HARVARD RISK STUDY BLASTED AGAIN

Re: That famous Harvard Risk Analysis of whether BSE would enter the US and/or spread, Tony Corbo of Public Citizen says "There is a disconnect between the Harvard study and the facts." But he doesn't just mean the fact that the Harvard folks said there was a very low risk of... er... what wound up happening, happening - the whole methodology of their study is being called into question. "One example is the Harvard study's assumption that a cow would have to eat 1 gram of infected material to come down with the disease. Kihm said most scientists now believe a cow would have to eat only 10 milligrams of infected material, a piece the size of a peppercorn, to catch the disease. That's 100 times smaller than the assumption in the Harvard study. Recent British studies suggest the infectious dose could be 400 micrograms, which is 25 times smaller than 10 milligrams."

Gee, it's funny they would err on the side of a rosy outlook for the beef industry. The story also notes that "among the dozens of individuals the authors acknowledge provided scientific input and support were some with ties to ConAgra Beef, the National Cattleman's Beef Association, the National Renderers Association and the American Feed Industry Association."

Meanwhile, if you're eating any of "a variety of products, from taco filling to pizza toppings, hot dogs and some types of sausage and beef jerky," you may be eating BSE-infused "meat paste," as the Seattle Times warns us that Dangerous cow parts still enter food supply. "Brains can also be used in headcheese and some other processed meat products, as long as they're listed on the label. No label is necessary when brains and spinal cords are cooked along with other ingredients to make beef broth, beef flavoring and beef extracts." Mmmmmm... meat paste...