Is It Mad Cow or Is It Alzheimer's?

On the television show "Boston Legal," William Shatner's character was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease but refers to it as Mad Cow. This is because many people who have Alzheimer's are suspected to actually have the human version of Mad Cow Disease. Unfortunately, a diagnosis can only be made after death.

It may also surprise you to know that Mad Cow Disease is a much bigger problem than originally thought, and the problems is growing due to poor handling of the animals in traditional slaughter houses. Fornunately, organic meat may be the answer.

Most of the animals that humans eat do not normally eat animal products. For example, cattle are ruminants that normally eat grasses and shrubs. But because animal by-products are cheaper and approved by the FDA, that’s exactly what most cattle is fed. Organic cattle, however, are fed organic grown grasses.

The practice of feeding animal by-products to cattle brought about Mad Cow Disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a degenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system of the animal. When humans eat meat infected with BSE, they contract Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD) or a more recent variant called "vCJD." Both forms of CJD are incurable degenerative neurological disorders that are ultimately fatal. The primary symptom of CJD is dementia and research has indicated that upwards of 13% of CJD patients may be misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, a figure that translates to over 650,000 people in the U.S.168 There is no effective treatment for CJD or vCJD.

BSE is not a virus, or a bacteria, but a protein called a prion that invades the body of the animal. It can not be destroyed through regular cooking or food processing, making it a considerable health threat for human carnivores. A notable feature of BSE is the inability of the infected animal to stand. However, a 2000 report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, linked a new form of BSE discovered in "healthy" cows, to human cases of CJD. In addition, they learned that the disease can infect animals other than cattle without resulting in any symptoms of disease.

In 2004, an article in the Lancet medical journal reported that vCJD can be transmitted by blood transfusions. This report alarmed healthcare officials in a dozen countries including the U.S., causing stringent restrictions on blood donation. There is no test to determine if a blood donor is infected with vCJD. Diagnosis of vCJD is presumptive based on clinical presentation, until death, when autopsy confirms the diagnosis.

Another factor that increases the risk of a vCJD epidemic is the common disregard for the safety of animals in traditional slaughter houses. This translates into an indifference for human health as well. On February 18, 2008, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recalled 143 million pounds of beef processed at Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company in Southern California; the largest recall in American history.

The recall came after the Humane Society released a video showing workers at the plant using cattle prods, forklifts and water hoses, among other methods, to rouse cattle too weak to walk. These non-ambulatory animals, called "downer" cattle, are not supposed to be slaughtered for meat because of the health risks. In addition to issues of animal cruelty, the video raised questions about whether non-ambulatory cattle were entering the food chain in violation of federal regulations put in place to protect against problems like BSE. Downer cows have a higher incidence of other contamination, including Escherichia coli (E. coli) and salmonella. The downed animals lay in their waste, so it gets on their hide, and hide contamination is the primary reason why the carcass gets contaminated.

By the time of the recall, most of the meat had already been eaten by consumers, many of them children. USDA investigators said they uncovered evidence that Hallmark’s practice of using downer cattle dated back to February of 2006. Officials estimated that about 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to school lunch programs in 36 states. Fast food chains that used the beef included McDonalds, Burger King, Jack in the Box, and In-and-Out Burger. Grocery stores carried the recalled beef as well, including Costco and Wal-Mart.

It is not known if any of the cattle at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company was infected with BSE or any other disease because they were not tested in accordance with federal law. What is known is that BSE is undetectable in some animals and vCJD can take up to 30 years to develop in humans. This potentially long incubation period means that children infected with vCJD may not show symptoms, yet could be carrying the disease from childhood to adulthood. This may pose a significant risk for those who come in contact with them. CJD and vCJD are considered so contagious that dentists take ongoing precautions to protect against them.

In response to BSE, the FDA banned the feeding of cattle brain and spinal tissue to cattle in 1997, but still allows the following materials to be fed to non-organic cattle:

* Gelatin (rendered from the hooves of cattle and other species)
* Fats, oils, grease, and tallow (from cattle and other species)
* Poultry and poultry by-products
* Rendered pork protein
* Rendered horse protein

Again, these items are being fed to cattle that are naturally herbivores, not carnivores. None of the items listed above may be fed to organic cattle or any other organic livestock. Breeding and husbandry of organic cattle, swine, poultry and other livestock must meet strict National Organic Program Standards for livestock origin, feed, health and living conditions.

The USDA's meat inspection program is over 100 years old. Organic meat has more stringent inspection standards because it is certified organic by a third party organic certifier accredited by the National Organic Program of the USDA. This extra step helps to ensure that meat is safe to eat.