NYT: MEAT INSPECTION SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK

This could've been the first post, but I didn't want to start with one that required registration. Anyway, it's the latest installment in a 100-year-old trend: Authorities are shocked, shocked, that meat contaminated with feces and the bacteria that come from feces is routinely, consistently reaching consumers ... yet nothing happens to ameliorate the situation. Not only that, it's getting worse, according to this latest GAO report. From the story: "The tradition at U.S.D.A. is you do everything possible to avoid closing a plant because the U.S.D.A.'s mandate from Congress is to promote consumption and production of agricultural projects," Carol Foreman said. "But there is a conflict of interest between that and public health, and protection of public health always comes in second."