demand from overseas customers in Japan and elsewhere. Less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows are currently tested for the disease under Agriculture Department guidelines. The agency argues that more widespread testing does not guarantee food safety and could result in a false positive that scares consumers.”
Gosh, the lawyers at the Ag. Dept. could get jobs tomorrow with the Major League Baseball players’ union.
Let’s put aside the whole question of whether the feds have the authority to tell a private company it cannot test more than required by law. (A question that still lingers in court. )
Let’s acknowledge that testing all the cattle that come into a slaughterhouse doesn’t guarantee that there will never be a problem. But surely testing 100 percent of the cattle catches more stuff than testing only 1 percent. 100 is still greater than 1, isn’t it ? Even by the administration’s new math. This might seem like common sense to you, us, and any farmer or rancher out there. But you have to explain it to those gub-mint lawyers at the Ag Department.
We get the feeling it’s that second point—that more testing could result in false positives—that really worries the feds. That, and other meatpackers probably aren’t too happy with Creekstone. If one company begins to advertise its more thorough practices, others might have to test all of their animals, too. And that would drive up the cost. So ? Those in the industry say testing 100 percent of the cattle nationwide would increase the expense only a few cents a pound. And with food prices soaring these days—in tandem with the cost of fuel—we doubt many people would notice an extra few cents for that halfpound of hamburger. What would consumers in America get in return ? One hundred percent testing, and peace of mind.
HERE’S AN idea: Let the market
decide. Let Creekstone test 100
percent of its animals. And let the company advertise it. Let its competitors stick with the government’s minimum standards if they want to. And see what people buy. Yes, the suits at Creekstone might wind up charging more for their product. Folks who want to be surer about the quality of what they’re buying will go for the higher-priced meat, and those who are satisfied with goverment standards can stick with another product, and save a little. The idea works well enough when it comes to cars and trucks. Some folks want four airbags, and others are willing to settle for two. To each his own Honda and hamburger. The feds have got this one wrong, a not unknown occurrence. Sometimes we think some of those lawyers at the Ag. Dept. would be more help to agriculture in America if they were sent out to weed tomato gardens. As for us, we can’t wait to see Creekstone’s label at the local grocery with the proud claim: 100 percent tested !