> The bottom line, I think, is that even in GB, the incidence of CJ
> disease has been very slight. It is much more likely that any given
> member of this list will be killed by a heart attack, stroke, cancer,
> or any of those boring old-fashioned conditions, whether they eat beef
> or not.
>
> I think the popular fascination with CJ disease has two causes: the
> thought of one's brain having holes eaten into it is peculiarly
> horrible, and lots of people want to feel that if they can't keep
> themselves from dying from something or other, they can at least
> renounce beef-eating and take care of that particular danger, however
> remote it may be.
>
> (All that said, there is certainly lots of room for improvement in the
> whole food hygiene system, particularly in the US).
This last part is definitely true, at least as far as I'm concerned. I love meat; the idea of spending the rest of my life without steaks, ribs, or roast chicken is about as appealing as a life without reading. The fact that the U.S. beef industry has such shoddy health standards is infuriating... and now that Mad Cow Disease has reared its quaking cavity-ridden head, the time for reform is way, way overdue.
I gues I'll have to start buying from farms which do free-range and grain-fed systems. Expensive, but a really nicely seasoned rack of ribs is worth it.