Are you afraid of the mad cow?

[Leslie w]

With all this talk about mad cow disease in Europe spreading from country to country I can't help but wonder will it eventually make its way here and if so when. Scientist say we have nothing to be concerned about but that kind of attitude also makes me nervous. I hope our fellow ranchers out there are listening to all this. The beef industry in Europe is in ruins because of it. What's even more scary is I've read reports where it can take about 10 years for the disease to actually show symptoms. If I never served beef again I wouldn't miss it, unfortunately my dh is a red meat lover. While we've cut down on red meat consumption I'd be in serious trouble if I stopped serving steak on Sundays. Am I overreacting to media hype or are you becoming concerned too?

[This message has been edited by Leslie w (edited 02-08-2001).]

[Ed]

Hi,

No, I don't think it's over reacting to be concerned and aware of the hazards that are in the beef industry.

It was on the news last week that there was a herd out west that had been exposed to a feed with animal protein in it, and that herd was under quaranteen now. The government is concerned.

What's scary about Mad Cow to me is that Cooking the meat well done is no safegaurd as it might be with some of the other ills in gound meat.

Well, just my 2 cents worth. I don't believe we need to panic, but we do need to be aware that's for sure.

Ed

[Don]

Hi Leslie,

Unfortunately, studies of people in New Guinea with prion diseases (like mad cow) have shown that the disease can take 40 years to incubate. That's what really has scientists in Europe worried. In about three decades, we may see a tremendous upswing in mad cow disease.

I think we are missing the forest for the trees on this issue. Right now we are all very focused on mad cow disease and the safety of beef. But as I see it, there are two larger problems: First, in their efforts to increase profits, agribusiness is engaging in a lot of questionable practices (like feeding sheep carcasses to cows who are normally vegetarian). Second, because of their political donations, agribusiness has tremendous influence with government officials, and the same people who are supposed to be protecting the public are often more concerned about agribusiness. Ask anyone in Britain. Their government sold them out to maintain good relations with large meat processors. I think mad cow is probably not a problem in the US right now, but unless the farming business changes, it won't be long before we have our own version of mad cow.

[SandyM]

Originally posted by Don:
(like feeding sheep carcasses to cows who are normally vegetarian).

Now I know why people become vegetarians.


[This message has been edited by SandyM (edited 02-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by SandyM (edited 02-08-2001).]

[MrsReber]

I do always have that thought in the back of my mind. My husband and I went out last weekend to a steakhouse since he wanted a good steak. I got a burger. I couldn't help thinking about mad cow, though. It's scary. Aside from an occasional steak, we really don't eat much beef at all. All of the chopmeat we eat is venison. And people are worried since the FDA doesn't regulate the deer meat when you bring it home yourself. I'd rather have me a deer from the neighborhood than a cow that has been fed god knows what or shot up with steroids or, as Don points out, has been fed something out of the ordinary. But then it seems that it's only a matter of time until big business is allowed to destroy everything so we can't eat meat or vegetables grown outside in the contaminated soil. It's very depressing what the government allows so people can make money. Ed, I heard about those cows in the US, too- are they still being held?

[hlao23]

I saw on the news the other day that in some part of the U.S. deer and elk had a mad cow-type disease. They ask hunters to send in the head of the deer to have it tested. They didn't explain how the deer contracted the disease. I doubt they're eating other deer.

We are seriously looking at giving up beef. Can pigs and sheep have this disease as well? Thankfully, vegetarianism would not be such a leap for us with the possible exception of fish.

[MrsReber]

hlao- this is very true. Out west they have found the disease in elk, but apparently they can test them before the animal is consumed. There is no problem in the East- so far. My husband gets depressed about it and says it's just a matter of time.

[Beth H]

I'm a little concerned about mad cow. I'm going to Europe this summer, and may not eat beef while I'm there. However, I also think the media has contributed to whip this into a frenzy. Even though it's a horrible illness, the chances of contracting it still are quite rare.

[sneezles]

I agree with you Beth. I'm concerned about mad cow, having lived in Scotland for 2 years, been back to visit 4 times in the past 16 years and have eaten beef probably each time. But I'm also concerned that this media frenzy causes harm. I'm also concerned about getting Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Cancer, having a heart attack... But I don't panic because there is a chance of any or all of these may or may not occur. I try to educate myself on the subject before "Cyring Wolf"

[Vanessa]

I am allergic to beef but its still a concern since my DH likes beef. I think this is a big problem and I wonder if many are really aware of it.

[lorilei]

I figure that dealing with Mad Cows is about the same as dealing with Mad People... keep an eye out for quality, and run when they start drooling http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[lanie]

Good one Lorilea!

I guess this has been going all over - but any canned corned beef from Brasil has been recalled in Canada - or people are to throw it out because of the dredded "MAD COW" - happened there to?

Elaine http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Beth H]

From what I've read in several articles, to add onto what Melina mentioned, you have to watch dishes where you're not sure of the quality of the beef or what part of the cow it came from (like ravoli, for example). Cuts of steak with the bone (like t-bone) also are supposed to be avoided. Premium cuts such as filets and veal supposedly is OK. There was a disconcerting article in the NY Times this morning about vaccines (such as the polio) vaccine that contain animal by-products -- these are marketed in the US. But, the scientists believed the chances of contracting mad cow disease from a vaccine are 1 in a trillion, and the FDA is taking steps to prohibit drug makers from using animal by-products from Europe.

[Luiza]

Originally posted by hlao23:
Can pigs and sheep have this disease as well?

I read an article in the Economist a few months ago about a commision of British scientists that were investigating the mad cow disease. Apparently there is a well-known similar-looking disease in sheep called scrapie that is not transmittable to humans, which is why when mad cow disease first appeared nobody was worried because they thought humans won't get it either. What the scientists were saying is that because everybody knew sheeps get scrapie and scrapie is not transmittable to humans, cases of mad cow disease in sheep (or should that be mad sheep disease?) got labeled as scrapie. They were actually recommending killing all the sheep in Britain and starting from scratch. I don't know the follow-up to this.

On the other hand, it looks like the British learned from this problem and forbid feed made out of animals for any animal (they were apparently feeding animal carcasses to chickens too). This is not the case yet in other countries in Europe. The stuff they feed animals is really scary. Anybody remembers the story a few years back about the Belgian chickens with dioxins? Those chickens were being fed motor oil or something like that.

In Europe it's really a big deal right now. I spent New Year's there and I haven't been able to eat beef since. I'm starting dreaming hamburgers...

Luiza

[venus]

As with all kinds of meat and fish, if you spend the money to buy organically raised or "free range" meat you have much less of a chance of your meat being contaminated with many types of diseases, bacteria and hormonnes.

[lorilei]

Thank you, venus http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Leslie w]

That's a good idea Venus. Trader Joe's and Stew Leonards carry organic and free range meats. I'll spend more but it should give me peace of mind. Dh thinks I'm worrying over nothing right now. He's more concerned w/ salmonella and e coli. He got seriously ill, almost had to be hospitalized from salmonella poisoning several years ago. He ate some tainted chicken on a cruise. So chicken is not a favorite of his. The poor guy also got lyme disease from a deer tick bite while vacationing on Block Island. With his luck he'd be a sitting duck for mad cow!

[AndreaU]

SandyM- you're right. I don't eat meat, mostly for health reasons like Mad Cow, heart disease, etc. Just one less thing to worry about for me!

[Melina]

Beth H,
Thanks for the additional information. I never thought of ravioli or any of the stuffed pastas for that matter. I guess we can also add beef empanadas, tacos, burritos and the like, to the list. AndreaU makes a good point, it's easier not to eat beef at all.
Melina

[Melina]

Lorilei, that was really funny! Made me laugh out loud.
Melina

[JHolcomb]

Yes, but I'm also freakishly afraid of things like hemmoragic fever, so don't take my opinion TOO seriously. I did live in Ireland for a while, though, so I really do worry about it-I didn't eat any meat there, but lived off of soup which had to have been made with beef stock. Well, I'll know in, what, 37 years or so.

[Melina]

Yes, I'm afraid of Mad Cow too. Just as I am of salmonella and e-coli. But to me the difference is that, in my own home, I can control salmonella and e-coli with simple and careful cooking habits but not so with Mad Cow.

From what I've understood so far, the beef we have to be concerned about eating is any organ meat, frankfurters, sausages, hamburgers or any prepared dish that contains chopped/ground/pureed beef.
The parts of the cow that carry the virus are the parts that are used as fillers for the above. Eating steaks, ribs, roasts, or any "straight" cut of beef is supposedly safe. Hamburgers are safe when you chop your own meat. Cow blood is also safe since it does not carry the virus, so I guess Vampires have nothing to worry about.

I now assume that we also have to be careful about eating commercial roast beef or pastrami, etc., unless we know that it's from a pure roast and not a composite roast.

And didn't this just make your day? As for me, like cigarettes, beef is out of my life.
I know that eventually I will have to die of
something, but if I can help it, I definitely do not want to go out like a Mad Cow!

[Leanne]

They just talked about mad cow on the Today show this morning.
She said it's nothing to worry about here.