Government Bans `Downer' Cows From Food Supply

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(03-14) 09:47 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

The government on Saturday permanently banned the slaughter of cows too sick or weak to stand on their own, seeking to further minimize the chance that mad cow disease could enter the food supply.

The Agriculture Department proposed the ban last year after the biggest beef recall in U.S. history. The recall involved a Chino, Calif., slaughterhouse and "downer" cows. The Obama administration finalized the ban on Saturday.

"As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don't find their way into the food supply," President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio and video address.

Those kind of cows pose a higher risk of having mad cow disease. They also susceptible to infections from bacteria that cause food poisoning, such as E. coli, because the animals wallow in feces.

The recall also raised concerns about the treatment of cattle and came after an investigator for the Humane Society of the United States videotaped workers abusing downer cows to force them to slaughter.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/14/national/w094735D82.DTL

[MADem]

1. Does that include the pet food supply, too, I wonder?

[MrsBrady]

7. I was just thinking that when I saw your post...

after I found out what was in "animal by-products"
...what was allowed in pet food, I switched to a human grade food brand for our animals.

very scary. no wonder my cat had stones.

[dmr]

12. I just wrote and asked him that and

if he will require private testing facilities to report negative findings. The Peanut Corporation of America had received negative results but no one reported it. Had the testing company been compelled to report it maybe those 9 people would still be alive and less people sickened.

We'll see what the answer is - that is, if there's a response.

[emilyg]

34. Let us know.

[BrklynLiberal]

49. Excellent question.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. And the oversight will be done by...?

Way too long for this ban to finally happen in our nation.
Am glad it's been made, but how long until it plays out in reality?

[Demeter]

3. What an adorable Kitten!

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. Original large pic just for you

:loveya:

[BrklynLiberal]

46. What an adorable pic!!! thanks for the enlargement...It just makes me want

to reach out and go awwwwwwwwwwwww

[JayMusgrove]

24. Geeze I have been eating burgers for a year thinking the ban was already

in effect.

Guess I should learn not to trust the US Govt to finalize things (even obvious things like this) for a long while.

[Angleae]

37. You too huh?

One would think that this had already been done. But then I remembered who was in charge.

[whoneedstickets]

4. Now they need to remove the ban on voluntary testing..

so that conscientious ranchers and producers can offer inspected and tested product to the market. Low cost focused producers have opposed this because they know that the organic, hormone-free and grass-fed cattle producers would jump at the chance to distinguish their product for healthy quality and that it would force them to do the same or cede the top end of the beef market.

[Purveyor]

5. I couldn't agree more. Lets hope that this too will be undone and soon. eom

[wroberts189]

8. I could not believe it when the company that ...

wanted to test so they could sell to Japan was prevented from doing so by bush .. went to court and lost.


It was all because the other producers did not want to compete with a company that tested their cows.


free market my ass.

[sce56]

25. The whole Mad Cow thing is ridiculous! I have been banned from the Blood donor drives due to it!

I was stationed in Germany in the 80's so now the Red Cross will not accept my blood into the donor program! They would not be able to tell if I had the disease until I die just like they do with cattle. Currently, BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) can only be diagnosed by testing brain samples from dead animals. The ability to test live animals could have a huge impact on beef inspection worldwide. I say ridiculous do to the way they treat the cattle! Look at how Harris Ranch keeps them in a 800 acre holding area for there last few months before slaughter along I-5 near Coalinga, CA. see it on

Then we wonder why there are so many E-Coli out breaks in our farms the feeding lot stinks to high heaven you have to remember to shutoff the fresh air vents when driving by here for a few miles it is baddddd! Places like this are the reason our food supply is in jeopardy since it has so much fecal waste, mountains of it, that runs off into nearby fields and irrigation ditches not to mention the California Aqueduct close by.
At over 800 acres (3.2 km2) and with a population of over 100,000 cattle, and thousands harvested daily, the ranch is the largest on the West Coast. It is also among the largest (when including density), in the United States. Known to travelers for a "ripe, tangy odor", the ranch is nicknamed "Cowschwitz". It supplies the hamburger meat for the In-N-Out chain,




http://www.invisible5.org/index.php?page=fresnocoalinga
SITE
Harris Feeding Company
View LANDSAT Map

LOCATION
Fresno-Coalinga Road at I-5

THREATS AND CONTAMINANTS
Methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, pathogens

VOICE
Dr. David Igler, Department of History at UC Irvine, Richard Walker, Professor of Geography, UC Berkeley


Located near Coalinga, the Harris Ranch conglomerate includes the Harris Feeding Company, Harris Ranch Beef Company, Harris Farms, a hotel with two restaurants, a thoroughbred horse division and an airport. The 800-acre Harris Ranch feedlot is located east of the I-5 on the Fresno-Coalinga Road. The feedlot can process up to 250,000 head cattle annually. At any given time, seventy to 100 thousand head of cattle are present at the lot. Cattle typically spend twelve to sixteen months grazing before arriving at the feedlot at 650 to 750 pounds. Once there, the cows spend three to four months fattening up to an additional 400 pounds before they are slaughtered at Harris Ranch's Selma plant.

Now the largest cattle feeder on the West Coast, Harris Ranch produces nearly 200 million pounds of beef a year but is still considered a moderately sized operation. The nation's largest operations located in the Midwest and Texas feed can feed over 400,000 head of cattle at one time. Mega-feedlot operations such as these pose significant human and environmental health threats including surface and groundwater contamination and air pollution including emission of greenhouse gases.

Through a process called rumination, cows generate methane gas as a digestive by-product. Globally, ruminant livestock produce about eighty million metric tons of methane annually, accounting for about twenty-eight percent of global methane emissions from human-related activities. In the U.S., cattle emit about 5.5 million metric tons of methane per year into the atmosphere, accounting for nineteen percent of global human-related methane emissions. After carbon dioxide (also produced by livestock), methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Although methane breaks down within the atmosphere in ten years it has the potential to trap twenty percent more heat than carbon dioxide.

[sense]

33. Buying into the government propaganda?

Smart.

[sce56]

36. Yeah I buy into it when they say we can not give blood

[sense]

40. Do you understand why they don't want your blood?

If you've been exposed to mad cow, as many were, while living in Europe, why would you try to give it knowing you could pass a devastating disease on to others. Mad cow has a very long (20-30 years) incubation period and you could easily be carrying it.

[sce56]

52. I hopefully was not exposed

What I was getting at is it is ridiculous that they do not test more and prohibit farms from 100% testing on their own! Also when we look at the damage done from large factory farms the waste aspect is horrible! In pig farms they make lots of waste then have problems with the disposal of all that poop! Not to mention that all of those cattle farms the 800 Acres with over a 100K head at Harris ranch contribute to global warming!

Report: Farm Waste Spreads, Oversight Lags
Despite Pollution Woes, Proposed EPA Rule Would Eliminate Key Federal Oversight Mechanism
WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2008
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/24/tech/main4473425.shtml?source=RSSattr=SciTech_4473425
(AP) Some huge livestock farms produce more raw waste than cities as large as Philadelphia or Houston. But federal regulators are failing to control pollution from the gigantic operations or assess health risks from the enormous quantities of manure they produce, according to congressional investigators.

The Government Accountability Office report on the raw waste is to be released Wednesday to a House committee hearing on federal oversight of factory farms.

The conclusions fueled concerns about a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule change that would eliminate one of the few federal oversight mechanisms over air and water pollution from big farms.

The rule would eliminate a requirement that farms report to federal, state and local officials when air emissions of hazardous substances like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide exceed certain levels.

EPA proposed the rule change in December, contending the requirement created an unnecessary burden for farms and that the emission release reports usually weren't needed or acted upon.

[wroberts189]

54. Damn ..I was stationed in Germany at that time as well.

Eating up burgers at the mess hall daily.


And I thought it was the republicans that was causing my mental illnesses.

[sense]

64. they're trying as hard as they can...

[sense]

63. I hope you weren't exposed either!

Our policies have been so inadequate, I don't even have the words...... I'm with you on that! I really hope they start testing more, I'd prefer 100% and to get rid of the factory farms. There are so many issues to address that it's just stunning. It does seem that we're heading in the right direction now....

[sce56]

65. Well to tell the truth my kids hate it since I no longer eat beef and when the people ask why I tell

them about the rejection of my blood! That gets people to start thinking about it harder. The kids say don't embarrass us but I say it is the only way people will get to know that vegetarian living might not be a bad idea after all!

I also remember a story I think I saw posted here about a Special forces soldier that had problems after returning from Afghanistan he became quite belligerent and a troublemaker he was eventual given a BCD his family finally had him diagnosed with a variant of mad cow he believes he got it from eating Lambs brains with the tribe he was embedded with so his craziness became a reason to change his discharge to medical at least they were fighting to get that from the VA

[sense]

66. Good for you

We haven't eaten beef in years either. Unless we know the cow and what it's eaten all it's life.... My spouse and children agreed to quit eating it when I did. I tell people why I don't eat it (lack of testing) and if they want to make fun, that's ok. We think about becoming completely vegetarian all the time... haven't made it there yet, but we do eat mostly organic, locally farmed foods. My kids have permission to blame it on me whenever they need to ... tell people I need a tinfoil hat, whatever, just don't eat beef!

That is a scary story. I'm afraid that we'll be hearing a lot more of that sort. :-(

[Baby Snooks]

28. Thanks for pointing out the real problem...

The entire industry for the most part is still "self-regulated" and so "downer cows" will still make their way to the slaughterhouse. Only the obviously ill cows will be pulled without anyone questioning the obvious - if there is one cow with the disease, there are probably others. Our beef supply is not safe and hasn't been for a long time. And probably has become more dangerous rather than less dangerous.

But as Oprah Winfrey found out when they sued her, the cattlemen in this country are as powerful as the oilmen. Often the cattlemen are also oilmen. That should sum up the cattlemen.

As for "organic, hormone-free and grass-fed" beef the reality is you have to trust that it really is and then you have be willing not to eat but every other day in order to afford it. It really is not an option for most Americans who when faced with a choice between $10 a pound hamburger and $2.50 a pound hamburger are going to have the choice made for them simply by the price.

Obama needs to regulate the industry. He actually needs to regulate the country. The "honor system" obviously doesn't work.

[RC]

6. Of course not. They just write it off to Alzheimer's or Dementia here.

"No illnesses have been linked to those cows in the United States. There have been three cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease confirmed in people living in the United States, but those were linked to meat products in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

[arikara]

30. Exactly...

My father was struck by dementia in his mid 60's. I've always suspected it.

Bastards.

[mikelgb]

10. But they were so tender and delicious...

where can I get fetid meat now?

[IntravenousDemilo]

13. Just go away for a long time and spend all your money and then come back, like the prodigal son...

... and then we will slay the fetid calf for your welcome-home feast.

[northernlights]

11. I just hope they will finally enforce humane treatment laws

I hate reading articles like these because they don't let me forget the godawful video of the poor sick cow being shoved by a front end loader, poor thing thrashing, scrambling, struggling to get to her feet, screaming in agony....:cry: :cry: :cry:

[chatnoir]

18. I couldn't bare to watch the vid

Or I'd never get it out of my head if so. The still image is enough to haunt me. :cry:

[empire we are]

19. Humane treatment laws.

That's a good one. With 10's of thousands of Micky D's, BK's, Wendy's and Dennys, never mind the endless aisles
of meat and poultry, humane treatment of our food is an oxymoron.
It's all about economies of scale and our incessant demand for flesh.

"Breed em, kill em and butcher em as fast as possible, don't let the cameras in for gods sake don't let them see how the animals are treated".

Out of sight out of mind but it sure tastes good.

[jody]

14. Downer Cows may be worse than Road Kills because the latter were healthy when they died. n/t

[FailureToCommunicate]

23. Well, except for being deaf, or nearsighted, or just plain slow...

[jody]

39. I stand corrected, ROFL ! n/t

[IntravenousDemilo]

15. You mean they hadn't done that already?

Jesus Fucking Christ, the US Dept of Agriculture just about fucking destroys Canada's beef industry a few years ago by imposing a ban on Canadian cattle and cattle-based products, and we took care of our problem. And now we find out that US cattlemen have been blithely letting downer cattle into the human food chain all that fucking time? How fucking fucked up is that? Fucking protectionist fucking hypocritical fucking idiots! Fuck! Fuckety fuck fuck fuck!!!

[Hekate]

20. Bush (may he rot) FEMA-fied the USDA along with every other department....

I visited a friend who worked at USDA, had lunch with her and some of her co-workers. They were the most bitter group of civil servants I ever met in my life as a result of the Bush administration.

Blame Bush and his cronies. You won't get any arguments from me.

Hekate

[rucognizant]

31. I know...

Before that I bought a wonderful leg of lamb from New Zealand in Canada. Then they banned bringing meat into the USA.
I can't eat beef,it's AWFUL! Nasty! I eat bison......and I discovered Bubbaburgers last year in Fla. Grass fed humainly slaughtered in central Fla. YOU CAN TELL BY THE TASTE! The man handing out samples inthe market gave me enough $1.00 off coupons to get through a year.I was eating ground turkey, but that's as expensive as beef!

[caseymoz]

43. Not too much of an excuse, but that was the Bush administration.

Funny how this gets corrected as soon as a new President comes in.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

62. I thought it was....

I could swear I remember somebody a few years back getting busted for basically using forklifts on nearly-deceased cattle to get them into the slaughterhouse. Maybe that was during the Clinton Administration and the Bush Junta decided to get regulators off the backs of industry...

[kristopher]

16. Aren't they in the process of assigning responsibility for safety of food supply to a revamped FDA?

IIRC they're breaking the food police into a separate and distinct division of the FDA (more oriented to public safety than Dept. of Ag) and actually giving them resources to clean up the food supply.

That seems like the fundamental change we are looking for.

[BumRushDaShow]

26. It's too big to fix instantly

Once the punditry AND elected officials get a look at the way it is devised right now, with all the MOUs between agencies, they panic, flee, shove their heads in the sand, and hope it all goes away, because in an odd way, it functions - not as efficiently as it should and with additional resources, maybe a bit better, but it functions. And they are AFRAID.

The minute you tell them that USDA does "beef" but FDA does "veal on the hoof" (calves) and milk, they bug out. You tell them that USDA does lettuce but FDA does bagged lettuce, they bug out. You tell them that USDA does corn but FDA does corn flour, they bug out. You tell them that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does freshwater/saltwater fish, mollusks, and venison (for food) but FDA does red snappers (a fish), canned/vacuum-packed fish, shellfish, and rabbits (for food), they bug out. You tell them that EPA does tap water and FDA does bottled water, they bug out. You tell them that ATF does alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content > 7% but FDA does alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content < 7%, they bug out. Unsprayed fruit is USDA, sprayed its FDA (sulfites and/or pesticides and/or methyl bromide). The more they hear, the worse it gets, and they slink away.

Right now, there are at least 6 bills that various congress-critters have "threatened" to unleash on society to "reform" the various departments/agencies that deal with food, and I think only one has made it out of committee.

And when a heparin or Vioxx disaster happens, the food issue gets dropped and suddenly drugs/biologics are more important. Then when salmonella or E. coli or listeria strikes, or pet food has melamine in it, then suddenly the drug issue gets dropped and everything swirls around food. And then when someone's stent fails or the screws that hold an artificial knee in place break, suddenly foods and drugs are shoved aside, and medical devices get the attention. And don't even mention lead in hair dye, temporary tattoo stickers with unapproved colors in them, or have halloween-themed contact lenses rear their ugly heads, and cosmetics will become the meme of the day.

It's a disaster and neither Congress nor any administration wants to pay for REAL reform. And "reform" CANNOT = "combine disparate entities that seem related" and hope that they mesh together. It will need to be phased in, the consumer, industry, and state/local/other federal gov't entities would need to be educated on the "new" structure, and so on. It took 103 years (FDA was chartered in 1906) to get here and it won't take one sound-bite solution to fix it (just like it won't take a similar sound-bite solution to fix healthcare in this country).

[upi402]

17. Good jo Obama! I thought this was done several emergencies ago??? n/t

[shanti]

21. i'm stunned

by the speed in which O is repealing all the terrible things that * put in place. there are still many things yet to be dismantled, however.

all hail the President! :woohoo:

[cornermouse]

22. We've been through this red herring before.

If you look around on the internet (you don't have to take my word for it) you will find that beef processors for human consumption have a rule to accept only cows that are 2 years and younger. Mad Cow Disease has a four year incubation period. They slaughter and process the cow well before there are any visible signs of mad cow disease so in spite of what they're saying we're no safer.

[northernlights]

35. it's all irrelevent anyway

I did a project on prion disease for my micro class. Get this:

"Water insoluble, prions are not deactivated by ultraviolet light, formaldehyde, boiling in caustic soda, or digestion by protease or ribonuclease enzymes. (2) They also resist exposure to strong disinfectants, dry heat of up to 1,100oF, and even the environment in soil. In fact, studies have shown that burying prion-infected animals in lime, once used as a way to quickly destroy the carcasses, may actually help to spread prions in the environment. (8) Prions apparently can survive in soil for years – studies have shown them still infectious after 3 years. (9) And recent studies suggest that certain soils may actually increase the pathogenicity of prions by making them more bioavailable to animals grazing on infected land. (10) As of 2004, there still was no way to reliably sterilize contaminated objects. (2)"

In one study, they grazed a herd of sheep on land with scrapie victims from 3 years or so earlier buried underneath. 100% rate of infection PLUS the sheep got the fastest developing version.

Also, "deer wasting disease," which started with a captive herd in Wisconsin and has been spreading throughout ever since, is just the deer/elk version of the same disease.

One question that came up was why it jumped from cows to humans instead of from sheep to humans. Sheep are closer to humans on the phylogenic tree than cows are. So exactly how it jumps species is an open question.

Anyway, there is hope for some of us. Get your genes mapped. The PrNP gene makes the protein involved and resides on chromosome 20 tested. The vast majority of victims are homozygous for the amino acid methionine at codon 129, whereas the general population only 37% of the population is homozygous there. Also, if you are heterozygous for methionine and valine, you may get CJD, but at least will get the slower developing version. Also codon 219 may some protection. (I'm not sure what amino acid you need there, but apparently Asians have it a lot and haven't been getting CJD).

[guyton]

27. boycott beef until they really clean up their act

My family and I have been boycotting beef (eating mostly chicken and buffalo meat) for years due to the beef industries obscene habits.

This is a step in the right direction, but boy do they have a long way to go.

[Kat45]

29. As they should be.

Just more evidence of the sick, money-driven priorities of this country that these animals were ever allowed into the food chain in the first place. I'm glad the Obama administration is working to reset priorities, but I think there's still a long way to go. For one thing, we need a lot more food inspectors and inspections to help keep our food supply safe.

[Liberty Belle]

32. It's About Time! I wonder if the mad cowboy Bush ever ate one?

I've been writing about the dangers posed by mad cow for a long time, as editor of a nutrition journal. How nice to finally have a grownup in charge who puts public safety ahead of beef industry profits.

[The Backlash Cometh]

38. Wait a minute. I thought we already did this?

[CHIMO]

41. MAD COW, U.S.A: COULD THE NIGHTMARE HAPPEN HERE?

FIRST, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE NIGHTMARE IN YOUR SUBTITLE?


Sheldon Rampton: It's a nightmare on two levels. First, it's a nightmare in terms of human and animal health; animals in large numbers have died in Europe, particularly England, and now humans are dying. But secondly it's an economic nightmare for farmers and, ultimately, for everyone. The British beef market collapsed like a house of cards once the news came out that this disease was spreading from cows to humans. Both of those are real nightmares that we should be concerned about.



Let's talk about how the two of you got onto this story in the first place, which I think is interesting in and of itself. You've said that the reporting on this subject was absolutely abysmal when you began to investigate it yourselves.


John Stauber (JS): Right, and now it's gone from abysmal to just really bad . Our book has already had a major impact on the public debate surrounding this issue. I got involved with this issue through my work fighting alongside farmers and consumers who were opposed to Monsanto's genetically-engineered cow hormone (rBGH), which is injected into cows to force them to produce more milk. The interesting thing is that in order to get more milk out of these cows you have to give them fat and protein supplements, and it was discovered in the early '90s that the cheapest source of fat and protein supplements for dairy cows in Wisconsin was dairy cows. In other words, the meat unfit for human consumption—the stuff that doesn't make it onto the dinner plate—being rendered and fed back to dairy cows.


This practice had been banned in Britain because it was proven that this is how Mad Cow Disease (MCD) was spread. And there was a great deal of concern, even half a decade ago, that this disease could move from the "mad cows" of Britain into people, which it now has. So it was looking into a modern technological wonder, the genetically-engineered Bovine Growth Hormone, which first drew my attention to the risks of this disease in the U.S.

http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featpostel_31_p.htm

[defendandprotect]

42. But W was letting them thru for 8 years . .. ????

[caseymoz]

44. You bet your sweet barf-bag he was!

But it was also that Republican Congress we had till 2006 that took many regulations off the books.

[defendandprotect]

50. I'm sure you know that there is a 20 year incubation period with Mad Cow . . .

so I presume it will be a while before we know the extent of the damage.

[caseymoz]

51. It could be up to 20 years or more . . . or less.

Some people seem to develop symptoms a lot quicker.

There are a lot of things I don't understand or are maybe unknown. Like I'm wondering why there hasn't been a higher number in Britain so far. I also don't understand why animals with shorter lifespans seem to develop it.

[defendandprotect]

55. Since we are never sure of the events, it is difficult to judge the timing . . .

Much of this has been hidden --

In fact, Britain seemed to have done away with their "Mad Cow" fears by declaring

"Foot & Mouth" and killing all the animals ---

Also, there are certainly connections between "Alzheimer's" and Mad Cow.

And we seem to have plenty of Alzheimer's here ---

All while we continue to increase our rates of cancer under the "War on Cancer" -- !!!

[caseymoz]

57. Actually, there are strong indications now that Alzheimers' is caused by Herpes 1.

One team of scientists has found it, anyway. Apparently, as the person ages and their immune system begins to buckle, the virus attacks the brain. This team says the amyloid plaques are from the dying and bursting of brain cells, and they say they have detected Herpes I DNA in them.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081207134109.htm

If so, it means that Alzheimer's might be stopped through use of anti-viral drugs: Aclovir. This all needs to be confirmed with further study, the researchers sound very confident of their discovery, however. If it's confirmed, they are going to win the Nobel Prize.

Also, it would mean that the only coincidental association between Alzheimer's and Mad Cow Disease is in the bursting of brain cells forming plaques.

[defendandprotect]

60. Well, I can't cite anything that we have "cured" yet . . .

so good luck to them.

However, Alzheimer's is a spongiform disease of the brain, like Mad Cow and CJD.

We'll see . . .

[caseymoz]

61. Unfortunately, it can take science a very long time to accept an answer.

Especially when it's unexpected. It took about 25 years before they accepted the fact that peptic ulcers were caused by bacteria (carried on the feet of flies, BTW, keep flies away from your food!). So, textbooks are 20-25 years out of date when they're published. In our current economic condition, it will probably be a long time before this study is confirmed.

My non-scientific sense tells me this is probably right. Mainly because I can't see how a neuro-virus like Herpes could not be doing some kind of long-term damage.

[caseymoz]

45. What it doesn't mention is and what might be more important:

. . . is The use of downer-cows to feed other farm animals. That is, process them and feed them to chickens, pigs and even other cows. It's terrible for the health of those animals in general, it creates a vector for Mad Cow Disease specifically, and it's not good for human health either.

[BrklynLiberal]

47. and it makes cannibals out of herbivore animals...which just adds

another level of disgust to the behavior.

[caseymoz]

53. Cannibalism among carnivores isn't too respectible, either.

First, those animals aren't adapted to eat animal protein. Second, if you feed cows to cows, it will tend to accumulate pollutants and poisons.

[BrklynLiberal]

59. Excellent point....

Nothing good can come of this practice...except higher profits for those who do it.

[Vanje]

56. Lateral transmission of prion diseases

You dont need to feed animal products to ungulates to spread prions.

Scrapie(sheep prion) is studied as a model for the spread and transmission of other TSE's (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies).

Half of the lambs born to scrapie (prion) affected sheep, will develop the disease.
Prions are concentrated in birthing fluids. The birthing fluids are licked and tasted by other ewes, who will acquire the disease. What remains will stay in the soil , pretty much forever.
We assume that the BSE prion spreads by the same mechanisms as scrapie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a 12 year old beef cow from Texas who tested positive for BSE, a few years back.

Where the fuck are her calves?
She had calves. Stock men don't keep a cow around for 12 years if she is not producing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prion infected animals don't show symptoms until there's heavy accumulation of prions in nervous tissues.
Before prions accumulate in the brain and cord, they accumulate in lymphatic tissues.

A BSE infected cow, who is early in her disease will not show any symptoms. She wont look like a downer cow, but she will have concentrated prions in her lymph tissues.

While avoiding eating brains and spinal cords is a good idea, it is not enough.

[caseymoz]

58. I'm always grateful for information, thank you (eom)

[BrklynLiberal]

48. This is way, way overdue. Now let's see how well it is enforced.

[raccoon]

67. I'd rec this if I could! nt