The issue of mad cow disease is an issue of utmost importance to anyone that consumes cow bodies on a regular basis. Of equal importance are the “mad” people that profit considerably by not testing for mad cow disease. In articles that appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser it was clear that under the guise of concern, it is only “lip service” that addresses the mad cow disease issue ultimately to protect profits.

Ann Veneman, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated, “that stringent changes would be imminent to protect the consumer”. What Veneman is proposing was advised to be followed in 1996 by the World Health Organization. Oh well, better late than never!

Also, in the same article, Daniel Puzo, a spokesman for the USDA`s Food Safety and Inspection Service said, “the USDA would not release the names of 42 distributors that sold recalled meat, on advice from attorney`s that such information could harm their businesses”.

Let`s put this issue in its proper perspective. The National Cattleman`s Beef Association describes government and industry efforts to safeguard the American public from mad cow disease as “swift”, “decisive” and “aggressive”. Ann Veneman adds “diligent”, “vigilant” and “strong”. However, the world`s authority on these diseases disagrees.

Dr. Stanley Prusiner is the scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of prions, the infectious agents thought to cause bovine spongiform encephalopahy (BSE), or mad cow disease. The word Dr. Prusiner uses to describe the efforts of the U.S. government and the cattle industry is “terrible”. What are these “stringent protective measures” that the Cattleman`s Association is talking about, and how do they compare to global standards and internationally recognized guidelines?

In 1996, in response to the revelation that young people in Britain were dying from variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD), the human equivalent of mad cow disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued seven “Recommendations”. Numbers 5-7 were observations and/or recommendations for further research. The first four recommendations, however, were concrete solutions to reduce the likelihood of mad cow disease spreading to human populations.

To this day, the United States government continues to violate each and every one of these four guidelines.
#1. Stop Feeding Infected Animals To Other Animals
#2. All Countries Need To Establish Adequate Testing And Surveillance
#3. Stop Feeding Cow Brains, Eyes, Spinal Cords Or Intestines To People Or Livestock
#4. Stop Weaning Calves On Cow`s Blood

So, since 1996, the World Health Organization has recommended that all countries stop feeding prion infected animals to other animals. Yet the U.S. government continues to allow deer, infected with chronic wasting disease, to be rendered into animal feed, and the industry continues to oppose any proposed change in the law.