Dang! I love venison. I thought it was transmitted by feeding livestock ground-up remains of infected breeds.
"Food and contact" is a pisser. What's the theory? A prion found in the brain (which I always thought was self-contained area protected by the blood-brain barrier) somehow gets into the saliva (or other excretions) and is transmitted onto the free-range grazing animal's feed?
I tried cervid spongiform encephalopathy at PubMed. The following article was one of nine that came up. Cervid means elk or deer. You can get a lot more articles clicking on "Related Articles". A lot more basic science on prions needs to be done.
I have to admit I've never tried it....came close once, though.
My cousin from Choctaw, Alabama was out visiting and praising it, so when he got home he sent a big styro full of various cuts....problem is, it took UPS or whoever close to two weeks, and it arrived a thawed bloody mess.