Cow Madness is Overblown

The man at a dinner party leans over and asks: "Are you worried about 'mad cow' disease? Should we stop eating steak?"

I laugh. Earth to Chicken Little! The sky is not falling on steak. Not here, anyway. Of all the things to worry about, getting mad cow disease from a nice juicy filet mignon is not one of them. Not yet, anyway.

Mad Cow Disease
by Peter Montague

(National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981/AFL-CIO)

In 1985, cows in Britain began to die of a mysterious ailment that no one had ever seen before. The symptoms were strange. At first the cows staggered and drooled, their ears twitching. Then they began to show signs of fear, grinding their teeth, acting aggressively toward other animals

Insecticide Causes Mad Cow Disease
By Fintan Dunne
Research by Kathy McMahon

Pharmaceutical interests in the UK are ignoring new scientific research that shows the insecticide used in the UK government's own warble-fly campaigns triggered the UK surge of 'Mad Cow' disease. British scientists have led the current theory that an infectious prion in bone meal fed to cattle causes bovine spongiform disease (BSE).

Myths & Truths About Mad Cow Disease
by Mark Purdey

As an organic farmer, Mark Purdey resisted the order to spray his cattle with organophosphates for warble fly and went to court for a judicial review; he won and was exempted from using the spray. No cows born in his herd developed BSE (mad cow disease).