Howard:
Absolutely.
Oprah:
That's an extreme statement you know?
Howard:
Absolutely, and what we're looking at right now is we're following
exactly the same path that they followed in England. Ten years
of dealing with it as public relations rather than doing something
substantial about it. 100,000 cows per year in the United States
are fine at night, dead in the morning. The majority of those
cows are rounded up, ground up, fed back to other cows. If only
one of them has Mad Cow Disease, has the potential to effect thousands.
Remember today, the United States, 14% of all cows by volume are
ground up, turned into feed, and fed back to other animals.
Oprah:
But cows are herbivores, they shouldn't be eating other cows
Howard:
That's exactly right, and what we should be doing is exactly what
nature says, we should have them eating grass not other cows.
We've not only turned them into carnivores, we've turned them
into cannibals.
Oprah:
Now see, wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me just ask you this
right now Howard. How do you know the cows are ground up and fed
back to the other cows?
Howard:
Oh, I've seen it. These are U.S.D.A. statistics, they're not something
we're making up.
Oprah:
Now doesn't that concern you all a little bit, right here, hearing
that?
Audience:
Yeah!
Oprah:
It has just stopped me cold from eating another burger!
Audience:
(Claps loudly and shouts) yeah!
Oprah:
Dr. Gary Weber says we do not have a reason to be concerned, but
that in itself is disturbing to me, cows should not be eating
other cows!
Dr.
Gary Weber: Well, let me clarify that. There is a reason to
be concerned. We've learned from the tragedy in Great Britain
and made a decision here both government...
Oprah:
Well we learned in the past two weeks...
Weber:
No, no, we started taking initiatives ten years ago to make sure
this never happened here. Let me go back and correct a couple
of things. Number one, we do not have BSE in this country and
we have a ten year history of surveillance to document that based
on science, we do not have it. Also, we have not imported any
beef in this country since 1985 from Great Britain.
Oprah:
Are we feeding cattle to the cattle?
Weber:
There is a limited amount of that done in the United States...
Audience:
(groans)
Weber:
Hang on just a second now... the food and drug administration...
Oprah:
'cause I have to just tell you that is alarming to me, that is
alarming to me.
Weber:
Yeah, now keep in mind that before you view the ruminant animal,
the cow is simply vegetarian, remember that they drink milk.
Oprah:
So you're saying that this could never happen here?
Weber:
No, we're doing everything we need to do.
Oprah:
I know, but Dr. Weber are you saying that we've been watching
this for ten years, are you saying that every cow that's ever
died, they've examined the reason why that cow died, before they
ground that cow up and fed him to another cow?
Weber:
No that's not what I'm saying, I'm saying we do not have the disease
here, we've got ten years of data, the best scientists in the
world who are looking for this. Over 250 trained technicians and
veterinarians around the country. Everyone's watching for this,
everyone would like to in a way, want to find this if it is there
because they want to protect our industry and of course the public.
Oprah:
OK, lets meet this man, Dr. Will Hueston is with the United States
Department of Agriculture. Dr. Hueston, you think Mad Cow is a
threat to U.S. cattle?
Dr.
Will Hueston: I think it's an issue we need to be on top of
at all times but there's no evidence at all that we have the Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy in the United States.
Oprah:
What dya' just say?
Audience:
(laughs)
Hueston:
What I, yes, I've given you a mouthful, but I think it's important
Oprah, and especially, and I appreciate you having this show to
help clarify some of these issues...
Oprah:
Yeah, me too!
Hueston:
That the term Mad Cow stimulates a whole lot of feelings and concerns
in people, and remember cows can get mad for a lot of reasons.
This is a disease, a specific disease in Great Britain, a tragic
disease of cattle called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and
we use they initials B.S.E.
Oprah:
OK, I wanna know why Howard, who used to be a cattle rancher,
it was a cattle rancher you were?
Howard:
Yes.
Oprah:
Why are you now a vegetarian? What made you turn?
Howard:
Well, what I know about what is happening out there with cattle,
like feeding cows to cows, I look at it and say that's a risk
that I am unwilling to take. The same things that we've heard
here today, is exactly what was heard for ten years in England,
"Not to worry, we're on top of this." You know, we've had a ban
in the United States of feeding sheep to cows for a long time,
but when they went out and looked, 25% of the renderers admitted
that they were paying no attention to it. Voluntary bans do not
work and if we continue to do what we're doing, feeding animals
to animals, I believe we are going to be in exactly the same place
because I've heard all of these things before in England, we're
on top of this, it's safe, we would not put the public at risk,
they have put the public at risk.
Oprah:
Yeah, of course they said that, yeah. Even Dr. Weber, you know
that of course they said that, because what else are they going
to say? What else are they going to say? They going to say public
you are at risk, some of you may die and the cows are going to
go crazy, they couldn't say that.
Howard:
Ask yourself the question. Today we could do exactly what the
English did and cease feeding cows to cows. Why in the world are
we not doing that? Why are we skating around this and continuing
to do it when everybody sitting here knows that, that would be
the safest thing to do, why is it, why is it? Because we have
the greedy that are getting the ear of government instead of the
needy and that's exactly why we're doing it.
Audience:
(applause)
Oprah:
We have a lot of questions about this Mad Cow Disease that we'd
like to try to get resolved, because we don't want to just alarm
you all, but I have to tell you, I'm thinking about the cattle
being fed to the cattle and that's pretty upsetting to me, Yes
mam?
Audience
Member: I just had one question, I'm confused about why cattle
are being fed lamb and why are they being fed beef?
Howard:
Well, what it comes down to is about half of the slaughter of
animals is non-sellable to humans. They either have to pay to
put it into the dump or they sell it for feed, they grind it up
turn it into something that looks like brown sugar, add to it
all of the animals that died unexpectantly, all of the road kills
and the euthinized animals,. add it to em', grind it up and feed
it back to other animals. It's about as simple as you can be.
We are doing something to an animal that was never intended to
be done.
Oprah:
OK, so the point I wanted to ask Dr. Weber, and I think I asked
this earlier, but let's get this clear, Oh that's your point isn't
it?, during the commercial break, oh the lady in black, what was
your question? You can ask it.
Audience
Member: My question was, are the animals tested before they're
ground? Are all of the animals that are ground into feed that
are fed to the cows?
Weber:
There is no test other than analyzing the brains, and sinc we
don't have animals with these symptoms, not every brain is going
to be evaluated.
Oprah:
OK, so the answer to your question is no.
Weber:
Its no, that's correct. No animal can enter the plant that has
any of these symptoms, by law. And there's veterinarians and inspections
and it doesn't happen Howard and you know it. It doesn't happen.
Howard:
Oh come on, let's get real! Any animal that is not staggering
around goes in there, you know as well as I do, we have 100,000
cows per year that die. They take 2,700 brains out, of those less
than a hundred of them, they look for prions, they were looking
for Spongiform. We ended up feeding downed cows to mink, the mink
come with the disease, transferred it to animals, the animals
came down with it, and your sitting here telling everybody that
it's safe, not true.
Weber:
Howard, Howard, I understand..
Audience:
(applause)
(End
of Segment)
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