Another Opinion Among Many

I was cruising around the net and came across this story, linked from Alabama Improper.  It got me thinking about the whole way nations and countries seem to play on the problems and, perhaps weaknesses, of the others on a constant basis in order to boost their own standing in the world and within.  The article is reporting on a case of mad cow disease found in an Alabama town and its potential to affect trade with other countries, like Japan, which has a population that loves their beef.  Its interesting how diseases such as this can nearly devastate an industry.  I know that the one case found on one farm in western Canada, closed the border to the US market for two years, causing a sharp rise on beef consumer prices that hasn’t gone down.  I recently went to the local supermarket, hoping for a decent price and there aren’t really even any choice cuts to choose from any more.  If one wants to get a decent ribeye or T-bone cut, one will be required to fork over $30-40/kg (about $13-17/lb).  If you want a tougher cut, like blade or outside round, which is “billed as” a simmering cut, you’ll only pay $20/kg.  How lucky! The only time I see anything close to a reasonable price is when the big meat packing plants have too much old cow left in their freezers and have to be rid of it to make room for the prime (read that as profitable) slabs.

I don’t have a clue how the British did it, with nearly their entire bovine population exterminated.  How does one become viable again after something like this?
Do you think that this type of protectionism is a good thing?  Or, is a freer trade more useful? Do you think that the protectionist policies of most countries  interfere with good medical caution? Are the lengths of time we shut off the supply of goods from a certain market, due to a supposed health risk, too long? Are these “bans” reflective of good health prudence?  Or, are they a result of a “smash and grab” mentality of certain domestic interests within the nations involved?