In a shameless reference to my own Free Market Minute on mad cow disease, and the market efforts to squelch this evil, I would like to report some additional facts that did not fit well in the context of the original piece.
It turns out that my very own neighborhood has its own unique version of “homeland security,” designed to combat the dreaded mad cow disease that has been appearing in Canada, and via export, in the United States. The defense is being conducted, undercover, by none other than MY NEIGHBOR’S COW.
The more cow-savvy among you will recognize this bathtub-shaped creature as a Dexter (beef) cow; low, large, and while not mad, at least fairly ornery. The really cow savvy among you will recognize her as Heidi, living in a pasture just down the street from my house. (OK-This picture is a proxy–Heidi wishes to remain anonymous). She is a 650-lb walking pot roast. But since Heidi is a pet (for now), her only real function is to keep the neighbor’s horses company, and to act as a giant, mooing, sentry-cum-manure machine, a job she performs with volume and great abandon all over the pasture. Little did we know until recently that she was also keeping the dreaded mad cow disease at bay in our treasured homeland preserve.
How do I know this? Consider the following facts: Adjacent to Heidi’s pasture is a smallish pond, an attractive destination for migatory birds of all types. When the geese try to make camp each year, however, Heidi viciously scatters them with a bellowing charge.
Is it because they are geese?
Or because they are Canadian?
I think we can say with some certitude that Heidi’s efforts to repel foreign encroachment have not only succeeded in keeping our neighborhood mad cow-free, we are unlikely to have any Canadian surprises–including steak sauce, hamburger buns, and the like–in general.
It’s a rare animal that can truly serve so many, while asking so little in return.
