Re: [gardeners] Re:OT - Mad cow disease in cats

lneuru (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 11 Mar 2001 17:00:41 -0500 

>   I don't know all that much about Mad Cow Disease and I think that the
> officials also have a whole lot to learn. I understand that the
commercial beef
> market ( and other meat animals) does have a lot of unknowns for the
consumer
> when they go to the meat counter and even to Mickey D's. I do feel like
there
> is a up and coming opportunity for the ranchers to have their own local
meat
> market with the animals they have grown to be sold to the public. If
there is a
> test that could be done on healthy cows to confirm no evidence of the
dreaded
> BSE's this would make his meat "prime" for sure.
>     As a cattle grower like us although we just have about 100 head,
which is
> really small by meat production standards, this is a terrifying thing to
have
> get into the U.S. What is even worse is the publics own panic over
something
> they may not know enough facts about to think rationally when making a
beef
> purchase. This is a huge scare to the U.S. meat industry and I for one
would
> not feed these feed ingredients just for the simple reason it could wipe
me out
> and my family would be without income. Why would a person take care of
animals
> in such a way that not only jeopardizes the public but your family?


Easy to answer:  many beef producer are huge factories, not owned by
persons but by corporations.  They don't have a family.  They don't give a
damn.  We don't buy supermarket beef, not so much for the BSE which
probably isn't a big issue here (yet), but because of the growth hormones
and antibiotics.  Fortunately we can get safe stuff around here.  We have
cut back on beef and upped the veg for many other reasons, but still like
some once in awhile.

Lucinda


>      From what I understand there is more of a problem as far as wiping
out the
> beef industry with hoof and mouth disease than with Mad Cow. I am
beginning to
> think that mad cow disease in the meat industry is or will be similar to
the
> AIDS virus when it was first found out by the public. Major terror, some
> deaths, eventual education on avoidance, some new meat production rules
and
> checks then the public will get back to understanding and coping with
obtaining
> safe meat for the table.Until there is widespread confirmation I would
try to
> see that the beef I purchase is U.S. beef not something foreign. How to
find
> that out I just don't know. I am just glad we have our own cattle to
butcher
> for the table.
>      Take any animal or human, submit them to numerous tests and you will
find
> "something" wrong with them caused by something common . Keep it up and
we will
> have to use all our knowledge we have gained on this garden list to
become
> vegetarians so we can haves something to eat. At least that is until they
find
> something wrong with vegetables that will kill us.
> 
> Ranchmama
> **************************
> 
> Margaret Lauterbach wrote:
> 
> > The March 12 Newsweek magazine has a cover story on mad cow disease
> > reporting that cats fed beef byproducts in cat food have developed
symptoms
> > of BSE.   Prions seem to reside primarily in the brain and nerve
fibers,
> > including the spinal cord. Should Americans stop eating beef?  The
article
> > certainly gave me more than pause. I still have some Wranglers in the
> > refrig which I'll toss out, and I won't buy hamburger again.  They
haven't
> > found BSE in America, but critics say they would if they looked harder.
 Of
> > that British ground mad cow feed, it was shipped all over the world, to
> > more than 80 countries. Indonesia imported some 600,000 metric tons,
and
> > Thailand 185,000 metric tons.  These countries are apparently not
> > monitoring for disease in animals there.  Scares me. Margaret L
>