"cattle" news and stories

The USDA announced this week that it will reduce the number of cattle tested for mad cow disease by 90 percent, the Associated Press reported. Agricultural Secretary Mike Johanns said Thursday that testing one percent of the 35 million cows slaughtered annually in the U.S. is more than what's necessary. The number of cattle tested on a daily basis will now fall from 1,000 to around 110. Current testing costs are approximately $1 million per week, according to the AP. "There is no significant BSE problem in the United States," Johanns said, "and after all of this surveillance, I am able to say there never was."

McDonald's senor global supply chain manager, Gary Johnson, stressed the importance of establishing traceable beef programs worldwide. Consumers want to know where their food is coming from, he said, and consumer trust is of paramount importance to all businesses, especially those in the food industry. The call for action comes in light of the fact that the British beef industry is still recovering from the massive loss of consumer confidence it suffered following a mad cow outbreak in the mid 1990s. It is also, in part, due to the success of the Australian beef industry in implementing a system to track all beef cows back to their farm of origin. Johnson called for future programs to be modeled on the Australian example.

While there are some farms who take it upon themselves to offer traceable beef, many in the cattle industry oppose these measures, largely on the grounds that it would be too expensive to implement and maintain. If  a national or global plan were in place, however, consumers and businesses would rise to meet the price changes. "Any extra expense to introduce traceability today represents an essential investment in the security of the future safety of the food supply, [Johnson] said."

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According to an Australian animal behavior scientist, beef cattle use objects in their immediate surroundings to preen. After observing cows in several pastures, Bob Kilgour found that cows groom themselves with their tongues and hooves, but also with trees, branches and fence posts, according to ABC Science Online. Kilgour says that these inanimate objects are being used by the cows as tools. One example included cows using fallen tree branches to "groom around their eyes." This then raises questions of animal rights in feedlot environments. A healthy, well-kept coat may also be a good defense against parasites, Kilgour says. Where one person may view a steer knocking over a feedlot fence post as mindless and destructive, Kilgour feels that discouraging such actions "may be thwarting what is a valuable natural behaviour." A wider acceptance of his theories could mean stronger grounds for complaints by animal rights activists opposed to the current beef industry. Still, I have to wonder where one draws the line between grooming and simply scratching an itch.