Safety of cows and food

食肉の安全性

Fortunately, it seems that consumers need not worry about the safety of beef and dairy products.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says the situation is quite unexpected. While the outbreak of mad cow disease, which began in Britain in the mid-1980s, appeared to be coming under control after successive recurrences in European countries last year the mainstream opinion here was that there was little danger of an outbreak occurring in Japan. One now cannot help but wonder why the outlook was so indulgent.

The outbreak in Japan seems to have been caused by infected bonemeal imported from Britain as feed. Until the bonemeal imports were regulated by administrative guidance in 1996, an estimated 300 tons of this bonemeal, which is processed from scrap meat and bone, had entered Japan from Britain.

There have been three waves in the mad cow disease crisis. The first came in 1990, when the outbreak of the disease among cows in Britain became serious. The second was in 1996, when it was reported that a form of the disease could be transmitted to humans. More than 100 people were infected in European countries, mainly Britain. The third wave came in 2000, when frequent recurrences of the disease were reported in Europe. Now it seems to have reached Japan.

Japan's volume of bonemeal imports is small compared with European countries, but the nation's defensive measures against mad cow disease remain weak. When the disease became a serious issue in Britain in 1990, experts here said they were worried that the disease might enter Japan through imported beef products and so on. Adequate countermeasures were not taken, and the worries appear to have become reality 10 years later.

Feeding cows, which usually eat only grass, with bonemeal is a pitfall of modern stockbreeding, which puts priority on animal-growth efficiency. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is scheduled to submit legislation prohibiting the mixing of bonemeal with feed this fall too late, it seems, to prevent the disease from reaching these shores.

The incubation period for mad cow disease is two to eight years. This means the disease may yet sporadically appear in cows that ate bonemeal imported into Japan before 1996. The cow in Chiba Prefecture, which collapsed with symptoms of nerve damage it was unable to stand upright perhaps served as the first warning of this possibility.

The government first of all should make the utmost effort to clarify the route of infection. At the same time, it must conduct a fact-finding survey of how bonemeal has been used in Japan. It is also important that authorities quickly take inventory of bonemeal stock in Japan and make sure that whatever stock remains is not used.

The government also should establish a surveillance system to detect infected cows. The better able we are to find infected animals, the more effective we will be in preventing the disease from spreading. The government should strengthen its countermeasures so that we can look back on the occurrence in Chiba Prefecture and say, from a long-term viewpoint, that we were fortunate to spot it.

We now have a meat-oriented diet. Although maybe not on the same level as Westerners, the Japanese are consuming more and more beef. It would be hard to imagine the existence of the modern diet without stockbreeding. But modern stockbreeding, which puts priority on mass production and efficiency, has given rise to repeated bouts with foot-and-mouth disease and to mad cow disease.

Livestock infections easily pass beyond national borders. We must take a second look at livestock security. Over the past few years, European countries have struggled with measures against livestock infections. It is a serious problem. One mistake, and there could be political ramifications.

Mad cow disease is a matter that concerns the safety of our daily diet. Although the disease's level of penetration into Japan appears to be low at the moment and there is no danger of people being infected by beef or milk, the government should put food safety first and take the utmost precautions.

The Japan Times: Sept. 14, 2001
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     1980年代半ばに英国で最初に大量発生した狂牛病は、昨年ヨーロッパでの発生以降抑制されたかに見えた。日本で発生する危険は殆どないというのが国内の大方の意見だったが、今となっては見通しが甘かったというしかない。今回の発生は英国から飼料として輸入された骨粉による感染が原因とみられる。行政指導による96年の輸入規制までに推定300トンの骨粉が英国から入ってきた。

     狂牛病危機の最初の波は90年で、英国での大量発生だった。第二の波は96年、人間への感染の可能性が指摘された。ヨーロッパで100人以上の感染者が出た。第三の波は昨年で、ヨーロッパで発生が度々報告された。その狂牛病がついに、日本にも上陸したようだ。

     日本の骨粉の輸入はヨーロッパと比べて少量とはいえ、国の狂牛病対策は貧弱なままだ。90年、英国での流行が深刻になった時、専門家は輸入牛肉製品による感染を懸念していたが、政府は十分な対策を講じなかった。懸念は10年後に現実のものとなったのである。

     草食動物である牛に骨粉を与えることは、家畜の成長の効率に重きをおく現代の畜産の落とし穴といえる。農水省は飼料への骨粉混合を禁じる法案を今秋国会に提出する予定だが、予防策としてはもう遅い。

     2年から8年という狂牛病の潜伏期間を考えると、96年以前に輸入された骨粉を食べた牛が今後、発症する可能性もある。感染経路を明らかにするため、政府は最大限の努力をしなくてはならない。同時に国内の骨粉消費の調査が必要だ。在庫を確認して残っている骨粉の使用を禁止するとともに、感染拡大の予防策として、感染した牛を発見する監視制度を確立するなど、対策を強化すべきだ。

     日本人の牛肉消費量は増加傾向にあり、畜産の貢献なしの食生活は考えられない。しかし大量飼養と効率を優先する畜産業は、口蹄疫や狂牛病との戦いの原因を作っている。病気に感染した家畜が国境を越えるのは容易だ。家畜の安全の再考が求められる。ヨーロッパ諸国はここ数年、家畜伝染病対策に苦慮している。

     狂牛病は我々の日々の食事に関係のある問題だ。現時点では大量発生もなく、牛肉や牛乳からの感染の危険性はないとはいえ、政府は食品の安全性を最優先し、可能な限りの予防措置をとらなくてはならない。

The Japan Times Weekly
Sept 29, 2001
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