Beach Runner wrote:
>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/13/op...html?th&emc=th
>>>
>>> The New York Times
>>> August 13, 2005
>>> Safer Beef
>>>
>>> Fears of another case of mad cow disease in the United States have
>>> faded for the time being because tests on the most recent suspect
>>> animal came back negative.
>>
>> Two positive BSE cattle in all of US history. That's two cattle out of
>> ~120,000,000 in just the last three years, or a known infection rate
>> of 0.000001667% over that period. Any fears over such infinitesimal
>> odds are irrational.
>
> Ignored over the fact is that whistle blowers offer to take lie detector
> tests,

A polygraph exam, its results, or even an offer to take one, isn't
_prima facie_ evidence of anything.

> to show that the tests are farces and don't meet standards.

The tests aren't a farce: without them, you'd have ZERO cases of BSE in
the US to hang your hat upon rather than the two you do have.

> They also wouldn't allow an importer of Japanese beef
> to test each animal to meet their safety standards.

The issue or situation isn't as you present it. There is *one* beef
producer, Creekstone Farms, which wants its own separate, private
testing regime of EVERY head it produces which would serve as a
*MARKETING TOOL*, not as scientific verification of its safety. That's
the primary objection by the USDA.

The every-cow test issue is also a NON SEQUITUR: Japan banned ALL beef
from the US, including beef from Creekstone. The testing regime
Creekstone wants would not allow it or anyone else's meat back into
Japan. If Japan were to fall for this MARKETING GIMMICK, it would
establish a dangerous and expensive precedent whereby all cattle would
have to be tested prior to export (and possibly of domestic sale). It's
an unwise and unsound policy because there's no justification for
testing 100% of cattle for BSE -- a point the Japanese themselves agreed
was unwise with respect to US beef. Ultimately, it would likely scare
away consumers because of the high incidence of initial false positives
(such as the last "suspected" case, which was found to not be BSE).

http://www.meatnews.com/index.cfm?fu...le&artNum=7273

> It is also well known

Logical fallacy of appealing to popularity. Likewise, the rest of your
BS was non sequitur.