BSE-a little prespective

[Anonymous]

I posted this on the heatlh board too..

I received these facts in an email from another producer and thought I would share it with everyone I could, I think it put's some prespective on the BSE issue, wish I could get this to one of the major networks... maybe the spin they put on this could be a little nicer to we producers.

1. There are nearly one hundred million cattle in the USA. One critter may be diseased. The fact that the USDA inspection system inspects every bovine processed in the USA and found one in 100,000,000 is pretty impressive. VERY IMPRESSIVE! If some one eats the brains or spinal cord, and if this critter is a carrier one or two people "could" contract the disease in a 3 to 5 year incubation period. With this in mind, consider these........

Oregon State University estimates that 1000 people die annually in the USA from eating poultry with salmonellosis. Due to this real fact did anyone decide not to eat a turkey for Christmas/Thanksgiving Dinner? for this reason? Hear any News Alerts on this?

3. People who die in automobile accidents this Christmas weekend in the USA, will be double all the people who have ever died from BSE. In the entire history of BSE 132 people have died, and 122 of those deaths in Great Britain.

3. Did the last fish you ate get inspected by a USDA veterinarian for poison mercury? No! No inspection is required on fish yet the main source of mercury people consume is from fish.

4. More money is spent on blood tests and specimen inspections on a processed steer for food safety than the total price of 4 fresh chickens.

5. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 37,000 traffic fatalities are projected for 2003. Are we seeing special TV alerts on traffic fatalities?

There are many health risks. The risk of any person contracting BSE in this day and age of inspections and lawsuits is very slim indeed. We have to decide if the risk of contracting BSE is equal to all the convulsions that the Media and the government are going through.

Let's put this into perspective, with 1000 deaths annually from Salmonellosis, there have been 8000 deaths in the USA alone from Salmonellosis since BSE was discovered. That means that there are 6,060% more deaths from Salmonellosis in the US alone than all the cases of BSE in the entire world. Where is the outcry?

Share this information with everyone you can. In my opinion, the fall out from this will hit us, the producers, as always. The USDA decides to announce this when the sale barns are closed, the markets are running short hours..nice of them to hand us this special little present the day before Christmas Eve. And if I hear one more governement official say, "I am going to eat beef for dinner" I will scream. The implication is negative...

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[D.R. Cattle]

Well said Dyann!!!

 

[Anonymous]

well said Dyann
If the true facts were reported in the media there maybe we wouldnt lose our asses.

 

[A. delaGarza]

in addition we can count all the deaths in car accidents driven by drunk people,

had those accidents reduce alcohol consumption or sales?

had those accidents reduce alcohol production in the U.S. or reduce the importation of it?

So what's the big deal of 1/100,000,000 infected cow, I agree that at least cattle of the producer of the infected cow should be inspected and the most the cattle in the whole state of WA.

I posted this on the heatlh board too..

I received these facts in an email from another producer and thought I would share it with everyone I could, I think it put's some prespective on the BSE issue, wish I could get this to one of the major networks... maybe the spin they put on this could be a little nicer to we producers.

1. There are nearly one hundred million cattle in the USA. One critter may be diseased. The fact that the USDA inspection system inspects every bovine processed in the USA and found one in 100,000,000 is pretty impressive. VERY IMPRESSIVE! If some one eats the brains or spinal cord, and if this critter is a carrier one or two people "could" contract the disease in a 3 to 5 year incubation period. With this in mind, consider these........

Oregon State University estimates that 1000 people die annually in the USA from eating poultry with salmonellosis. Due to this real fact did anyone decide not to eat a turkey for Christmas/Thanksgiving Dinner? for this reason? Hear any News Alerts on this?

3. People who die in automobile accidents this Christmas weekend in the USA, will be double all the people who have ever died from BSE. In the entire history of BSE 132 people have died, and 122 of those deaths in Great Britain.

3. Did the last fish you ate get inspected by a USDA veterinarian for poison mercury? No! No inspection is required on fish yet the main source of mercury people consume is from fish.

4. More money is spent on blood tests and specimen inspections on a processed steer for food safety than the total price of 4 fresh chickens.

5. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 37,000 traffic fatalities are projected for 2003. Are we seeing special TV alerts on traffic fatalities?

There are many health risks. The risk of any person contracting BSE in this day and age of inspections and lawsuits is very slim indeed. We have to decide if the risk of contracting BSE is equal to all the convulsions that the Media and the government are going through.

Let's put this into perspective, with 1000 deaths annually from Salmonellosis, there have been 8000 deaths in the USA alone from Salmonellosis since BSE was discovered. That means that there are 6,060% more deaths from Salmonellosis in the US alone than all the cases of BSE in the entire world. Where is the outcry?

Share this information with everyone you can. In my opinion, the fall out from this will hit us, the producers, as always. The USDA decides to announce this when the sale barns are closed, the markets are running short hours..nice of them to hand us this special little present the day before Christmas Eve. And if I hear one more governement official say, "I am going to eat beef for dinner" I will scream. The implication is negative...

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[Anonymous]

dyann,

You said it all. I wish the media would tell the public that only 10% of U.S. beef is exported. Washington State accounts for for just over 1% of the nations beef production.

 

[Anonymous]

Great article! I wish the media would inform the public with these facts. But just like everything else the media does, they only report what they want us to hear to try to scare us.

 

[Anonymous]

Well said. At our local coop that was all the talk and a few of the old cattlemen said if they could get ahold of the television people they would slap the smurking grins off their face.

 

[Anonymous]

Dyann,

You touch on some interesting facts. We all know that the media thrives on gloom and bad luck. There are hardly any good stories. But why isn't the National beef organization using the so called " beef check-off dollars" to get out the kind of information you talk about. Instead they are worrying about blaming it on Canada . Don't get me wrong it would be a godsend to our industry if that is what the outcome is. I just feel that the beef industry from the producers on up take the consumers of our products for granted, and have for years.

I think that as producers that we sometimes shoot ourselves in our own foot. What would have been the outcome if this producer would have put the cow out of her misery on the farm. The media would not even have a story to tell. I realize that there are approximately 30,000 head of downer cattle slaughtered every year, and as producers we need to salvage some money. But at what cost to our everyday operation. As a producer I will think twice before I try to salvage a downer cow. It may just be better for the coyotes to eat her.

The real crime is how the producer takes the hit for every problem in the beef industry. National headcount, cattle on feed numbers, drought conditions, southeastern origin, etc...... The producer seems to always be the one who gets the blame for the end product. I just wish the guy on the top of the totem pole would take the blame for once, like not accepting that cow in the first place!!!!

Thanks for letting me vent a little, its just a damn shame that an entire industry will suffer for some simple common sense decisions that were not even considered.

 

[Anonymous]

Well said

 

[Anonymous]

Please send your article to the Wall Street Journal letters to the editor.
They need all of the information about BSE they can get. Your article was very well written and very correct. Thank you, Tom Drunert

 

[Anonymous]

Good articles I have been reading. We (producers) as an industry must voice are opinion. Even one persons matters.
BSE as I understand is in the spinal fluids and brain of an infected cow. Now, how does it get there? Is it through feed additives as I suspect?
If the government subsidizes milk then maybe we should tell them what they can feed. Now if it is the commodity dealers or feed dealers that are letting it slip by then they should be fined so extensively that they will never operate again.
Now maybe the packer is utilizing to much of the cow by selling the bones or brain to be used, then they should should be fined severley.
Maybe the erradication process is as simple as incinerating the total spinal cord and the head without ever severing it. We might have to change the butchering process, but that is not impossible. Although the companies we are dealing with probably have a lot more influence than we do.
Please let me know of any other information about BSE that I am not aware of. We all need to stand together on this. Thanks! Duane Leiseth
[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

They don`t test every cow only 20,000 a year and why test this cow but don`t save the meat until the test was done.

 

[Anonymous]

has there ever been bse in grass fed cattle? if we quit feeding harmones,antibiotics, protein supplements with components our cattle would/should never eat--yes, there would be a reduction in income, but the health benefits would be tremendous.we are all responsible for policing the industry--the grower , the processor, the food handler in the store.

 

[fit2btied]

It would be nice if we could do as the oil companies do. If the price of crude oil goes up this morning, gasoline prices will be up by this evening. If the price of crude oil drops this morning, the price of gasoline will not drop for 6-9 months because "That gasoline came from oil that was purchased when crude oil prices were higher." Too bad we can't have that much influence. A major meat supplier for hotels, Savage, has been on the St. Louis media saying for consumers to be ready for a 30-40 cent/lb drop in prices on roasts, round steaks and ground beef in about 3-4 weeks. Says higher quality cuts will not be affected. He also says all the countries refusing to import U.S. beef has increased his ease to obtain cattle. As long as someone can profit from our losses we will take a hit!

 

[Anonymous]

One main fact that is being ignored is that this was a bovine of DAIRY breeding, used in MILK production. This was not an animal specifically bred for meat. It would also be in everyone's; feedlot, cow/calf, dairyman, and end user alike; best interest to MAKE ILLEGAL the use of DOWNER cattle of all breeds/uses FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. Had the bill passed into law, the case with this cow may not have even become an issue, as she would have been rendered into pet food. That is the point, cattlemen better accept that the use of diseased, injured, and otherwise unhealthy animals for human consumption will continue to create severe problems for the beef industry. And, as long as producers attempt to "milk" that last penny from an animal, these problems will continue. I can't believe the money that dairyman received from the sale of that BSE cow was going to "make him or break him." As a seedstock and feeder producer, I have no problem with the passing of the downer cattle bill, nor do I have any problem with maintaining a permanent ID throughout the lifetime of the animal, provided there are measures attached to the identification process eliminating any breeder responsibility for animal condition AFTER animal leaves breeder's farm.

 

[dun]

the whole world of dairy cattle is different then feedlot, cow calf, stocker or anything else. ABout the only thing in common is that they're cows.
If this particular cow disn't have BSE it would have helped contribute to the bottom line rather then been a negative affect. For the past 3 years or so, most dairys have been working at a loss of ncome over costs by about 1-4 dollars per cwt of milk.
There is nothing inherently wrong with downer cows. Neighbor had one slip on the ice and broke a hip, couldn't get her to a sale barn so it cost him 35 bucks to have the renderer come and pick it up. We were going to butcher her for local use but since all of us were all bunged up at the time we couldn't get it done so I just shot her and drug her to the fence to be picked up.
You have to work with dairys for a while and you'll get a different perspective of the whole cattle industry.
All downer cows are supposed to be checked for BSE. This is the first one that had it (that was detected) so obviously it isn't a common problem. Seems like in the cow calf business more cows are found dead then are found to be downers so it would be more common for dairy cows to be sold as downers.
Just an olde pharts opinion

dun

 

[Anonymous]

Well said why is it a cow that is down can be used in any shape or form form for human consumption? That should not be allowed on amy level of operation from the farm to the processing plant such an animal should be deemed for dog food etc. Also agree why was this cow distributed across the food chain when it was being tested and before testing was complete. We all agree that the risk is extremely minimal how many will die of the common flu this year alone you have a greater chance of getting hit on thr head by a air plane falling from the sky. (think air show accidents).
The devastation that this one case has caused in Canada is far reaching, it doesnt just affect the beef growers, that in effect affects the hay producer, grain producer, the meat plants and meat market, auction markets, land sales, less money in Mr Farmers pockets means less to spread around to every aspect of life. If it is to come back to be found it came from canada and was infected somehow through feed in canada this would be enough to cause major devastation for many throughout canada, the repercutions of this downfall may never be overcome. Dont think this devastation will not effect everyone or that its effects will not cross the border it will.
Why not just slaughter all the animals born before the feed band was in effect let the governments subsidize the producers for that loss I think it would be cheaper in the long run, then it could be irradicated from the system completley and there would be no more we could be considered free of BSE and then ensure that no downer cattle ever make their way to the food chain again. I realize this is a harsh way of doing it but perhaps it may be the only way for producers to carry on, closed borders and prolonged uncertainty are causing billions of dollar loss with no end in site, at least this would produce a favorable end to the crisis. One that should of been dealt with with better common sense to begin with and a little less dramatic media coverage. TKS for letting me vent, I am not a beef producer but live on the land and have seen first hand the damage done by all this BSE

 

[Anonymous]

The Media has the responsibility of getting information out to the public
and is not responsible for the reaction of the public. They do not adlive or create this information to be passed on to us. In some cases when affecting a growers livelyhood we would like to see a serious face on the administer of such information. Rather than a smile, remember this person in most cases has no interest in the subject other than to create a persona for there own rise to fame in the industry.
BSE is a definate problem for all, especially the beef producer, and for the end user to be afraid to purchase our product, could end a career for many of us within this industry. I have cattle ready for market today, I have no Idea what the market will be next week.
Thank You, Sterling Price

 

[txag]

it is also the media's responsibility to be sure the information they present is full and accurate. for the most part, they seem to be doing that but i have seen a few reports which mention that we are not following the gov't ban on animal by-products.

 

[Dyann]

I have sent this information to everyone I can think of and am still sending.. sent it to Fox News, local TV stations, local newspapers, everywhere.. anyone feel free to do the same. When I find more comparisons I will post them.