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April 2, 2004: My name is Dave Louthan. I’m
the guy who shot the mad cow. I worked at Vern’s Moses
Lake Meats in Washington state up until the day the test results
on the Sunny Dene Ranch cow came back positive for BSE.
Since then I’ve been hammering at the USDA and trying to expose the truth
about BSE in the United States. I am a whistle blower.
The USDA started covering up the mad cow problem the minute
word slipped out they had found a positive BSE sample. U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and Dr. Ron DeHaven,
the country’s chief veterinary officer, jumped in front
of the cameras and said they had a presumptive positive mad
cow but it was not in the food chain. That was not the truth.
They said the cow was a downer. Also not true. That cow was
a good walker and, as we all know now, that cow was eaten—all
of it, and by a lot of people who would never have eaten it
if they had been warned. The USDA decided it would hurt business
if people were warned, so they covered up the truth and continue
to do so.
The State of California is so mad about the constant deception
that on March 25 they introduced legislation to cause all
beef killed in California and all beef brought into California
to be tested. That sound you hear is me standing on my chair
applauding.
The USDA says they will now test 201,000 sick and crippled
cows and 20,000 healthy ones—not today, but in a few
months. Since the December 24 positive testing for BSE and
June, how many diseased cattle will have been killed and eaten?
One for sure. Remember the 60 missing from the herd of 81?
While the USDA held back the testing, the farmers rushed those
cows to slaughter. Now when June gets here, the USDA will
predictably announce a 2 or 3 month delay getting the program
started. And so on.
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Now is the most dangerous time to eat beef. Here's the scary part: According
to the USDA’s recently drafted BSE Surveillance Plan,
each year an estimated 251,500 cows die of unknown reasons
or reasons that could be consistent with BSE-related clinical
signs. Let me translate that for you. The same people who
kept telling you the meat was safe are now saying that 251,000
cows may have died of BSE in one year; 251,000. This information
is available to you at
www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/BSE_Surveil_Plan03-15-04.pdf.
They announced this new program not out of concern for the
safety of the citizenry but because of pressure put on them
by the government, the consumer, and by our export partners
Japan and South Korea. Dr. DeHaven states that it’s
not for safety but to determine prevalence. That's what they
were doing when all those poor people ate that mad cow in
December. I don't want to learn about prevalence while I eat
contaminated beef. I want the USDA to start testing the beef
I'm eating and kids are eating right now. Today.
They say they will test 201,000 sick cows and 20,000 old
cows. This is called scientific statistical testing. Dr. DeHaven
says that if there are five sick cows in the country this
method will find them. More hogwash.
Let me explain statistical sampling. Let's say you have
a football stadium full of people. You bring out one person
and test him for a highly communicable disease. If he passes
you say everybody in the stadium is presumed healthy. That's
statistical testing. It is obvious even to me that statistical
testing only works for BSE screening if by some fluke you
happen to get a sample from a sick cow. If you have 100 cows
lined up and the first five are sick but you only test the
last five, you are not going to find any sick cows. Period.
These people need to stop messing around with science they
understand and start allowing the professional beef producers
to test their own beef. Dr. DeHaven also pointed out that
the USDA thinks it will find the prevalence of this disease
to be very low. "But keep it in perspective," he
said. USDA says it anticipates some positive results at the
initial screening level. "Keep in mind there may be false
positives," Dr. DeHaven said. Translation in my mind:
If we find any positives, we will try to cover it up or deny
them at every opportunity.
These people have compromised their integrity through their
calculated deception, and now there is no way I'm going to
believe a single word they say. Here is another shocker for
you: They are still allowing blood and gelatin into the feed
supply. The interim rules they announced were just suggestions
because feeding the cows blood was not safe. The actual rules
will not be ready for "a few months." Not to mention
all the mountains of contaminated feed all ready on site.
There is no way the ranchers are going to throw away feed
they paid good money for. Would you?
Everything I have said here is easily verifiable.
Take care,
Dave
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