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Following the 1988 ban on scrapie-contaminated animal feed, | PAYING THE PRICE OF GLOBALISATION the BSE epidemic was claimed to be under control. According to Cattle may not be the only species within the meat industry that authorities, the peak 1992 weekly average of 700 new cases of is harbouring the BSE/CJD agent in readiness for the food chain. BSE dropped to 70 cases per week in 1996. At the same time, the Until March 1996, no restrictions were placed on feeding cattle notion of control is contradicted by the BSE in some 27,000 cattle offal to pigs and hens.” born after the 1988 ban. Rather, these figures, together with the Together with a common practice whereby animal-feed manu- 60 per cent of 1996 cases occurring in cattle born post-1988, indi- facturers share the same equipment to mix both cattle-feed and cate that pre-feed-regulated cattle have passed BSE onto their pig-feed, this approach reflects a glaring ignorance within the calves. agricultural industry about the dangerously infectious nature of Like the theory of bloodborne CJD in humans, earlier sugges- diseases such as BSE and CJD. tions” that the BSE epidemic in cattle was maintained by maternal This background, together with the extreme resistance of BSE transmission were dismissed and at times ridiculed, until a 1996 —_ and CJD to high temperatures and caustic chemicals that custom- study proved otherwise.” arily rid instruments and tools of infectious materials, may explain Erring on the side of caution has invariably been forgotten in the disproportional excess of CJD infection occurring in the farm- the brain-dead politicking underpinning the BSE/CJD debacle. ing community. It also brings the focus back to blood-route- As an example, the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and transmitted CJD, and raises the prospect of simple kitchen injuries Food (MAFF) sabotaged a 1990 Brussels ruling designed to pre- introducing BSE from infected meat products into the blood- vent the spread of BSE across to the European mainland.” stream of an unsuspecting public.” MAFF instead issued civil servants with secret orders to skip A worst-case-scenario-sized CJD epidemic will smash rather the computer-vetting of calves set for the lucrative saleyards of than stretch every available human resource. European transna- European Union (EU) member countries. As a result, there were tionalists, joined in this century by those from the United States, no checks to determine whether some two million veal calves sold and to a lesser extent Canada and Australia, have widened the gap to the EU between 1990 and 1995 were born to BSE-infected between developed and developing regions with modern discrimi- COWS or not. nations which transgress the boundaries of human rights, develop- Even the computer tracing of the BSE parentage of some 2,000 ment, environment, nuclear weapons, population, trade and cattle sold for foreign breeding after 1990 is untrustworthy, partly wealth.” because of MAFF's skulduggery, and partly because the sales Just as medical impropriety, rather than nature, has already involved animals that were too young to reveal symptoms of BSE destroyed the lives of 100-plus pituitary hormone recipients and infection—and there is no diagnostic screening test for BSE to their families, agricultural impropriety in the beef and dairy indus- establish which cattle are infected and which are free of BSE. try, rather than nature, has snuffed out young lives with an atypi- An estimated 700,000 BSE-infected cattle entered the human cal but equally cruel form of CJD spread from cattle. food chain, chiefly because the animal's slaughter age (usually Humans and animals have paid a huge price for the 60-year three years) pre-dated the average age (five years) at which they _ reign of institutionalised shortsightedness and its underestimated would show signs of BSE infection.” For the same reason, there and mistaken grasp of the CJD/BSE contagion. Notions that is simply no way of knowing the number of breeding stock whitewash the cull of Britain's cattle population to make early exported to the four corners of the globe before their sire's or inroads into global greenhouse targets*'—notions like the current dam's BSE was subsequently uncovered. sell-off of British meat at record low prices in Asia, and proposals Britain was not alone in the cover-up of the BSE scandal. In to restock the sacred herds of India and detonate Cambodia's and September 1996, the French newspaper Libération™ revealed that Afghanistan's landmines with BSE-infected cattle—are barbarous a memorandum from French official Gilbert Castille had suggest- extensions of a brain-dead culture which serve only to hasten the ed back in 1990 that Britain ought to be asked not to publish its _ globalisation of the CJD/BSE epidemic. research results, saying, "it would be better to minimise BSE by With mad-cow maniacs intent on adding manmade BSE to the practising disinformation". In fact, rather than ganging up on nuclear waste, toxic chemicals and perilous medications which Britain, Brussels, via Guy Legras, head of the European have already turned Third World countries into dumping grounds Commission's agricultural directorate, warned of the financial for developed-world disasters, surely this is proof that little or repercussions from a beef panic and so hushed up news of the nothing has been learned from 60 years of "progress" in econom- BSE situation. ics, science and politics. °° Endnotes: and the origin and disappearance of kuru", Science M.M.; and Chagas, Carlos, "Pituitary growth hor- 1. Bonn, Dorothy and Ault, Alicia, "Prusiner (1977) 197:943-960. mone and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease", British awarded the Nobel prize for work on prions", The 6. Manuelidis, Elias E., "Transmission of Medical Journal (BMJ) (1991) 302:1149. Lancet (1997) 350:1079. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from man to the guinea 11. Slinger, Sonja, "Scandal grows as deadly dis- 2. Webster, Philip and Laurence, Jeremy, "New pig", Science (1975) 190:571-572. ease claims another victim", The Daily News, New infection linked to mad cow disease", The Times, 7. Taylor, David M., Dickinson, A.G., Fraser, H., Zealand, 19 April 1996. London, 21 March 1996, p. 1. Robertson, P.A., Salacinski, P.R., and Lowry, P.J., 12. Lyons, W.R., Li, Choh Hao and Ahmad, Nazir, 3. Dumble, Lynette, "Brain-dead imperialism: "Preparations of human growth hormone free from "Mammo-trophic effects of human hypophyseal Manmade Creutzfeldt-Jakob and mad cow dis- contamination with unconventional slow viruses", growth hormone preparations in animals and man", ease", Third World Resurgence, no. 75, 1996, pp. The Lancet (1985) ii:260-262. oo in Growth Hormone (editors: Pecile, A. and 21-24. . . 8. sqm, Sanjay, "Aetiology of CJD in India is Muller, E.E.), Proceedings of the First International 4, Eckroade, Robert J.; Zu Rhein, Gabriele M.; unknown", The Lancet (1996) 347:1320. Symposium on Growth Hormone, Milan, Italy, 11- Marsh, Richard Fy and Hanson, Robert P., 9. Balter, Michael, French scientists may face 13 September 1967, Excerpta Medica Foundation, Transmissible mink encephalopathy: charges over CJD outbreak", Science (1993) 261: International Congress Series No. 158, Amsterdam, Experimental transmission to the squirrel monkey", 543. ; ; : ; 1968, pp. 349-363. Science (1970) 169:1088-1090. 10. Macario, Maria E.; Vaisman, Mario; Buescu, a 5. Gajdusek, D. Carleton, "Unconventional viruses Alexandre; Moura Neta, Vivaldo; Araujo, Helena Continued on page Following the 1988 ban on scrapie-contaminated animal feed, the BSE epidemic was claimed to be under control. According to authorities, the peak 1992 weekly average of 700 new cases of BSE dropped to 70 cases per week in 1996. At the same time, the notion of control is contradicted by the BSE in some 27,000 cattle born after the 1988 ban. Rather, these figures, together with the 60 per cent of 1996 cases occurring in cattle born post-1988, indi- cate that pre-feed-regulated cattle have passed BSE onto their calves. Like the theory of bloodborne CJD in humans, earlier sugges- tions” that the BSE epidemic in cattle was maintained by maternal transmission were dismissed and at times ridiculed, until a 1996 study proved otherwise.” Erring on the side of caution has invariably been forgotten in the brain-dead politicking underpinning the BSE/CJD debacle. As an example, the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) sabotaged a 1990 Brussels ruling designed to pre- vent the spread of BSE across to the European mainland.” MAFF instead issued civil servants with secret orders to skip the computer-vetting of calves set for the lucrative saleyards of European Union (EU) member countries. As a result, there were no checks to determine whether some two million veal calves sold to the EU between 1990 and 1995 were born to BSE-infected cows or not. Even the computer tracing of the BSE parentage of some 2,000 cattle sold for foreign breeding after 1990 is untrustworthy, partly because of MAFF's skulduggery, and partly because the sales involved animals that were too young to reveal symptoms of BSE infection—and there is no diagnostic screening test for BSE to establish which cattle are infected and which are free of BSE. An estimated 700,000 BSE-infected cattle entered the human food chain, chiefly because the animal's slaughter age (usually three years) pre-dated the average age (five years) at which they would show signs of BSE infection.” For the same reason, there is simply no way of knowing the number of breeding stock exported to the four corners of the globe before their sire's or dam's BSE was subsequently uncovered. Britain was not alone in the cover-up of the BSE scandal. In September 1996, the French newspaper Libération™ revealed that a memorandum from French official Gilbert Castille had suggest- ed back in 1990 that Britain ought to be asked not to publish its research results, saying, "it would be better to minimise BSE by practising disinformation". In fact, rather than ganging up on Britain, Brussels, via Guy Legras, head of the European Commission's agricultural directorate, warned of the financial repercussions from a beef panic and so hushed up news of the BSE situation. 14 = NEXUS DECEMBER 1997 - JANUARY 1998