corrente

Bush and Rove via the USDA AP:

Investigators tentatively traced the first U.S. cow with mad cow disease to Canada, which could help determine the scope of the outbreak and might even limit the economic damage to the American beef industry.

Reuters via Forbes:

"It would be premature to draw such a conclusion at this time ... As yet, there is no definitive evidence that confirms that the BSE-infected cow originated in Canada," chief Canadian veterinarian Dr Brian Evans told a news conference.

I'd like to believe the USDA. But since they are POTL , that's hard to do.
More:

American officials originally said the infected animal was 41/2 years old. But the ear tag identification linking the cow to an Alberta herd is for an animal born in April 1997 -- making it 61/2 years old.

“No ear tag is tamper-proof, ear tags can be removed and reapplied, but again, we’re not intimating that that in fact is the circumstance here,” said Evans.

“What we’re suggesting is that we need to verify, using scientific methods such as DNA, that the animal that left Canada with that ear tag is in fact the animal that the U.S. is pursuing at this point.”

Of course, the real villain is not the farmer, but our corporatized food supply. Buy locally!

UPDATE: Read up on the Slow food movement.