|
Comment on this article |
View comments |
Email this Feature
|
|
News :: Health |
|
USDA And Beef Industry Downplay Discovery Of Mad Cow Disease In US Beef Supply |
Current rating: 0 |
by Benjamin Grosser
Email: grosser (nospam) uiuc.edu (unverified!) |
24 Dec 2003
|
|
Despite assurances from the USDA that they think beef is safe to eat, there may be substantial risks to beef consumers throughout the world. |
The USDA reported on Tuesday that a cow from Washington state was likely infected with Mad Cow Disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Agriculture secretary Ann Veneman, a former lobbyist for the cattle industry, sought to calm growing fears, stating that “the risk of spreading is low based on the safeguards and controls we have put in place." However, former USDA veterinarians, multiple foreign goverments, and comparitively lax USDA testing procedures suggest that fears are justified.
The infected cow was a “downer” cow from a ranch in southern Washington. According to the USDA, these downer cows, so-called because of their inability to walk (a known symptom of the disease), are routinely tested for BSE. Downer cows are typically pushed around with bulldozers, or dragged by chains before being slaughtered.
The USDA says they’ve tested about 20,000 of these cows in 2002 and 2003, or approximately ten percent of all known “downer” cows. Last July, United Press International (UPI) requested documentation of this testing. The USDA said at the time that they would forward any pertinent documents, but they have been unable to provide documentation ever since. They are required to provide this information within one month under the Freedom of Information Act.
While Veneman said there was no risk for the U.S food supply, the three largest foreign importers of US beef, Japan, Taiwan, and Mexico, quickly moved to ban its import. Russia, South Korea, and Australia have also followed suit. Japan and some European countries already require testing of every animal for BSE before it is consumed.
Former USDA veterinarians have told UPI that they have suspected for a long time that BSE was present in the US cattle supply. One such vet, Lester Friedlander, pointed out that this problem potentially affects billions of people around the world, due to the high incidence of beef export from this country.
The incubation period for BSE is three to eight years. This long period suggests that the detection and isolation of one case does not limit the potential for disease in other animals. Parts of the infected cow were sent to three different processing plants. The USDA has issued a ‘voluntary recall’ for the beef, but it may have already been consumed as food in the United States.
The disease, known in humans as variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (vCJD), is known to infect humans who eat contaminated beef. An outbreak of BSE in Britain in 1986 devastated that country’s beef industry, resulting in import bans around the world, massive destructions of animals, and 143 human deaths. The brain-wasting disease, which causes sponge-like holes in the brain, is “invariably fatal” according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
BSE is known to spread through the cannibalization of animals for animal feed that was common before the British outbreak in 1986. The brains, spinal columns and other parts of the animal relatively useless for food needs were typically fed back to the herds. In response to Britain’s outbreak of BSE, the USDA says it had banned the use of these items in cattle feed. However, despite FDA regulations in 1997 banning feed protein made from cows, sheep and deer, it is still legal to feed beef blood and beef fat to calves.
A report from the General Accounting Office from 2002 found that ranchers may be violating the 1997 ban and concluded: “While (mad cow disease) has not been found in the United States, federal actions do not sufficiently ensure that all (mad cow)-infected animals or products are kept out or that if (mad cow) were found, it would be detected promptly and not spread to other cattle through animal feed or enter the human food supply.”
Dan Murphy, spokesman for the American Meat Institute, an industry lobbying organization, said that “the U.S. beef supply is safe” and that they think “it’s safe for U.S. consumers to eat.” Ms. Veneman insists the food is safe, and plans to “serve beef for [her family’s] Christmas dinner.”
Sources:
UPI (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1224-06.htm)
UK Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4825483-110878,00.html)
NY Times (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1224-01.htm)
Associated Press (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Mad-Cow.html)
NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/24/national/24CND-COW.html)
CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/cjd/bse_cjd.htm)
Howstuffworks.com (http://science.howstuffworks.com/mad-cow-disease1.htm)
|
Comments
|
Re: USDA And Beef Industry Downplay Discovery Of Mad Cow Disease In US Beef Supply |
by LEK
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
24 Dec 2003
|
|
We need this now like a hole in the head. |
|
Some More News And Info |
by link
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 3
25 Dec 2003
|
Mad Cow Prevention Rules Violated by 300 U.S. Companies - FDA Asked to Take Action to Protect Public Health and Farmers - Oct. 10, 2003 !!
http://www.foe.org/new/releases/1003madcow.html
A listing of the 300 firms out of violating the Mad Cow prevention rules.
http://www.foe.org/factoryfarms/feedregviolators.htm
Bush Administration's Role in US Mad Cow Disease
http://www.republicons.org/view_article.asp?RP_ARTICLE_ID=1061
See http://www.foe.org/factoryfarms/
Watch this flas-movie
http://www.themeatrix.com/ |
|
One Possible Source Of WA Prion-Infected Animal Feed |
by C Hallmark
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
25 Dec 2003
Modified: 12:02:57 PM |
|
The following company in the area of the mad cow farm has been in violation of FDA mad cow regulations by handling prohibited animal protein: SEA-DO 3003384771 Rtk Producers Inc 1047 W Broadway Ave Moses Lake WA 98837-2604 OPR |
|
PR Watch's "Mad Cow USA" Available Free Online |
by Sehvilla
smann (nospam) riseup.net (verified) |
Current rating: 0
26 Dec 2003
|
The excellent investigative book "Mad Cow USA: Could the nightmare happen here?" by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton is available as a downloadable PDF file at:
http://www.prwatch.org/books/madcow.html
|
|
Re: USDA And Beef Industry Downplay Discovery Of Mad Cow Disease In US Beef Supply |
by link
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
27 Dec 2003
|
Second herd isolated in Washington
Federal and state officials have quarantined another herd of cattle in Washington after they tracked the calf of a cow infected with mad cow disease to a feeding operation in Sunnyside.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/4556796p-4530898c.html |
|
Re: USDA And Beef Industry Downplay Discovery Of Mad Cow Disease In US Beef Supply |
by link
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
27 Dec 2003
|
Second herd isolated in Washington
Federal and state officials have quarantined another herd of cattle in Washington after they tracked the calf of a cow infected with mad cow disease to a feeding operation in Sunnyside.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/4556796p-4530898c.html |
|
A Glaring Contradiction By The Bush Administration |
by Benjamin Grosser
grosser (nospam) uiuc.edu (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
27 Dec 2003
|
When Canada discovered they had a cow with BSE approximately a year ago, the United States moved to instantly ban beef imports from Canada. When the same thing is found in our animal population, the Bush administration tells the country that everything is fine--nothing to worry about.
Surely one of these two positions is not accurate as they contradict each other. If the Canadian beef was such a risk that we would not import a single burger, then why is not the same risk now? Now that its within our borders? Now that we've already sold it to consumers?
|
|
Doesn’t The Government Protect The Meat Supply? |
by link
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
28 Dec 2003
|
Because the infected cow was raised for dairy production, she had lived long enough to show symptoms of the disease. Most cows are killed before they turn 2 years old, chickens at 6 to 7 weeks, and pigs and turkeys before they’re 6 months old, long before they could become symptomatic; no one would know whether they were infected with spongy brain disease, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is doing nothing at all to try to find out. In fact, the USDA admits that it only tested about 20,000 cows (and no other animals) for BSE last year—a statistically insignificant percentage of the approximately 40 million cows and 10 billion other animals slaughtered annually.
read more: http://www.peta.org/feat/madcowus/ |
|
[Biodemocracy] ORGANIC BYTES #25 - Organic And Food News Tidbits With An Edge |
by ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
29 Dec 2003
|
ORGANIC BYTES #25
Organic and Food News Tidbits with an Edge
12/29/2003 by Organic Consumers Association
**Special Edition: Mad Cow Disease**
Feel free to forward this informative publication to family and friends,
place it on websites, print it, and post it. Knowledge is power.
----------------------------------------
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Describing the Bush administration's policy on testing cows for Mad Cow
Disease: "It is "a surveillance system, not a food safety test...'"
Describing the Japanese government's policy: "Japan tests too much, it's
'like a doctor testing every patient who comes through the door for
prostate cancer.'"
Dr. Ron DeHaven, Chief Veterinarian, U.S. Department of Agriculture New
York Times. December 26, 2004
----------------------------------------
TAKE ACTION: FAILURE OF THE USDA AND FDA
Mad Cow Disease has officially hit the United States. In Japan and
Europe, every adult cow is tested for Mad Cow Disease at
slaughter--before it enters the food chain. U.S. testing policies are
quite a bit more relaxed. Last year, while the E.U. tested 10 million
cattle for Mad Cow, the U.S. tested only 20,526 cows out of 35 million
slaughtered. Since the Mad Cow Disease outbreak in the UK, which killed
143 people, the OCA and its allies have pressured the USDA to create
standards that emulate those of Japan and the EU. Yet the USDA continues
to resist. Speaking of the fact that Japan tests ever single cow it
butchers (1.2 million/year), Dr. DeHaven, the USDA's Chief Veterinarian,
told the New York Times that the Japanese are doing too much testing.
The families and loved ones of those who have died from CJD in the U.S.
would disagree. Join millions of citizens and sign the Mad Cow USA --
Stop the Madness petition, demanding that the U.S. Government adopt and
enforce:
~ Mandatory testing for all cattle brought to slaughter, before they
enter the food chain.
~ Ban the feeding of blood, manure, and slaughterhouse waste to animals.
Please forward this email to family and friends!
Sign the petition here: http://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm
----------------------------------------
WHAT IT DOES TO A HUMAN
When a human contracts this fatal neurological disease, either
spontaneously or via eating infected meat, it is referred to as
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). There are roughly 300 new human cases
of CJD in the U.S. every year. The percentage of those cases that are
caused by undetected contamination in the food supply is unknown. Early
symptoms of the disease include escalating neurological and muscular
symptoms, including confusion, depression, behavioral changes and
impaired vision and coordination. As the disease progresses, the
symptoms worsen. The disease is incurable and always fatal.
----------------------------------------
MAD COW DISEASE: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
Since the discovery of Mad Cow Disease in the U.S. last week, the USDA
has made repeated statements that consumers need not worry, as the
disease can only be spread to humans and other cows via ingestion of
nervous system tissue from an infected cow, not muscle meat.
Interestingly enough, the USDA did inspections of meat processing
plants in 2002, and found that, due to current killing and mechanical
meat extraction practices in U.S. slaughterhouses, a full 35 percent of
beef is contaminated with nervous system tissue. Studies have shown that
many processed meats, such as ground beef, salami, bologna, hotdogs,
contain bits of the spinal column. Of course, T-bone steaks actually
contain cow vertebrae and part of the spinal chord, so according to the
Center for Science in the Public Interest, these meats need to be
avoided as well, since cooking the meat does not kill the disease. Beef
stock and beef flavoring also contain remnants of nervous system tissue,
as they are typically made from boiling the skeletal remains of
slaughtered animals. Boneless cuts can also be contaminated, in that the
animal is cut in half with a chainsaw, down the spinal column, thereby
contaminating the surrounding meat. A European study of animals
slaughtered in this manner showed 100% contamination of meat. In
addition recent studies show that infectious agents do show up in the
muscle of the meat, and that Mad Cow and Mad Cow like diseases can be
transmitted in blood.
http://organicconsumers.org/madcow/Greger122403.cfm
----------------------------------------
MAD COW ECONOMICS 101
Thanks to Mad Cow Disease, the U.S. beef industry is facing an economic
crisis. Within 24 hours of discovering Mad Cow Disease in the U.S., more
than a dozen nations banned imports of American beef, including the
U.S.'s biggest overseas customers Japan and Mexico. It is likely more
nations will ban imports in the coming days. The U.S. beef industry will
likely lose the vast majority of the $2.6 billion worth of beef products
exported last year. http://organicconsumers.org/madcow/export122503.cfm
----------------------------------------
THE POWER OF A PRION
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, otherwise known as Mad Cow Disease, is
caused by proteins, called prions, that fold themselves into abnormal
shapes. Misshaped prions then cause healthy prions to fold. Together,
they amass into clumps that kill cells and literally leave holes in the
brain. A cow could have early forms of the disease and still show
healthy behavior. If the cow is not tested before slaughter, that
infected meat enters the food supply, thereby allowing the unhealthy
prions to take hold in others. Because of their unique structure, prions
are practically invulnerable. Prions are not adequately destroyed by
cooking, canning, freezing, usable doses of radiation, digestive
enzymes, or stomach acid. One study even raised the disturbing question
of whether even incineration at temperatures hot enough to melt lead
could guarantee the inactivation of prions. Acknowledging their relative
invulnerability and fact that prion diseases are always fatal, Dr.
Michael Gregor a world renowned expert on Mad Cow Disease, says, "We
cannot risk these pathogens getting any further into the food supply
then they may already have. We need to ban the feeding of all
slaughterhouse waste to livestock as recommended by the World Health
Organization back in
1996."
----------------------------------------
COW CANNIBALS
In 1997 the FDA banned certain practices of feeding rendered bovine meat
to other cows, based on increased likelihood of spreading diseases. Yet,
within the beef industry, it is still a common practice to feed animals
blood, slaughterhouse wastes, and manure. On non-organic dairies it's a
standard practice to wean calves from their mother's milk by feeding
them bovine blood and later feeding slaughterhouse wastes, in order to
maximize profits. The problem here is that the disease can also be found
in the white blood cells. Adding to the problem, unhealthy animals,
known as "Downer-Cows", are not deemed safe for human consumption, and
are sent off to rendering plants to make oils and animal protein
products. A 2001 study in Germany found that downer-cows were up to 240
times more likely to test positive for Mad Cow Disease. In the U.S.,
only 10-15% of downer-cows are tested for the disease. Learn more and
take action --- http://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm
----------------------------------------
HOW MANY MAD COWS ARE OUT THERE?
Mad Cow Disease can be contracted via ingestion of contaminated meat,
but, according to current studies, it also spontaneously occurs, on its
own, in roughly one out of a million cows. Given the fact that the U.S.
beef industry slaughtered nearly 400 million cows in the last ten years,
statistically speaking, that should add up to an expected minimum of 400
spontaneous Mad Cow cases inside U.S. borders. Since the USDA only tests
roughly one out of every 2,000 animals, only one case has been
discovered so far, while the others have slipped through--- possibly
into the human food supply. Of course, that's just counting the
spontaneous occurrences of the disease. In addition to the spontaneous
cases, there are an unknown number of cows infected with the disease by
other cows. This has gone undetected, as well. The incubation period of
the disease is three to eight years, so the detection of one animal with
the disease suggests the strong likelihood that other cows were infected
by the same source but haven't been found yet. A 1997 FDA memorandum
predicted that if just one case of Mad Cow Disease was found in the U.S.
and a total ban on feeding animal protein to animals was implemented,
it's still possible that as many as 300,000 infected cows would be found
over the period of the disease's incubation period (three to eight
years). In short, due to scant USDA testing, no one knows how many
infected animals have already entered the human food supply.
http://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm
--------------------------------------------
TAKE ACTION
Join millions of citizens and sign the Mad Cow USA -- Stop the Madness
petition, demanding that the U.S. Government adopt and enforce:
~ Mandatory testing for all cattle brought to slaughter, before they
enter the food chain.
~ Ban the feeding of blood, manure, and slaughterhouse waste to animals.
Please forward this email to family and friends!
Sign the petition here: http://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm
----------------------------------------
NOTE TO CO-OP AND NATURAL FOOD STORE SUBSCRIBERS: Organic Bytes is a
great tool for keeping your staff and customers up to date on the latest
issues. Feel free to forward this email to your staff and print for
posting on bulletin boards and staff break tables. You are also welcome
to use this material for your newsletters. There's a super-pretty
print-friendly PDF version of this available for free download at
http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htm
---------------------------------
To subscribe to Organic Bytes, send an email to:
biodemocracy-request (at) lists.organicconsumers.org
with the word "subscribe" in subject.
To unsubscribe to Organic Bytes, send an email to:
biodemocracy-request (at) lists.organicconsumers.org
with the word "unsubscribe" in subject.
---------------------------------
ORGANIC BYTES is a publication of:
ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION
6101 Cliff Estate Road
Little Marais, MN 55614
Phone: (218) 226-4164 Fax: (218) 353-7652
---------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Biodemocracy mailing list
Biodemocracy (at) lists.organicconsumers.org
http://lists.organicconsumers.org/listinfo/biodemocracy |
|
CSPI Reacts To New BSE Safeguards |
by Center for Science in the Public Interest
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
31 Dec 2003
|
WASHINGTON - December 31 - Statement of CSPI Food Safety Director Caroline Smith DeWaal
Today’s announcement by USDA represents several leaps forward for consumers, but unfortunately USDA delayed these needed reforms too long to prevent the fallout from the first case of mad cow disease in the U.S.
A ban on specified risk materials in the human food supply only applies to animals 30 months or older, despite the fact that several cattle found to harbor the disease were younger than 24 months of age.
USDA has finally announced that meat from Advanced Meat Recovery (AMR) systems that contains spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia fails to meet food safety standards and can’t be sold for human consumption, but enforcement is largely dependent on infrequent government testing. USDA’s own tests have documented that the meat that comes from these machines frequently contains spinal cord and isn’t fit for human consumption. USDA’s announcement on AMR meat doesn’t go nearly far enough to protect consumers.
Finally, USDA’s announced animal identification system is critically needed. This is an important improvement that has too long been delayed due to opposition from the cattle industry.
http://www.cspinet.org |
|
Thanks For The Summary |
by pm
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 3
31 Dec 2003
|
Articles like this one are useful because they're basically what we get from our local (and national) newspapers, but edited from a point of view that's critical of agents of power, not apologetic toward them. Whenever the News-Gazette presents national news, we have to remember that a conservative editor, sensitive to advertisers, corporate farmers, and other conservative agents, have chosen what we see and how we see it.
I'd like to see more articles like this: main-stream accounts re-edited for a literate, critical audience. Thank you, Ben, for the effort it took to compile this. |
|
Re: USDA And Beef Industry Downplay Discovery Of Mad Cow Disease In US Beef Supply |
by futrelle
futrelle (nospam) shout.net (verified) |
Current rating: 0
07 Jan 2004
|
Here's an excellent article describing how Mad Cow may already be more widespread in humans in the U.S. than we may think, because of inadequate data gathering:
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0107-07.htm |
|
Re: USDA And Beef Industry Downplay Discovery Of Mad Cow Disease In US Beef Supply |
by futrelle
futrelle (nospam) shout.net (verified) |
Current rating: 0
08 Jan 2004
|
CNN.com has an article (by a reporter named Betsy) called "Mad Cow: How afraid should you be?"
Not surprisingly, it tries to downplay the risks.
What irked me initially was the headline. As if the only thing concerned citizens should do about a public health issue is to be afraid of it. Imagine if the headline was "unwanted pregnancy: how afraid should you be?"
</SoapBox>
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/01/08/mad.cow.health/index.html |
|
Re: USDA And Beef Industry Downplay Discovery Of Mad Cow Disease In US Beef Supply |
by Michael Fumento
fumento (nospam) pobox.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
26 Jan 2004
|
|
Excuse me, but there are only 6.3 billion people in the world and billions of them have never tasted beef much less imported beef from anywhere. This is just innuendo and asking scary questions without providing meaningful answers. |
|
