Harvard Experts Unfazed by Mad Cow

The spreading of mad cow disease is a concern, but not a great risk, according to Harvard experts who have studied the issue.

The discovery of an infected mad cow in Washington state last month has prompted concerns that American beef may be contaminated.

But Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Director of the Institute of Politics Daniel R. Glickman said last week that mad cow disease is not an epidemic.

“More people are likely to get sick from E. coli or salmonella. This is not a monumental health issue, but our job is to make sure that it never becomes a monumental health issue,” he said.

Concerns about American beef were assuaged last week when DNA tests proved that the American cow’s case of the disease originated in Canada.

But according to Glickman, the issue isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon.

“I don’t think this is the last case we’re going to see,” he said.

Glickman served as secretary of agriculture from 1995 to 2001 and began to study mad cow disease in Europe before it became a North American issue.

“During the end of my term, this was something we were worried about. I never thought it was impossible for us to find a case here,” he said.

During his term, Glickman took precautionary measures to protect the U.S. from an outbreak of the disease. He banned feed including spinal cord and brain tissue because cows become infected with the disease by sharing tissue membranes, often through their food.

But with the discovery of an infected cow in the U.S., Glickman’s term has come under new scrutiny. Glickman himself says the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) could have done more.

“In hindsight, we could have moved faster on some things,” he said, noting that he felt his administration should have prevented sick cows, known as “downer cows,” from going to the slaughterhouses and entering the food supply.

Current Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman announced the end of this practice after the discovery of an infected cow in Washington state on Dec. 23.

Going forward, Glickman recommended establishing a more sophisticated tracking and identification system to determine the location of the affected animals. Currently, an animal can only be tested for the disease after it is dead.

During his term in Washington, Glickman also commissioned the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis to study the risks of mad cow disease.

The center, part of the Harvard School of Public Health, found that the risks of an outbreak of mad cow disease in America were low.

A follow-up study was released last October, when an infected cow was discovered in Canada. Led by the center’s Executive Director George M. Gray, the study assessed the hypothetical risks of a Canadian cow infecting American cattle.

The study found that even if an infected animal entered the U.S. from Canada, the risk of the disease spreading through the American herd was low as a result of the feed ban passed under Glickman.

Despite the low risks, Gray recommended that the USDA begin to test beef for traces of spinal chord tissue.

Gray added that, while Glickman focused on an identification program for live cattle, that may not be effective.

“An identity program doesn’t help in preventing the spread of disease. It is not part of a protection system. I’ve focused on reducing the spreading of the disease,” he said.

Gray said that the USDA has not asked him to study the current state of the disease, but he said he has been contacted by media organizations and major newspapers for comment on the current risks.

Though Gray said he understands the anxiety surrounding mad cow disease, he said that it is interesting to note that “mad cow has pushed the flu off the front page.”

Glickman said yesterday that the discovery of an American case of mad cow disease has had dramatic consequences for the U.S. beef industry.

Meat exports to countries such as Japan, which imports $1 billion of beef, dropped to virtually nonexistent levels.

And though American consumption of beef has remained constant, prices have dropped by 25 percent.

Here in Cambridge, however, the line at Adams House Grill was as long as ever last night as diners clamored for their burgers.

“I’ll try not to think about it while I’m eating my burger, but it’s a pretty scary thought,” said Akweley D. Ablorh ’04.