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*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed the first known case of mad cow disease in the United States on 23 December 2003. It was detected in a dairy cow in Washington state who was a downer - an animal too sick or injured to walk to slaughter.
*Mad cow disease is a member of a family of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or TSEs, seen in various animal species including humans, sheep, cows, mink, deer, and cats. TSEs are known by different names in different animals:
In humans - Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD); In cows - bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease); In sheep - scrapie; In deer and elk - chronic wasting syndrome
*Bovine spongiform encephalopathy has surfaced in Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Canada, Spain, Germany, Japan, and Russia. Affected cows show increased apprehension, poor coordination, difficulties in walking, and weight loss. It is a fatal central nervous system disease, causing disintegration of the brain. It has a long incubation period between the time when infection first occurs and the appearance of symptoms; it is always fatal; it is transmitted by the eating of animals or animal parts, especially brains and spinal cords but possibly also muscle tissue.
*The risk to humans is heavily debated and not clear. Some officials / experts claim the risk is low and other officials / experts claim it is significant.
*Data from the National Veterinary Sciences Laboratories BSE Surveillance program from 1990 to 2000 show that, of approximately 900 million cattle slaughtered, only 11,954 brains (approximately 1 in 75,000 or 0.0013%) were examined for BSE. In fiscal year 2002, the USDA tested only slightly more --19,990-- cattle for BSE. Further, brain examinations have generally been prompted by the presence of neurological symptoms. However, the symptoms of BSE do not commonly manifest in cattle until about five years of age, which is after the usual age of slaughter. For example, most U.S. dairy cows are slaughtered before four years of age, when even an infected cow is likely to appear healthy. In the UK, 70 percent of dairy cows remain alive past this point, making identification of infected animals much easier.
*Mad cow disease most likely occurs in cows because the feed that was fed to cows routinely consisted of ground up and rendered parts of other cows and sheep (who were previously affected). Until 1997, the feeding of ruminants (cattle and sheep) to other ruminants was standard industry practice. This practice was banned in 1997. However, a 2001 investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that literally hundreds of feed suppliers violated the ban and found that at least 1,200 feed suppliers had not even been identified nor inspected. The enforcement of the ban has been put in question.
Beef, as well as all other animal products, including chicken, pork, dairy, and eggs, are not safe, even without the risk of mad cow disease. Most are loaded with fat and cholesterol, and increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Having too much protein, they raise the risk of kidney disease and osteoporosis. And given intensive farming and slaughtering processes, they're often contaminated with foodborne pathogens.
If the mad cow crisis has you thinking about giving up meat, now's the perfect time to incorporate more vegetarian foods into your meals, or to try a vegetarian diet. You'll be amazed at the variety of delicious foods now available and the multitude of health benefits.