I just heard there may be an infected cow in Canada.
***NOT CONFIRMED***

But it reminded me about Mad Cow disease. I had forgotten about it. Does it affect your choices??

Nope. Not in the slightest. The main bulk of contamination was back in 1986 when no-one knew about it so it's a bit late for us in the UK to start worrying now.

I buy from a reputable butcher and I don't buy cheap 'processed' meats. The burgers I eat are always home made so I know what else has gone in to them.

I have to admit to being very wary of 'food scares' as there's always somethng that's bad for us somewhere along the line. It used to be fat, now it's sugar, then it was soy now soy is good again. Who knows!

I eat as healthily as I can as far as my knowledge will let me. I have one aquaintance that used to stop eating something the minute it was even questioned by the media. Poor girl never knew what to eat from one day to the next!

Anyone else?

I eat alot of chicken, fish and turkey

THe only thing I've heard about Mad Cow was in August, 2002 in Saskatchewan, a man reportly died from the disease. I live in Canada and eat meat daily, nothing at all to worry about.


Vikki

If people in England are not going to worry about it, then I will worry about it even less.

You should have seen it here when the media unleashed its panic/scare tactics. Politicians were standing up in public eating beef, their kids were eating burgers for the TV cameras! Crazy world.

fyi.... this is from cnn.com

OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) - A cow in Canada has tested positive for mad cow disease in a test taken on Jan. 31, a Canadian Beef Export Federation official told Reuters Tuesday.

"It was (detected) just a few days ago. The actual test was taken Jan. 31 from a cow in Fairview, Alberta," the official said. "It's just one isolated case of an eight-year-old cow."

The United States has temporarily banned Canada meat imports after the report of the case, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Tuesday.

Veneman said the United States would not accept any "ruminant products" from Canada until further notice. Ruminant products are from animals that chew their cud, including cattle and deer.

According to a U.S. cattle industry source, a herd has been impounded in northern Alberta because of suspicions of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as mad cow disease.

Alberta accounts for nearly 60 percent of Canada's beef production. There are 5.5 million head of cattle in the western province.

Beef cattle production is Alberta's largest agricultural sector providing C$3.8 billion ($2.8 billion) in annual farm cash receipts, Alberta Agriculture data show.

Some 511,656 head of live cattle were shipped from Alberta to the U.S. in 2002, Alberta Agriculture said.

Speculation about the case sent restaurant stocks that specialize in beef lower. Among them are McDonald's (MCD: down $1.30 to $16.86, Research, Estimates), Wendy's International (WEN: down $1.96 to $28.60, Research, Estimates) and Outback Steakhouse (OSI: down $1.17 to $35.45, Research, Estimates).

Do I worry? Just a tad. Shucks, we should worry just crossing the street. LOL

Have to keep this in perspective. I suspect that the odds of being hit in a cross walk of a busy street are higher then eating beef that has gone mad.

Annual Odds of Dying by Cause (1999) --

Mad Cow Disease -- 1 in 3,048,780
Hurricane or Tornado -- 1 in 2,114,884
Being Shot by the Police -- 1 in 912,441
Drowning in the Bathtub -- 1 in 852,563
Accidently Suffocating in Bed -- 1 in 826,727
Falling From a Ladder -- 1 in 727,520
Slipping on a Sidewalk -- 1 in 446,514
Choking on Food -- 1 in 426,281
Salmonella -- 1 in 416,667
Falling Down the Stairs -- 1 in 191,992
Exposure to the Elements -- 1 in 183,347
Murder -- 1 in 16,154

Deaths by Cause (1999) --

Mad Cow Disease -- 83
Hurricane or Tornado -- 129
Being Shot by the Police -- 299
Drowning in the Bathtub -- 320
Accidently Suffocating in Bed -- 330
Falling From a Ladder -- 375
Slipping on a Sidewalk -- 611
Choking on Food -- 640
Salmonella -- 600
Falling Down the Stairs -- 1,421
Exposure to the Elements -- 1,488
Murder -- 16,889