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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (33765)	12/28/2003 11:32:54 PM
From: Crocodile	Respond to of 89467

There are a number of issues regarding MCD that are rarely addressed. Among these: * Officials are quick to dismiss the danger of infection from "muscle meats", but don't seem to have much to say about the fact that infected particles from spinal columns, etc... can be spread onto other parts of a carcass during various cutting and sawing processes. In cases of CJD in humans, the disease has been spread from one person to another through surgery because normal instrument sterilization processes are inadequate in halting the spread of the disease. Just how does this apply in the case of meat saws and butchering knives, etc...? If an animal suspected of being infected with MCD goes through an abattoir, does everyone shut down the assembly line and change knives and saw blades? Rather difficult to believe considering that the carcass isn't even pulled aside and condemned. * There's been relatively little said about MCD and possible connections to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) which is rapidly increasing in deer and other ungulates. How much likelihood is there that CWD will jump species as sheep scrapie did in the case of MCD? And because other animals eat deer and deer carcasses, the CWD epidemic poses the threat of "jumping species." TSEs already infect at least eight mammal species in nature, says Aiken, also including sheep, cattle, goats, mink, cats and elk. whyfiles.org It is thought that sheep scrapie disease may have jumped species to infect deer and elk in the U.S. about 40 years ago. Recently, the disease has quickly spread into the Wisconsin deer population (incubation periods being discussed are just 1-2 years to result in visible infections -- see above website explaining the reason for Wisconsin's plan for extensive hunting to cull the deer population). So, how are these deer being disposed of? Who has already consumed uninspected diseased animals? How many deer have been butchered in the same facilities that handle domestic livestock (whether legal or not)? * In the past (and probably even now) in many areas of North America, abattoir waste (offal) has ended up being incorporated into the processing of sewage sludge and spread on farm fields as biosolids. In much of Europe, this practice which has been curtailed as prions can survive sewage treatment processes and end up back in the environment. What steps are being taken to ensure that abattoir waste isn't ending up in composted sewage sludge recycled as biosolids? Lots of questions and not too many answers.