SEGMENT: HEALTH
Doug Parrett>LPL Interviews N-Z>LPL Interviews K-Z, Segment 3
| <-Previous Segment |
- HEALTH
- BSE ( Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) is caused by a mutated protein. It is not an infection. Harms the nervous system. Similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the South Pacific from a country where people ate the brains of humans. In England, people got it from meat from cows who ate feed made from contaminated parts of animal waste. Creates spaces between the neurons in the brain. BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) occurs in one in a million population of cattle. Explains the food chain contamination. About 1700 lives were lost to KJD. We are at a zero tolerance for BSE. We stopped putting animal products into feed ten years ago. Not import animals from England. Canada had an outbreak; we import only those animals which have been certified as BSE-free. Testing system in U.S. Challenge to convince the world our animals are BSE-free. Also fight e-coli. Can cook it to a safe temperature that kills the e-coli. Tells story of student experiment. Tracking is a national program to identify every animal and premise. Resistance until it's mandatory. Easier on international market.
