Canada bans brains, just to be safe: Canada will introduce new mad cow safeguards as it looks to persuade key trading partners to reopen their markets to Canadian beef, according to a source who expects health and agriculture ministers to make the announcement today.

The federal government will ban the use of spines and brains from cattle older than 30 months in human food, the source told Reuters. Ottawa will also introduce measures within the next two weeks to ban the use of such spines and brains in animal feed and also to keep a closer eye on the health of cattle, the source said.

The steps come in the wake of a single case of mad cow disease that prompted the United States, Japan and many other countries to impose crippling bans on Canadian cattle and beef.

Ban on brains and spines? Now I remember why I went vegitarian for a period in my youth.