BSE: Britain Scared of Eating?

One story I've been following for some time now is the 'mad cow disease' panic in the UK. It is an interesting case study in the risk society.

BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) was first identified in cattle in 1986. In the 1990s, cases of Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD) were identified in young people for the first time. CJD is generally a condition affecting older people. This variant CJD has been linked to BSE. This is still a theory, and there are alternative explanations for the sudden appearance of this disease. What is clear, however, is that vCJD remains a rare disease.

The latest figures bear this out. Far from increasing exponentially, vCJD cases seem to be falling. In 1995, there were three cases identified. In 2000, the peak year, there were 28. Last year, there were only 17.

What is interesting is how the government's reaction has been out of all proportion to the danger posed by the disease. It is driven by consumer anxiety, an unwillingness to trust in its own science and by the precautionary principle.

UK CJD statistics

Articles about CJD