# Mad Cow in U.S.: Ok, what are ramifications? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 24, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780 "2003-12-24T03:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/21 "2003-12-24T07:41:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gorsnak \* > \*\*Errr…Airman? Beef prices will drop, not rise. As export markets vanish, there will be an overabundance of beef on the domestic market. Lower demand with the same level of supply. \*\* Not unless the public is wary of tainted beef. There might be a premium on stock that’s been tested to be clean. Of course, it all depends on just how widespread this turns out to be. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/22 "2003-12-24T07:43:15Z")
Acoording to a MeFi comment: McDonalds down 3.5% in after hours trading ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/23 "2003-12-24T08:41:09Z")
I’m just thinking that, somewhere out there, Eric Schlosser, author of [**Fast Food Nation,**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060938455/102-0554960-1372128?v=glance) is going around saying, “I _tried_ to warn you! But did you listen?” ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/24 "2003-12-24T10:40:53Z")
At least americans don’t have wierd eating habits of some other countries where specific parts of the cow were eaten and offered a much higher risk of Mad Cow Disease. How did Mad Cow disease arrive in Canada and USA ? Do they have factory farms British style ? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/25 "2003-12-24T13:54:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Carter of Mars \* > \*\*[BSE’s causing disease […] and usually only affects persons over 63 years of age. > \*\* Actually, it’s the other way around, since a peculiarity of BSE is that it affects young people, contrarily to the related and already existing CJD, and it’s a way to tell them apart (before autoppsy, that’s it). ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/26 "2003-12-24T13:56:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Carter of Mars \* > \*\*By **Gorsnak** : A little increase in domestic supply, due to smaller exports, probably won’t force many ranchers out of business. \*\* But a significant drop of domestic consumption caused by a BSE scare would, as it hapened in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/27 "2003-12-24T13:59:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Carter of Mars \* > \*\*[http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse-overview.html](http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse-overview.html) > > The old saw about “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” will be true in this case. BSE’s causing disease is very rare in humans, even in countries with cattle herds known to be infected, and usually only affects persons over 63 years of age. > One infected cow in Washington State should not cause panic, but it probably will. > \*\* Actually, vCJD, the kind thought transmitted via beef affects much younger people, the average age is 28, from your link. Classical CJD has the average age of 63. This, IMHO, is a very positive thing, that tells me vCJD does not have a long incubation cycle. If only old people got vCJD, I’d be wondering if this disease is a ticking time bomb waiting to hit thousands of unsuspecting people. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/28 "2003-12-24T15:44:59Z")
Immediate ramification is that UK comedians will reverse the nationalities and recycle all the rubbish jokes that the US comedians were cracking 5 years ago. This will make them much funnier, through addition of extra added irony. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/29 "2003-12-24T15:55:20Z")
Re: Age of persons getting CDJ etc. Clearly, I should read the links I post more thoroughly. This isn’t IMHO, but in IMHO the American public will not have a knee-jerk reaction to this. There won’t be a mass change in eating habits. We love our steaks and 'burgers too much. During the initial panic (if there is one) would be a good time to buy a couple hundred pounds pounds of beef to fill the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/30 "2003-12-24T16:52:47Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m thinking that I read somewhere that normal cooking of beef to the medium-rare stage destroyed the threat of disease in humans, but I couldn’t find that statement in a short search. You’re right that you should cook beef well (actually, I thought it had to be more than medium-rare, but I could be wrong), but that’s **not** because of BSE, it’s because of E Coli O157:H7 aka Hamburger disease. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/31 "2003-12-24T17:32:23Z")
Will the mad cow story bump the terrorism stories off the front pages for a while? Will there be mad cow tie-ins with the day-after Christmas sales news fluff stories? Will the “Got Milk?” campaign change to “Got Mad Cow?” What will happen to the Atkins diet fans? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/32 "2003-12-24T18:38:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gyan9 \* > \*\*Not unless the public is wary of tainted beef. There might be a premium on stock that’s been tested to be clean. Of course, it all depends on just how widespread this turns out to be. \*\* Impossible. The only test for BSE involves looking at slices of brain tissue under microscopes - i.e., you can’t test live stock. This is why entire herds will be destroyed in an attempt to ascertain how widespread the problem is. Now, we could see introduction of mandatory tests on every slaughtered animal, I suppose, which would provide evidence for the safety of the meat coming from any given packing plant. Should this be the case, though, it would be due to new regulations, and there wouldn’t be any “safe” beef vs. “unsafe” beef price gap. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/33 "2003-12-24T18:55:09Z")
Mad cow disease? Why all the sudden interest in PMS? Just the other day the Chicago Trib had a big spread on how great the cattle market was going, thanks to Atkins. Might be a record for the shortest shelf life for any reported story. Will this lead to a change in rendering/feeding practices? ---
**Author:** ![kallie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/77aa72/32.png) [@kallie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kallie)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/34 "2003-12-24T20:49:45Z")
I was told by a transcriptionist about 6 years ago that she typed up two reports of people who had died of mad cow disease and couldn’t understand why it wasn’t on the news. Do you think this was the same illness? Maybe it’s been here longer than we think. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/35 "2003-12-24T20:59:52Z")
Kallie, Americans living in the UK during the danger years could have died of Mad Cow disease. Or they died of the similar to Mad Cow problem. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/36 "2003-12-25T16:38:00Z")
Just a nit-pick. People don’t get Mad Cow disease (or BSE). They get vCJD (variant Creutzfeld-Jacob disease), which evidence suggests is caused by eating BSE contaminated products. As to Americans getting vCJD - it looks like it has a VERY long incubation period in people (some suggest it can take decades to show up). So, it’s not exactly surprising that Americans (and Canadians, and Germans, and French, and…) could come down with vCJD given the amount of world travel in the past many years. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/37 "2003-12-25T16:44:54Z")
Just a nit-pick. People don’t get Mad Cow disease (or BSE). They get vCJD (variant Creutzfeld-Jacob disease), which evidence suggests is caused by eating BSE contaminated products. As to Americans getting vCJD - it looks like it has a VERY long incubation period in people (some suggest it can take decades to show up). So, it’s not exactly surprising that Americans (and Canadians, and Germans, and French, and…) could come down with vCJD given the amount of world travel in the past many years. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/38 "2003-12-25T16:54:50Z")
More to the point, it’s entirely possible that kallie’s transcriptionist typed up reports of people dying of non-variant CJD, which has nothing to do with BSE. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/39 "2003-12-25T18:46:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gorsnak \* > \*\*More to the point, it’s entirely possible that kallie’s transcriptionist typed up reports of people dying of non-variant CJD, which has nothing to do with BSE. \*\* Minor nitpick: nvCJD is _new_ variant CJD, although just vCJD is now the more accepted term: [Quote:] ([http://www.ifst.org/hottop5.htm](http://www.ifst.org/hottop5.htm)) > [@](#): > > nvCJD - new variant CJD, term used by CJDSU in 1996 to describe the original ten cases > vCJD - alternative for (new) variant CJD. (Note: At its meeting on 18 March 1999, (SEAC) agreed that “vCJD” should be used in preference to “nvCJD” in line with current practice in many scientific journals. Although this designation has been a subject of criticism on the grounds that it implies only one “variant”, for consistency “vCJD” is used throughout this Information Statement, even when quoting papers or statements in which “nvCJD” was used). ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780/40 "2003-12-25T19:18:11Z")
Err…okay? I was just pointing out that the cases in question might have been regular old CJD, not the variant version tied to BSE. I apologize to anyone confused by my use of “non-variant CJD” to that end. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-cow-in-u-s-ok-what-are-ramifications/220780.md?page=3)