The cow that was found last week to have mad cow disease spent its whole life in Texas, making it the first domestic case of the disease, the United States Department of Agriculture said yesterday.

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas issued a statement urging citizens to remain calm and be reassured that they could trust the state’s beef.

“I, for one, will continue to eat red meat, and intend to do so later tonight with complete confidence,” Mr. Perry said. He later issued a revised statement that dropped the reference to his dinner plans but added that Texas beef was “as safe today as it was yesterday.”

DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. | NYTimes | Link

One question for you Gov. Perry: Exactly how safe was it yesterday?

“It’s a terrible thing that a whole nation’s industry can be brought to its knees by one old animal that comes down with this [Mad Cow] disease that doesn’t really mean much in the scheme of things any more,” Michael Hartmann, deputy director of Cattle Council of Australia, said.

Reuters | Link

Mr Hartmann: One sick cow killed people in the UK. One sick cow can kill people here and in the USA. The real question is, why are US (and maybe Australian) farmers feeding cows mushed-up dead animals when cow DNA says they should eat grass? And why did the USDA take 9 months to alert people about the diseased animal?

You defend the indefensible, in a misguided belief that the beef market is more important than the people who eat it — your customers.

I enjoy eating red meat, but I wouldn’t go near a cow or any other herbivore if I knew they’d been penned and fed on a diet antibiotics and ground-up animals parts.

Thank goodness most Aussie cows are pasture fed.

Get a conscience Hartmann!

Australia is one of the best migration destinations for a young person, respondents to a global opinion poll say.

The Pew Global Attitudes Project, which asked 17,000 people in 16 countries about their attitudes to the United States, found that it had lost its image as the land of opportunity.

Mark Coultan | The Sydney Morning Herald | Link

A third and more sophisticated test on the beef cow suspected of having mad cow disease would have helped resolve conflicting results from two initial screenings, but the US refused to perform it in November.

Daily News Central | Link

Models are too skinny. Implants are too big. To attract a mate, experts say, you just need the right weight-to-height ratio.

The growing millions of women who nip, tuck, plump and stitch in search of the body beautiful could be wasting their money.

A team of British scientists has concluded that the secret of an attractive figure lies not in emulating Jordan’s bust or J-Lo’s bottom, but in the age-old formula of staying trim.

The Independent | Link

I’ll complete the day with another Issa haiku — thanks David.

nightingale–
even the rascally dog
howls for love

Haiku by Kobayashi Issa

Japan might call it shaky. I’d call it downright dodgy, especially after the USDA was soundly criticized for initially clearing an animal last November with Mad Cow disease.

Members of the Japanese Food Safety Commission, who are tasked with discussing (whether US beef is safe to import), voiced their mistrust for the United States, saying the steps that the United States has taken to confirm the case were not transparent.

ABC News | Link