Largely based on politics (as usual).

Note: The Holstien cows you see stumbling on TV are not the Holstien that tested positive for Mad Cow... That was already ground up into dog food, so they don't have TV footage of her. I have no idea what is causing those cows to stumble and fall, but it sure looks terriffying and makes for "good" news coverage.

Most cattle destine for human consumption are 2 years old (Not 5 or 6 as in this case). In the case of holstiens, usually only the males become hamburger. The females are prized for milk and calf production thus the females live longer and are more prone to development of diseases that come with age such as mad cow. But as older cows, they are also less valued for meat production, so they are more likely to end up at a rendering facility where they are only used for non-human consumption purposes.

Don't get me wrong...Some older cattle do make it into the human food chain, but as lower value cattle, they are most likely to end up as hamburger (processed in a way that doesn't favor transsmission of mad cow as there are no bones in hamburger) rather than as a steak at your local outback...

I plan on eating steak to bring in the new year. You should too!

If the price goes down, I'll love it from a consumer standpoint, but it will end up being just one more political reason for farm subsidies to increase as Republicans and Democrats alike try to terrorrize farmers and consumers alike into voting for them.

Scott Evil