DC Court: Public health less important than corporate profit

MGL

Quote:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government can prohibit meat packers from testing their animals for mad cow disease, a federal appeals court said Friday, overturning a lower court ruling that would have allowed such testing.

Because the Agriculture Department tests only a small percentage of cows for the deadly disease, Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wanted to test all of its cows. The government said it could not.

Larger meat companies worry that if Creekstone performed the test and advertised its meat as safe, they could be forced to do the expensive test, too.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday overturned a lower court ruling. The appeals court said restricting the test is within the scope of the government's authority.

So basically if big business doesn't like how a competitor does things, they can complain to the government and make them stop, even if it's something like testing for deadly prions.

November can't come soon enough.

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Lord Golbez · Number of posts: 132 Registration date: 2007-10-12

The government can and will pretty much do anything for big business no matter how unconscionable, because we let them do it and the businesses pay them handsomely. Honestly, I know this administration is particularly bad in this regard, but I wouldn't expect Obama to behave all that differently.