28.03.1996

Mad government disease

There is no certain knowledge as to the risks or consequences of the presence of BSE in British cattle. The general consensus of scientific opinion is that it can infect human beings. But only certain individuals may be susceptible and only if a sufficient dose is consumed. Even so, given the possibility that the incubation time may be ten years or more, a mass disaster is far from impossible. At least ten people have died from its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and there will be others.

However, some facts are clear. The government changed the regulations for the production of animal feed, primarily in order to cheapen costs and without regard to public safety. Money was withdrawn from scientific research, with the result that the crisis was neither recognised in time, nor were tests available to check its spread.

Even now funds have not been provided to allow such work to be undertaken. There is no way of accurately estimating the likely spread of the disease in the human population, or any research into treatment for the victims.

Even if the government gets away with taking no further action, the cost will far outweigh any conceivable cost of the research that should have been undertaken in the first place. Tory attempts to play down the problems by half truths and deceit have resulted in nobody believing them at home or abroad. The Tory government is now so discredited that it is almost accepted fact that anything it says is at the very least a whitewash. The statement released by their scientists on Monday after a weekend of consultation was nothing short of a farce.

The problem has been further aggravated by the way that the food processing industry has developed. Different carcasses are used in the production of a single product, using any methods that prove profitable. Leftovers bulk out what is produced.

This is not the first scare in the food industry. Panic spreads so quickly since it is obvious that public safety is a low priority compared to the need of profits for the big firms.

If private profit is the main criterion for the introduction of new production techniques, the only science employed will be that related to cost.

 John Walsh