Mad cow in America - you knew it was only a matter of time

Reuters has this:

McDonald's Corp. stock fell more than 4 percent after Tuesday's close, after a U.S. industry official said a suspected case of mad cow disease is being investigated in Washington state.

Shares of McDonald's, the world's biggest restaurant chain, tumbled to $24.20 on Instinet from their close of $25.28 on the New York Stock Exchange.

If true, the incidence of mad cow would be the first in the United States. The official, who wished not to be identified, said she was unsure of how many cases were found.

I heard the Nightly News guy - Tom Brokaw of the loose dentures - saying that there was one confirmed case. The "expert" witness wants to remind you that there was only one, and that even with the widespread cases of Maaaaaaaaaad COOOOOOOOOOW in England, although they expected THOUSANDS of human deaths, there were "only a little over 100".

Well, too bad for McDonald's. Boo-hoo.

And, poor cows! They showed some film of infected cows. Pitiful. Cows are so terribly mistreated in this country. And to think they feed them chicken poop! Let's not talk about how they raise them for veal. If you don't know, don't try to find out. Trust me on that. Or how about dairy cows. Corn fed beef. You hear that often enough in bragging about why midwest steaks taste so much better than range cow beef from Mexico. You think feeding them corn is a royal treat for cows? Noooo! A cow's natural diet is grass. They don't digest grain well, so they're injected with drugs to help the process. And there's the matter of the pesticides on the corn that's not permissible if a person eats it, but is okay if a cow does. Ever heard of bioaccumulation? Listen, getting steaks on our plates is not a pretty story. Maybe Mad Cow is a method of reaping our just rewards.

....but hey, eat what you want....you will anyway.