Poll: 27% doubt beef safety amid mad cow scare
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but we're talking about ONE cow with BSE in Washington State, no? Of course, once the media got ahold of the story, well, now we've got a full-fledged crisis.
Let's try and be rational here for just a moment, shall we? ONE sick cow does not an epidemic nor a public health crisis make. No, I'm not trying to minimize the severity or the seriousness of BSE, but one sick cow in rural Washington state does not portend the complete failure of the USDA.
WASHINGTON -- A fourth of the public says the mad cow scare has made them doubt the safety of the nation's beef supply, says a poll released today.
The CNN-Time poll found that 27 percent said the discovery that a cow in Washington state has mad cow disease has left them thinking the nation's beef supply is unsafe. Two-thirds in the poll, 66 percent, say they think the beef supply is safe.
After the discovery of the afflicted cow late last month, agriculture officials are isolating cattle that may have been exposed, and some of them probably will be destroyed....
Three-fourths in the poll said they think the beef they buy at their local stores is safe, while 18 percent said it is unsafe because of mad cow disease.
About a fourth in the poll said they had quit eating red meat or reduced their consumption of it because of the mad cow case.
The only thing that has been demonstrated is that the American public are sheep. We have allowed the media to whip into us into a frenzy of fear, and yet no one has stopped to ask how bad the problem really is. ONE sick cow is not an indication of the complete failure of the USDA's inspection system. ONE sick cow does not mean our meat supply is unsafe. It is, however, more than enough for the media to crank up the fear-mongering that sells copy and advertising time. Be afraid; be very afraid- the Viagra ads are coming.
Of course, if you're worried about the safety of beef, you can do what I've done for the past 15 years or so- don't eat red meat. I realize that is a very un-Texan approach (unless, of course, you happen to live in Austin), but I gave up eating beef a long time ago, and you know what?? I'm not at all worried about BSE- or E coli, or any other beef-borne illness.
Beef may be what's for dinner, but it's not healthy- BSE or no BSE. Y'all can fret all you want. At least try to keep this in perspective, OK??
Wake me up when the sky is falling....
