Mad cow disease, just the tip of the ice-berg : You are what you eat...

Mad cows are comin' to get you [MIT]

Official Mad Cow Disease Home Page [blogdex]   Mad Cow USA: The Nightmare Begins [blogdex]  

 January 2003:

Cattle banned from market after exposure to pet food ...you don't want to eat pet food either... UK In an effort to prevent the spread of mad cow disease, two UK farmers who exposed their cattle to pet food are forbidden to bring those cattle to market. 'Although pet food containing processed animal proteins is permitted on farms -  for domestic pet use - [UK] regulations state that it must be securely packaged and stored to prevent cattle and other livestock from gaining access to it...' [UK Pet Industry News] (It isn't clear whether the cattle even ate the pet food... but this regulation is alarming. What does it mean for pet owners who buy pet food ... are Fluffy and Fido exposed to mad cow disease from their pet food? What pet food is safe? ...

February 2003: Mad Cow Disease in French wine?  'U.S. lawmakers, angry over France's and Germany's support of Saddam Hussein's brutal regime, are exploring whether the United States should require "bright orange warning labels" on French wines that are clarified with bovine (cow) blood. The process of using bovine blood was banned after the scare involving bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- or mad cow disease -- in the late 1990s...' [Washington Post via Exploding Cigar] (hmm... now we know why France is acting so funny lately... )

May 2003:

Kuro5hin says maybe the whole mad cow disease thing is overblown... I'd say if you actually ate a 'mad cow' part, you wouldn't think it was overblown. Mad cow disease... many of us would never eat 'cow' or 'meat' anyway, but we're still concerned. What about the pet who DOES eat meat and what about the person who 'kisses' their pet (ie, lets their pet slobber all over their faces); not a likely scenario for mad cow disease transmission. (a must read... the comment thread is priceless)

Carving bone makes the point: 'Meat eaters continue not to accept the facts that the animal product food chain is tainted and diseased...'  Hmm... that's a broad statement. In these polluted times, it doesn't hurt to err on the side of caution, which the meat industry wants to do. The meat industry is based on profit, not 'kindness to animals.' Animals suffer in the process and this is reason enough, imo, to not eat meat. (but that's just my opinion... )

• 'Mad cow' scare could speed electronic tracking of animals [San Jose Mercury News]
• Banning Sale of 'Downer' Meat Represents a Change in Policy [Washington Post]
• Cattlemen keep close watch on what they feed their animals [San Francisco Chronicle]
• Group Proposes Legislation to Tackle Animal and Environmental Terrorism [Animal Rights]  (will we nab Congress for the mad cow fiasco?)
• Officials: Pet owners shouldn't worry [The SunLink.com] (I'm worrying anyway... )

ANIMAL DISEASES: 1985 mink illness similar to 'mad cow'. Pioneer Planet

The question we dog owners want to ask is: IS pet food safe for our pets?

April 2003: FOIA request for DNA study on dog foods contaning Pentobarbitol denied... Ann Martin, author of Food Pets Die For and Protect Your Pet responds to Dog News article Pentobarbitol found in 43 brands and product lines of dog food with the stunning news that her FOIA request for more information was denied :

"It is truly a frightening scenario that the FDA/CVM does not see fit to have this drug removed from the commercial food fed to pets. It is interesting to note that if this drug was found in human food it would be pulled from the shelves immediately.

Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), I requested any and all information relating to the DNA study that the FDA/CVM conducted on these foods [43 brands and product lines of dog food]. After nearly a year of waiting my request was denied. I have now filed an appeal. What are they hiding?

Also, with regard to the pentobarbital. The AVMA Panel on Euthanasia, states, "In euthanasia of animals intended for human or animal food, chemical agents that result in tissue residues cannot be used, unless they are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Carbon dioxide is the only chemical currently used for euthanasia of food animals (primarily swine) that does not result in tissue reside." Regarding a query I sent to Stephen Sundlof, Director, FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, regarding this drug in pet food, he advised, in part, A euthanasia solution such as pentobarbital obviously cannot have a withdrawal time and its mechanism of action results in a tissue residue so it could not be used to euthanisia animals intended for human or animal food." 

Although the pet food industry is basically self-regulated it is the job of this agency to control any drugs which may be in the foods we are feeding our pet...". [Ann Martin]

(From Dog News: Heavy stuff: Back in November, 2002, after we read Your Pet's Dog Food Could Be Dangerous and  FDA study on pentobarbitol in dog food, we switched our dog to certified organic dog food, Bench & Field. After all, we've only invested closed to $10,000 in our dog [medical bills, etc]; why not give him the best. This isn't an endorsement for any other dog; we also know that chow chows generally have a short life span: 8 to 11 years, and he's past 6 years old already. It is a running joke with us that our dog is worth 10 times that of our 'good' car...)

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