1st Edition

Mad Cow Crisis Health And The Public Good

Edited By Scott Ratzan Copyright 1998

    The announcement that BOSER might cause a fatal human disease "Creutzfeldt- Jacob disease CJD" triggered enormous media attention, public alarm and government wrangling that threatened the future of European integration.; As Scott Ratzan argues: "It is my belief that the [BOSER crisis] represents a quintessential case that will go down in history as the Exxon Valdez Union Carbide's Bhopal accident, and other such cases of interdisciplinary study".; This book offers lessons learned from the crisis, with contributions from experts with different viewpoints - veterinarians, Eurocrats, public relations experts, politicians, policy- makers, journalists and representatives of the beef industry.; It also offers a compilation of the key reports from governmental bodies. as a case-study in policy-making, scientific/health discovery and dissemination of information, as well as looking at the issues from the perspective of psychology and media studies.

    Preface, Acknowledgments, Introduction, Part I: Scientific/Historical Perspectives, Chapter 1. BSE: A Veterinary History, Chapter 2. Transmissibility of BSE Across Species, Chapter 3. Sheep to Cows to Man: A History of TSEs, Chapter 4. Can the Spread of BSE and CJD be Predicted?, Chapter 5. Chronic Uncertainty and BSE Communications: Lessons from (and Limits of) Decision Theory, Part II: Politics as Health, Chapter 6. BSE and CJD: Recent Developments, Chapter 7. Mad Cows and Englishmen, Chapter 8. BSE: A Tragedy is Public Health in Reverse, Chapter 9. The Politics of BSE: Negotiating the Public’s Health, Chapter 10. Protecting Health: Can the UK do Better?, Part III: Understanding the Crisis, Chapter 11. Madness, Metaphors and Miscommunication: The Rhetorical Life of Mad Cow Disease, Chapter 12. Media Coverage of the Mad Cow Issue, Part IV: Lessons and Possibilities, Chapter 13. Avoiding, Averting and Managing Crisis: A Checklist for the Future, Chapter 14. Farming with Nature: A Solutions-Oriented Strategy, Chapter 15. Strategies for Attaining Public Health, Appendices, Afterword, Notes on Contributors, Index

    Biography

    Ratzan, Scott