The issue of NAIS and animal disease has come to the surface, yeah! But to understand some of the problems with it, people need to have a little farming education background. Here's my attempt to explain Mad Cow, NAIS etc, in "non-farmer" terms.
There are many people who are still quite scared of Mad Cow, as they should be, within reason. Many people don't know where Mad Cow came from, officially, or unofficially. If they knew, they would probably have even more worry in their lives, but in the theory of "where there's knowledge, there's power," here goes.
Mad Cow (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy)is very rare, anywhere. It is not contagious from cow to cow, or from person to person. It showed up in the 1980's in the UK, and subsequently has continued to occur there and in other areas of Europe and North America. A related disease, scrapie(TSE), occurs in sheep, and possibly goats. On the theory that milk production increases with increased proteins in the feed resulted in the practice of grinding sheep, older animals, and other animal-based products into the grain mix and feeding them as part of the pelleted ration. Since cows are ruminants, their bodies are not designed to break down meat based proteins, so any infection carried by the source feed animal could find a new host in the consuming cow.
There is concern that Mad Cow could be passed from cow to calf, which has shown to be possible, however, the exact mode of transmission is not yet known, and is rare. Mad Cow can be carried for a long time with no symptoms, but once an animal begins to show symptoms, the progress of the disease is quite rapid. It is unlikely that a sick cow would be sick through two pregnancies. Since a cow's gestation is 9.5 months, and they don't resettle if they are stressed, or ill, it is logical to believe that only one calf could be born from a sick cow. There appears to be sign at this point, that it is carried in the milk, but may be passed in utero.
In an attempt to stop the disease, Great Britain, and other countries including the USA, stopped the practice of feeding bone meal, blood meal or other animal carcasses to cattle, sheep or goats. The disease has continued to progress despite this precaution. So what could be causing it?
A British farmer, Mark Purdey, noticed that BSE wasn't showing up on the organic farms in the UK. He then noticed it didn't appear on other smallholdings, where a more sustainable approach was taken to animal husbandry. While the food mix could certainly be part of the equation, he also noticed the growing use of a particular pesticide used to control the warble fly. This chemical was applied to the dorsal ridge of the cattle, and seeped into the skin to stop the infestation. However, he also wondered it if might be affecting the animal's own chemistry. He began to do some testing on his own, and through the use of manganese, copper and zinc manipulation, he was able to reproduce the twisted protein, the prion, which causes Mad Cow.
The chemical used in controlling the warble fly, is an organophosphate. It may alter the internal chemistry of a herd where certain levels of manganese are high and copper levels are low. Though Mr. Purdey was not able to gain acceptance of his theory, Dr. David Brown, of Cambridge University, also came to a very similar conclusion in his research. Neither has had their research published in "The Lancet" or veterinary journals. The use of organophosphates contineus to be rampant in industrial agriculture.
The case of Mad Cow in America continues to be a problem. Such chemicals are still being used, though random testing has shown few infections. However, conducting tests on every carcass is cheaper than forcing every farmer in the country to register, tag and report every animal movement. This continues to be a disease of big farms, not sustainable operations. By the way, the USDA's definition of a small farm is one that makes less than $250,000 year. There is no way my farm could ever produce that, but it gives you a sense of the USDA Scale of concern.
Personally, I have to say that the last publicized case of the cow from Southern USA contracting it, seems a bit odd. Again, this is my personal questioning, but the cow was conveniently "over 10 years old." (Older than that and teeth begin to fail, so aging is difficult. Also, the feed ban was put in place a bit more than 10 years ago.) She supposedly had been through 13 farms in her life. To me, this makes no sense. If she was a dairy cow, which most of the cases have been, the average age for such a cow is 6 years of less. A 10 year old cow is a very old, and she would have to be one "heck of a producer" to stay alive for that long. If that were the case, I can't imagine a farmer would sell her, or that a number of farmers would sell her repeatedly. If a cow doesn't produce, or can't stay healthy, she becomes a meat source. Also the claim that she wasn't traceable doesn't seem to hold water. If she was a dairy cow, she had to have been tested regularly for Bangs Disease and TB. She had to have a permanent form of identification (as much as anything is permanent) as her veterinarian would have to sign off that she (the cow) had indeed definitely tested negative for those diseases, and continued to be healthy. I may be wrong, and certainly different states have different rules, but it is a rare situation where a single cow could pass under the radar in a licensed dairy repeatedly for 10+ years. It does make sense if she was born at one farm, and sold to a second for rearing, and a third or more for production, but 13 seems like an awfully high number. I could be wrong though, I just wonder.
One other part of the Mad Cow issue that escapes most scrutiny is that it is found in the nervous tissues of animals, the brain, spine, and tail. Since we rarely consume those parts of cows in this country, the chances are lower that it could be a source, but there are those who do eat oxtail soup, or other international delicacies.
Yes, it does make sense to know where our food comes from. But it doesn't take a NAIS to do that. Dairy and beef cattle must already be traceable through existing methods. NAIS was developed in part by the people who develop those systems. They are smart and see the possible markets if every animal had to be tracked that same way. But commercial, industrial farms are not run the same way as small, medium and sustainable operations. The same chemicals and techniques are not used, nor are the animals observed individually as they are in small, sustainable operations. Mad Cow is a problem that needs to be addressed, but a simple, inexpensive test is now available. Why not make sure every cow is safe by a test, rather than hope that EVERY animal is tagged through a national order?
The USDA wants a traceback. What better traceback than direct sales from the farmer to the consumer? I know it's not possible for everyone, but if regulations were more reasonable for the small farmer, and if people knew about the value of buying directly, or supporting sustainable farms through CSA's, farmers market, subscription farming, etc, then it would be easier to keep our food safer. Also, industrial scale farming risks many more people with an outbreak than the number of people who may get sick from a particular farm. (That being said, the vast majority of small farms produce superior food, in taste and in healthfulness.)
I hope that helps clarify the case against NAIS through Mad Cow protection. There is a lot that the public can learn about agriculture, but in my state (MA) agriculture is slated to be taught in kindergarden for 1 week. This used to be the science class, social studies course and math class for entire civilizations. Now we teach it to 5 year olds by saying "pet the pretty pony." We need an informed consumer base, and the next generation needs the chance to experience the lessons/values of the farm in person. Urban kids can get a chance through educational farms, community gardens and other programs. Suburban and rural kids need to get out of their video games and find out for themselves, and so do their parents. One reason that NAIS has gotten as far as it has is because the USDA and Industry thought that no one cared, or only the farmers did. This fight is showing them to be wrong, which is great! Thank you for asking, and for caring.