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February 16, 2001

'Mad Cow' publicity real danger

By Mike Barnett
Editor

First the good news: as reported at the recent National Cattlemen's Beef Association annual convention, beef demand has been up for seven consecutive quarters.

Consumer spending for beef topped $52 billion last year—the first time ever annual spending exceeded $50 billion. These gains come at a time when beef supplies are record high.

With new "heat and eat" products continuing to be developed and introduced, great messages about beef nutrition being developed, and continued growth of meat exports—all funded in part by beef checkoff dollars—the future for cow/calf producers and the industry looks brighter now than it has in years.

Be wary, however. It could come crashing down in a minute.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy...BSE... Mad Cow disease...call it what you wish, is a real consumer concern in Europe. How many times have you seen the video of the penned cow struggling to stay on its feet? I've seen it many times. Rest assured, the Europeans have seen it a lot more.

England, France and Germany have all reported cases of "mad cow" disease in their respective countries and cases of nvCreutzfeldt-Jacob in humans, which British scientists have linked to BSE. Demand for beef there has tanked.

Because of heavy media interest in the European BSE situation, it was no small surprise that the U.S. media jumped on the story when it was revealed that a ration fed to cattle in a Texas feedlot contained meat and bone meal, due to a mix-up by the feed manufacturer, Purina Mills. Because it is thought that feeding mammalian protein to ruminants could spread the disease, that practice is illegal in the United States.

Luckily, BSE in cows has never been found in this country. But kudos to Purina Mills, and the industry, for their responses in light of the incident.

Folks, Purina Mills is no Firestone, thank goodness. Instead of playing the blame game, Purina Mills stepped up to the plate and claimed full responsibility. They admitted they made a mistake. And, even though BSE is not a problem here—and even though each animal consumed a quarter ounce or less of the ruminant bone and meat meal—Purina purchased the cattle, making sure they will never be consumed by humans. Further, they have removed ruminant bone and meat meal as an ingredient in all other feed formulations, as a precaution against the mistake ever happening again. These were responsible steps in what could have been a public relations nightmare for the beef industry.

So, can "Mad Cow" disease happen here? The government and beef industry have taken several steps to make sure it doesn't. Despite that, there is some public perception that it already is. Case in point. Sunday morning, pre-Sunday school at my church: the class is sitting around visiting. On person mentions she knows someone who has "Mad Cow" disease."

True story. I patiently explained the whole situation to her and the Sunday school class. She accepted it publicly, but I could see the skepticism in her expression. It happened one Sunday morning in Waco, Texas. I'm sure it's happening elsewhere across the nation.

Thankfully, the beef industry has a heightened awareness of the issue after the Purina Mills mishap.

Firewalls against BSE will remain the highest priority for both industry and government. This multi-layered safeguard system, such as strict enforcement of import restrictions designed to keep the BSE agent out of the U.S., continued support for active BSE surveillance in the U.S., and compliance with the FDA feed ban, will receive renewed commitment and scrutiny.

It was good that Purina Mills accepted full responsibility for the mishap. Perhaps the lesson learned is that other mills follow Purina's lead in banning ruminant bone and meat meal as ingredients in all feeds, not just formulations for cattle. The risk—not of the disease so much in this country, but of public perception about the disease—is just too great. Let the perception that "Mad Cow" disease is present in the U.S gain a foothold, and all the hard-fought gains in raising the demand for beef are history.