It’s not often that a small business fights for the right to follow extra rules and regulations, but that’s the case with Creekstone Farms. The Kansas meat-packer wants to test every cow for what’s known as Mad Cow disease. Doing so, they hope, will woo back their best Japanese customer who stopped buying American beef after one diseased animal turned up in Washington State last year. But the USDA has refused that request for extra testing, dismissing it as unnecessary and unjustified.
Now, those ranchers who favor the screening process are squaring off against the USDA and lobbyists with the nation’s heavyweight meat packers. The outcome could determine what lands on your plate.
Guests:
Kevin Pentz, V.P. of Operations at Creekstone Farms
Dean Cliver, Professor of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis
and Bill Bullard, CEO of Rancher’s and Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund.