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SEP : Human BSE

"The SEP convened this independent workers inquiry to bring out the truth" Opening remarks by Barry Mason, chair of the Workers Inquiry into BSE/CJD, which were followed by a minutes silence for the victims of nvCJD. I would like to welcome you all to this Workers Inquiry into BSE/CJD. On March 20,1996 the then Tory Health Minister, Stephen Dorrell admitted in Parliament that 10 people under the age of 42 had died from a new form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He said that the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) had been considering work by the CJD surveillance unit in Edinburgh on the 10 cases and concluded that "the unit has identified a previously unrecognised and consistent disease pattern. A review of patient's medical histories, genetic analysis and consideration of other possible causes have failed to explain those cases adequately." Claiming that there was no scientific proof that BSE -- Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) also known as "mad cow disease" -- could be transmitted to humans via beef, he immediately contradicted himself, conceding that SEAC had "concluded that the most likely explanation at present is that those cases are linked to exposure to BSE before the introduction of the specified bovine offal ban in 1989." In these few lines Dorrell admitted the possibility of an enormous public health catastrophe facing thousands, or possibly hundreds of thousands of people over the next few decades. There is no known cure for CJD -- a fatal wasting disease which progressively destroys brain function, leaving the patient blind, mute and totally incapacitated, relieved only by death. Many relatives of nvCJD victims have explained that hearing Dorrell's announcement they thought "at last, something will be done". He had put into words -- albeit guardedly -- what thousands had suspected for years. After all BSE in cattle was not new. The disease in cattle was first diagnosed in November 1986. By the end of 1987 over 400 cases had been reported and the figures then began to explode, rising to over 36,500 in 1992 before beginning to tail off again. In 1996 there was still over 7,000 confirmed cases of BSE. Approximately 35,000 farms in Britain, about one third of farms with adult breeding cattle, had at least one case of BSE. Amongst dairy farms nearly 60% had been affected. In the 10 years between the first reported cases and Dorrell's announcement, two committees had been established by the government to look into the disease. The first, the Southwood Committee concluded that cattle were a "dead-end host" for BSE and that it would soon die out and the report of the second, the Tyrell committee, was held back by the government until January 1990. Many of its recommendations were ignored by the government -- such as the call to examine the brains of all routinely slaughtered cattle to see if they showed any signs of BSE. Over the same period, various government ministers had categorically ruled out any danger to humans from BSE infected beef. Everything was done to maintain this line -- including the harassment and intimidation of scientists who dared to raise their voices in opposition. Environment Minister John Selwyn Gummer even went so far as to publicly force feed his daughter beef burgers! What motivated the government, its various ministries and committees was not the health and safety of the population but the economic interests of the British beef industry. The grandmother of Vicky Rimmer reported that she had been told not to speak to the press and to "think about the economy and the Common Market". All their actions over the preceding period had been dictated by these concerns. Dorrell's announcement had dramatic implications. It implicated the government and its advisers not only in the 10 officially recognised nvCJD deaths but also of those destined to die in the future from this disease. Secondly, it threatened the total collapse of the beef industry with devastating consequences for the British economy. In the first days following the announcement this scenario began to unravel. A public outcry erupted and sales of beef plummeted. Supermarkets and fast food outlets took British beef off their shelves, schools removed it from their menus and cattle prices at auction hit the floor. There were reports of farmers committing suicide due to financial ruin, whilst thousands of food employees and hauliers were laid off. France and others announced a unilateral ban on British beef and beef products which was then followed by the imposition of a world wide ban by the European Union. The government responded by launching a chauvinist attack on Europe -- making it a patriotic duty to eat beef -- paralleled by claims that the dangers had now passed and British beef was now safe. Rather than Dorrell's announcement bringing an end to the cover-up, it simply moved up another gear. Once again government ministries and scientific bodies were wheeled out to back the official government line. The Labour Party and the TUC went along with this, criticising the government solely for its "incompetence" rather than any principled defence of working peoples' health. The press played a key role in suppressing the issues -- enforcing the anti-European line. Not one of those agencies which is supposedly entrusted with protecting the health and safety of British people, has ever made this their starting point. Their sole consideration has been to brush the BSE crisis under the carpet so that there can be a return to business as usual in the beef industry. As a result there is enormous confusion over BSE. There has been a substantial recovery in beef sales and the new Labour government has pledged to get the beef ban lifted at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile there are a million carcasses but no plan for their safe disposal, presenting a further risk to public health, whilst ordinary people have been saddled with a £4 billion bill to date to pay for a crisis not of their making. The SEP convened this independent workers inquiry to bring out the truth about the economic, social and scientific questions posed by this crisis. We approach this investigation from a definite standpoint -- that of the defence of ordinary working people whose lives, health and livelihoods are threatened by the unsafe production of food. We will not subordinate the search for the truth to the preservation of the profits of the beef industry nor the political fortunes of its defenders. Over the course of this day we will work collectively and systematically to establish how this happened and who is responsible. Only in this way is it possible to elaborate a programme for resolving what may yet prove to be the worst public health disaster this century, comparable only with AIDS. Previous Article | Next Article | Buy the Book