Mad Shmow

In a battle that has apparently been going on since we first learned about it, [click and scroll to bottom of post,] more than fourteen months ago, the administration continues to insist that more than 99% of cows NOT be tested for Mad Cow Disease.

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all of their cows, but the administration says no:

Larger meat companies feared that move because, if Creekstone tested its meat and advertised it as safe, they might have to perform the expensive test, too.

The Agriculture Department regulates the test and argued that widespread testing could lead to a false positive that would harm the meat industry. [New York Times: US on Mad Cow: Don’t Test All Cattle]

An undetected positive where contaminated meat reaches the food supply would harm people. By which I mean: here is another example of the triumph of financial power over human dignity. Creekstone’s efforts might prove to be an example of ‘The Invisible Hand’ actually functioning in the interests of The People, if not for the administration’s intervention. Yet intervention in the market is frowned upon in cases where it would protect the interests of The People.

It’s what Dad of Montag might call, “Ass Backwards.”