Lav

Political nerd | She/Her | My views only

[Rep. Shontel Brown @RepShontelBrown]

Leaving this here, in case anyone is wondering why we have screwworm in the US for the first time since the 1960s.

The DOGE stupidity from Trump and Rollins will end up COSTING taxpayers money.

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: A secret camera has been discovered in a ceiling panel in a sensitive Government building where the decision was made to approve the new Chinese embassy

[@theipaper]

[Nomadic Warriors for Pritzker⚔️ @Nomads4Pritzker]

So, I've worked in the beef industry. I have a fairly detailed knowledge of beef markets, the supply chain, parasites and parasiticides, etc. Suffice it to say, this is a nightmare scenario, but one we've known was coming since at least 2022.

New World Screwworm was eradicated from North and Central America in the mid-90's. The US gov't (APHIS) funded a program of screwworm drops, where they bred sterile males so that extant populations couldn't reproduce and move northwards. But in 2022 NWS jumped the Darien gap and started moving northwards once again. It's most likely that they came undetected on livestock brought alongside migrants fleeing political instability in South and Central America. Elon Musk/DOGE, of course, cut several monitoring programs that would have detected this exact scenario. The screwworm drops are still funded, but the monitoring programs are what have been cut - a stupid move if there ever was one.

A serious Central/South America policy would have worked hand-in-hand with CA/SA governments to help contain this, but we've never had a serious policy towards South America, not during the Biden years, and especially not under Trump. The USDA broke ground on a sterile screwworm facility in Texas... last month. I worry it's too little, too late.

Screwworm is so dangerous because, unlike other fly larvae, they lay eggs and feed on living flesh. So something like a small scratch (or even bug bite) can quickly becomes infested, and the larvae will burrow into the flesh, growing the wound and attracting more screwworm. They don't only parasitize cattle, but will also feed on wildlife, domestic pets, even humans. Since they have detected screwworms in domesticated cattle right now, it's likely that there is a wild reservoir as well. We can quarantine herds and pets, but we can't quarantine deer and armadillos. They will move, and so will the NWS.

Under normal circumstances, cattle are moved around - a lot. Calves will be sent to stockers through their adolescence, then shipped to feedlots for finishing. A lot of calving operations (like 70%) are small, and small-time producers don't always catch parasite infestations. Cattle moved in-state don't require a certificate of veterinary inspection, so it's easy for an infested animal to be moved without being noticed. Animals crossing state lines do need a CVI, but Texas has such an enormous cattle population (something like 13 million head) that as goes Texas, so goes the nation.

Fortunately, we have a lot of drugs that treat NWS. The FDA has issued several emergency use authorizations in the last year or so. But every input raises the price of beef, and treatment only makes a difference if producers catch an infestation early. If an infestation spreads unnoticed on a large feedlot, it can hit hard, both in terms of cattle that have to be killed, and treatments that then have to be deployed. Producers will spend days at a time running cattle through the chute, inspecting them and applying parasiticides. It costs a lot of money, which is then passed on to the consumer.

What does that mean for you? Beef is a commodity, and just because there's no NWS up here in Illinois doesn't mean that prices won't skyrocket - and they will skyrocket. US herd size is already at record lows, and this will result in culls. Consumer prices also run 18-24 months behind, which means that shocks to the supply chain now are still going to be felt by consumers in 2028.

It's hard to say if our government will be able to muster an effective response - though I don't trust our current administration, which can't even throw a 250th anniversary party, to be able to deal with an ecological issue of this magnitude. It doesn't help that our current USDA secretary is a lawyer and think-tank creature. I don't much trust the state government of Texas either. The industry has also taken the workforce of large animal veterinarians for granted - a monopoly/market power issue that I just can't get in to here.

For me, it comes back to our federal government having an incoherent policy on Central and South America. We knew what was coming, we know what's going to happen, but we cut the program meant to prevent this scenario. Instead of taking those countries seriously as partners, the government has been stupid and domineering.

Here's the kicker: this is what the industry voted for. They might scream, they might get bailed out, but all that means is that you, the consumer, are going to be paying more for beef, plus whatever bailout gets shoveled their way. Until the industry accepts that they are part of a larger system; that they cannot eternally privatize the gains and publicize the losses of beef production; that they need to consider sustainability and stewardship in the management of their operations, this is only going to keep happening. Eventually, they may find that there is very little goodwill for them among the public, and people will decide that a Brazilian ribeye tastes just as good as one from Texas.

[Jonathan Richie @JRichieTX]

UPDATE: New World Screwworm is no longer contained to Texas.

USDA says that the infested dog announced earlier today lives in Lea County, New Mexico and will be reclassified as the first detection in that state.

And now a goat in Gillespie County, TX, has also been confirmed.

[Chris @TrixStar76]

@Acyn “
Last administration didn’t cancel these programs

[Mother Jones @MotherJones]

US accepts only white refugees for sixth consecutive month https://t.co/2l6otgHsaQ

[Lav @lav__k]

Hope this loser is packing his bags and moving his crystals to mars

[Spencer Hakimian @SpencerHakimian]

🚨BREAKING: Spencer Pratt (C List Actor) officially LOSES in Los Angeles.

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

The real two-tier scandal in the UK is the relentless double standard approach of a media which lets one party leader get away with financial dodgery that would drive them into a frenzy if it involved someone their billionaire owners didn’t want in power because they believed in things like fairness and equality

[NewsCord @newscord_org]

A white man named Chas Chorrigan has just been jailed for life for murdering a Saudi student, Mohammed Algasim, in Cambridge.

There will be no political circus around this. No strong words from Farage. This selective outrage is what causes further division.

[Cathy Newman @cathynewman]

After @Keir_Starmer accused @elonmusk of whipping up division I thought I’d share some of the misogynistic abuse and death threats I’ve received on this platform. 👀
https://t.co/5FBBVbjZtA

[No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen @NoLieWithBTC]

Marco Rubio yesterday: “I have never seen Trump fall asleep.”

[David Pocock @DavidPocock]

AstraZeneca's decision to withdraw this drug from the PBS will affect 1000's of women in Australia living with endo & breast cancer.

They say it's a "commercial decision" but are leaving the higher dose used for prostate cancer as is.

I asked questions at Estimates yesterday on behalf of Canberrans who had contacted me, worried about what their treatment looks like in the future.

I urge AZ to front up and explain what's happening - women with breast cancer deserve transparency here.
https://t.co/Ik0FCb8EBp

[Lav @lav__k]

Mad fuck. He should be nowhere near nukes

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

Reporter: How do you define ceasefire?

Trump: “I'd say in that part of the world, ceasefire is when you're shooting in a more moderate manner.”

Huh?

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Warning over US tech firm's 'unacceptable' role in Britain

https://t.co/gvBhfNaPKW

[Lav @lav__k]

He's in jail, where he should be. And you should be too - for inciting a riot and politicising a family's pain for your personal gain. Disgusting

[Nigel Farage MP @Nigel_Farage]

I have written to the Attorney General and referred Henry Nowak’s murderer under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.

A Reform government would not allow him to walk free from prison.

[Lav @lav__k]

These same idiots voted for Brexit a decade ago and annihilated the economy because they were so deeply racist against Polish people. Genuinely, there should be a tax imposed on leavers for the self harm and stupidity they've inflicted on us all 😤👇

[🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @BF44_]

The Poles are some people, give them a few cans of Tyskie and they’d go to war with us 🇬🇧 🇵🇱

[Peter Stefanovic @PeterStefanovi2]

Keir Starmer condemns Nigel Farage for "whipping up" division against the wishes of Henry Nowak's family

[Dez Walker @Dez_Walker]

The fact that this Spencer Pratt dude is even a viable candidate isn’t even a surprise considering where America is right now.

America is full of largely uneducated, unserious Americans. Which is why we have a stupid person that just learned how to spell “dumb” as president.

[Lav @lav__k]

This loser really has the gall to cry poor.

[Los Angeles Times @latimes]

Spencer Pratt and his wife Heidi Montag pulled up to the back of Don Antonio’s in a Cadillac Escalade amid a stream of sports cars and Black SUVs at around 7:30 p.m.

[Lav @lav__k]

@Channel4News 100% right