[kupoartist]

Originally Posted by Vicious_2003

But that doesent make good news or scare people so they blow it up and make it seem like your going to die if you eat a hamburger

Exactly. Consider how many portions of Beef are consumed in a country the size of the US every Year. Of these, only about 10 portions will actually infect anyone dangerously. The portion / infection ratio was MUCH higher in the UK in the late ninetees (and gave the rest of Europe an excuse to piss on our farmers), and we're talking of a handful of cases. Statistically, you're more likely to catch any of the other more serious diseases of the world. Or win the lottery. Hell, you're more likely to die of heart disease from eating too much fatty beef, than from eating too much mad-cow infected beef.

If you want a real reason to stop eating beef, think Cattle Ranching in the rainforests of the developing world. The TNCs of this world clear MASSIVE areas of rainforest to graze animals on land which is extremely poor quality without its tree cover (so they have to cut down MORE trees again). Coupled with the masses the fast food chains pull out from the forest for packaging and such, the chances that the planet is screwed are far more likely than people going doolally after eating a burger. But the media doesn't cover that because the news that the planet will be eventually screwed is less important than a few people catching Mad Cow disease. Or David Beckham screwing some PR ditz behind Victoria's Back.