[873] in Vegetarian_Support_Group
Mad Cow Disease - in case you haven't heard
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (elsiedee@MIT.EDU)
Mon Apr 1 00:04:16 1996
From: elsiedee@MIT.EDU
To: vsg@MIT.EDU
Date: Mon, 01 Apr 1996 00:03:42 EST
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From: richard@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Richard Shyduroff)
Received: by woodpecker.lcs.mit.edu (5.65c/TOC-1.2C)
id AA21657; Sun, 24 Mar 96 16:40:03 EST
Date: Sun, 24 Mar 96 16:40:03 EST
To: elsiedee@MIT.EDU
Subject: madcow_1.html
Reuters New Media
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Sunday March 24 1:43 AM EST
McDonald's Suspends Use of British Beef
LONDON (Reuter) - Fast food giant McDonald's said Saturday it was
suspending the sale of British beef products in all its restaurants in
Britain with immediate effect because of fears that the meat might
contain ``mad cow'' disease.
``We believe that British beef is safe. However, we cannot ignore the
fact that recent announcements have led to a growing loss of consumer
confidence in British beef which has not been restored,'' the U.S.
company said in a statement.
``With immediate effect, McDonald's products will not contain British
beef.''
Dozens of countries have suspended the import of British beef since
the government disclosed Wednesday that scientists had found a
possible link between ``mad cow'' disease and its human equivalent,
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Britain's Consumer Association has told people to stop eating beef
while a leading supermarket chain said it might consider buying
foreign beef for the first time.
``We have always put our customers first. They trust us to provide
high quality, safe food. We believe that they want us to take this
action in the circumstances,'' McDonald's said.
The decision is yet another blow to the $6 billion British beef
industry, waiting to see whether the European Union decides to slap a
formal ban on all of its beef exports next week.
McDonald's said it bought over $360 million worth of food from British
suppliers in 1985, but a spokeswoman declined to say how much of this
was spent on beef.
British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg on Saturday resisted any
immediate slaughter of hundreds of thousands of older cattle in
Britain's 11-million herd.
``At the moment we have no reason to adopt that policy,'' he told BBC
radio.
The Sunday Times added to the agony by quoting an expert who said
sheep meat might have to be banned as well. BSE was first identified
in 1985, a few years after cows were fed protein supplements which
contained infected sheep brains.
Chris Bostoke, head of BSE research at the Institute of Animal Health,
said it was possible that sheep could have been reinfected by being
fed protein made from BSE-ridden cattle.
``It's a perfectly reasonable proposition that sheep would have got
the same materials and possibly the same disease as cattle,'' he told
the Sunday Times.
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Earlier Related Stories
* McDonald's Suspends Use of British Beef (Sat Mar 23 11:31 PM)
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