BSE Scare

[SWC]

also known as "mad cow". I feel for all involved in the cattle industry in the US. What we as cattle producers in Canada are going through when that showed up should not be repeated there. So far the Canadian gov. and the Canadian Cattlemans Association are in a go slow mode instead of closing the borders which I think is appropriate. Now is not the time to retaliate. Rather help in what ever way the US beef industry needs help.

I hope the consumers in the US support the the beef industry their like they did in Canada. Unfortunately the pork and poultry purchases dropped off as a result. I also hope that no lines are drawn in the cattle industry between dairy and beef. Everyone needs to work together.

This comes from a former dairy farmer who still loves the bovine species.

Seasons Greetings to all in TDR.

Stan

 

[Rman]

man it would sure take more than what's going on right now to seperate me from a nice juicy ribeye steak!!!

 

[Andy Perreault]

The only parts of a cow that are affected by this disease are the brain and spinal cord. Anyone know anybody who eats those parts? As long as the processing plants follow the rules, theoretically, there is no danger at all.

It sure looks to me like the news media is over-reacting to this and turning it into a big scare. But then, they're good at that. Anything to get high ratings.

Andy

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Mabton

Over rated media or not, it's only taken one mad cow to put dinky little Mabton Washington in the national spotlight. It's just a few miles from here and it's one of those places you'd miss if you blinked, so they put a 4-way stop in the middle of town so you'd notice it as you passed by



The 4-1-1 on Mabton as of 2000 (if anyone cares) is it's population 1891, 89% Hispanic, 9. 7% caucasian; Median income $26,500/year and median age is only 21. 9 years http://www.city-data.com/city/Mabton-Washington.html



Vaughn

 

[smartineau]

Time to go eat more beef. Christmas day at work we are having steaks and now for New Years we are going to have Prime Rib, along with some King Crab.



steve

 

[Wayno]

Re: Mabton

Originally posted by Vaughn MacKenzie





The 4-1-1 on Mabton as of 2000 (if anyone cares) 89% Hispanic, 9. 7% caucasian;



Vaughn

Sounds like yall got a Texas problem up there , 89% Hispanic ??????? I bet they are cold up there , probably wish they were back in the home land right about now.

 

[dpuckett]

Yeah, but we gotta think of the children. I could see quarantining the herd to see if any more develop it, but slaughtering the enitre herd? Can you say out in the cold? Good Freaking Gawd. I agree, the media can make a mountain out of a molehill- they wrote the book on it. Bad news is the only thing that sells papers/ gets TV ratings, unfortunately; and sales figures are all that matter. THe media should help the guy in his efforts to start another business, or buy him more cattle to rebuild his herd.



Daniel

 

[A Johnson]

So I'm a little guy that sells 2-4 beef a year, raised on grass and some rolled corn. How does it affect me? I thought maybe I would double my price to $3. 00 a lb. hanging.



Interested in comments.





A Johnson

 

[hammersley]

Always 100% FATAL - that's hard to argue with!

Don't laugh to much guys - this was 1st discovered on 9 December. When did it make the news - 2 WEEKS LATER!! Let's be realistic - they really know very little about this condition. Did You know that some folks have come down with it by eating Venison!



http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/~slist/ns113/msg00114.html



Not very many things you catch in life will absolutely kill you 100% of the time! Oh, and since we know so much about this, we have to send it to the British lab for confirmation! These prions are scary stuff - we're just like guys watching the Wright brothers in their shed when they were working on the kite - WAY before they flew. Nobody knew what was in store for them or where this would lead. If you honestly believe that you are completely safe from only eating the muscle tissue from an infected cow - I've got some land for sale! This is kinda like the test you can give a medical professional who is promoting the use of rubbers to stop AIDS. If you want to have some fun - try this on your Dr. Ask him/her - if rubbers are effective - would YOU have sex with someone who has AIDS with a rubber? The news media won't tell you the answer to that - however you'll have a hard time getting a Dr to say yes - because the consequences aren't worth the risk! Believe me - they're just starting to get a handle on this... . And By The Way - - those who really don't like the Government being in our business - would you like to be Libertian and have No Inspections at all?

 

[daveshoe]

Comments

Originally posted by A Johnson

So I'm a little guy that sells 2-4 beef a year, raised on grass and some rolled corn. How does it affect me? I thought maybe I would double my price to $3. 00 a lb. hanging.



Interested in comments.





A Johnson

My comments.

1. Why ,when the US was in the catbird's seat did any inspector or inspection rule allow the use of any ''downer'' cattle for any reason--even dog food.

2. I cannot blame other countries for banning our beef when the U. S banned canadian cattle

3. Why can you feed cattle protien[bone meal] to hogs -- and later feed hog protien to cattle? [same with chickens?]

4. Why should they allow machine harvesting by machines that recover meat scraps by ''beating'' these scraps from the bone?

5. If deer and elk get mad cow or a form of it, would a reasonable place to look for it to be in the environment? Would it also follow that a dairy or beef pasture that is visited by deer is a more likely place to look than a beef penned up in a barn stall and fed hay and corn by your local 4-H kid? And in conclusion--How do I protect myself? Go to a small farmer like A. Johnson and find a small butcher shop to butcher your meat by hand or do it yourself. Find some guys to go in with you if you want to split one up in shares. It will be better,safer meat and will benefit the local people much more than buying meat from some huge packing plant.

Just as an aside, I went to a hog auction and noticed a buyer buying every awful looking hog for CHEAP. I'm talking skin tumors and Chinese pot-bellied pigs. Followed him over to the table when he settled up and he was buying for a large restuarant chain. . Ewwwwwwwww!

 

[Mike Ellis]

Major Trouble for Beef Industry

The folks on the news reports say that only the brain and spinal cord tissues are a risk item. This does not jive with the situation in England, where more than a hundred people kicked the bucket from human form of the disease without sitting down to a tasty meal of brains'n'cord. If the prion propagates through the nervous system, it is worth remembering that muscle tissue is thoroughly laced with nerves. Kinda like Hammersly pointed out, what the docs say and what they DO are often two different things. Find a mad cow, hack off a nice hunk of steak from it, and see how many of the ag inspectors, vets, and scientists would be willing to dig in. .



I would hazard a guess that the disease gets into the wild animal population the same way scrapie propagates with sheep. The practice of setting out feeders for deer etc could make the problem worse since some folks use protein feeds rather than plain old deer corn, if the rendering plant protein is infected then the deer would be exposed.



It is true that a single infected animal's meat poses little risk to a given American due to the huge numbers involved. On the other hand, with our rendering techniques and practice of enhancing herbivore feeds with protein, an avalanche situation can quickly build up if quarantines aren't enacted PDQ. The prions are unstoppable in the food chain it seems, and it doesn't take much at all to get the infection.



Best prevention - consume meats from animals in your local area that were not raised on protein supplementation, avoid cheap meats from the big chain eateries and burger joints, remember that animal proteins can show up in unexpected places (protein bars, greases, gelatins, etc) and avoid any that could come from an infected area.



At present there is not a panic situation, but it is always wise to take the government proclamations with a grain of salt as they are sometimes motivated more by economic concerns than public safety ones.

 

[JIM S.]

good reading........

If you want to know more whether it be %100 true or not ( I do think whats in the article is true) here is some really interesting stuff to read... . and before you go saying its BS... . do some serious reserch... cause all of you saying mad cow is just a scare tactic and media candy... . you better find out the real truth(NOT saying one way or the other)



http://www.drday.com/madcow.htm



there is a form of BSE in:

cows

deer

elk

mink

pigs



I will probably get flamed for this. . but:

test done on the brains of cannible humans back in the 50s showed simular results as brains of cows with mad cow... and the same humans showed simular symtoms as present day alzimers. . (I hope I am remembering corectly)

"Alzimers" is showing up in more and younger people these days... again not saying its all true... BUT ITS FOOD FOR THOUGHT!



Jim

 

[me4osu]

All I know is that my little herd that eats grass and no supplemented feed is now ORGANIC BEEF. I will probably invest in a chest freezer and keep a side of one of my own. I feel sorry for the quarrantined guys, but my animals just tripled in value.

 

[Adam]

Nice...

What a beautiful thing capitalism is. Who would have thought that one man can post a 300% profit on the economic misfortune of an entire industry to the detriment of the nation that supports him. Beautiful. Sometimes I wonder why I risk my life to support people who do the things they do.



Happy New Year. Here's hoping there's an economy left when I finally get the opportunity to enjoy the civil rights I defend by actually living in the country I protect.



-Adam

 

[Rman]

give him a break, he's playin the cards dealt to him. It's not his fault the media is blowing this out of whack, and the uminformed sheep of the nation will follow along and act like the world is ending. The Dems are probably loving this, they really dig chaos and the chance to give handouts, makes them look like they are worth something. How's it going at the Kun?

 

[Adam]

The Kun' is what it's always been... just a little more restrictive than previous years.



I understand playing the hand that's dealt to you, but I don't agree with making a fortune off someone else's misfortune. It's like raising the price of plywood right before a hurricane, or the gas hikes right after 9-11 or the Iraqi invasion. Some people will do anything to make a buck, and then sit and wonder why society is in the death spiral it's currently in. I'm a firm believer that you get what you sow. Someone gave the lawyer inspiration to press suit against McDonald's for serving hot coffee. The desire to put yourself in the best position possible is human nature... the willingness to do so at your nation's (and fellow American's) expense is just a sign of how possession-oriented society has become.

 

[WyoJim]

me4osu,



"Organic beef" can still be called organic and be fed grain. "Grass fed beef" are worth more yet.



And you go ahead and reap your reward because I am sure you are not the one that decided to put the contaminated meat into the food supply after they knew it was contaminated.



They have been putting downed cattle into the food supply for years and its time for them to reap what they sowed.

 

[Adam]

Some people just don't get it...

It's not about making the industry suffer, or about one person getting ahead by catching a break. Raising prices of a commodity because of panic or media speculation affects every person in America who buys beef. One supplier does it, then another sees his business peers earning more money for the same product, and eventually the average price of 73% lean ground beef is hovering around $5. 00/lb. In the end, it is you and I who pay for someone else's windfall when they take advantage of another's misfortune.

 

[A Johnson]

You're right I don't get it.

So he is going to take advantage of a market condition that allows him to make a substantial profit. Seems to me that is what big and small businesses have been doing for years. If he reinvests the money eventually he creates more jobs and more GNP. Am I wrong?



Look if my neighbors starving I'll give him some beef. On the other hand if he thinks he needs to buy organic beef, he doesn't have to pay my price, he can go elsewhere. If I sell for $4 a lb someone else will be $3. 99 and so on. The price will find its own sustainable level. Besides we as a nation probably consume 2 times the beef we need anyway.



I really doubt it means the detriment of a nation, its just a switching of roles, now me4osu can recieve a substantial markup for a quality product that no one else has. Last year he may have been on the recieving end of inflated prices.



A Johnson

 

[Steve Campbell]

I am a grass fed beef producer also, but......

... . the thing I read on this thread that rings true time and time again was written by Mike Ellis.....



"..... it is always wise to take the government proclamations with a grain of salt as they are sometimes motivated more by economic concerns than public safety ones. "



Good job Mike.