On Dec. 23, 2003, a dark day for cattle farmers all over the
United States, a single Holstein cow from Canada via Washington was
diagnosed with mad cow disease. The dreaded ailment (bovine
spongiform encephalopathy for South-Campus types) had arrived in
America. Mad cow has become the disease of the moment. And while
some would have Americans turn away from red meat altogether for
greener pastures, the truth is somewhat less disconcerting: There
is no mad cow scare, only scare tactics.
You can’t turn on the television anymore without an
“expert” telling you about some doomsday scenario
involving BSE. Activist (and vegetarian) Michael Greger has already
dubbed BSE the “plague of the 21st century.” Former
cattle rancher (and current vegetarian) Howard Lyman has compared
BSE to AIDS in terms of destructive potential. Add in some
dramatizations of how BSE has a nasty tendency to leave its
victim’s brain with spongy-looking holes, and let mass panic
ensue.
The threat of BSE has been exaggerated to a point where even the
most carnivorous of Americans may begin to question their
Double-Double-eating ways. And why shouldn’t they? The
country is already acting on fear. Leaders in this crusade, such as
Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, have been up in arms
demanding mandatory BSE testing for every cow killed in the United
States (all 35 million of them), no matter how costly or
unnecessary it may be.
In the meantime, meat-vending establishments all over the
country are trying to distance themselves from the Washington
slaughterhouse for fear of losing business. Even the UCLA dining
halls have posted disclaimers to ease student concerns about its
beef.
As hard as it is to believe, all this is the result of one cow.
There is only one case of an actual person diagnosed with variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (the human version of BSE) in the United
States ““ and that person contracted the disease during her
stay in England. Is it not possible that we might be overreacting
just a little? For example, there have only been 153 vCJD deaths
worldwide, somewhat far from an AIDS epidemic.
It’s a sad reflection of society that hysterical fears
have come to overshadow facts which clearly speak for themselves.
First of all, the proteins or prions responsible for BSE can be
found mainly in the nervous system of cows and cows alone. While it
is possible that stray proteins may find their way into your steak
in the slaughterhouse, there is still little reason for concern.
The Center for Disease Control places the odds of contracting vCJD,
even after eating a contaminated piece of meat, at one in 10
billion. Your chances are better for winning the lottery. As the
USDA Food Safety Inspection Service has been saying, there is
“virtually zero risk” of getting mad cow disease in the
United States.
It boggles the mind how this
“better-safe-than-sorry” attitude for a non-problem has
spread so quickly. Regulations such as the proposed testing of all
cows for BSE may make you feel better about the non-threat, but
they come at a cost. And countries like Japan and South Korea are
refusing American beef exports, further hurting the $40 billion
industry. How far will this madness continue in order to placate
unfounded fears?
We’re a country full of Atkins dieters and Big Mac-eaters.
Most of the people warning of the proposed dangers of red meat are
more interested in preaching the wonders of a beefless lifestyle.
Moral, ethical and health issues aside, the future of beef
consumption in the United States should not be complicated by scare
tactics. When it comes down to it, as the secretary of agriculture
has said: “Beef is absolutely safe to eat.”
Moon is a second-year psychology student. E-mail him at
jmoon@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.