In the realm of the topics about which this blog covers, two of my dreams are to see the industry take consumer concerns more seriously and for consumers to base decisions more on facts than sensationalism.

There is encouraging news from the National Meat Assn. (NMA), American Meat Institute (AMI) and National Milk Producers Federation. They have filed a citizen’s petition to ban ALL cattle that cannot walk (”downers”) from being processed for human consumption. The full article can be found on the Feedstuffs Foodlink blog. The petition addresses a rule that allows the attending public health veterinarian to allow animals that become non-ambulatory to be processed, at his/her discretion.

Virtually none of these cattle would pose any sort of health threat. Most cattle that go down during processing are just at the natural end of their lifespan, not ravaged with disease. The petition was filed specifically because of the public’s concerns and as a move to bolster consumer confidence in our meat supply.

Kudos to the industry on this one for putting consumer concerns ahead of a few extra dollars.