ANTI-MAD COW FEED RULES STILL NOT IN EFFECT

Keeping in mind that once our cattle industry does actually change its practices, there will still be many years of backlog in the system that could spell BSE disaster for any given burger-eater, it's somewhat troubling that the much-ballyhooed feed regulations announced three months ago - banning cow blood in anything fed to cows, for instance - are still not being enforced in the least.

"Despite the urgent tone of that January announcement," the Boston Globe notes, "the proposed rules have yet to go into effect, and farmers can use the risky feed with impunity." They add that the rules, to become enforceable, "must be published in the Federal Register, a daily compendium of federal government actions. In January, federal health officials said it would be only a matter of days. But, to date, they have not appeared." Well, they've got a lot on their plate, you know?