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How concerned are you about Mad Cow Disease?


MommyToAshley wrote: Ok, you should have expected this from me.... you know, the paranoid over-protective one. Ever since the news announced the case of Mad Cow in the United States, I have not purchased any beef. This is some scarey stuff.

First we have to watch out for the fish because of the mercury, and now beef because of Mad Cow... what next? Am I being paranoid here?

CantWait replied: I'm not concerned at all, I think it's a couple insulated cases.

A&A'smommy replied: im not real concerned either ita with marie.

MomToMany replied: We don't use much store-bought beef. I think it's also the media over-publicizing everything all the time. All they want is ratings for their shows. I would be more concerned if there was like 100 cases, but only a few I wouldn't worry about.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I'm only concerned because they have pulled Cat Food and Dog food made in the USA off of the shelves. It was next to impossible to find food for the animals, so when we saw a few bags at SafeWay DH stocked up. Other than that I'm not concerned about the beef we eat being contaminated.

aspenblue1 replied: I am not too worried about it.

kimberley replied: i'm not that worried about it. we have had mad cow in Canada for some time now and *touch wood* nothing bad has happened so far. i think they are very careful and find the problem cows quickly.

Kaitlin'smom replied: no to concerned, but I have not bought any meat either, we have a freezer full so until all that is gone I am not worried and by that time I should be getting more from FIL once he ummm has the cow meat.

ediep replied: well, I don't eat beef, or any mammals for that matter, so I am not concerned. Dh does eat steak when we go out and Jason doesn't like beef except for what is inside a beef ravioli.

I heared that theone cow that had it in the U.S. was a diary cow, so it doesn't really matter. Dh said that he heared that you can only catch the disease by eating the brain or spinal cord of the cow......although I am not sure if that is true.

DansMom replied: I have stopped eating ground beef (hamburger), especially fast-food, not that I ate much of that to begin with. I was raised vegetarian and still prefer to eat many vegetarian meals. We live close to a meat market where they sell very good steaks and other meats. All the meat they purchase comes from prime cattle on smaller farms (not Holsteins or "downer" cows processed by large corporations) that are fed the best diet. I trust the cuts of beef at my local butcher, but I would worry about anything ground on principle. You don't want meat that might contain byproducts from other parts of the animal, which are more dangerous.

~CrazieMama~ replied: I am not concerned at all. With only a couple isolated cases in the US there really is no cause for concern. If it was meant to be for me to contract it, then so be it. You can not avoid something that is gonna get you if it was meant to be. Although I tried to tell my mom that, but she still says that she does not want to die like that. But I say, hey, if it was meant to be, then it was meant to be. I have lots of confidance in the Lord to let that bother me. So therefore, I am not concerned.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I'm not concerned. The cases they found were so far up north and since I am way down in Texas with our own slew of cattle ranches and dairy farms I just don't see the need to be concerned. We are big meat eaters and we haven't even given it one thought. Maybe if it were closer to home we would, but what are the chances of it getting to us?

MommyToAshley replied: I wish I could be more like some of you... I tend to worry about things. I am not worried about me, but since having Ashley, life sure has changed for me. And, since she eats the same things we do, I am concerned about beef products. I just want to protect her and never let anything bad happen to her. I know I can't put her in a plastic bubble, but I sure do wish I could. And, I guess I am kind of this way because of what happened with Joshua. The chances of someone having a baby with Trisomy18 (at my age at the time) were 1:1,000,000. But, when you are that "1"... it sure does change how you look at odds. I know I am going to have stop being so over-protective, but sometimes I just can't help it.

Maddie&EthansMom replied:

I'm sorry, Dee Dee! I hope I didn't hurt your feelings. I see what you mean, I just tend not to worry about some things. I see how it would affect you differently though. Those are some big odds. ((((HUGS)))) You have every right to be protective...I am very protective of Maddie, but in different ways. I worry about things like child abduction and illnesses such as diabetes and leukemia. You aren't alone. wink.gif

MommyToAshley replied: grouphug.gif Oh hun, you did not hurt my feelings. I did not take it that way at all! grouphug.gif And, I hope that you (any of you) did not take my post to mean that I think you don't care or worry about your children... we all do. It is part of being a parent. I was just stating that I wish I was not such a worry wart sometimes. But, I think you put it best... we all just worry and handle that worry in different ways.

victoire2002 replied: As a meat lover, and a health-nut, I have always been concerned about the quality of the meat I purchase. One of our friends' daughters developed bbs and got her period by age of 8.5, and her doc attributed it to the hormones in our meats. Sooooo, for 3 years now, I have managed to purchase only hormone-free, antibiotic-free meats. We have a Whole Foods nearby, so that's where I shop for my meat and milk products.

So, in answer to the question, I am concerned, but more concerned with excess hormones and antibiotics. Now, if only I could find a restaurant that serves up hormone-free beef!!

Vicki
Aidan 8/12/02

MomToJade&Jordan replied: I'm not concerned and I live in Hawaii. We were one of the states that the infected cow might have been sent to. I heard that if you cook the meat well done then you shouldn't even have to worry about it. The meat on base comes from the midwest so we don't have to worry.

chloe&tysmommy replied: Yes I am VERY CONCERNED!!!!!!!!!!!!


Not about the meat but because BEEF cows are our livelyhood. It has hit close to home since we live in Alberta!!! We raise cattle and basically all of our income depends on our cows and the cattle market. It has really hit us hard and we have no idea whats going to happen. We are young and have a lot invested into this farm and now with this crisis its really hard.

I don't eat the brains or spinal cord of the cow so it really doesn't bother me....I'm not much of a meat eater anyway but our Canadian beef is safe to eat in my opinion

jcc64 replied:
Vicki,
I am fascinated by this. Could you please elaborate on this a little more. I saw a story about a town in Latin America where all the children were experiencing severe early onset of puberty (much like your friend's dd). Somehow, the connection was made to the bovine growth hormone given to cows to produce more milk. The most infuriating part of the story was that Monsanto, the manufacturer of the synthetic hormone, successfully lobbied Congress to prohibit a warning label about the ill effects of bgh(much like those found on cigarette packs) because they felt it would hurt sales of milk. When you think about the demographic that most consumes milk, of course it's kids. Nice to see our politicians are so concerned about their welfare.
I know I strayed a bit OT, but the lesson here is: don't put your faith in the gov't to protect you from a polluted food source. Mad cow is real, and only the tip of the iceberg where unhealthy and unnatural farming processes contaminate what we eat. You're right to be concerned in my opinion.

MommyToAshley replied:
It is interesting to hear things from your point of view. I never really thought about it from the rancher's point of view. I am sorry things are so hard on you, especially since you are taking all the safety precautions. I hope things get better for you soon. grouphug.gif

Since you would know better than any of us, do you mind if I ask you a few questions? I remember reading somewhere that one of the ways that the disease is spread is through the feed that is given to cattle. What do you do to prevent this? Also, are there any regulations that you (or whoever processes the meat) has to label if they have used the brain or spinal cord? For example, how do we know that the hamburger or ground chuck (etc) that we buy at the grocery store doesn't have the brains or spinal cord? And referring to the previous posts abou the bovine growth hormone, do you have to label meat from cows that have been given this hormone. I am sorry I have asked so many questions, but I am looking forward to reading your response. Thanks!

mummy2girls replied: I know what you mean dee dee in how much of a worry wart we can get. I get really worried when it comes to jenna with alot of things and i think because i did lose a baby it does that to me. I worry about a lot of things! I wish i could put jenna in a plastic bubble too and just keep her away from harms way but in reality we can't. As hard as it was to lose our angels we just have to try not to worry..easy said than done. (((HUGS)))

jcc64 replied: Dee Dee,
I believe the answer to your question about labelling food with bgh or ground up spinal cords, etc would be a big fat no. It's been the industry standard for a long long time. And as I stated earlier, the agriculture lobby and the companies that manufacture the drugs they use are very influential and powerful when it comes to consumer protection vs. profits. It's all very political and yucky. You just want to keep your kids safe. My advice would be to buy organic meats whenever possible, or buy locally from a smaller farm where you can access info yourself on how the animals are raised and treated. If this is something you are interested in or concerned about, I highly recommend you read Dr Andrew Weil's book on food and nutrition. Can't remember the name, but it's pretty popular, you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. Changed the way I feed my kids. Very balanced and easy to digest info on this subject.

DansMom replied: My mom's been very vocal with me about only giving Daniel organic meat---she raised us vegetarian and is very health-conscious. I don't buy meat from the grocery store anymore. We're lucky to have a huge Whole Foods grocery in Ann Arbor with a huge meat section, in addition to the butcher closer by who buys from small farms that he trusts. Not only do I feel better about that meat, but it really tastes better. The chicken, the beef, the pork---it is all so much more tender and flavorful when the animal was fed properly and raised naturally.

victoire2002 replied: Jeanne--

I could go on for days about the hormones in milk and meat.... I have my own theories about what it does concerning development and diseases, but the fact is that our legislators don't always make decisions for the right reasons. Pharmaceutical companies have big, powerful lobbies in Washington, and for that reason, we have our farmers treating meats with hormones.

NPR (National Public Radio) had a very interesting article about this about a year ago. Fact is, to stay competitive, meat farmers must administer growth hormones and antibiotics. Now, if we were to prohibit farmers from doing so, then more farmers could enter the marketplace, and we wouldn't have to worry about the quality of our meat. An organization in the USA tried to DONATE over 10,000 lbs of chicken drumbsticks to Russia recently, and Russia WOULD NOT accept the donation. Why? Because they knew that we treat our cows with these products, and they weren't willing to expose their population to any of these contaminants.

The most powerful meat buyers in our country are McDonald's and Walmart. Recently, McDonalds stated that they were going to choose meats that had not been treated with antibiotics. Now we need to start pressuring them to not accept meat with hormones. Once these two buyers have been converted, we could possibly see a change in our meat-growing procedures in this country!! If you want to get involved, send an email to both corporations stating that you'd like to see that. If they get enough pressure from their consumers, then the ball will begin to roll.

Anyway, here's a link to an interesting article. Hopefully some of you will read and it will change your perception on meats and what we feed our kiddos!

http://www.emagazine.com/november-december...7gl_health.html

Best,
Vicki

chloe&tysmommy replied:
Well, I'll try to answer your questions the best I can.....

We don't, and have never used bone meal as a supplement (for cow feed) so we are definitely safe, we feed our cattle alfalfa hay, greed feed (which is oats just baled up), and for the calves we feed them grain (barley or oats).
Bone meal is dead animals ground up and then fed back to animals--which is soo gross. This is one way that the animals can get BSE. I heard on the news that the whole process of grinding up animals and feeding it back to animals was banned in '97 Which was a smart thing to do.

I have no idea if they would label what actually goes into hamburger or whatever type of meat....I honestly don't think we use that part of the cow though, according to our Premier.

Bovine Growth Hormone--We have never used hormones in our cattle, and don't know anyone who have used hormones either so I have no idea . If we have a sick calf and have to treat it with medicine, it tells you on the medicine bottle how long you have to wait before you can sell the animal smile.gif

Don't be sorry for asking questions, I hope I answered them ok. I hope things will look up and we hear some good news soon.

Everyone has their own opinions about this wink.gif

And you are so sweet for hoping things will get better for us, Thank-you!

coasterqueen replied: I'm concerned but I still eat beef. Now that said we stopped eating a lot a beef last year when we went on WW. We eat a lot of chicken instead. But we have beef probably once a week or so.

I'm starting to get more concerned now that it is in the US sad.gif

CantWait replied:
my dh had to go to 8 stores the other day to look for our dogs food, he didn't eat all day mad.gif

CantWait replied:
I'm with you there......
I don't know if I've asked, what part of Alberta are you from?

chloe&tysmommy replied:
I live about 60 miles NE of Edmonton smile.gif

I grew up in Edmonton and moved out here when I was 18 when I met dh smile.gif My mom still lives in Edm. so I visit quite often


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