Expert Panel Sees More U.S. Mad Cow

[twilight]

<<RIVERDALE, Md. (Reuters) - A panel of international experts said on Wednesday there was a "high probability" of more cases of mad cow disease in American cattle, and recommended the U.S. government ban cattle brains and spinal material in all livestock feed and pet food as a safeguard.

The panel was appointed by Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman after the United States' first case of the brain-wasting disease was reported in a Holstein dairy cow in Washington state on Dec. 23. Discovery of the disease halted some $3.8 billion in annual American beef exports.

The disease is believed to be spread through livestock feed contaminated with the brain, spinal cord or nervous system tissue of infected animals, which scientists call specified risk material or SRM.

The experts noted there was a "high probability" that other infected cattle have been imported from Canada, and possibly Europe. Their report gave no details.>>

and ...

<<However, he said the United States would not see the kind of broad outbreak seen in Britain in the late 1980s. About 140 people, most in Britain, have died of the human form of the illness.>>

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040204/madcow_5.html

Yikes! A report which give "no details"!? :wtf: !!! Now they are going to recommend banning it from animal foods. Wasn't this already as issue? Does this mean our pets and other livestock might develop the disease?

I WANT SOME REAL ANSWERS before I'll EVER eat beef again!!!



:dem:

[gulfcoastliberal]

1. Me Too!!!!

I have stopped eating beef. I only buy certified organic grain-fed chicken. And of course, seafood, since I live on the gulf coast and we have the best. This is really scary.

The tinfoil hat theory on all those weird cattle mutilations is that the US gov't was conducting random population sampling of cattle herds for BSE. They remove the parts of the cow (eyes, anus, tongue) where the highest concentrations of the prions are. Whatever mutilated those cows, it wasn't natural predators. The report the feds commissioned was an obvious cover-up.

Screw big-beef! Oprah called this years ago, when she said she'd never eat another hamburger again! Those of you with kids should seriously think hard about letting them continue to eat non-organic (grass/grain-fed) beef. There's a hell of a lot more cases of animal AND human mad-cow out there than the gov't lets on.

[twilight]

2. same here!

I've been buying the organic chicken and wild seafood only myself. I've been off the beef for quite awhile now due to high cholesterol. I never particularly cared for it anyway, was just cooking it and eating because it was there so to speak.

Screw big-beef is right! Why do you think it is banned in ~30 countries around the world? Why isn't anyone saying anything about this except "you have a better chance of being struck by lightening"? And you are right, WHAT ABOUT THE CATTLE MUTILATIONS?

It is indeed VERY scary and, nope, I won't be eating anymore of it either no matter what anyone says.

They sell organic grass-fed beef at the local health food store and they were trying to convince me it was safe. I asked then where their bulls came from. They had no concrete answers - just said it was BSE free and not to worry.

The article also states:

<<One of the panel's goals was "removal of all SRM from both human food and animal feed," according to documents released at the USDA meeting. The USDA should consider banning brain and spinal cord from all cattle over 12 months of age from human food, it said.

Another necessary step is for the United States to test all "at risk" cattle over 30 months of age, the experts said.>>

<<The USDA plans to boost mad cow tests to about 40,000 cattle this year, double the number tested last year.>>

Only 40,000 to be tested out of HOW MANY CATTLE? This is a joke, and now, they are CONSIDERING banning brain and spinal cord from all cattle over 12 months of age from human food!? Why just CONSIDERING? :wtf: again!!!

I'll stop worrying when the gov't fesses up to what a nightmare this is! In the meantime, we dwell on ricin and BS elections that may or may not matter. How can elections seriously matter when we are up against the BFEE? :scared:



:dem: :kick:

[Benhurst]

3. Add eggs only from grain-fed chickens to your list. n/t

[twilight]

5. luckily ...

I am allergic to eggs and I have been buying organic eggs to feed to the dog! Is this hell or what?

I hope the poster below you is wrong - IS IS TOO LATE FOR ALL OF US?

:dem: :kick:

[alfredo]

4. It might be too late for us.

We don't know if we are dead men/women walking.

[twilight]

6. you may be right

I've been awfully sick lately to be honest with you. Problem seems to be my stomach! I don't know :wtf: is going on and neither do the doctor(s). I hope you are wrong, but you may be right.

In the meantime, no beef around here!

:dem: :kick:

[alfredo]

7. what are the symptoms.

[twilight]

8. here is what I found

However, it discusses the early stages of the disease only. I wonder if a sickened stomach is part of the late stages? If so, say bye-bye to twilight as well!

<<The TSEs were once considered unlikely to infect other species, but some seem to move rather easily among animals. Most glaringly, many scientists believe people can get vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) from eating mad cows. The awkward name reflects the similarity to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a deadly brain illness that strikes about one person per million per year, due to genetic or unknown causes.

While CJD mainly afflicts the elderly, vCJD appears among younger people, almost certainly from eating mad cow meat. The gruesome death starts with mood swings, numbness and uncontrolled body movements. Eventually the mind is destroyed, somewhat like Alzheimer's, another brain-wrecking disease.

The newer variety of CJD usually kills in about 18 months after symptoms appear, compared to four to six months for regular CJD. There is no treatment and both diseases are uniformly fatal. >>

http://whyfiles.org/012mad_cow/

:dem: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[gulfcoastliberal]

10. Brits Developed a Quick test

for prions, I believe it just involves taking a tiny piece of tissue from the tonsils for analysis. But of course they will not publicize it due to the massive panic that would ensue if large amounts of people tested pos. CJD is some majorly fucked up shit. I'm all for recycling, but NOT cow carcases and blood being fed to other cows!

If you want to get really freaked out, I read how some press release stated that deer in Colorado that contracted scrapie (wild version of mad-cow) got it from eating some discarded cattle feed on an unfenced part of a ranch. Isn't that great?

Links..
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/158359_feed28.html
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm (go here and you may never eat beef again)

edit - cattle mutilations link (pdf)
http://216.128.67.116/pdf/cattledeaths_tse_epidemic.pdf

same thing, non-pdf: http://www.nidsci.org/articles/TSE%20Epidemic%202.htm

[NYC]

9. Check the legal definition of grass fed.

Those cows may be spending the last 20% of their lives on a feed lot. Worth checking the definition in your state.

[Zhade]

11. "Food" for thought...

Slaughterhouse "splitting saw" targets cattle's spine
"Contamination is smeared across every cut"
by Dave Louthan, Unknown News

Jan. 26, 2004

My name is Dave Louthan. I'm the guy who shot that mad cow in Moses Lake.

I have talked to dozens of reporters about all this trouble and they have done a pretty good job getting the story out, I guess. The USDA appears to be on the run but I still have a lot of work to do.

My main problem now is informing people about the splitting saws we use to split the cow carcass in half. You see, every beef slaughtered is split right down the middle from tail to neck. This means that a band saw cuts right down the exact center of the spine cutting the spinal cord in half the long way.

More...(warning: general ickyness)

[Robin Hood]

12. Why is it blamed on other countries?

More irresponsible dounle speak from the Administration. It's Canada, Britain and Clinton's penis fault why we have mad cow. It is in now way the Republicans fault, We all know that de-regulation is a sure way to get into heaven.

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. I don't worry about the mad cow thing too much up here

.
.

First of all, as far as I know, OUR mad cow didn't "make it to market".

And I have a wee bit more trust in our government than the USA's: they've been known to tell a fib or two

I'm not a big meat-eater, but I'll stick to straight cuts, no burgers or what-not that I have no idea what's in it

and fast-foods are out, I'll miss my burgers, but oh well - -

Don't wanna end up like THESE guys !!