This cow here is infected with BSE and cannot stand.
Picture found at http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/03/14/finallygovenment-bans-downer-cows-from-food-supply
Jenkins, Simon. " Beef import decision 'risks Aussie jobs' ." WA Today. Fairfax Digital, 05 Feb 2010. Web. 10 Mar 2010.
- The Australian government's decision to allow beef from BSE infected countries may cost 300,000 workers their jobs in a single week.
- Australia had so far not been infected by BSE, Scrapie, Blue Tongue, or FMD, which are the major diseases that animals contract.
- They could lose their disease-free selling advantage by allowing infected beef to enter the country.
- Professor John Matthews believes there will be no further risk in letting beef from disease countries come into the countries.
- The only argument is how many new cases will show up with this development, but it should not change too much.
Reflection
The reason I chose to analyze this story is because it was hard to process the fact that letting beef from extra sources come in for the first time, could cost 300,000 people their jobs. Also, this job loss happening in a single week is just as astonishing as the previous statistic. I'm a little impressed that Australia has not been affected by any of the main diseases that are often seen in livestock. I can see why they have held out so long, mainly because they are an island nation, isolated geographically from the other continents. I believe the government has a reason to start accepting the beef from other nations. They cannot grow reliable on their own meat or only some countries. On the other hand, I believe the public should have a good say in this argument, with sound evidence provided, so that political fallout does not occur due to the government's important decision that was made without public consent. This has helped me learn the gruesome truth about diseases that are in our world today.
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