BSE Testing Hot Topic on “Boston Legal” With the hubbub of the election, you might have missed ABC’s “Boston Legal” tackling the beef industry. Last night’s episode centered on cattle rancher Carol Hober (Valerie Bertinelli) suing the USDA for not allowing her to test every animal on her ranch for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). During testimony, Bertinelli’s character accused the USDA of catering to corporate meat packers who are against the cost of mandatory testing, while 65 countries impose trade restrictions on U.S. beef. “That’s the policy at my ranch. We want to test every cow so we can be safe. How dare the federal government say I can’t do so,” Hober said on the stand. Proponents for USDA on the show revealed BSE testing can only detect the disease shortly before the animal exhibits symptoms—which for most U.S. cattle is after the typical age of slaughter. “First of all, testing can’t detect mad cow disease until shortly before the cow develops symptoms. Cattle are typically slaughtered at 24 months of age—that is long before the disease is detectable. Look, all this testing, testing, testing talk, the reality is, testing can’t make a difference,” said the proponent for USDA. During Shore’s cross examination, the USDA representative said that allowing some ranchers like Hober advertise the fact they test all of their animals would make the rest of the beef industry look unsafe....