Maddening

29 December 2003


Mad Cow Likely to Damage US Exports

The US had its first case of Mad Cow Disease, more scientifically named bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE]. There are links between that and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease [CJD], which causes death in a matter of a year or so and has no known cure. The pity is the disease could have been prevented all over the world and was not.

BSE first arose in quantity in the UK, where it is suspected that cows were fed bone meal from scrappie-infected sheep. How the US case arose is in doubt as yet, but clearly this is a case where regulation of a market could have prevented damage to the market.

Cows are herbivorous. The consumption of animal protein is not in their nature. Whether there was any knowledge back in the 1980s of the link between such feed, BSE and CJD is irrelevant. The proper treatment of livestock requires that they be fed a diet consistent with their biology and evolution -- by governmental order. Failure to do so should result in prosecution. There won't be any in this case.

At the same time, the US government needs to get the story about CJD out. According to the BBC, there have been 137 deaths by vCJD, the variant tied to BSE. Most of these have occurred in the UK since vCJD was discovered in the 1980s. Meanwhile, the US Center for Disease Control estimates US food poisoning deaths at 5,200 per year. Bad clams and spoiled milk are dozens of times more dangerous that a steak. For more on CJD and BSE, one may visit the CJD Foundation.

With McDonald's (whose supply of beef is not connected to the infected cow according to the company) stock down 5% in a day, and with 20 nations already banning imports of US beef, the government needs to act. One hopes truth and quick action can save the day. If not, at least beef prices in the US might drop as export markets close.

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