Top vet rushes to soothe mad cow fears

 abercrombie and fitch sale Hours after confirming to reporters that the United States had found its fourth-ever case of mad cow disease, John Clifford was ready to answer the world's questions about the safety of U.S. beef.Clifford, the government's chief veterinary officer at the agriculture department, had quickly called his counterparts in Mexico and Canada, the first and second-largest buyers of U.S. beef, to tell them about a California cow found to have an "atypical" type of the brain-wasting disease.Having taken up his post in May 2004, just six months after the first U.S. case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy was discovered, he knows that sharing information quickly during the next 24 hours -- and in the weeks ahead -- will be vital for reassuring consumers, both domestic and foreign."It's critically important for the trust and continuing of the trade between those countries," Clifford said in an interview, trying to pre-empt concerns about the nation's herd that could send the multi-billion U.S. industry into another tailspin.The first case of mad cow at the end of 2003 caused a $3 billion plunge in beef export revenues. Foreign trade did not fully recover until 2011.Two more cases followed, the last in 2006. But since the disease was discovered in 1986, the international incidence of BSE has dramatically dwindled to only 29 cases last year, down from a peak in 1992 of more than 37,000."I think we've come a long way since then, and I think it's important for our trading partners in the world to start treating this disease the way it needs to be treated," he said.

 cheap abercrombie clothes He said the USDA will release information in coming weeks as it traces the epidemiological history of the cow - where she was born, what she ate as a young calf, and what happened to its "cohorts," other calves born on the same farm in the same time period.Part of the U.S. message will be that the type of mad cow disease found is "atypical," meaning that it was much less to have come from contaminated feed."It is a rare form, and it is also something that we believe not to be likely to be passed from feed to feed," Clifford said.Since 2003, when the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was found in a Washington State cow that had been imported from Canada, the United States has struggled to regain full market access to Japan, its previous top buyer, as well as in Korea, Taiwan, and China.Before daybreak in Asia, Clifford said it was hard to gauge how Asian buyers would react this time around."The impact should not affect exports. Now, I'm not saying it may or may not, but it should not," Clifford told reporters at a hastily arranged announcement at USDA headquarters.The news conference had been moved up after rumors of the case roiled cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, initially sending them down more than 2.5 percent for their biggest drop in seven months.Prices rebounded in after-hours trading after the USDA confirmed the case, and said the cow had been found at a rendering plant, where livestock unfit for human consumption are sent.The discovery comes at a critical time for U.S. trade.Japan, once the largest market for U.S. beef, banned imports from the United States in December 2003 along with many other countries and only partially reopened its market in 2006 to some beef and beef products from animals aged 20 months or younger.

 abercrombie and fitch outlet Many top U.S. lawmakers have demanded a further opening by Japan as a "down payment" for Tokyo's bid to join negotiations with the United States and eight other countries in Asia and Latin America on a proposed regional free trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).Farmers are nervous about the impact the new case could have on trade with Japan."We're not always dealing with sound science, we're dealing with political science," said Tom Talbot of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.The United States has also pressed South Korea repeatedly over the past eight years to lift mad cow-related trade restrictions.The USDA has already armed its trade staff and veterinary officials at U.S. embassies around the world with the facts it knows so far about the case - and an overarching message of safety and prevention.USDA officials will talk to their government counterparts as well as buyers in the private sector, Clifford said.The emphasis is clear: this case shows that the system is working, not that there are new risks to fear."The U.S. food supply is very safe. We have a very robust surveillance system," he says. "That's why we were able to detect this case."Coming off a clean sweep of all five primaries up for grabs Tuesday, including Pennsylvania and New York, Mitt Romney kicked off his general election pitch, insisting the upcoming campaign will be about the "very different visions" he and President Obama have for the country.

 abercrombie outlet Speaking to a crowd in Manchester, N.H., Romney said the country is suffering from the "failed leadership" and "faulty vision" of the current president and insisted "a better America begins tonight.""Four years ago, Barack Obama dazzled us in front of Greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change. But after we came down to earth, after the celebration and parades, what do we have to show for three and a half years of President Obama?" Romney said. "People are hurting in America. And we know that something is wrong, terribly wrong with the direction of the country."Romney accused Obama not owning up to his missteps and for running a re-election campaign based on "diversions, distractions and distortions.""That kind of campaign may have worked at another place and in a different time. But not here and not now," Romney said. "It's still about the economy … and we're not stupid."Notably, Romney did not specifically describe himself as the Republican nominee—in part because he has not amassed the 1,144 delegates he needs to officially clinch the nomination. However, the event left little doubt to how he views his campaign.Romney took the stage with his wife, Ann, who promptly thanked "everybody" who had turned out to support her husband in the primaries. "Because of you a better America begins tonight," she addedUpon taking the mic, Romney echoed a similar sentiment."Thank you, America," Romney said. "After 43 primaries and caucuses, many long days and more than a few long nights, I can say with confidence--and gratitude--that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. And, together, we will win on November 6th."

 abercrombie sale Echoing speeches he has delivered across the country over the last week, Romney kept his focus largely on Obama, insisting the president is putting the country on a path "where our lives will be ruled by bureaucrats and boards, commissions and czars.""We've already seen where this path leads," Romney said. "It erodes freedom. It deadens the entrepreneurial spirit. And it hurts the very people it's supposed to help."Romney aides have insisted they aren't worried about the candidate's low favorability numbers compared to Obama after the brusing GOP primary. Still, some aspects of Romney's remarks Tuesday night seemed aimed at a fresh start with voters.Acknowledging it "has already been a long campaign," Romney said he looked forward to "spending time" with voters personally."I want to hear what's on your mind, hear about your concerns and learn about your families," he said. "I want to know what you think we can do to make this country better… and what you expect from your next president. And I'll tell you a little bit more about myself."Romney talked of the America he envisions should he win the presidency, with a "growing middle class … rising standards of living" and "children more successful than their parents.""In the America I see, character and choices matter. And education, hard work, and living within our means are valued and rewarded. And poverty will be defeated, not with a government check, but with respect and achievement that is taught by parents, learned in school, and practiced in the workplace," Romney said. "This is the America that was won for us by the nation's Founders, and earned for us by the Greatest Generation. It is the America that has produced the most innovative, most productive, and most powerful economy in the world, with one of the highest standards of living of any major nation."