4 •
C ommentary
T he C lackamas P rint
F ebruary
4, 2004
Mad Cow disease jolts consumers
—
Has the Mad
Cow scare
changed your
meat eating
habits?
“I stopped
eating beef. I
haven’t eaten
at any fast
food restau
rants for like
2 months.
You never
know.”
Siena
Radford
“I don’t eat
meat, so there
is no Mad
Cow nothin’
in my diet.”
Jamie
Halder
I
Gluftonou Americans may benefit from scare
Ben Maras
O pinion E ditor
Be afraid, be very afraid—of
cows?
Yes, cows. Who would have
thought that old Bessie had it in her
to unleash such a plague on
humanity? Alright, to be fair, it
wasn’t just the fault of our friend
the bovine; we had a little hand in
it, too.
Mankind has created a monster.
It kills everyone it gets in its clutch
es through a horrible death, with
out exception. It can slip through
the most, densely-populated city
completely unnoticed; there is no
cure or preventative vaccine. The
worst thing is that it can’t even be
destroyed by heat—because it isn’t
even alive. ■
Bovine Spongiform Encephalo
pathy (BSE), a.k.a. Mad Cow dis
ease, is a degenerative disorder that
affects the nerves of (mainly) cat-
tie: It was spawned in Britain dur
ing the early ‘80s, first through
sheep, then spreading to cows. It
occurs when cattie are fed their
own kind; in other words, when
they eat feed that contains bovine
protein (similar to the insanity pro
duced by human cannibalism).
The term “Mad Cow disease”
did not become a household term
until 1996. Following the deaths of
procedures.
Although the disease is only
present in the brain and spinal
tissue of the affected animal,
sloppy butchering practices
can easily contaminate other
tissue, not to mention that
the
aforementioned
parts are used in the
making of hamburger.
And now this
monster
is
in
America, home of
the double-cheese-
burger and the two-
inch thick steak, but
could this curse
possibly be a bless
ing in disguise? '
Is it possible
that the tree-hug-
gers were right
about the many
benefits of organ
ic foods?
Although it may
cost them a little
more,
maybe
now America will
start shelling out
the extra dough to
protect themselves
from Frankenstein viruses and
other health concerns, considering
that organic food is almost infinite
ly more nutritious and tasty. Not to
mention better for the animals and
the environment.
It is said that “You are what you
eat,” and it is doubtful too many
11
people want to
mone-injected, mush-brained can
nibals. Since it seems the only way
to get through to the majority of
the American population is to scare
them to death, this may be just
what it needed to highlight an issue
that has been growingly significant
for many years.
Letters to the Editor
“Not at all. If
it’s gonna hap
pen, it’s gonna
happen.”
Profanity use Student says Opinion Editor blindsided by bias
I’m writing regarding the sure Clinton is glad he is out of the country’s health care. That’s
questionable “State
of Union...” article you office, because he would be what would happen here if we
Jamie
Peery
“I don’t go to
fast food that
much; it’s not
that big of a
deal.”
I write to protest the profanity
that was printed in the “Person on
the streef’ column concerning gay
and lesbian marriage. Are the
comments of Elisabeth Bishop
and “Skot” the best representa
tions of CCC? I believe not. Just
because they spoke or wrote
the words is insufficient justifica
tion to lower The Print to their
questionable standards—or lack
of standards.
---- LeRoy Cook
Chris
Bugg
Editor's Response:
“I think the
whole Mad
Cow thing is
overblown.”
Joseph
Stone
The above letter refers to page 4 of
Issue 7 where profanity was used in
direct quotes from students. We referred
to the AP Style Guide in this matter;
which to quote directly, said: “Do not
use [profanities] in stories unless they
are part of direct quotations and there
is a compelling reason to use them. ”
We concluded that there was a com
pelling reason, being as the words were
used in quotes on the Commentary page,
and thy were relevant to the intent and
meaning of the quote. We also contact
ed other newspapers, including the
University of Oregon’s “Oregon Daily
Emerald, ” whose managing editor
advised us to print the words unedited.
“I don’t usual
ly eat fast
food, but at
my house
nothing’s real
ly changed.”
Brandon
Hadley
10 young people, the British gov
ernment admitted, something was
wrong with their meat supply, and
they had been suspecting .it for the
past 10 years ... whoops!
It appears the tainted meat was
sold to the British people without
their knowledge, and the World
Health Organization
has said that
_
the tainted meat and feed could
nave spread all across the globe and
it is nearly impossible to determine
where.
The British government’s solu
tion to die dilemma was to destroy
any animal suspected of being
infected with BSE ... except that
the disease cannot be destroyed by
heat, since it is not alive. Lab tests
have determined that even after the
cow is a smoldering pile of ash, the
disease lives on, waiting for a new
victim.
As little as one teaspoon of
tainted feed can transfer the disease
to the unsuspecting cow, and once
it is consumed by humans, can
develop into a variant of BSE
known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
(CJD or vCJD). According to
some, the disease can lie dormant
for up to 30 years before wreaking
havoc on the nervous system and
turning the brain into Swiss cheese.
It is even thought that some
200,000 American senior citizens
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease
may in fact have been suffering
from misdiagnosed GJD, since
brain biopsies are not common
-The Clackamas Print
wrote about President Bush. blamed for all of this also. Yes,
You are so completely blind- our economy is in a slump and
sided by your bias. that half of many people are struggling, but
what said was completely wrong. President Bush has had almost
Many things you wrote were no effett on that.
You have also never actually
incorrect. Starting off, yes, there
studied
is a “War on
socialized
Terror.”
You
health care
obviously
have
“You obviously
before. Yes,
forgotten about
have forgotten
everyone in
the capture of a
our country
dictator who mur
the capture of a
would have
dered millions of
dictator who
health care,
people during his
but in social-
reign.
murdered mil
ized
medi-
Yes, over 500
lions
of
people
cine,
the
soldiers have died
during his
standard of
to find Saddam
care dimin
and restore peace
reign.”
ishes. In this
in Iraq, but that’s
system, if a
war! Lives are lost
Andrew Wheeler
surgery
is
in war.. It’s not
Clackamas student
performed
pretty and it does
incorrectly, it
n’t make it easier
will not be
on anyone, espe
cially the families, Those sol- redone correctly. It just costs
diers fought and died for a too much to fix all the mistakes
that are made. That person
cause.
Think about it this way: dur would just be out of luck. This
ing World War 2, somewhere has happened to me personally.
around 250,000 American sol I had a tibia-fibula fracture sur
diers lost their lives. That war gery performed in Canada, who
was to capture and remove a dic has socialized health care. The
tator who was murdering mil surgeon messed up the surgery
lions of people. I totally believe horribly.
I had the surgery redone one.
that every life is' sacred and
those soldiers that lost their fives month later here in Portland.
That redo would never have
should be honored.
The next part of the article happened in Canada. The sur
talks about the economy. We are geon here told that if I wouldn’t
in a recession!! Our president have had it redone, I probably
has very little to do with that. would .not be walking in five
Our country has been moving years after the initial surgery.
Also, in Canada, the govern
into a recession since partway
into Clinton’s presidency. I’m ment jacks up taxes to pay for
would go to socialized health
care. So, our taxes would raise
and the standard of health care
would diminish.
Yeah, that
sounds like a great idea!
On to the next point, which is
on the gay marriage ban. This
country was founded on
Christian principles and morals.
They are written over all the
documents and memorials. We
can take God out of everything
in our country, but that will
never erase history. The Holy
Bible is extremely clear on
homosexual relationships. They
are strictly forbidden.
God intended man and
woman to be one in the sanctity
of marriage. Our country was
founded on Christian beliefs and
the further we get from that
foundation, the closer we get to
the destruction of our country.
Look at the great empires of
history. What broke up those
kingdoms? Pride, immorality,
greed. That is exactly what our
country is going through now.
These things are driving us apart
and will, eventually destroy us.
I know that you are the opin- t
ion editor, and this article was
your opinion.
One word of
advice: you need to include all
the facts, not just skip over the
details to make your side look
better.
Sincerely,
—Andrew Wheeler
Clackamas Student
Have an opinion on genetic engineering of humans?
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