OT: BSE (aka Mad Cow Disease) in the US

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Processing of animals into meat results in a lot of waste byproducts afterall. You can't exactly dump it down the drain.

idea: stick it in the landfill. the decomposition will provide nutrients for further decomposition of everything else.

[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by Renegade 13:
In Canada, the practice of feeding the rendered leftovers of slaughtered animals to other animals was made illegal in 1997. However, in the United States, the practice is still (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong) in effect. Also, the US has 10 times the number of cattle than Canada does, therefore the odds are the US has many undetected cases of BSE lurking somewhere. Personally, the whole idea of getting BSE from animals doesn't worry me. Very, very few people die from v.CJD from eating contaminated meat.
However, if you look at food poisoning, lots of people die each week from that illness, and yet we never hear anything about that in the news. Much of the hype has to do with calling it "Mad Cow Disease". I think that's at least half the problem.

The practice is explicitly illegal in the US now, and you are required to keep clear records of what you feed your cattle in order to prove they have not been given unapproved food(s). McDonalds, that archetype of pop-culture cheapness and paragon of corporate sleaziness (remember the McLibel trial in Britain?), caused a major stir in the beef industry a few years ago by publicly stating it would not buy beef from suppliers who could not provide the required records. They have real economic reasons to take this seriously, of course. If people become afraid to eat beef, McD's busines goes poof in short order...

[ October 10, 2003, 00:59: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[Mephisto]

TerranC, the Reuter link did not provide any information why there couldn't be undetected cases of BSE. BSE can occur naturally without being exposed to contagious material. So, if there are enough cows out there, you will have some with BSE no matter what. The question is, what do we do about this, especially if we remember that BSE (and similar diseases) are already out there for years (if not centuries...)?

[TerranC]

Originally posted by Mephisto:
TerranC, the Reuter link did not provide any information why there couldn't be undetected cases of BSE. BSE can occur naturally without being exposed to contagious material. So, if there are enough cows out there, you will have some with BSE no matter what. The question is, what do we do about this, especially if we remember that BSE (and similar diseases) are already out there for years (if not centuries...)?

But it does say that there were no further cases of BSE found in Canada; which was the point I was trying to convey.

[DavidG]

Hmmm now things should get interesting. I wonder how the US will react now that the shoe is on the other foot.

[Unknown_Enemy]

No punt intended, but I remember reading an article two years ago explaining how unlikely it was that USA was free of the mad cow disease.

On the Mac Donald case, kudos to them, it is a good thing a corp can put its acts together and act in a sensitive way.

[Renegade 13]

Guess I should rename this thread from Mad Cow Disease in Canada to Mad Cow Disease in the US! Personally, I'm interested to see if the US will FINALLY open the border to Canadian beef.

Renegade 13