More proof we need a cure for prion disease

I’ll keep this short because I am tired. I think the energy has just been sucked out of me by reading the many comments on the ABC News Facebook page in regards to the story they posted about downer cows being found at a California plant that supplies the popular In-N-Out hamburger chain.

 

I think what shocks me the most is a few things — and I can post at length about this at another time. And I’ve meant to do this for a while about other social media screen shots I’ve saved over time. (A later post will cover misconceptions and poor journalism regarding “mad cow disease” issues at length). 

1. The American people are absolutely ignorant about what the real danger is here. They aren’t picking up on the term “downer cow” or what that is or why it is important — although it is a term recognized by CJD Families.

2. ABC news has given one line on a television newscast (which I saw Diane Sawyer read on my very own TV tonight) about how this plant also provides beef to the school lunch program. In-N-Out gets all the bad press. Excuse me, adults choosing to buy fast food is one thing. But children who have no choice who are eating this at their schools? That should be the lede of the story. I think I saw less than five people comment on ABC’s Facebook about this. Scary.

3. My pet peeve is we’re all experts in this country after two minutes spent on Google U. Read a book! More specifically, obtain a copy of Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber’s “Mad Cow U.S.A.” Read it. Learn it. It will make you a more effective consumer.

4. I see people posting on this ABC News Facebook page that they’re so glad they pay more for superior cuts of meat. Nice thought, but it doesn’t mean a thing. Until every cow in the U.S. that is meant for human consumption is tested for BSE, it doesn’t matter which cut of meat you’re eating. It doesn’t matter that it is hormone-free, grass fed, corn fed, or even blessed by fairies and unicorns. It still has not been tested for BSE to your knowledge and you will never know whether it has been tested or not. Just because something is judged to be superior and you paid more for it does not mean it does not contain an infectious agent that causes prion disease.

And I shouldn’t have to tell you this. You should be a responsible consumer. But you aren’t. 

This is one thing I have learned in nearly eight years since my mother’s passing and since becoming subsequently interested in prion disease.

People really don’t care and the American people are so absolutely ignorant about all this — media included — that you cannot protect 33 million + people from themselves.

This is why the only answers was, is, and will always remain to be the FIND THE CURE FOR CJD.

This is also part of the reason why I rarely comment about beef. The larger part is named Oprah Winfrey.

~Heather Larson

@heatherlarson on Twitter

hotwords [at] mac [dot] com

Asking Downing Street for help

I admire these people for heading to Downing Street to demand answers. The way Christine Lord has fought for justice for her son has inspired me for years now. I read this today and I can only think one thing. I just hope that the U.S. government can learn from the mistakes of the British government. To learn more about that, I recommend reading Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber’s “Mad Cow USA.”

Here’s a link to the BBC News story:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-13372323