Agriculture

Ground (Beef) Zero

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

"Canadian investigators have identified... the probable source of recent cases of mad-cow disease in North America," reports the Wall Street Journal. Canada imported 192 cattle from Britain in the 1980s. After one of the British cows tested positive for mad cow disease in 1993, Canadian officials tried to "remove" them from domestic herds. But 68 cows were missing, "most likely because they already had been slaughtered." Canada's Food Inspection Agency concluded that "the infected U.S.

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Main Source: 
The Wall Street Journal, March 22, 2004
Topics: 
Mad Cow Disease

USDA on Mad Cow: 'Don't Look, Don't Find'

Submitted by John Stauber on

The United States' 'don't look, don't find' policy on mad cow disease is beginning to crumble under the weight of the international boycott of US beef. AP, UPI and here the New York Times are all reporting that "a beef producer in Kansas has proposed testing all its
cattle for mad cow disease so it can resume exports to
Japan, but it is encountering resistance from the
Agriculture Department and other beef producers. American beef exports have plummeted since Dec. 23 when a

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Main Source: 
New York Times, February 27, 2004
Topics: 
Mad Cow Disease

Mad Cow Spreading in USA for a Decade

Submitted by John Stauber on

"Mad cow disease probably has been established in North
America for more than a decade, and Americans should be prepared for the
discovery of more domestic cases as it spreads through herds. A panel of international experts released these findings Wednesday to U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, also urging the Department of Agriculture
to toughen protections put into place following the Dec. 23 discovery of an

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Main Source: 
Oregonian, February 5, 2004
Topics: 
Mad Cow Disease

Mad Cow: It's What's For Dinner

Submitted by John Stauber on

The Denver Post reports that "livestock organizations are launching a $5.5 million media campaign to promote domestic demand for beef in the face of mad-cow concerns. A $4 million series of television ads will launch Monday. They were originally scheduled to start January 12, but the beef groups decided to delay the campaign for two weeks while news coverage of mad cow disease eased up. ...

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Main Source: 
Denver Post, January 20, 2004
Topics: 
Mad Cow Disease

Harvard Center Is A Front for Mad Cow PR

Submitted by John Stauber on

In our book Trust Us, We're Experts! we describe the "third party technique" that PR experts use. Reassuring words come from the mouths of supposed objective scientific experts to convince the public that a crisis is really no problem at all. A current example would be the industry front group called the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis.

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Main Source: 
14-Jan-04
Topics: 
Mad Cow Disease

Mad Cow's Untold Story

Submitted by John Stauber on

Since the announcement that mad cow disease has been found in the US, John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton have conducted hundreds of interviews based on their 1997 book Mad Cow USA. The US government and the livestock industry have launched a massive PR campaign to hide the fact that they are not taking the necessary steps to stop mad cow disease in the US. However, some excellent reporting is piercing their PR smokescreen.

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Main Source: 
Rocky Mountain News, January 12, 2004
Topics: 
Mad Cow Disease

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