Using RFID To Prevent Mad Cow Disease

prostoalex writes "Associated Press suggests that the United States might be on the move to create a centralized animal database that would track all sorts of information about the farm animals, including their origins. RFID technology comes into play, apparently, with cheap tags that could be assigned to animals right after birth and special scanners capable of retrieving the RFID and fetching the data from the centralized database."

Comments

Re:Another spike into the family farm's heart

[Quikah]

Feeding cows dead cows was banned in 1997.

Re:Another spike into the family farm's heart

[ic0wb0y]

It was banned everywhere but the US. Just today (12/30 MSN.COM) the USDA had to publicly step up and announce a (minimal) ban on certain types of feed made from dead cows, called downers.

The US (ag corporations only) have so much money into this process that they kept the procedure from becoming banned all this time fully knowing that this very type of situation destroyed the independent cattleman as they were known in all other countries for years.

But, this was a perfectly timed event. A move is being made on American ranchers this very moment in history and their plight will be the same as the UK's private property rights. This is not new news, there have been Mad Cow discoveries as far back as 8 years in the US. many, and I do mean many, of the BUsh administration's cabinet are ex Monsanto executives. What it is now is a strategic land and power grab-much akin to what the "well meaning" Dawes Act of 1887 which was imposed and in 10 years that "built in system" in it's design finished off the Indians for good.

Look, if I am a "terrorist" for carrying around a Farmers Almanac, then what should the crime be for causing billions of dollars in losses to cattleman because my corporation poisoned them with bad downer cattle, and killed a few people while I was at it? I guess he has the biggest check wins.

A red herring. We need enforcement, not RFID tags.

[dpbsmith]

1) It's already against the rules for beef products to contain nervous system tissue.

2) 2002 Agriculture Department survey found central nervous system tissue in beef products at 74 percent of the plants tested. Source:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/15401 7_beefsaf ety25.html

There you have it. We already have regulations in place that would be perfectly adequate prevent the transmission of mad cow to disease to humans--and the regulations are not being followed.

What earthly good will it do to accumulate yet more tracking records and database entries? What's needed is a willingness to put public safety above the profits of private interests. If that's absent, all the RFID tags in the world aren't going to help.