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Mad
Cow Disease Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE is more commonly known as Mad Cow Disease. It is a degenerative brain disorder of cattle that affects the central nervous system. After it's discovery in Britain in 1986, research led scientists to the conclusion that BSE had originated from an agent present in sheep for over 200 years. They believe that this agent, the scrapie agent, was passed between the species when cattle were given feed that contained a protein supplement obtained from the leftover parts of butchered sheep. As cattle that had eaten this diseased protein supplement began to die, they too were ground down and used as a protein supplement in feed. Put simply, the epidemic of Mad Cow disease was caused by the advent of the unnatural practice of feeding dead cows to live cows. Unnatural because cows and sheep, by nature, are vegetarian. Further research has led scientists to the conclusion that not only is it this feed that has transmitted BSE, but specifically when this feed contains certain tissues including, the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen and certain nerve tissues. Mad Cow Disease has been linked to a human disease called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or nvCJD. New variant CJD is a fatal degenerative brain disease. It is contracted from eating mad-cow tainted beef products. This human variant of Mad Cow Disease has been confirmed in 94 Europeans since 1996 when it was first discovered. There have been no cases of nvCJD in the United States. BSE was first identified in Britain in November 1986 and has spread to other European countries. In 1996, the British government ordered that all cattle that were infected with or had been exposed to BSE be killed. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has monitored cattle in the US for more than 10 years and have never confirmed any cases of BSE in this country. In addition, the US has not imported any beef from Britain since at least 1985. In 1989 the USDA banned the import of ruminant animals from countries with confirmed cases of BSE. In June 1997 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of any by-products from at risk animals in cattle feed. In addition, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in December 2000, prohibited the importation of all animal products from Europe, regardless of species. Meyer Natural Angus cattle are fed a 100% vegetarian diet consisting of corn, corn hulls and soybean hulls. Currently, corn makes up about 2/3 of the feed mix. Our cattle are NEVER fed animal by-products or subtherapeutic hormones. We can guarantee that this is their diet because we own our cattle from weaning throughout their life. It may seem like a big job to control what our cattle eat, but because all of our cattle are at one family farm in Nebraska, they all eat the same diet. In addition to our internal controls, we are monitored by the American Humane Association, the USDA and the FDA. Seven hand operated steam vacuum stations sanitize the carcass at every step of the hide removal. Quick removal of any bacterial contamination stops the growth. After the hide is removed the carcass is run through a lactic acid wash prior to the evisceration. As the animal is eviscerated the USDA inspects the offal to determine wholesomeness. At the same time they are inspecting the carcass before it is split. After it is split it is given a minute inspection again by the USDA and any contamination is trimmed off. The sides then go through a steam pasteurization cabinet followed immediately by a lactic acid rinse. Then to the chill box. After our cattle are slaughtered at a co-packer the carcasses arrive at Meyer Foods, our state of the art processing facility in Lincoln, Nebraska. Additional Resources:
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