English Composition I
Student Cause/Effect Essay #1

Mad Cow Disease

In late 2003, the scare sweeping across the nation’s food consumers was mad cow disease. Mad cow disease, also know as BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), was positively identified in the United States on December 23, 2003 by the U.S.D.A (BSE ¶6). Since then, two other cases of BSE have been reported in the United States, while seventeen cases have been reported in Canada (BSE¶4). This carless mistake of introducing BSE in the consumer food chain led to Japan, Mexico, Canada, and South Korea, and several other countries placing a ban on U.S. beef. This in turn led to an over-supply to beef with little demand; therefore, dropping market prices, and hurting producers.

Before looking at either the causes or effects of BSE, we must first understand what BSE is. According to a Center for Disease Control article BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) is a neurological disorder found in cattle that can infect cattle through a modified protein called a prion. Dakota State University researchers believe BSE is a disease that originated in Great Britain. BSE is rarely seen in cattle younger than two years, and cannot be transferred via contact with another animal (Lardy, Stoltenow, and Robinson ¶ 1-5). The disorder as well as the way it’s transmitted is still not fully understood; however, links have been made bone meal, or feed sources made from rendered animals. BSE is an irreversible disease that requires most cases to be destroyed. The damage to the nervous tissue is detrimental, and makes functioning for the animal nearly impossible. The lack of understanding of the disease, along with the known effects, makes BSE a world-wide scare.

BSE was first discovered in North America in May of 2003. The case was diagnosed in a native born cow of Alberta, Canada. With in seven months another case was diagnosed on American soil. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that a Holstein cow in Washington had been diagnosed with BSE. The subsequent epidemiological investigation revealed that the cow originated in Canada (Lardy, Stoltenow, and Robinson ¶ 8-9). Upon conclusion of these tests the carcass of the infected cow was released for food for human consumption (BSE ¶ 6). The high-risk tissues were removed during processing; however, the possibility of contaminating the human food chain still loomed.

In 2003 the United States was the world’s third largest beef exporting nation with a record export of 1.2 million tons of beef annually (World Beef Trade Overview ¶1). At the time of the BSE discovery in late December 2003, U.S. beef exports had risen steadily for more than two decades, reaching 2.5 billion pounds in 2003, or roughly 9 percent of U.S. domestic beef production. The discovery of Mad Cow Disease on American soil instantly slowed the export of beef to other nations. Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Canada accounted for nearly 90 percent of all beef exports in the year of 2003. U.S. beef was banned by nearly all U.S. Trading partners following the discovery. An 80 percent decline in U.S. beef exports in 2004 and currently remain below their earlier levels (Vandeveer and Waves ¶ 3).

Nobody can pinpoint the actual cause of the BSE discovery in the United States in December of 2003. Many blame the dairy farmers for introducing aged animals into America’s prestigious beef packing industry, but all lack supporting evidence to prove their case. Since the discovery of ’03, two more cases have been reported: June 24, 2005 USDA announced a confirmed case in a 12 year old cow that died in Texas, and March 15, 2006 USDA announced a confirmed case in a “downer” cow on a farm in Alabama (BSE ¶ 8-9). As a result the precautions have been made by the FDA banning feeds that could possibly infect cattle with BSE. These bans include: ruminant meat and bone meal, blood meal and blood by-products, inspected meat products cooked and offered for human consumption, and poultry litter (Lardy, Stoltenow, and Robinson ¶ 17).

In Nebraska alone, the total beef population exceeds the total human population. The Nebraska beef industry heavily relies on U.S. beef exports as a source of yearly income. The BSE discovery in Washington State in 2003, immediately extinguished the demand for America’s beef supply. This hurt anyone involved in the beef industry from cow-calf producers to slaughtering house. Beef producers can only imagine where America’s export rates would be today, had it not been for that Holstein cow from Alberta, Canada that walked into the Washington Packing house in December of 2003. However, the fear of BSE shutting down the entire beef industry still looms.

Theoretically, something such as the price of a gallon of milk can be detrimental to the entire beef industry. The drop in the price of milk forces dairy owners to find a supplemental source of income. The easy way out is to cull their herd and send them to the packing houses to be packaged as hamburger. Since dairies consist of mature cows, usually exceeding two years of age, the risk of introducing BSE into the food chain rises. If BSE is discovered, an automatic embargo will be placed on U.S. beef, instantly killing the demand. With excess supply, packing houses lower prices on beef to sell off surplus, and also begin paying less for live beef at the sale barn. The feed lots and ranchers are forced to sell their fat cattle at low prices to make room for the incoming draft of cattle, ultimately turning profits into losses.

This trickles down to the cow-calf producers who need feeders for their weaned calves. The producers are to sell at sub-market value to prevent feed shortages. At the same time producers do not receive enough profit to cover their losses, and some go under and out of business. When the market rebounds, so does the demand for U.S. beef. The packers begin paying top-market value for fat cattle; however, because feeders have cut back numbers to stay afloat, the supply of fat cattle is low. Parallel to the feeders, the remaining cow-calf producers also don’t have the supply to fill the demand of feeders. In the end, the beef industry suffers for months, if not years, before it can recover.

One simple, undetected mistake can literally bring a billion dollar industry to its knees. Farmers, ranchers, and feeders suffered immensely having to sell stock at low market values, and packers had a supply of meat with no destination. In late 2003 and early 2004 the United States meat industry was at a stand still and continues to rebuild to its pre-BSE days. One can only hope that through new research, better educated producers, and newly improved feeding techniques and quality control practices, that we never see a crisis like the mad cow scare of 2003.

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Works Cited