food supply

The American Humane Society has filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration over a loophole in federal law that allowed beef from "downer cows" to enter the US food supply.

A downer cow is a cow that cannot walk. In some cases, this can be a symptom of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the so-called mad cow disease, that can be fatal when transmitted to humans through the food supply.