did commodity traders know about mad cow first?

[donsu]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1132765,00.html

-snip-

Investigators from the commodity futures trading commission will interview witnesses and examine trading records to determine whether traders had advance knowledge of the news of BSE in America's herd, and bet on prices tumbling after an official announcement.

-snip-

The US department of agriculture has yet to round up all the cows raised with the diseased animal. The missing animals are considered to be at high risk.

-snip-

On Monday US regulators bowed to demands for tighter regulations on animal feed, and outlawed the feeding of dried cattle blood to calves as a milk substitute. The food and drug Administration (FDA) also banned the use of waste from poultry farms, which could contain feed made from cattle carcasses, as well as chicken waste. The rules also require factories producing cattle and poultry feed to separate product lines to avoid contamination.
-snip-
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as you will see, the article fades away talking about mad cow and not about the commidity traders. (raised eyebrows)

only nitwits or greedy men would feed baby cows dried cattle blood instead of their mother's milk.

[sybylla]

1. Nitwits?

"only nitwits or greedy men would feed baby cows dried cattle blood instead of their mother's milk."

When it is processed and sold as a protein additive for mixing with feed, the buyer doesn't always know what they are getting. There is supposedly a ban which has been in place for about 6 years on feeding ruminant protein back to ruminants. Perhaps that is what the reference to "tighter regulations" is about.

Protein from animal products is mainly fed to cattle stock intended for the slaughter house and generally after they would have been weaned off of milk - when they join mom at the feed trough - not instead of milk. The milk replacer mentioned above generally goes to diary calves because the mother's milk is destined for the market and the protein in it would be there as a fortification. Milk replacer looks and smells much like baby formula. Again, when a farmer buys milk replacer, they don't always know what they are getting.

Regulations on the production of these kinds of products and close scrutiny of the industry is what is needed. No farmer, no rancher will intentionally put their animals at risk for disease or death. The animals are where the money is. It would be like calling your boss an asshole and expecting to still have a job the next day. Just isn't done.


on edit: spelling

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. whooopie were all gonna die!