How The Cows Turned Mad

Fear of mad cow disease, a lethal illness transmitted from infected beef to humans, has spread from Europe to the United States and around the world. Originally published to much acclaim in France, this scientific thriller, available in English for the first time and updated with a new chapter on developments in 2001, tells of the hunt for the cause of an enigmatic class of fatal brain infections, of which mad cow disease is the latest incarnation. In gripping, nontechnical prose, Maxime Schwartz details the deadly manifestations of these diseases throughout history, describes the major players and events that led to discoveries about their true nature, and outlines our current state of knowledge. The book concludes by addressing the question we all want answered: should we be afraid? The story begins in the eighteenth century with the identification of a mysterious illness called scrapie that was killing British sheep. It was not until the 1960s that scientists understood that several animal and human diseases, including scrapie, were identical, and together identified them as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). The various guises assumed throughout history by TSE include an illness called kuru in a cannibalistic tribe in Papua New Guinea, an infectious disease that killed a group of children who had been treated for growth hormone deficiencies, and mad cow disease. Revealing the fascinating process of scientific discovery that led to our knowledge of TSE, Schwartz relates pivotal events in the history of biology, including the Pasteurian revolution, the birth of genetics, the emergence of molecular biology, and the latest developments in biotechnology. He also explains the Nobel Prize–winning prion hypothesis, which has rewritten the rules of biological heredity and is a key link between the distinctive diseases of TSE. Up-to-date, informative, and thoroughly captivating, How the Cows Turned Mad tells the story of a disease that continues to elude on many levels. Yet science has come far in understanding its origins, incubation, and transmission. This authoritative book is a stunning case history that illuminates the remarkable progression of science.

A gripping biological detective story that traces the history of mad cow disease and related infectious brain disease of livestock and people. The book also illustrates dramatically how scientific progress unfolds as researchers in various countries pursue new ideas and leads in order to identify the cause of and relationship between these enigmatic diseases.

Explains mad cow disease, what it is, how it is passed from cows to humans, and possible treatment options.

Told by the man who kicked off the infamous lawsuit between Oprah and the cattlemen, Mad Cowboy is an impassioned account of the highly dangerous practices of the cattle and dairy industries. Howard Lyman's testimony on The Oprah Winfrey Show revealed the deadly impact of the livestock industry on our well-being. It not only led to Oprah's declaration that she'd never eat a burger again, it sent shock waves through a concerned and vulnerable public. A fourth-generation Montana rancher, Lyman investigated the use of chemicals in agriculture after developing a spinal tumor that nearly paralyzed him. Now a vegetarian, he blasts through the propaganda of beef and dairy interests—and the government agencies that protect them—to expose an animal-based diet as the primary cause of cancer, heart disease, and obesity in this country. He warns that the livestock industry is repeating the mistakes that led to Mad Cow disease in England while simultaneously causing serious damage to the environment. Persuasive, straightforward, and full of the down-home good humor and optimism of a son of the soil, Mad Cowboy is both an inspirational story of personal transformation and a convincing call to action for a plant-based diet—for the good of the planet and the health of us all.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease, is a concern as tainted beef has caused deadly outbreaks of the disease around the world.

Mad Cow U.S.A. shatters the false belief that the government and food industry would never let it happen here. Even as tens of thousands of cows died in Britain, the government denied the risk to human beings. Knowing the similar risk in the U.S., government and industry have managed a successful public relations offensive to keep Americans in the dark. Rampton and Stauber expose, for the first time, the deadly game of "dementia roulette" being played with our food supply.

Tenacious Vermont farmer Ruth Willmarth has survived tough times before, but when news of mad cow disease spreads, she can't help but worry about her own resiliency--and her own small herd. Two healthy looking calves she recently bought are under "suspicion" by officials. The fear factor rises when Ruth's farm becomes the temporary home to a small horde of Irish visitors, relatives of her lover, Colm. One woman in the group, an abused wife, may have actually contracted the human form of the dreaded disease during a recent hospital stay. Now she has disappeared. When her husband is found dead in the river, strangled with horse reins, a panicking community assumes a mad-cow-disease-riddled killer is on the loose. But Ruth, able to discern truth from terror, looks elsewhere, finding twisted secrets, greed, manipulation and more death, as she tries to hold on to her sanity, and her farm.

Mark Purdey's life changed one day in 1984, when a Ministry of Agriculture inspector told him he must administer a toxic organophosphate pesticide to his dairy herd. Passionately committed to organic farming and convinced of the harmful effects of chemicals in the environment, he refused to comply. "It was as if my whole life became focused," he explained later. Before they had a chance to prosecute, Purdey took the Ministry to court and won his case. Those experiences led him to challenge the orthodox line on the origins of Mad Cow Disease and its human counterpart, variant CJD. Could the insecticide used in the official program have precipitated the spread of the disease? Purdey's quest to discover the truth was hampered at every turn by government bureaucracies and self-serving scientific cliques who sought to smear and marginalize him. Dogged by dirty tricks and forced to work alone as something of a scientific sleuth, he struggled to reveal hidden interests and dangerous secrets. His supporters included many members of the public, as well as Prince Charles, as well as the poet Ted Hughes, who wrote to him expressing "a million congratulations." Increasingly sceptical of the official narrative, Purdey was certain that toxic environmental factors would provide answers, and so embarked on a self-funded worldwide odyssey to investigate. Animal Pharm follows him on these eco-detective trails to locations as diverse as Iceland, Sardinia, Colorado, and Australia. Purdey uncovers contamination from industry, munitions, pesticides, nuclear experiments, and natural geology, linking these with the emergence of a range of neurodegenerative diseases. His research is at once compelling and disturbing, helping to create a paradigm shift in our understanding of the relationship of pollutants to disease and health.