Dan Agin: Book Review: Viruses, Plagues, and History (The Huffington Post) Viruses are not our friends, and we're really only at the beginning of our understanding of what they do and how they do it. [News Source]

Attack on U.S. food supply ’easy,’ senators warn (Tiscali) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An attack on America’s food supply using biological agents or disease is easy to do, would spread fast and have a devastating economic effect, a Senate committee heard on Wednesday, as it reviewed protection for U.S. agriculture. [News Source]

Canadian animals barred from rodeo (Tiscali) CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A U.S. ban on Canadian cattle, spurred by a lone case of mad cow disease, has had an unintended consequence -- bulls bred north of the border to toss cowboys around for eight seconds at a time have been shut out of rodeo’s biggest event. [News Source]

Canada hit by mad cow fears (Tiscali) CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The world has slammed the door on Canadian beef and cattle fearing a mad cow disease outbreak as inspectors seal off more farms while racing to trace the origin of the animal confirmed as the country’s first case in a decade. [News Source]

US Meat Exports Set to Sizzle (Journal of Commerce Online) Taiwan’s decision last month to remove virtually all restrictions on its imports of U.S. beef could be the best recipe for growth in global U.S. exports of meat. [News Source]

Final Word (Inland Empire Weekly) Final Word [News Source]

Scientific advice must be respected. The Government has to cope with a host of issues — energy, climate change, food, flu pandemics, pollution — that involve complex scientific assessment. Advice is needed from those best qualified to give it — and must be as balanced and authoritative as possible. [News Source]

U.S. farm trade nominee Siddiqui defends record. The Obama administration's pick for chief agricultural trade negotiator defended himself on Wednesday against charges from environmental groups and others who said he would favor big agribusiness over small farms and organic farmers if confirmed. [News Source]

Scientific advice must be respected. The Government has to cope with a host of issues — energy, climate change, food, flu pandemics, pollution — that involve complex scientific assessment. Advice is needed from those best qualified to give it — and must be as balanced and authoritative as possible. [News Source]

U.S. farm trade nominee Siddiqui defends record. The Obama administration's pick for chief agricultural trade negotiator defended himself on Wednesday against charges from environmental groups and others who said he would favor big agribusiness over small farms and organic farmers if confirmed. [News Source]