Keller Rae
2014-05-17 18:46:07 UTC
On Memorial Day Weekend, Cliven and his kin are having a BBQ, and they
want Obama to give them free food! He's taking it to the Government
again! Maybe it's time to rustle somebody eles's steers, carve them
up and give them to cliven's freedom fighters, along with the passwords
to our credit cards and keys to our trucks. Some of his men want
pictures of children from catalogs. Why is that?
'Mad Cow' Concerns in Nevada
George Knapp's Street Talk
Led by Award-winning investigative reporter George Knapp, the
Eyewitness News I-TEAM is the top television investigative unit in
southern Nevada. Political expert Jon Ralston provides insight into
local and state government, and former Mayor Jan Jones adds an
insider's viewer of City Hall. I-TEAM photographer Eric Sorenson rounds
out this first-class investigative unit.
News stories about mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth outbreaks in
Europe have generated considerable concern in the United States.
Recent surveys show two-thirds of Americans are worried about the
safety of the meat we eat, even though the experts tell us those
diseases have never been found in U.S. beef.
Nevada has a strong cattle industry, but the beef we eat isn't raised
here. So just how safe is our beef supply?
Las Vegas is a beef-eating kind of town. With its buffets, banquets and
hungry tourists on expense accounts, our per capita beef consumption
easily ranks in the Top 10 in the country, probably in the Top Five.
A single downtown hotel has been known to dish out 40 tons of beef in
just one month, and it seems like there's a burger joint on every
corner. But where does all this meat come from, and who makes sure its
safe to eat?
Take a drive anywhere north of Las Vegas, and you'll probably spot
scenes worthy of the Old West or pastoral snapshots of contented cows
lazily grazing in some wide-open pasture with snow-capped mountains in
the background.
Nevada beef, you would guess, must be good stuff, far different from
the horror stories about filthy stockyards or death-camp
slaughterhouses in other states. But the beef that's raised here isn't
what we eat. Nevada's half-million cattle are largely part of what's
called a cow-calf operation. That means calves are born here but
shipped to other states to be fattened up, slaughtered and sold.
Still, the cattle industry is vital to towns like Elko. When horrific
images pop up on the nightly news about mad cow disease or
foot-and-mouth epidemics, the economy in places like Elko shudders.
"The U.S. has the safest food in the world," said Betsy Macfarlane, who
is with the Cattlemen's Association. "We're very aware of these two
diseases, and we have safeguards. If we did have an outbreak, the
infrastructure is in place to quickly shut it down,"
The beef industry says that so far, the mad cow scare in Europe has not
affected meat consumption in the United States. In fact, sales are up
for each of the last nine quarters. Industry trade groups have worked
hard to inform the public about safeguards that they say will prevent
the European type outbreaks here. Foot-and-mouth hasn't been detected
in the U.S. in more than 70 years. No cases of mad cow have ever been
confirmed here.
"That's what they said in the United Kingdom as well, it's okay, that's
before mad cow," said Valerie Buchanan, an animal-rights activist.
Animal rights groups and vegetarians have seized on the fears about mad
cow as a chance to change people's eating habits.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, for example, has said it
hopes mad cow disease does come to the United States, because it would
make consumers think about what they're really eating.
"We want people to think about that cellophane meat in the store where
it comes from," said Bruce Friedrich with PETA. "If people eat mear,
they are supporting animal cruelty, enviromental degradation, and are
hurting their own health."
PETA thinks the meat industry is getting what it deserves. Mad cow
disease began when cattle in England were fed the infected remains of
other cattle, meaning herbivores were turned into carnivores, then into
cannibals.
The practice was banned in the United States three years ago, but it
still goes on.
"We still do it," said Friedrich. "Just earlier this year, enforcement,
hundreds of feed lot operators were found our of compliance. They had
never heard of it. No penalities were handed down."
"The USDA's charter purpose is to promote U.S. agriculture," Friedrich
added. "It's the fox guarding the henhouse."
In Las Vegas, most of the beef in our stores and restaurants is from
Colorado or Nebraska. One of the Colorado plants that send meat here
was the source of a major E-coli outbreak in Wisconsin and was cited
numerous times by the USDA.
According to the Clark County Health District, there have been no major
outbreaks related to bad beef here since the Jack in the Box scandal of
1993. Yet, the health district lists meat, in general, as a high-risk
food and says it finds violations of safety standards almost daily.
The Centers for Disease Control estimated nearly 80 million cases of
foodborne illness each year, with more than 5,000 deaths. About 73,000
people get sick eacy year because of E-coli in meat. The USDA says up
to 35 percent of turkeys and 11 percent of all chickens sold in this
country contain salmonella. Meat realls are a common occurence, but if
you ask the experts, they will tell you there are also risks at the
salad bar.
"Any raw food, even salad, will have bacteria on it. Customers need to
know how to handle it," said Mary Hahn with the Clark County Health
District.
want Obama to give them free food! He's taking it to the Government
again! Maybe it's time to rustle somebody eles's steers, carve them
up and give them to cliven's freedom fighters, along with the passwords
to our credit cards and keys to our trucks. Some of his men want
pictures of children from catalogs. Why is that?
'Mad Cow' Concerns in Nevada
George Knapp's Street Talk
Led by Award-winning investigative reporter George Knapp, the
Eyewitness News I-TEAM is the top television investigative unit in
southern Nevada. Political expert Jon Ralston provides insight into
local and state government, and former Mayor Jan Jones adds an
insider's viewer of City Hall. I-TEAM photographer Eric Sorenson rounds
out this first-class investigative unit.
News stories about mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth outbreaks in
Europe have generated considerable concern in the United States.
Recent surveys show two-thirds of Americans are worried about the
safety of the meat we eat, even though the experts tell us those
diseases have never been found in U.S. beef.
Nevada has a strong cattle industry, but the beef we eat isn't raised
here. So just how safe is our beef supply?
Las Vegas is a beef-eating kind of town. With its buffets, banquets and
hungry tourists on expense accounts, our per capita beef consumption
easily ranks in the Top 10 in the country, probably in the Top Five.
A single downtown hotel has been known to dish out 40 tons of beef in
just one month, and it seems like there's a burger joint on every
corner. But where does all this meat come from, and who makes sure its
safe to eat?
Take a drive anywhere north of Las Vegas, and you'll probably spot
scenes worthy of the Old West or pastoral snapshots of contented cows
lazily grazing in some wide-open pasture with snow-capped mountains in
the background.
Nevada beef, you would guess, must be good stuff, far different from
the horror stories about filthy stockyards or death-camp
slaughterhouses in other states. But the beef that's raised here isn't
what we eat. Nevada's half-million cattle are largely part of what's
called a cow-calf operation. That means calves are born here but
shipped to other states to be fattened up, slaughtered and sold.
Still, the cattle industry is vital to towns like Elko. When horrific
images pop up on the nightly news about mad cow disease or
foot-and-mouth epidemics, the economy in places like Elko shudders.
"The U.S. has the safest food in the world," said Betsy Macfarlane, who
is with the Cattlemen's Association. "We're very aware of these two
diseases, and we have safeguards. If we did have an outbreak, the
infrastructure is in place to quickly shut it down,"
The beef industry says that so far, the mad cow scare in Europe has not
affected meat consumption in the United States. In fact, sales are up
for each of the last nine quarters. Industry trade groups have worked
hard to inform the public about safeguards that they say will prevent
the European type outbreaks here. Foot-and-mouth hasn't been detected
in the U.S. in more than 70 years. No cases of mad cow have ever been
confirmed here.
"That's what they said in the United Kingdom as well, it's okay, that's
before mad cow," said Valerie Buchanan, an animal-rights activist.
Animal rights groups and vegetarians have seized on the fears about mad
cow as a chance to change people's eating habits.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, for example, has said it
hopes mad cow disease does come to the United States, because it would
make consumers think about what they're really eating.
"We want people to think about that cellophane meat in the store where
it comes from," said Bruce Friedrich with PETA. "If people eat mear,
they are supporting animal cruelty, enviromental degradation, and are
hurting their own health."
PETA thinks the meat industry is getting what it deserves. Mad cow
disease began when cattle in England were fed the infected remains of
other cattle, meaning herbivores were turned into carnivores, then into
cannibals.
The practice was banned in the United States three years ago, but it
still goes on.
"We still do it," said Friedrich. "Just earlier this year, enforcement,
hundreds of feed lot operators were found our of compliance. They had
never heard of it. No penalities were handed down."
"The USDA's charter purpose is to promote U.S. agriculture," Friedrich
added. "It's the fox guarding the henhouse."
In Las Vegas, most of the beef in our stores and restaurants is from
Colorado or Nebraska. One of the Colorado plants that send meat here
was the source of a major E-coli outbreak in Wisconsin and was cited
numerous times by the USDA.
According to the Clark County Health District, there have been no major
outbreaks related to bad beef here since the Jack in the Box scandal of
1993. Yet, the health district lists meat, in general, as a high-risk
food and says it finds violations of safety standards almost daily.
The Centers for Disease Control estimated nearly 80 million cases of
foodborne illness each year, with more than 5,000 deaths. About 73,000
people get sick eacy year because of E-coli in meat. The USDA says up
to 35 percent of turkeys and 11 percent of all chickens sold in this
country contain salmonella. Meat realls are a common occurence, but if
you ask the experts, they will tell you there are also risks at the
salad bar.
"Any raw food, even salad, will have bacteria on it. Customers need to
know how to handle it," said Mary Hahn with the Clark County Health
District.