Sometimes, government inspectors responsible for examining slaughterhouse cattle for mad cow disease and other ills are so short-staffed that they find themselves peering down from catwalks at hundreds of animals at once, looking for such telltale signs as droopy ears, stumbling gait and facial paralysis. The ranks of inspectors are so thin that slaughterhouse workers often figure out when ‘surprise’ visits are about to take place, and make sure they are on their best behavior. These allegations were raised by former and current U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors in the wake of the biggest beef recall in history – 143 million pounds from a California meatpacker accused of sending lame ‘downer’ cows to slaughter. The inspectors told The Associated Press that they fear chronic staff shortages in their ranks are allowing sick cows to get into the nation’s food supply, endangering the public. According to USDA’s own figures, the inspector ranks nationwide had vacancy rates of 10 percent or more in 2006-07. ‘They’re not covering all their bases. There’s a possibility that something could go through because you don’t have the manpower to check everything,’ said Lester Friedlander, a former USDA veterinary inspector at a plant […]