Abstract This paper examines a 2004 Wall Street Journal article on madcowdisease, and how companies, especially fast food companies, are responding to the possibility of tainted meat. It uses the example of McDonald's.
Tags:madcowdisease, mcdonald's fast food industry, marketin
Abstract The paper considers the official, public and economic responses of the madcow scare on three nations; the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands. The paper reveals that in spite of the dramatic response taken by the governments, the research shows how America and Europe are moved more by panic than by fact. The paper asserts that the dangers of madcowdisease to human beings have been grossly exaggerated, creating an unrealistic public fear and the destruction of an industry. The paper maintains that the greatest preventative measure for madcowdisease is the proliferation of public and official understanding of what it is and how it is caused.
From the Paper "Recent years have witnessed an array of global food-borne health scares which are related to practices of careless governmental oversight, haphazard agricultural standards and increased free trade activities between industrialized nations and those developing nations which are either unable or unwilling to devote the necessary resources to administrative regulation. The outcome of these conditions has been an apparent invasion of certain advanced economies and societies of terrifying disease strains and the public panics there associated. Among those scares most publicly aired by the news would be those relating to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, which is more commonly known as 'Mad Cow Disease' or 'Mad Cow's Disease.' Between the years of 2001 and 2004, an outbreak of cases in a host of industrialized nations would spark the biggest public panic to date, prompting publics in said nations to abstain from beef, prompting such industries to experience devastating economic decline, inciting public airwaves to dedicate considerable focus to the subject and inspiring governmental leaders to draw up and pass legislation concerning the prevention of the disease spread and the prohibition of practices believed to cause it."
Abstract The paper discusses the efficiency of the German governmental agencies and beef industry in estimating the risk of madcowdisease negatively affecting German consumers of beef during the years 2001 to 2004. The paper further discusses how the German governmental agencies and industry managers performed risk management strategies and policies through the selection and implementation of appropriate measures after the outbreak of madcowdisease in Germany in 2000 and until 2004. In addition, the paper looks at how the risk communication was conducted in relation to the true possibility that humans can contract Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD), a variant of BSE.
Outline:
Objective
Introduction
Perceived Risk Analysis
Rational Problem-Solving
Food Safety Regulation Reform
Research Risk and Assessment
Food Industry Supports Government
Summary and Conclusion
From the Paper "The work of Grannis, Green and Bruch (2004) entitled: "Animal Health: The Potential Role for Livestock Disease Insurance" state that "animal disease can cause significant production losses and a reduction in livestock receipts." Grannis, Green and Bruch state that an opportunity development exists in assisting the management of livestock disease risks and one example is Germany. "Evidence from Germany demonstrates that both alternative value and consequential loss policies for livestock producers can be developed and can work in parallel with government indemnity programs. In Germany, indemnity payments are made based on predetermined and published payment schedules. These schedules are capped by maximum values that do not represent the value of superior commercial animals. Policies are available to insure the difference between the value indemnified according to the published government schedule and the value of the animal under regular, nondisease market conditions".
A discussion of the discovery of madcowdisease, to the present, and the role the media/government has played in control, prevention, and the dissemination of information.
Abstract Examines the treatment of Mad-cowdisease in the media, and by the government.
Discusses the following topics
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Scrapie
What Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Do
Two Theories on the Action of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
British Government Admits MadCowDisease Exists (1987)
Testing Results by the British government MAFF
Culpability of the British Medical Society
The Spread of CJD
Steps Taken by the British Government
From the Paper "Where the industry has gone wrong is in listening to the PR people. The mad-cow epidemic is not an information management issue?it is a disease that will not go away.? These words are from an interview with Dr. Pringle, a member of the Sperling Biomedical Foundation, and the founder of www.mad-cow.org. I believe that they highlight what has been fundamentally wrong about the treatment of mad-cow disease by the British government and the British media. Several grave errors have been made about the treatment of this issue, and they continue to have repercussions today, as we explore America's mad-cow incidents, and rising problems in Europe, Asia, and South America. At the time this paper was written, mad cow disease had been confirmed in domestic cattle in Belgium, France, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and Germany."
Abstract This paper assesses the issue of advertising safety precautions for MadCowDisease from the position of a campaign manager for McDonald's customer service division. This paper will take the position that the public would remain loyal to McDonald's after efforts are made to educate them concerning madcowdisease.
Abstract The paper intrinsically studies the consequential affect and aftermath of ?madcowdisease?, which has led to the introduction of substitutes like pork and other meats in the market. It further studies the changing trends that many of these companies have incorporated in attempt to sustain and raise their profits from these substitutes. It looks at how studies show that integrating certain changes to the companies marketing mechanism and strategies on the eve of ?madcowdisease? have been successful, not only to replenish the sales figures, but also in incurring profits.
From the Paper "The Other areas where consolidation occurred were the packing and retail industries. In an attempt to regain their market hold various leading food giants are vying to increase their sales and are introducing new trends. The four major companies, which followed the same suit, were Smithfield Foods, IBP, Swift (Conagra) and Excel (Cargill). In 1998, the four-firm concentration level was 56.3% of the packing sector. They contributed to the slaughter of more than half of the nation's hogs. Now Smithfield is the world's largest pork producer and kills an estimated 20% of the United States' hog supply. It considered itself as an integrated food company. Eventually owned the third largest hog producing firm in the US and also had been tightly coordinating with other large producers."
This paper discusses madcowdisease, a virulent cattle disease, which led to the destruction of 180,000 livestock in the United Kingdom and other European countries and plunged other major cattle-producing nations into a global panic.
Abstract This paper explains that madcowdisease is bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, a fatal brain disorder in cattle caused by a still-unknown agent. The author points out that U.K. reports also listed other animals as having been infected by TSEs, including domestic cats, mice, hamsters, goats, mink, monkeys, pigs, and some exotic species of the cat family. The paper reports that there is also suspicion that madcow can be spread through human blood; therefore, the American Red Cross bans blood donations from people who have lived abroad, especially from those who spent as few as three months in the UK between 1980 and 1996.
From the Paper "The disease spread to cattle in other countries through infected animal feed UK exported to them within that decade. These countries in Europe alone included Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland (Lohn), which were reported to have at least one infected cow each. The UK also supplied animal feed to South Africa and non-European countries at that time, extending the reach Mad Cow beyond Europe and making it a global health scare."
Abstract This paper discusses MadCowDisease, otherwise known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. It discusses the history, background and pathophysiology of the disease. It then goes on to describe prevention and treatment options for the disease, concluding that there are no effective treatments available. The paper concludes by discussing nursing and collaborative care for patients with the disease.
Table of Contents:
Epidemiology
Pathophysiology
Prevention and Treatment
Differences in Classic CJD and Variant CJD
Nursing and Collaborative Care
From the Paper "Variant CJD has a median age at death of 28 years. The duration of the illness is approximately 13-14 months. Some of the clinical signs and symptoms include: prominent psychiatric/behavioral symptoms, painful dyesthesiasis; and delayed neurologic signs. The "Pulvinar sign" on an MRI is present in greater than 75% of most of the Variant CJD. The presence of "florid plaques" on neuropathology is usually in large numbers and easily detected. The agent is readily detected in the lymphoid tissue. There is a marked accumulation of protease-resistance prion protein noted in the brain. This is why the Variant CJD is much more easily detected because it shows up on more tests."
Abstract Ever since MadCowDisease sparked terror in international headlines, the public has been concerned about eating beef. MadCowDisease is not, however, the first or only prion-caused disease. Several others, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and kuru in humans and a host of agricultural animal disorders join MadCow in both cause and effects, the major effect being horror. This paper argues that, while the presence on the planet of a disease that literally lays waste to human brain tissue is frightening, there are two probabilities that can be seen as reasons not to be terrified. Instead, people could be hopeful that research sparked by the publicity surrounding MadCowDisease will eventually bring answers to such sociologically and medically devastating diseases as Alzheimer's Disease, and other lesser known but just as deadly diseases such as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The paper shows that these two probabilities are first, that prion-caused diseases are much less prevalent than media hype would indicate and, second, that a cure or vaccination is relatively certain to be discovered in the near to medium term.
Paper Outline:
Introduction
Methods
Discussion
Conclusion
References
From the Paper "Questions have arisen regarding why these particles are not attacked by the body's defense mechanisms, and the answer, Mahy noted, is that they are so odd, they are simply not recognized and therefore cannot be neutralized. Prions contain no nucleic acid and are therefore extremely " extremely resistant to inactivation by chemical or physical interventions that would inactivate viruses" (Mahy 1998) because there is no vector through which to deliver the 'poison'. Even more so than viruses, then, it is reasonable to wonder whether prions are, in fact, alive. And if they are not alive, then how can they infect an organism? Do they replicate like bacteria and viruses, or what?"
Tags: Stanley, Prusiner, protein, sterilization, kuru
Abstract MadCowDisease is a brain disease of cattle, which was first identified in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s. Although not as widespread as some other livestock diseases, such as hoof-and mouth-disease, the MadCowDisease has attracted a lot of publicity because of its apparent apparent ability to transmit to humans, the fact that there is no known cure for the disease and the horrifying nature of the brain decay it causes. This paper explains the cause of the disease, how it affects the organisms, how it is transmitted from one organism to another, and the ways in which it could be transmitted to humans. The paper also discusses the human equivalents of the disease.
Paper Outline:
Cause of the Disease How the Disease Affects the Organism
How is the Disease Transmitted from one Organism to Another
The Ways in Which it Could be Transmitted from Cows to Humans
Human Equivalents of the Disease Works Cited
From the Paper "This theory about the spread of disease is based on the observation that incidences of the disease have mostly been found in the UK where feeding of meat and bone meal to cattle was most common. Although other European countries also fed meat and bone meals to cattle as a protein supplement, the British laws about high temperature sterilization of the protein meal were relatively lax in order to keep meat prices competitive."
Abstract This paper examines the novel mechanism of disease transmittal in prions as well as the diseases themselves (madcowdisease and Creutzfeld-Jacobs disease). Functions of normal prions are also discussed. The paper also examines how prions are devoid of nucleic acids, and thus carry no information other than their tertiary structure.
From the Paper "Knockout mice survived up to their 70th week, and then they began to display signs common with brain disease, which included a loss of motor coordination. Curiously, the symptoms shown by these knockout mice were similar to those found in many cases of prion diseases."
Tags: brain, cow, creutzfeld, disease, infectious, jacobs, mad, prions, protein
Abstract The author of this paper discusses modern methods of meat production and the possible harmful effects to human beings from the consumption of "factory farmed" meat products. The author suggests that meat producers, in an effort to shorten the time from birth to slaughter of a meat animal, resort to processes and food regimes that speed up the animal's development and ensure that it reaches a weight profitable for slaughter at a much faster rate. He goes on to suggest that this process, alongside other factors, results in meat being sold to the consumer that poses a health risk and has the potential of being lethal. He cites the case of "MadCowDisease" as an example of dangerous meat rearing practices and attempts to provide evidence to defend his statement.
From the Paper "Consumers are faced with hazardous health problems when eating domesticated animals such as chicken, pork, cattle, and fish. I do not wish to be eating meat that is in some way, shape or form altered by humans. Humans are adding hormones to domesticated animals to increase their size, ultimately increasing the profits for the meat companies. Another way they increase profit is to gather all the livestock into one location and feed them a cheaper substitute from what they are naturally accustomed to eating. In doing so the meat industry has penned livestock together, but diseases are prone to surface when concentrations of a single species are in one area, so the meat industry must give the livestock antibiotics to prevent the spread of disease. All these drugs and hormones will leave residues in our food, posing health risks. I want to eat meat that comes from the wild and is untouched by human hands because humans would rather have an extra dollar in their pocket than to ensure the health of the overall human population. I understand there is no way of feeding 6 billion people with wild animals, but if the meat industry could change some of its practices, maybe our meat would not be so risky to eat."
Tags: ruminants FDA cows health, madcowdisease, beef steroids
Abstract The paper discusses how, although the media in the Netherlands inflated the real threat of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to human beings, the Netherlands still failed to respond appropriately to the sense within the public that its government had not protected it properly from dangerous foods. The paper thus highlights the need for the government to take the threat of BSE seriously, not as an immediate danger to the European public, but as a way of sustaining the public's confidence in the regulation of food safety.
From the Paper "The risk of human contraction mad cow disease is perceived to be high in places where its early form can be detected in livestock. Known in this context as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), consumption of meat thereby contaminated is believed to be a way of contract the fatal neurologically degenerative human disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob (vCJD). Thus, when reports surfaced of contamination found in meats allegedly originating on Dutch farms, the outcome was a dramatic response from various governments within Europe, amongst EU agencies and sectors of various national publics, all of which responded to the threat with an immediate forbearance from meat. The question must be posited, however, with regard to its dramatic spread in the public discussion forum, as to whether the response has thus far been appropriate or properly measured from within the Dutch government."
Abstract In this article the writer discusses that the primary reasons for imposing bans on U.S. beef products concern health issues relating to hormone-treated beef products. The writer also looks at the potential for human consumption of potentially harmful beef products resulting from cattle diseases such as MadCow. The writer points out that there are some politically charged factors involved in this issue. Further, the writer maintains that the U.S. beef industry is the leading competitor in this industry in the global marketplace, but the agricultural industry in general has been adversely affected in years past because of arbitrary bans from key trading partners such as the European Union. The writer notes that such bans may be based on a number of factors, including cultural perceptions of quality, politically motivated initiatives and the potential threats represented by cattle-borne diseases such as MadCow that are amplified by urban legend and the mainstream media. The writer concludes that the importance of the European Union to U.S. exporters means that such bans will have to be justified by more than just cultural lip service in the future, and U.S. exporters are going to increasingly demand that the Europeans put their money where they mouths are - literally.
Outline:
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview
Factors Influencing Trade Decisions for U.S. Beef Products
Conclusion
From the Paper "From the perspective of the U.S. beef industry, the European Union's standard is simply a politically motivated trade barrier that provides no actual health protection for European consumers but rather serves to inflate for them; by sharp contrast, the European controversy is fairly longstanding and began during the 1970s when a series of health scares in Europe caused created an atmosphere in which the public was increasingly concerned about the potential side effects of eating beef products that had been treated with hormones. A number of stories in the European press linked the consumption of hormone-treated beef to hormone-related health problems and some of the accounts simply fueled the fires with increasingly skeptical European consumers."
Abstract This paper examines how during 2003, Toronto's tourism and hospitality industry was significantly hampered by four major crises: An outbreak of SARS, West Nile Virus, MadCowdisease and an electrical blackout. It discusses how although every individual within the Greater Toronto area (GTA) was affected in some manner, the tourism industry was the most radically influenced and how the cumulative onslaught of the aforementioned events drastically reduced the number of visitors to the once thriving metropolis and threatened the livelihood of the city. It details the issues encountered by Toronto's tourism industry during 2003 and the recovery methods that were instituted in order to endorse the city as an attractive tourism destination.
From the Paper "In order to regain the trust of travellers, positive advertising campaigns were initiated through mass mediums to the general public to highlight the positive elements that Toronto had to offer. The majority of the campaigns launched throughout the city were aimed at promoting Toronto through two key marketing concepts. These included (1) product bundling - offering a complete package to consumers at a reduced rate, and (2) reduced pricing - discounts placed upon specific offerings of the tourism sector. These concepts were based upon a loss-leader marketing strategy, whereby a very low price is charged for a product or service to entice customers into subsequently purchasing higher cost items. Mirvish Productions initiated one of the first examples of product bundling."
