At stake, the future of American beef

CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA/ONLY IN AMERICA

TIMES Of INDIA NEWS NETWORK

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2003 11:04:16 PM

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There is an apocryphal story from the 1980s about a top BJP leader who was caught dining out on steak during a visit to the United States, at a time when his party had made the alleged use of beef tallow in vanaspati a major political issue. Confronted by a still-maverick opposition politician, the now revered leader is said to have joked, "Arre, yeh to American gai hain! (Oh, this is an American cow.)"

Well, the American cow is on its way to becoming an unholy no-no across the world following the detection of the first mad cow infection in the US . Some 15 countries have banned import of American beef with great speed and considerable relish, which suggests a certain payback for how persnickety Americans are when it comes to interdicting other country's goods, including pine cones from India because it contained some runaway beetles.

Unless the mad cow fears are calmed quickly, it will be a devastating blow to the American cattle industry, which was just starting to recover from years of being in the dumps. Only last week, ranchers and livestock merchants across the US were congratulating themselves on the return of beef to the American menu.

Business was so good that there were reports of ranchers in the Midwest buying expensive jewelry for their wives for Christmas. $85,000 tractors and $ 35,000 SUVs were said to be flying out of showrooms.

Americans have had a love- hate relationship with beef. The nation was consuming an all-time high 89 lbs of beef per capita in the mid-1970s when a Senate committee, citing health concerns, issued dietary recommendations that suggested eating more chicken and less red meat. Within three years, beef consumption dropped to 73 lbs. By the mid-1990s, it was down to 61 lbs, a stunning 31 per cent decline over two decades.

The turnaround came in the late 1990s. Several health experts, led by the diet guru Dr Robert Atkins, argued that the real culprit behind obesity was not fat, but starch. Protein was in, fat was okay, but carbs invited barbs. The American beef against cattle was totally misplaced.

So meat began making a comeback at the expense of potatoes. Beef consumption went by 10 per cent since the new protein-and-fat diets caught fire in 1998.

Meanwhile, because of the anti-meat mood of the 1990s, American ranchers had reduced the size of their herds from 103.5 million cattle in 1996 to around 96 million in 2003. A five-year drought in the Midwest made beef even rarer. Then Canada discovered its first mad cow and Canadian beef imports were banned. Prices jumped. Celebrations ensued.

A little too early, it would seem. The situation is now considered so serious that agriculture secretary Ann Veneman had to announce that beef was on her menu for Christmas. The White House too said Bush has continued to eat beef since the first case was detected.