Court: Republicans Can Force Companies Not To Protect Citizens

In a new twist on the role of government a federal appeals court has ruled that the government can force companies to NOT test beef for mad cow disease.

The background is that some smaller meat packers wanted to test every cow, to ensure that citizens are safe from mad cow disease. Large meat packing companies felt this would lead consumers to buy from these companies that do the testing, and they don't want to spend any extra money to test their own beef. So they paid the Republicans to force the smaller companies to stop the testing. And there are enough Republican judges appointed now that they got this approved by a court.

U.S. can keep companies from testing for mad cow, court rules,

The government can prohibit meat packers from testing their animals for mad cow disease, a federal appeals court said Friday, overturning a lower court ruling that would have allowed such testing.

Because the Agriculture Department tests only a small percentage of cows for the deadly disease, Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wanted to test all of its cows. The government said it could not.

Larger meat companies worry that if Creekstone performed the test and advertised its meat as safe, they could be forced to do the expensive test, too.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday overturned a lower court ruling. The appeals court said restricting the test is within the scope of the government's authority.

Comments

[veracity]

Thanks for catching that textbook example of Republican corruption and hypocrisy.

Read the story earlier, had another one of those "OMG?!" jaw-dropping moments.

This story proves that ""Republican' before the name means "corrupt", and it also proves that Repubs are the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of "Free Marketers". They have always been about _CONTROLLED_ markets, markets where a few heavy-hitters can MONOPOLIZE the markets, with the protection of the government acting as, well, a protection racket.

The amazing thing is that the "Democratic" party is also so beholden to the corporate powers-that-be, that they have NO, ZERO pushback or opposition voice when the corporate heavies show their Marquise de Sade side. Never in the history of the United States has the opposition party NOT had its own press and editors to voice the oppo agenda, until this era, when the Bush-Cheney Repubs learned how to bribe big corporate media with massive tax-cuts, tax-breaks, and retribution for those who don't play along. (The old "lead or silver" choice.)

Remember when the beef barons SUED Oprah for daring to say "I'm not going to eat another hamburger" - on HER show?!

[LiberalBuzz]

And yet..

AND YET.

People STILL vote republican which is the same as voting against your own best interests and health.

Unbelievable.

[lungfish]

big meat packers don't have to worry about me buying their unsafe product whether they test it or not. I do not eat red meat or pork. After living in Montana on a farm and being around stock yards and "processing" plants it was clear to me that wrong was wrong....
My family raised their own meat and in most cases, it never knew what hit it. My dad or grandpa would just hang the 30.06 off the back of the truck and shoot the animal from a hundred yards away and it would drop dead, wouldn't even kick. To me it was a very quick and humane end as my family taught me that it should be... its fellow critters wouldn't even look up.... My first trip to a slaughter house had me puking and dreading the truck loads of lambs and calves that we took in every year...

I remember visiting a plant when I was a kid and the blood was in the ditches on the side of the roads as we approached the place and you could smell it for miles....

If I was going to eat red meat or pork I would research the small operators offering humanely raised, range fed, organic products and pay the price for the safety of the product that the big companies simply won't guarantee.

[wolfgangmo]

And the added bonus is that you are also supporting the local small business person which benefit s the country as well.

[heal57]

The Republicn party is on its way out in the US. They will have to change big time; you can't fool a lot of the younger people and as the aged die off so do republican voters. We are fed up with greed and big business enslaving our citizens in debt.

[WASanford]

There is one clear response that we consumers can make to this absurdity, totally stop eating beef. Eat Mor Chkin!

[Dave Johnson - Huffpost Blogger]

I happen to be a vegetarian now because of the treatment of animals in the corporate farms.

Wel,, actually, I eat some fich, so I am a PESCatarian.

Actually one in a while I eat a bit of organic turkey (we check with the Hospice to be sure it was cared for humanely). So that means I am a pescaturketarian.

But seriously I haven't eaten red meat for many years, after volunteering at the local SPCA...

[research]

Agree with you there.

Beef industry: You should know I NEVER eat beef because of your lack of testing.

[BonnieJW]

This is why you have people like me who become vegetarian. I am so fed up with the giant agribusiness, their abuse of animals and their neglect to inspect their products. I will have nothing to do with them.

[readyforchange]

I first learned of this in ACRES magazine a year ago. In addition to being a safeguard for consumers, testing would also open more foreign markets where consumer regulations are more protective.

It has become blatantly obvious that government exists to protect BIG BUSINESS, not the the taxpayers and consumers who foot the bill. Small business continue to be eradicated.

[Dave Johnson - Huffpost Blogger]

But it isn't even just BIG BUSINESS they take care of -- it is just particular businesses that pay the Party, like Exxon.

Solar, wind and alternative fuels are businesses, some could be big businesses. But the Republicans entirely support big oil companies instead. So it isn't about business or corporations. It is entirely about corruption.

[joebaggadonuts]

I am so glad there are people putting this in writing. It is so obviously true, but one never, until now sees this. Thank you Dave for all you do.

[Gidster]

Big Business will eventually want to legislate a mandatory consumer base.
"It is Thursday, you must purchase the following items, or face citation".....
Safety is no longer a concern.

[Dave Johnson - Huffpost Blogger]

Exactly. In fact it is almost like that now -- we pay taxes and the government gives the tax money to certain Party-affiliated companies...

[research]

Will this finally put to rest the lie that Republicans are for the "market"

Republicans are for their cronies.

[Dave Johnson - Huffpost Blogger]

Bingo.

[LeftRight]

So how is this encouraging market competition?????? The fact of the matter is that the repukelicans are always claiming that they want the market to deal with it, but when the market tries to deal with it, and their donors don't like it, they STOP competition!

[hey0there]

this ruling just seems stupid to me. I have a company, I have a product. I want to test my products for xxx or yyy so I can say "certified madcow/e-coli/etc free. guaranteed!"

And the goverment wants to tell me I cant do that? Its somehow illegal? give me a break. If i owned said company I'd do it ANYWAYS out of spite of this ruling. Just let this come to light in the news over and over and eventually the bad PR over it will get this ruling changed.

[RobinSeattle]

This issue has never been discussed in the U.S. media, AFAIK. I only found out about it by watching the CBC (Canada). I think it was Fifth Estate, which is kind of its 60 Minutes.

Nice job, U.S. media.

[Dave Johnson - Huffpost Blogger]

US corporate media at this point are one more Party-affiliated corruption machine. They get waivers on how many stations they can own, on frequencies they can use, on all kinds of things that bring big bucks to their parent companies. In the case of some of them the parent companies are huge military contractors...

When is the last time you say the perspective of labor on your local TV station or in your local newspaper? When was the last time you heard about the benefits of being in a union?

[ceu]

Wow. Just....wow.

Let's hear it for BushCo, keeping us safe - or not.

[Dave Johnson - Huffpost Blogger]

It's not BUSH it is the Republican Party, and that includes McCain.

[MAsbury]

And the quiz question of the day is: Republican legislation protects whom? A) consumers, B) small business owners, C) big business, D) Republican legislators, E) C and D.

[moAb]

Folks, the Republicans are not conservatives. They have forsaken true conservative values and replaced them with venality, greed, and the bizarre code of the new Neo-conservative movement. To stop a food producer from actually offering a safer product and one with added value clearly shows this to be true.
They have respect for a 'free market' only when it is free in some way for them and their ilk. God forbid some enterprising soul might come up with a private sector solution that gives consumers what they really want.

As a nation we are at a crossroads. Looking in the rear-view mirror one clearly sees the corrupt, self-absorbed policies and politics of the right. Looking forward and to each side at the cross-roads, we have several choices. Forget right; forget left. Look forward to a future that is truly for America and Americans no matter who you might be. Embrace a promise to counter the huge challenges that our country faces with solutions that include the best interests of all our citizens.
McCain = Bush + more baggage than a greyhound bus. Reject McCain/Bush

[LeftRight]

You are right about the definition of conservatism as it used to be. However, since there haven't been any conservatives coming out and standing up to bush during the last 7 years, that means that the whole definition has changed!