[Newspoetry] To your scattered bovines go... PJ Farmer?

[emerick at chorus.net]

{After mentioning that the mad cow meat at issue had been distributed, along 
with the remains of 19 other slaughtered ones, to vendors in 8 different states 
and at least one territory...
After mentioning that one USDA s-poker-faced-person said that, even so, not all 
cuts of meat from the same mad cow pose the same health dangers...
After mentioning that a US trade rep team was already in Japan to convince them 
that they need not restrict the free flow of beef meats from the US, just 
because of one cow...
The Boston Globe story goes on to say...}


Investigators have tentatively traced the first US cow with mad cow disease to 
Canada. This could help determine the scope of the outbreak and might even 
limit the economic damage to the American beef industry.

The tentative finding traced the cow to Alberta, the same Canadian province 
where scientists found a lone cow infected with the illness in May.

DeHaven stressed that officials still haven't confirmed its origin, because US 
records outlining the animal's history do not match ones in Canada. Canadian 
officials have said it was premature to reach a firm conclusion.

The department said DNA tests will help resolve the matter.

Canadian documents show the cow had two calves before it arrived in the United 
States, contrary to US records, which said it had never borne calves.

Also, Canadian documents say the diseased cow was 6 1/2 years old, but US 
records say it was younger, about 4 to 4 1/2 years old.

The cow's age is significant because it may have been born before 1997, when 
the United States and Canada banned certain feed that is considered the most 
likely source of infection.

*-------
So, who had an incentive to fake the records and point the finger elsewhere?  
Falsified official documents are fairly easy things to arrange, for initial 
cover-ups, when there are millions of such documents, nearly identical to one 
another.  Watch for additional discrepancies, denials, revisions, and other 
attempts to confuse hounds on the trail.