Creekstone Farms Premium Beef Company

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef may hire former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and his law firm to sue the government for refusing to allow independent testing for mad cow disease, a company executive told Reuters. The U.S. Department of Agriculture this month rejected the small meatpacker's request for permission to test all its cattle for mad cow disease so Creekstone could resume the sale of Angus beef to Japanese customers.

A Kansas meatpacker has sparked an industry fight by proposing testing all the company's cattle for mad cow disease. Creekstone Farms wants to look for the disease in every animal it processes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said no. Creekstone says it intends to sue the department. "Our customers, particularly our Asian customers, have requested it over and over again," Chief Executive John Stewart said Wednesday.