Class 24: Mad Cow Disease
Discussion
Read "British Researchers Link 10 Brain Infection Cases" from the Washington Post, "Why
we won't take the risk" by Robert Matthews in the Sunday Telegraph, and "Britain's Daunting
Propsect: Killing 15,000 cows a week" from the New York Times about Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease (CJD).
The population of Great Britain is about 58,000,000. How many cases of CJB would
you expect in a year? Why is everyone so concerned about these 10 cases? Should
they be?
What do you think of Robert Matthews independence argument?
How small would the odds of catching CJD from eating beef have to be for you to think
no action should be taken by the British government? Linda is considering becoming
vegetarian. How big would the odds have to be for you to turn vegetarian?
The New York Times article says that the stringent enforcement of the regulations
(concerning animal feed) has paid off. What are other possible explanations for
the smaller numbers of cases of mad cow disease for cows with later birth years?
Do you think Great Britain is justified in killing all cows over 30 months old?
Homework for Monday, April 13
Read Chapters 21 and 22 in FPPA. Do review exercises 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10 for Chapter
21 and review exercises 1, 5, 7, 8, 11, and 12 for Chapter 22.