H02176
Headlines : GovernmentFormer U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector Claims A Cover Up
Lester Friedlander, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector, claims that private laboratories confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) but the goverment laboratories cleared the samples from the same animals
Japan, the United States and Mexico banned imports of beef and cattle from Canada on May 20, 2003, when a single case of BSE was found in a cow in Alberta.
The boarder between the U.S. and Canada remains closed after an injuction on behalf of U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull to stop the reopening of the the boarder to Canadian cattle.
The American policy against the importation of Canadian beef must be examined under the light of a possible cover up of BSE on Amercian soil.
[Posted By JohnnyK]Republished from CTV.ca News Staff
Expert alleges deliberate U.S. mad-cow coverups
A scientist and former U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector is claiming that his government covered up mad cow disease, years before a case turned up in Canada.
Lester Friedlander says he was “forced out” from his job as head of inspections at a large Philadelphia meat packing plant in 1995 after blowing the whistle on what he called unsafe practices.
“The proof I have is basically from my own experience working for the United States Department of Agriculture,” Friedlander said, appearing on Canada AM.
He claims he knows USDA veterinarians who sent suspect cow brains to private laboratories that confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) but that government laboratories cleared the samples from the same animals.
He said there was pressure from Washington for veterinarians to “look the other way or to let sometimes the rules slide by a little bit.”
Earlier, Friedlander told The Canadian Press while his claims may be shocking for Canadians “it wouldn’t be shocking for veterinarians that have worked for the USDA.”
He says he is willing to take a lie detector test to back up his claims but would not identify the veterinarians for fear that they would lose their jobs. The department has denied all…
Posted by JohnnyK
Ron DeHaven, the administrator of the USDA’s animal and plant health inspection service replied the the allegations regarding the U.S. cover up today. He stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture admits there were problems with the samples taken from two cows in 1997, but insists the animals did not have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease.
I will have the article that I found on CBC.ca in the yard if you want to check it out.