Health Alert 144
My patients have asked if they should stop eating beef because of the risk of Mad Cow disease. My answer is no – but with an important qualification I’ll tell you about in a minute.
When ‘Mad Cow’ was spreading through Europe, U.S. health officials insisted that ‘Mad Cow’ could never come here. They claimed measures were in place to prevent it from happening. Well, ‘Mad Cow’ made its way to Canada in May 2003 and now last month to U.S. soil. The truth is they failed to implement the simple procedures necessary due to cost complaints from the meat producing industry. 1
Today, you’ll learn how ‘Mad Cow’ disease spread to the US despite the FDA’s false assurances. You’ll also learn what you can do to still enjoy beef without fear of this dreadful new threat.
* Mad Cow but How? *
Mad Cow disease is incurable and 100% fatal. But it is preventable. Mad Cow disease is spread by cannibalism. Cows can get it if they eat cow flesh. Unfortunately, you are at the mercy of the ranchers when you eat grain fed cattle. To cut costs, modern ranchers have been peppering their cattle feed with animal parts. They very cheaply buy ground body parts that no one else wants.
Cows are herbivores. Animal parts have no place in their diet so this disease doesn’t exist in the wild. It is a product of the meat producing industry. Only if a cow eats cow parts can it develop Mad Cow disease. The disease eats holes in the brains of infected cows. Humans can contract a variant if they eat infected beef. It has killed 143 people in Britain and 10 elsewhere.2
From what we know, and no reported cases of humans catching it in the US, your chance of catching the disease from eating infected meat still calculates at zero. Yet the case occurring in the first cow in the US is concerning. Its prevention is simple. Don’t feed cattle cow parts. There has been a law in the US forbidding this outright practice since 1997 but there are loopholes. Stricter measures were never taken in the face of heavy lobbying by the meat industry. The case in Dec, 2003 proves that the USDA, the FDA and the CDC have not successfully employed this simple prevention.
I see this as one more of a long list of health problems related to the animal husbandry industry. It is one more reason to avoid this unnatural, polluted, hormone laden science project and return to eating unadulterated meat in its natural form whenever possible.
* Eat Grass-fed Beef for Piece of Mind and Better Nutrition *
You don’t have to give up your prime rib. Simply choose grass fed beef only. Since these cattle eat only there natural diet of range grass Mad Cow is never a concern. You won’t have to rely on the same bureaucracy that failed to stop it in cattle. The added bonus is you will be eating a higher quality protein packed with CoQ10 and with more omega 3 (good) than omega 6 (bad) fats.
• You can order it online from the following sources:
http://grassfedbeef.2ya.com
http://www.ervins.com
Al Sears M.D.
1. Wood, John. “Grassland Beef ‘Mad Cow’ Safety Comments” via email January 2, 2004.
2. “Mad Cow Found in U.S. Herd” The Bozeman Chronicle, Dec. 23, 2003
3. Keep Antibiotics Working, “Action Alerts” http://www.keepantibioticsworking.org/pages/top_act.cfm