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

[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 ]