GIVE UP BEEF TODAY - GET MAD COW IN 2017?

That's the same span of time for Japan's first human case of mad cow disease, which authorities last week said was probably contracted in 1989. "The confirmation - which was revealed after the man died of the fatal brain-wasting disease in December - is likely to further alarm a public skittish about food safety," says the AP story. Except that the public barely pays attention to anything, so we'll have to see if this has any effect whatsoever that way. But the fact remains that anyone who thinks they'll be safe from Mad Cow once the USDA and FDA actually start enforcing their new safety procedures is delusional.