Many of us don't want to think about where beef really comes from. Sure, we know it comes from cattle, but we really don't want to be reminded how they are commercially raised to become tomorrow night's supper.
All that changed in late December, when the U.S.'s first case of mad cow (BSE) disease was discovered in a Washington state Holstein cow. For the first time, many Americans were exposed to the intricacies of the beef processing industry, and realized they can't take food safety for granted.