Was the Cow You Just Ate - MAD???

[Tiger]

As in Mad Cow?

Gee I'm glad to be a vegetarian! ;D


Officials also revealed that the Holstein was aged six, older than previously thought. This meant it could, theoretically, have become infected by eating contaminated feed of a kind banned in the US and Canada since 1997, after the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Britain.

Earlier, the White House had sought to calm fears over the threat posed by BSE, telling the public that President Bush was dining on beef at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. The government also scrambled to trace and recall any products that could be linked to animals in the same herd as the diseased cow - including bone-meal garden fertiliser and traditional candle tallow.



More carnivorous news here:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/28/wmoo28.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/12/28/ixnewstop.html

[NorNec]

It appears to me that more people have died from e coli from un-pastureized apple juice than infected Beef from BSE. I wonder about those poor folks who got hepetitis C from those green onions?

Life gives us many challenges,......but claiming superiority of what you eat?...Give thanks for anything you CAN eat.

[Julia]

I eat so little beef that it will not be hard at all to not eat anymore. NO more beef for me. The Wellington on Christmas Eve was the last cow flesh for me. Sushi is better anyway. :D

Here's more:

Published on Thursday, December 25, 2003 by the New York Times
Expert Warned That Mad Cow Was Imminent
by Sandra Blakeslee

Ever since he identified the bizarre brain-destroying proteins that cause mad cow disease, Dr. Stanley Prusiner, a neurologist at the University of California at San Francisco, has worried about whether the meat supply in America is safe.

He spoke over the years of the need to increase testing and safety measures. Then in May, a case of mad cow disease appeared in Canada, and he quickly sought a meeting with Ann M. Veneman, the secretary of agriculture. He was rebuffed, he said in an interview yesterday, until he ran into Karl Rove, senior adviser to President Bush.

So six weeks ago, Dr. Prusiner, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on prions, entered Ms. Veneman's office with a message. "I went to tell her that what happened in Canada was going to happen in the United States," Dr. Prusiner said. "I told her it was just a matter of time."

The department had been willfully blind to the threat, he said. The only reason mad cow disease had not been found here, he said, is that the department's animal inspection agency was testing too few animals. Once more cows are tested, he added, "we'll be able to understand the magnitude of our problem."

This nation should immediately start testing every cow that shows signs of illness and eventually every single cow upon slaughter, he said he told Ms. Veneman. Japan has such a program and is finding the disease in young asymptomatic animals.

Fast, accurate and inexpensive tests are available, Dr. Prusiner said, including one that he has patented through his university.

Ms. Veneman's response (he said she did not share his sense of urgency) left him frustrated. That frustration soared this week after a cow in Washington State was tentatively found to have the disease. If the nation had increased testing and inspections, meat from that cow might never have entered the food chain, he said.

Ms. Veneman was not available for interviews yesterday, and the White House referred all questions to the department. A spokeswoman for Ms. Veneman, Julie Quick, said: "We have met with many experts in this area, including Dr. Prusiner. We welcome as much scientific input and insight as we can get on this very important issue. We want to make sure that our actions are based on the best available science."

In Dr. Prusiner's view, Ms. Veneman is getting poor scientific advice. "U.S.D.A. scientists and veterinarians, who grew up learning about viruses, have difficulty comprehending the novel concepts of prion biology," he said. "They treat the disease as if it were an infection that you can contain by quarantining animals on farms. It's as though my work of the last 20 years did not exist."

Scientists have long been fascinated by a group of diseases, called spongiform encephalopathies, that eat away at the brain, causing madness and death. The leading theory was that they were caused by a slow-acting virus. But in 1988, Dr. Prusiner proposed a theory that seemed heretical at the time: the infectious agent was simply a type of protein, which he called prions.

Prions (pronounced PREE-ons), he and others went on to establish, are proteins that as a matter of course can misfold — that is, fold themselves into alternative shapes that have lethal properties — and cause a runaway reaction in nervous tissue. As more misfolded proteins accumulate, they kill nerve cells.

Animals that eat infected tissues can contract the disease, setting off an epidemic as animals eat each other via rendered meats. But misfolded proteins can also arise spontaneously in cattle and other animals, Dr. Prusiner said. It is not known whether meat from animals with that form of the disease could pass the disease to humans, he said, but it is a risk that greatly worries him.

Cattle with sporadic disease are probably entering the food chain in the United States in small numbers, Dr. Prusiner and other experts say.

Brain tissue from the newly discovered dairy cow in Washington is now being tested in Britain to see if it matches prion strains that caused the mad cow epidemic there, or if it is a homegrown American sporadic strain, Dr. Prusiner said.

"The problem is we just don't know the size of the problem," he said. "We don't know the prevalence or incidence of the disease."

more... (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1225-01.htm)


AND:

U.S. Mad Cow Link Questioned in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Cases
Fri December 26, 2003 08:27 PM ET
By Jed Seltzer and Elinor Mills Abreu

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Family and friends of American victims of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the fatal brain disorder sometimes linked to mad cow disease, on Friday questioned whether the wasting illness that killed their loved ones was actually due to eating contaminated U.S. beef.

After federal authorities said on Tuesday that a cow in Washington state was found to have mad cow disease, public health experts have been calling for a review of the U.S. Agriculture Department's screening procedures for cattle.

But some victim's families have gone further, saying that the human form of the disease may have already hit the United States and that the government has been lax in its testing possible links and enforcing safety standards.

"The most frustrating part of this disease is that there are no answers," said Chris Turnley, whose brother Peter Putnam, who grew up in Washington state, died of the disease last October at age 35. "They need to figure out the cause but also start figuring out treatments."

So far, none of the roughly 300 cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease diagnosed in the United States each year has been linked to U.S.-produced beef, said Pierluigi Gambetti, director of the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western University.

But Dr. Michael Greger, a doctor in Scarsdale, New York, and coordinator for Organic Consumers Association, said it would be wrong to take comfort from that statistic. The disease has a long incubation period and few dementia-related deaths in the United States are investigated.

"There have been no confirmed cases, but just as there weren't any confirmed cases of mad cow disease, it is a function of how hard one looks for it," Greger said.

more... (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4047961&pag eNumber=1)

Sometimes I crave a big, juicy hamburger. But to me, its not worth the risk. I like my brain too much. :D

[Julia]

It appears to me that more people have died from e coli from un-pastureized apple juice than infected Beef from BSE. I wonder about those poor folks who got hepetitis C from those green onions?

Life gives us many challenges,......but claiming superiority of what you eat?...Give thanks for anything you CAN eat.


It was hep A; hep C is only transmitted through blood or bodily fluids, like HIV.

[truelies]

Ha!!!!!!!! I spit on danger. We here at NOPC have been enduring a MANCOW epidemic for months. Could MADCOW possibly be any worse? At least with that you eventually die and the pain ends.

[Julia]

Ha!!!!!!!! I spit on danger. We here at NOPC have been enduring a MANCOW epidemic for months. Could MADCOW possibly be any worse? At least with that you eventually die and the pain ends.


The difference is that one causes gibbering and foaming at the mouth, while the other just does it. :D

[arod]

I've heard that the dangerous proteins exist only in the animal's brain and spinal column, and that they wouldn't be an issue were it not standard practice to split the animal right down the middle.

[Julia]

I've heard that the dangerous proteins exist only in the animal's brain and spinal column, and that they wouldn't be an issue were it not standard practice to split the animal right down the middle.


That's what I have read, too. So if you stick to a steak, rather than ground beef, there is less risk of contracting the human form of BSE. But, there IS nervous tissue in muscle meat, so I would think that there is still a risk...

Plus...if I understand correctly, it is common practice to send the brain and spinal column, along with other "waste" parts to be rendered. After rendering, it is made into animal feed and often fed back to the cows. That is also why I do not feed my dog commercial dog food.

I am hoping that Lonestar and kathleen will be able to give more info when they get back...

[Thunder Bay]

That's what I have read, too. So if you stick to a steak, rather than ground beef, there is less risk of contracting the human form of BSE. But, there IS nervous tissue in muscle meat, so I would think that there is still a risk...

Plus...if I understand correctly, it is common practice to send the brain and spinal column, along with other "waste" parts to be rendered. After rendering, it is made into animal feed and often fed back to the cows. That is also why I do not feed my dog commercial dog food.

I am hoping that Lonestar and kathleen will be able to give more info when they get back...





The steak I had was mildly irritated; but mad, nope. ;D

Lonestar and Kathleen... :o :o :o

[wendy]

If you look at the numbers in Great Britain, you'll see that this affects a very small percentage of the population (roughly, one case for every 10 billion servings). More people will die this year from influenza than from vCJD.

[Julia]

If you look at the numbers in Great Britain, you'll see that this affects a very small percentage of the population (roughly, one case for every 10 billion servings). More people will die this year from influenza than from vCJD.




I'm sure that's true. I could get sick from eating bad sushi, too.

Ya just pick what risks to take to eat what you like...

[Julia]

Lonestar and Kathleen... :o :o :o

Well, yeah... ::) Why not?

One raises cattle, and the other knows a lot about biology and medicine.
I'm sure they both could give some good information.

[jeny]

We did buy some beef, steaks and roasts, today at Sam's club, but we didn't buy any ground beef. We bought a lot more poultry than we usually do too. We won't stop eating beef, but stay away from ground beef for now.

[Tiger]

We did buy some beef, steaks and roasts, today at Sam's club, but we didn't buy any ground beef. We bought a lot more poultry than we usually do too. We won't stop eating beef, but stay away from ground beef for now.



That sounds like the best thing. I cook beef for my family - and I will likely do the same. I have been wanting to introduce some new sea-food recipes, however, so this might be a good time.

I hope no one posts a "mercury-poisoning" article next. ;D

[Julia]

Lonestar and Kathleen... :o :o :o


Oh...okay, I see. They're at the other other place...

[jeny]

That sounds like the best thing. I cook beef for my family - and I will likely do the same. I have been wanting to introduce some new sea-food recipes, however, so this might be a good time.

I hope no one posts a "mercury-poisoning" article next. ;D




For things like spaghetti sauce, you could still use ground turkey, which has less fat anyway.

[Julia]

It appears to me that more people have died from e coli from un-pastureized apple juice than infected Beef from BSE.


Not true... I have only been able to find TWO deaths caused by e coli from unpastuerized apple juice. Both were young children; one in Canada, and one in the US. And, not that I would like to experience it, but there is a big difference between a bout of bloody diarrhea and my brain turning into a spongy, hole-filled mass of goo.

Btw, e coli contamination can be avoided by cooking with a high enough temperature - it appears that BSE is often NOT killed by heat sterilization. Also, e coli symptoms occur within hours to a few days and the symptoms and infection CAN be treated - symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob do not appear for many years and CANNOT be treated.

It also takes several years for a cow to become symptomatic. I believe that only 1 in 2000 cows in the US are routinely tested for BSE; 1,999 out of every 2000 asymptomatic cows sent to slaughter could actually have BSE.

Maybe it is a good idea to know where and how the beef you eat was raised. My friend's father raises beef for his restaurant (Matta's), so I know exactly what he feeds them. I know they are being fed corn and grain, rather than rendered animal feed. I would feel okay eating that beef...

[Julia]

For things like spaghetti sauce, you could still use ground turkey, which has less fat anyway.


Trader Joe's has some really good chicken sausages. There is a hot Italian sausage that is great in pasta sauce. They also have a chicken andoulle (sp?) which is really good with a cajun shrimp and cream sauce.

They also sell frozen wild Alaskan salmon at a really good price.

[jeny]

Trader Joe's has some really good chicken sausages. There is a hot Italian sausage that is great in pasta sauce. They also have a chicken andoulle (sp?) which is really good with a cajun shrimp and cream sauce.

They also sell frozen wild Alaskan salmon at a really good price.


I really like Trader Joe's food, but it tends to be quite expensive. Never the less, I REALLY like sausage, so perhaps I'll get some.

[Julia]

I really like Trader Joe's food, but it tends to be quite expensive. Never the less, I REALLY like sausage, so perhaps I'll get some.


Really? Around here, they are one of the cheapest for all the organic and healthy stuff I eat. Organic gets pretty expensive (and I have become a penniless student), so I tend to really shop around.

[jeny]

Really? Around here, they are one of the cheapest for all the organic and healthy stuff I eat. Organic gets pretty expensive (and I have become a penniless student), so I tend to really shop around.


LOL, well there you go! I do not generally buy organic food. Trader Joe's is more expensive than Safeway, Albertsons and Sams club. ;D Except for a few months in the winter, most of my produce comes from my yard and I just don't worry about organic meat or dairy. ;)

[Julia]

LOL, well there you go! I do not generally buy organic food. Trader Joe's is more expensive than Safeway, Albertsons and Sams club. ;D Except for a few months in the winter, most of my produce comes from my yard and I just don't worry about organic meat or dairy. ;)


I WISH I could grow some produce in this darn desert... We'd be screwed if the produce trucks stopped coming. Oh, we would have plenty of oranges and lemons, though. :D

I'm always so jealous when y'all talk about your gardens and all the yummy fresh veggies. :(

[jeny]

I WISH I could grow some produce in this darn desert... We'd be screwed if the produce trucks stopped coming. Oh, we would have plenty of oranges and lemons, though. :D

I'm always so jealous when y'all talk about your gardens and all the yummy fresh veggies. :(


The growing season is really long here. I pulled the last of my veggies from the garden in the middle of November. In February, I'll plant my flats in the basement so I can plant the veggie plants in the garden in March. Not only that, but my ornage tree produces year round. ;D The apples, pears, plums and grapes are more seasonal, but still for a pretty good part of the year. ;D

[truelies]

The growing season is really long here. I pulled the last of my veggies from the garden in the middle of November. In February, I'll plant my flats in the basement so I can plant the veggie plants in the garden in March. Not only that, but my ornage tree produces year round. ;D The apples, pears, plums and grapes are more seasonal, but still for a pretty good part of the year. ;D


Well that compensates a bit for the earthquakes.

[Julia]

The growing season is really long here. I pulled the last of my veggies from the garden in the middle of November. In February, I'll plant my flats in the basement so I can plant the veggie plants in the garden in March. Not only that, but my ornage tree produces year round. ;D The apples, pears, plums and grapes are more seasonal, but still for a pretty good part of the year. ;D


Brat! :P ;)

(Hope all is well with the little one and the little one to be, btw. :))

[jeny]

Brat! :P ;)

(Hope all is well with the little one and the little one to be, btw. :))


I'd ship some to you if I could. ;D

Things are going well with both the toddler and the baby. Right now he's stamping on my hip bone. :o

For things like spaghetti sauce, you could still use ground turkey, which has less fat anyway.


Only if you use turkey breast.

[Sparky26]

Jesh, jeny. You are way too lucky. *sigh* around november we hit the deep dark of Iowa winter...and don't emerge from same untill april....if we're lucky. :( *sigh*

~Missing sunshine and warm breezes....

[jeny]

Jesh, jeny. You are way too lucky. *sigh* around november we hit the deep dark of Iowa winter...and don't emerge from same untill april....if we're lucky. :( *sigh*

~Missing sunshine and warm breezes....


Yeah, well California may have a long growing season, but we also have Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. ;) You win some, you lose some.