USDA Webcast Update on Mad Cow Disease

USDA ^ | 12/24/03 | USDA

[giotto]

But how do we know the chickens haven't been fed prion containing meat? One news story said these cows were also used for animal food, although I thought they meant animals like pet dogs and cats.

[FreeInWV]

Guess now is a good a time as any to stop eating beef, for me at least.

You worry too much. I'd have a steak tonight if it weren't Christmas Eve(I always eat shrimp on the 24th). I've got plenty of prime West Virginian black angus. Our beef aren't as multi-cultural as what McDonalds typically buys. They were born & raised here. Most have never been out of the county. I suspect that its the same in lots of places in America. Its the bulk buyers who don't care what they buy that will be hurting. Local beef should be fine.

[FreeInWV]

Does anyone else find it curious that this comes out right when there is a big push for Country Of Origin labeling & record keeping?

[torstars]

Does anyone else find it curious that this comes out right when

No, this is a major story that the USDA did NOT want to report.

[JustAnAmerican]

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. ((BIO.A)) soared $10.04, or 20.2 percent, to $59.82 on expectations that its diagnostic test for mad cow disease could win approval in the United States.

Other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies gained steam. Orchid BioSciences Inc. (ORCH,Trade) leaped 13.84 cents, or 11.2 percent, to $1.37. Strategic Diagnostics Inc. (SDIX,Trade) surged 74 cents, or 17.4 percent, to $4.99.

[steve86]

Guess now is a good a time as any to stop eating beef, for me at least.

I don't think you worry too much. As for me, I stopped eating beef in '96, time now to curtail the poultry (will be a tough job). Have to deal with the mercury in tuna also.

[Fury]

Good discussion. My guess is that the US cattle industry will, as you stated, be doing a lot more testing of animals sent for slaughter in the short term. I can remember traveling to a veal processing plant in upstate NY, and seeing on a large trry row upon row of veal calf brains, destined for New York, so someone eats this stuff!

The US sheep and goat industry are in some ways, more acclimated and supportive of proactive control measures of their species specific TSE. The USDA scrapie program has been in effect for several years, and a couple of years ago, there was a dramtic change in the program which placed limits on interstate movement of animals without proper identification, movement restrictions of animals from flocks/herds that were Suspect or Positive for scrapie, etc. The sheep industry really drove this level of government involvement, which I believe is, in this instance, a good role for government.

Additionally, at least on the sheep side, there is a substantial body of work pertaining to genetic resistance to PrP Scrapie. Codon 171 plays a major role of relative scrapie susceptibility. As such, if a producer retains sheep with AA RR at codon 171, these sheep appear to be very resistant to scrapie (only one case documented in the world of such a sheep developing PrP scrapie - in Japan). Culling QQ sheep (as one combination example) can also help to improve the flocks resistance to scrapie.

In the long term, my guess is that the cattle industry will try to isloate a polymorphisim(s) at the appropriate codon(s) for cattle, so that cattle more resistant or indeed resistant to BSE can be identifed and selected by producers. If the sheep industry can do this, the cattle industry, with their superior genetic infrastructure, also do this sort of work.

Additionally, there is a preclinical test for scrapie that is available for sheep (third eyelid test), although USDA-APHIS does not consider this a definitive test. One would believe that a live animal test for BSE would be well underway at this point.

[beezdotcom]

Guess now is a good a time as any to stop eating beef, for me at least.
I don't think you worry too much. As for me, I stopped eating beef in '96, time now to curtail the poultry (will be a tough job). Have to deal with the mercury in tuna also.

Great! More beef left for me! And when the three of us have met our untimely demise by auto accident, homicide, cancer, influenza, second-hand smoke (LOL!) or any number of statistically more likely ways to die, we'll have a good discussion in the afterlife about how much we each enjoyed our meals up to that point...

[steve86]

we'll have a good discussion in the afterlife about how much we each enjoyed our meals up to that point...

I don't know that anyone is telling you to stop eating beef. Why harass us?

[Domestic Church]

" ...there is a substantial body of work pertaining to genetic resistance to PrP Scrapie"

Very interesting! I wonder if something similar is going on with the BSE and vCJD. Might this be why they haven't seen the number of cases expected by now in Great Britain ?

[Domestic Church]

If these prionic diseases are spread naturally through feces and saliva and manure is a common farm fertilizer, will we be at risk from watermelon or tomatoes?

[beezdotcom]

I don't know that anyone is telling you to stop eating beef. Why harass us?

Wow. If that sort of a response on a public thread constitutes 'harassment', I'm frightened to see how you might define "hate crime".