Beef Scare!
David W. Forrest, PH.D., PAS, Dipl. ACAP, Dept. of animal Science
I'm sure those of you who aren't in the cattle business don't understand the issues here.
But to those of us who who's living depends on the cattle market, selling cattle, raising
the best beef possible... this is frustrating. As far as my family, we don't eat at McDonald's
much (Subway is our choice of fast food), but this will keep us from ever stopping there again, even for a drink.
The original message is from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
American cattle producers are very passionate about this.
McDonald's claims that there is not enough beef in the USA to support their
restaurants. Well, we know that is not so. Our opinion is they are looking to
save money at our expense. The sad thing of it is that the people of the USA
are the ones who made McDonald's successful in the first place, but we are not
good enough to provide beef.
We personally are no longer eating at McDonald's, which I am sure does not
make an impact, but if we pass this around maybe there will be an impact felt.
Please pass it on
Just to add a note, all Americans that sell cows at a livestock auction barn
had to sign a paper stating that we do NOT EVER feed our cows any part of
another cow. South Americans are not required to do this as of yet.
McDonald's has announced that they are going to start importing much of their
beef from South America. The problem is that South Americans aren't under the
same regulations as American beef producers, and the regulations they have
are loosely controlled.
They can spray numerous pesticides on their pastures that have been banned
here at home because of residues found in the beef. They can also use various
hormones and growth regulators that we can't. The American public needs to be
aware of this problem and that they may be putting themselves at risk from now
on by eating at good old McDonald's.
American ranchers raise the highest quality beef in the world and this is
what Americans deserve to eat. Not beef from countries where quality is loosely
controlled. Therefore, I am proposing a boycott of McDonald's until they see
the light.
I'm sorry but everything is not always about the bottom line, and when it
comes to jeopardizing my family's health, that is where I draw the line.
David W. Forrest, Ph.D., PAS, Dipl. ACAP Department of Animal Science
Texas A&M University Phone
(979) 845-3560
2471 TA! MU Fax (979) 862-3399 College Station, TX 77843-2471