Keep Mad Cow out of the U.S.

Keep Mad Cow out of the U.S.
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Act now.

The 2003 discovery of the first case of mad cow disease in the United States cast serious doubts on years of reassurances from the meat industry and the USDA that it couldn't happen here. Now the USDA and the big meat companies want consumers to believe them again. We need your help to keep Mad Cow Disease out of the U.S.

For the last three years, the USDA has been trying to open the border to Canadian cattle over the age of thirty months. This is significant because older cattle (those over thirty months of age) are considered to be at higher risk for having Mad Cow Disease and therefore pose a greater risk if they enter the food supply. Canada has had 13 cases of Mad Cow Disease, the most recent of which was discovered in June.

So why would the United States take older, high risk cattle from a country known to have a significant prevalence of this disease? The meat companies want to be able to source cattle from wherever they are the cheapest, which is often Canada.

Combined with the known problems in U.S. slaughterhouses in following the rules for handling the risky nervous system materials believed to spread the disease, importing older Canadian cattle creates unnecessary risk for U.S. consumers.

Tell USDA to put public health before meat industry profits and not to open the border to older Canadian cattle. Take Action Now.


Thanks for taking action,
Patty Lovera, Deputy Director
Food & Water Watch