Chelsea Green Publ. Co.
Mad sheep; the true story behind the USDA's war on a family farm.
In March of 2001 agents of the US Department of Agriculture descended on a small Vermont family farm, seizing 140 organically-raised dairy sheep imported from Britain by Linda and Larry Faillace, claiming that the sheep had been exposed to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, aka Mad Cow Disease. In this work, Linda Faillace tells the story of her and her husband's fight with the USDA over the seizure, in which they demonstrated that the sheep could not be infected only to have the USDA slaughter the flock anyway. The narrative is set within the context of the failure of the USDA to challenge big agro-industrial practices that do threaten the food supply with Mad Cow Disease and suggests that the USDA cynically seized the Faillaces' flock as a convenient scapegoat for Mad Cow fears that would not tarnish the US beef industry. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
