Mad Cow Disease

An international news released in March, Earthsave joined with the physicians committee for responsible medicine (PCRM) in Washington, DC to draw attention to mad cow disease. The release also sought to counter the mistaken, albeit widely reported notion that beef can be safe if only we somehow purge the meat supply of contaminants and contagions, such as the infectious agent responsible for mad cow disease. Is it safe? The fact is, when cows are healthy, eating them isn’t. According to numerous studies by noted researchers, too many people worldwide are already suffering and dying from deadly substances found in beef, as well as in poultry, pork, fish, and dairy products.

The accumulation of abnormal prions in the brain causes neuronal cells to die and a type of protein called amyloid to accumulate in plaques or flat areas and causes degeneration of brain tissue... ... middle of paper ... ...a BSE case in a dairy cow born in Alberta in 2004 (Mad Cow Disease Outbreaks Timeline). Since 1989, when the first BSE case was reported outside UK, a total of 1,088,556 cases have been reported from a number of different countries (Questions & Answers: BSE). The widespread infection of cattle in the United Kingdom with Mad Cow disease caused panic worldwide and resulted in major changes to the cattle industry. Mad Cow disease caused millions of cattle to be slaughtered to prevent the disease from becoming a worldwide epidemic. Laws were implemented to regulate what is fed to the cattle and what parts of cattle can be used in animal and human food to help prevent the spread of the disease among cattle and from cattle to humans.

Ironically and rather unfortunately, the present situation is that while the poor nations of the world are starving their own populations to produce and export beef, the rich, who are able to afford beef, are dying from diseases. Rifkin has several chapters dedicated to the host of illnesses those beef eating individuals are susceptible to. The titles include, “Sacrifice to Slaughter,” "Cows Devour People, “and "Marbled Specks of Death." One point he makes is that because of the widespread use of antibiotics among the cattle industry, the “human population is increasingly vulnerable to mor virulent strains of disease-causing bacteria” (12). Rifkin further attests that beef, but ranks second as the food posing the greatest cancer risk.

Unfortunately, the media is quick to show infected cows, distempered and shaking in their stalls, without giving sufficient information of the disease’s origin or the preventative measures being taken to halt its spreading. Before consumers restrict beef intake from their diets they should consider their risks. In America, chances of developing BSE is far slimmer than becoming infected with other food-borne illnesses. Although many Americans were recently startled by a reported case of Mad Cow Disease in the United States, they are assured protection from infection by: consumption of selected meats, closely guarded packaging plants, and regulation in beef imports. To fully understand the spreading of BSE, one must first know the diseases origin.

No one really knows what causes BSE, but what theories the scientists say might cause this disease is a protein called a prion. This occurrence made the people even more worried, this would also lead to business failure for the beef industries. Canada’s beef industry was shattered on May 20, 2003 when they found out that a cow in northern Alberta was tested positive for mad cow disease. Canada at the time was the third largest exporter of beef in the world. After the mad cow incident during the months of June July and August the values of the Canadian exports went down to ... ... middle of paper ... ... meat and you decide to still keep on doing so, your best way to protect your self if to know where the animal is raised.

If my word dissection is correct, the disease can be broken down to enceph meaning the brain and pathy meaning disease. * Overall, it is a disease that turns the brain into a sponge-like chunk of meat. At first, the only time I have heard of the Mad Cow Disease was in my European History class and it was only a brief sentence that was spoken about it, but boy, what a sentence it was. It seems as though during the 1980s, to save money, Great Britain's ranchers began to feed grounded up dead animals (who have died from disease) to their cattle. Now isn't that disgusting?

Even if these animals are infectious, they still slaughter and sell them which results in the consumer’s health possibly being effected. Another way our meat gets infected is when the animals stand in their manure all day long so if one has it, they all will get it. Also, since they stand in their manure, all of the hides are covered in it which gets in the meat because they slaughter about 400 cattle an hour so they cannot keep the manure from getting on the carcasses. One person in specific that was effected by E. Coli 0157h7 is Kevin Kowalcyk. He was just two and a half years old when he passed away, due to eating a hamburger that was infected.

It is very possible to be infected by any products that are used from cows, ... ... middle of paper ... ...ed Press. "Study Backs Humans ILLs, Mad Cow Link" Chicago Tribune 21 Dec. 1999: 1-4 Burros, Marian. "Irradiation of beef remains a tough sell to consumer." Chicago Tribune 9 May. 2001: 1-4.

This ban effectively crippled the UK beef export market in addition to sending a shock throughout Europe concerning beef safety. News of this ban spread throughout the world portraying images of infected cattle stumbling and falling unable to maintain their balance. While the scientific community was, at the time, unsure of the nature of the link between MCD and CJD, if any, the effects of the outbreak may have been much further reaching than Europe. It is arguable that North America was also impacted to some extent, whether long term or short, by the MCD scares. In the days that followed the ban on UK beef, beef futures in Chicago fluctuated as traders were torn between two economic forces.

Yes, we should be concerned about what we are eating. There are three reasons why it is important for us to be concerned and those are genetically modified foods (GMO) are harming us and the environment, fish/ animals are now being modified and chicken and cows are being kept in rough conditions. We should be concerned about the health of the animals that we are eating because if they are not consuming any healthy food we will not get our required nutrients. In the movie Food Inc. it shows how cows are only supposed to eat grass which is essential to them however we are now feeding them corn which makes the cows bigger and fatter faster than usual but there are many things wrong with it. This could cause Cows to raise the acid level this also creates existence for the dangerous disease E. Coli.