Artwork by
Dennis Murphy

For the students, by the students

BSE HITS CLOSE TO HOME
Megan Cooper and Nicki Busdieker - Corner Post Reporters

On December 23rd, 2003 a single Holstein cow in Washington State was said to be infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Since it was the first case detected in the United States, it proved to have a huge impact on both the beef industry and consumers. And, it even affected many MU students in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. There are students in CAFNR that raise beef themselves, show cattle or have family that raises beef. After hearing the news that BSE was in the United States, many CAFNR students worried about what would happen to the beef industry.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a degenerative neurological disease in cattle that's believed to be caused by misfolded proteins, called prions, which build up in central nervous system tissue eventually killing nerve cells. Scientists still don't know what causes this, but they do know it can only be transported from cow to cow by eating nervous system tissue in feed. It is important to know that BSE is NOT found in the meat we commonly eat such as steaks, roasts and ground beef. In an infected cow, it would only be found in central nervous system tissue such as brain and spinal cord.

"My brother joked around saying 'I guess we have to stop eating brains for dinner,'" Elise Frazee, freshman business major, said.

This joke has been made across the U.S. since the BSE outbreak in 1996. Some understand that it spreads through consumption of central nervous system tissue, but other consumers don't understand or don't know.

"People look at the headlines; Mad Cow Disease is all that they see," Katie Stein, freshman economics major, said. "All they get is something is wrong with beef. They don't know what they are eating, how it's made and don't understand what the scientists mean as they try to explain what is going on."

Could this misconception in the eyes of consumers be the reason for the quick return of the beef market? Possibly, but the fact that the USDA is on top of the outbreak and working to protect the consumers, producers, and the economy can't be forgotten.

BSE doesn't just affect the cows on the farm. It hits the market and the global economy. However the impact has not been as detrimental as it could have been, as it was in Britain.

Dr. Jan Dauve explained "We got the heads up and made the changes needed. Great Britain's credibility was shot for not knowing. We said yes it is here, we know how it spreads and we can take care of it."

Dr. Dauve explained to his Macroeconomics class that the Beef Market hit a downslide when the borders were closed but that it is headed back up, slowly. As long as the USDA works to inform the public and beef producers work to provide the safest and best tasting beef, consumers and the economy world wide will be safe.

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