It's now our turn: First U.S. mad cow case confirmed

JohnT · December 23, 2003, 19:10

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/23/mad.cow/index.html

Quote:

First U.S. mad cow case confirmed

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The first case of mad cow disease in the United States has been discovered in Washington state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.

Further tests will be conducted in the UK to confirm the case, said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.

"A single cow has tested presumptive positive for BSE, commonly known as mad cow disease. Despite this finding we remain confident in the safety of our food supply," said Veneman.

"While this would represent the first finding of BSE in the United States we have worked hard to ensure our response is swift and effective."

Mad cow disease first appeared in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s and resulted in the slaughter of millions of cattle.

Mad cow disease is believed to be linked to vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease), a brainwasting disease in humans with no cure.

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 19:11

Does this mean we can shut our borders to your livestock for 6 months or a year?

JohnT · December 23, 2003, 19:14

Go ahead.

A little bit of retaliation never hurt anybody.

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 19:16

How about if you just remove the live animal ban which is still in place.

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 19:17

Because the Japanese are going to **** you on this one for sure no matter what.

JohnT · December 23, 2003, 19:17

Not my call. Sorry.

Dauphin · December 23, 2003, 19:35

Reminds me of the last BSE crises in '96, the minister of agriculture had the letters CJD on his number plate. I thought it ironic.

So whose head will roll in the US if the situation gets beyond isolated incidents? Can we blame Bushie?

JohnT · December 23, 2003, 19:45

Not unless he's injecting cows with the stuff. But what's that to stop ya!

chequita guevara · December 23, 2003, 19:46

Guess it's time to stop eating meat.

Imran Siddiqui · December 23, 2003, 19:47

Only beef

(and even then an overreaction).

Chicken has been safe throughout.

Hueij · December 23, 2003, 20:08

Quote:

Chicken has been safe throughout.

Don't worry. If you have industrialized farming like we have, their turn will come too. And the sheep, and the pigs, and the...

Drake Tungsten · December 23, 2003, 20:09

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Because the Japanese are going to **** you on this one for sure no matter what.

I doubt it. There wouldn't be any beef in Japan if it wasn't for the U.S. and Australia.

Q Classic · December 23, 2003, 20:10

this is obviously the work of satan, trying to poison our holy and sacred supplies of god-given animal meat.

Drake Tungsten · December 23, 2003, 20:11

I blame the Canucks.

Oerdin · December 23, 2003, 20:13

If I understand things correctly BSE is caused by malfunctioning prions in the brain. This can occur naturally or as a result of the animal eating infectious brain or nervous system tissue. Right now know one knows if this cow is a rare natural case of prions malfunctioning or if it eat the wrong bone meal.

One question I have is how old the animal was. Natural break down of prions in the brain usually only occurs in very elderly animals so the cow's age will be a good indicator.

mrboo123 · December 23, 2003, 20:14

the gods of irony must be laughing!

Bereta_Eder · December 23, 2003, 20:16

the brits fault. they drove their cows mad. at least we banned them and now we're ok while saving their incompetent arses as well

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 23:01

Quote:

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

Quote:

Because the Japanese are going to **** you on this one for sure no matter what.

I doubt it. There wouldn't be any beef in Japan if it wasn't for the U.S. and Australia.

The only reason you guys kept the doors closed so long was that Japan told you that they'd close their doors to you if you opened them to us.

Australia hasn't had a case yet, have they (does NZ do beef or are they only sheep-****gers?)

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 23:02

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Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
I blame the Canucks.

There's a good possibility our mad cow came from a US farm.

reds4ever · December 23, 2003, 23:08

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Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Guess it's time to stop eating meat.

Nah, just lay off Bovine spinal columns, you should be Ok

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 23:10

Anyhow, the UK had like what? 5 deaths from BSE? And they still get a few hundred reported cases in animals every year (down from a couple of thousand).

It doesn't transfer easily to humans. You're a lot more likely to die from e. coli in your beef than a prion disease...

optimus2861 · December 23, 2003, 23:22

The Japanese & South Koreans have closed their borders to US beef. Reported in the second CBC article on their front page (link).

Drake Tungsten · December 23, 2003, 23:32

****!!!

Beef was already expensive enough here as it is...

reds4ever · December 23, 2003, 23:36

Quote:

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
****!!!

Beef was already expensive enough here as it is...

how come? with all that rolling farmland over there you'd think they'd be knee deep in T-Bones!!

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 23:37

Quote:

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
****!!!

Beef was already expensive enough here as it is...

You were saying?

Drake Tungsten · December 23, 2003, 23:39

A man can hope, can't he?

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 23:41

Ha ha. Apparently we'll be shutting down beef flow northwards as soon as confirmation comes down.

The shoe's on the other foot now, boyo....

Actually, I'm pretty much just kidding. There's so much back and forth across the 49th that I think any ban in either direction is and was a stupid idea. We've got a pretty much harmonised health and safety system, so the border shutdown makes no sense.

**** the Japanese. If they want beef they'll have to buy it from somewhere, and right now the Aussies are the only ones who haven't had at least one case.

monolith94 · December 23, 2003, 23:41

Doesn't matter to me. I eat seafood whenever I have the option to do so anyway.

Drake Tungsten · December 23, 2003, 23:44

How will I live through this? As a Nebraskan, I biologically require sweet, sweet cow flesh on a regular basis. I'll die without it. I'd rather die than pay the price for Japanese beef, though.

Please Lord, let Australia stay free from this plague.

KrazyHorse · December 23, 2003, 23:47

Maybe we should smuggle some infected cow meat in and feed it to Japanese cows.

We wait for a test to turn up an infected animal and they'll have to drop their ban...