<div class="MsoNormal">The Co-Op and Mad Cow</div> <div class="MsoNormal"> Mr. London, last week attempted to tell everyone that the Moscow Co-Op doesn’t use suppliers that ever mistreat and abuse animals.<br> </div> <pre>"The Co-op has a clear commitment to selling only meat that<br>has been raised in a humane fashion."<span style="font-family: arial;"><br>http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2006-September/034975.html<br><br> <font size="4"> </font></span><font size="4"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I took the liberty of looking at just two regular suppliers</span><br style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">of the Co-Op to demonstrate the invalidity his claims. </span></font></pre> <div class="MsoNormal"> The first company I looked at was Northwest Premium Meats, LLC. Located in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Nampa</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Idaho</st1:State></st1:place>. No website I could find. </div> <div class="MsoNormal"> The second company I looked at was The Diesel Family Ranch, located in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sonora</st1:place></st1:State>, CA. <a href="http://www.diestelturkey.com/">www.diestelturkey.com</a></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style=""> </span> Northwest Premium Meat LLC, which is a current meat supplier for the Co-Op, has been targeted and listed on vegetarian and animals rights websites like this one; <a href="http://www.vegsource.com/talk/madcow/messages/1000556.html">http://www.vegsource.com/talk/madcow/messages/1000556.html</a></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>In fact, this supplier for the Co-Op was
suspended for a period of time last year by the USDA for violations related to 9 CFR Part 500.3, <a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/fsis_food_recalls/index.asp">http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/fsis_food_recalls/index.asp</a><br> <o:p></o:p>as reported in the FSIS Quarterly Report;</div> <div class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -24pt;">“On 7/26/05, a suspension action concerning Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Specified Risk Material was taken in accordance with 9 CFR Part 500.3.”<o:p> </o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -24pt;">http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/QER_Q4_FY2005.pdf</div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span> Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is also more commonly known as Mad Cow Disease <a
href="http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Ecomm/bsefaq.html">http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/bsefaq.html</a> . Setting aside the huge potential health issues here had FSIS not come to the rescue, this does directly relate to the mistreatment of animals. Animal rights activists have made a big issue of this practice for a long time, especially since the recent outbreaks of Mad Cow in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> that have been hushed up and the government has cut funding to find and stop.<span style=""> </span><a href="http://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm">http://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm</a> <span style=""> </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><span style=""><br> </span>The Diesel Family Ranch, <a href="http://www.diestelturkey.com/">www.diestelturkey.com</a> which supplies the Co-Op with poultry products and boasts a great
view and open space for its turkeys, has also had a run in with animal rights groups for snapping off the turkey’s beaks. In fact, in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sonora</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>, where the ranch is located, it is illegal to clip off the beaks of birds unless the animal is going to going to be processed for consumption, which these animals are going to be. However, that doesn’t mean the animals don’t suffer the same consequences for a clipped beak just because they are not called someone’s pet. Those that have has birds know beaks are a vital tool for animals for cleaning, health, preening, straightening feathers, and preening other birds to build needed social relationships. <a href="http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/11.21.02/thanksgiving-0247.htm">http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/11.21.02/thanksgiving-0247.htm</a></div> <div
class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <br> </o:p> My point here is not to pick on the Co-Op as being an animal abuser. My point is that Mr. London is obviously unaware of some of the suppliers the Co-Op has and what they do, or is not aware of what constitutes animal’s abuse or cruelty. If Mr. London believes chopping beaks off birds or buying from suppliers that have gotten federal suspensions for not controlling Mad Cow is not violating animal rights and a "clear commitment to selling only meat that<span style="font-family: monospace;"> </span>has been raised in a humane fashion," he has the right to adopt that personal use definition. <br> However, according the definitions of animal rights groups like PETA<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: green;"> </span>www.peta.org , environmental groups like the Organic Consumers Association <a
href="http://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm">http://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm</a><span style=""> </span>, and the Federal Government <a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/QER_Q4_FY2005.pdf">http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/QER_Q4_FY2005.pdf</a> ,<span style=""> </span>at least some of the suppliers for the Co-Op are not being humane toward the animals they are raising.<br> <br> </div> <div class="MsoNormal">Bovine Appetite,</div> <div class="MsoNormal">_DJA</div> <p> 
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