Suddenly Mad Cow United States

This case of mad cow seems another example of business before people at USDA.

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I know of another death right before Christmas in the Washington DC area. Once again, it "escaped" the notice of the press.

Another case of Mad Cow disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE) in the United States has been confirmed. Although this is not an environmental issue, it does show the lack of credibility of the United States government in one more matter.

If the government does not offer adequate protections, can you protect yourself by not eating beef?

Does this affect people who do not eat beef?

This seems another example of business before people at USDA.

Although the Agriculture Department confirmed June 24, 2005, that a cow that died in 2004 was infected with mad cow disease, at least one test the agency conducted seven months ago indicated that the animal had the disease. The result of this test, deemed experimental, was never publicly disclosed.

The delay in confirming the United States' second case of mad cow disease seems to underscore what critics of the agency have said for a long time: There are serious and systemic problems in the way the Agriculture Department tests animals for mad cow disease and allows questionable feeding practices for cattle.

Despite criticism the USDA:

Still refuses to test more than a tiny fraction of U.S. cattle.
Allows brains and spines of young cattle to be made into feed for pigs or chickens
Allows poultry litter containing spilled cattle meal (cattle rendered into feed) to be fed back to cattle.
Allows cows to eat dried restaurant ''plate waste'' which often includes beef products.
Allows calves to drink ''milk replacer'' made from cattle blood. Many studies show that blood can transmit mad cow and other mad cow-like diseases. In laboratories, about 20% of cows injected with BSE-tainted blood eventually got the disease.

2. Bovines are in many foods that might not be thought of as beef-based, such as candy, yogurt, cake mixes, mayonnaise, and soups.

Mad cow disease is thought to be caused by a prion, or infectious protein. Prions raise concerns because they are not adequately destroyed by heat.

So even if you never ingest a hamburger or steak, you may still be eating mad cow prions hidden in your foods.

3. Bovines are in many beauty products and supplements.

Bovine products can be used in cosmetics and supplements as long as it is not material from:

Non-ambulatory, disabled cattle
Mechanically separated (MS) beef
Cattle that have not been inspected and passed for human consumption
Tonsils and small intestine of cattle of all ages
Organs from cattle 30 months of age or older in which infectious prions are most likely to occur such as the brain, skull, eyes, and spinal cord.

That leaves a whole lot of cow to go into other products or be hidden in foods.

Checking the labels of foods may help you. Checking the labels of cosmetics will not help as there is no way to know whether the collagen or ceramide in your product comes from animals or plants.

4. There seems to be a slight doubt about milk, too.

Milk is not known to carry BSE but in theory, milk could carry BSE. If milk carries BSE, the prions are very resistant to heat. Since they aren’t even completely destroyed from standard autoclaving procedures which sterilize medical instruments, the pasteurization process will not be effective. Thus, BSE could conceivably enter the human body through milk.

5. There is no ban on feeding rendered cattle to pigs and chickens.

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That brings up two more questions:

If prions can cross species from cows to people, why can’t they do it via pigs, whose bodies are enough like us that they are studied as sources of possible heart transplants?

What if the farmer makes a simple mistake and confuses pig food with food for cattle?

And remember this, poultry litter is the mixture of excrement, spilled feed (which contains rendered cattle), dirt, feathers, etc. which is gathered up from the floors of poultry sheds. It is fed directly to cattle as a cheap source of food.

6. Mad Cow disease is frightening for the sake of those we love who eat beef.

"The administration's response to mad cow disease appears to be more public relations than public health," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in a statement.

Until USDA tests for and finds BSE is the U.S. on a large scale, and then admits we have a problem, our loved ones will continue to eat beef.

Sources: USDA, CNN, New York Times, Michael Greger, MD

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