Just a few, Sir. All's in hand.
It's our view, Sir, you'll understand
That there's nothing much the matter,
And this scare's just idle chatter.
The boffins they got down to work,
And found a direct line,
Between scrapie (a disease of sheep)
And the new disease in kine.
Well, soon the news begins to leak;
A hundred cases every week!
Don't worry, Sir, we've got it pat;
We'll stop it spreading just like that.
It really won't be hard to do
Now that we know to what it's due.
To get an extra pint a day,
The food producers had agreed,
The best and most efficient way,
Was ground-up meat waste in their feed.
Though cooked, unlike other diseases,
Scrapie had leapt across the species.
The numbers, Sir, will soon go down.
You musn't fret, you needn't frown..
We've banned the feed; the danger's past,
We told you that it wouldn't last.
Meanwhile, in labs, in zoos, on farms,
Mice and monkeys, pigs and mink,
Across the land ring new alarms;
From cats to kudu; what's the link?
In all, the same sad signs are found;
BSE has got around!
Two hundred cases every week;
That's normal, Sir, we've reached the peak
.
We really have no doubts at all,
That numbers now will start to fall.
It's now well known that cooking heat,
Does not destroy this cruel infection.
So every burger that you eat,
May bring this plague in your direction.
And still the weekly numbers grow;
(Compensation helps, you know).
Now really, Sir, we must insist,
You stop this aggravating list.
Scrapie always let us be,
So why this fear of BSE?
If scrapie first can be transferred
By feeding cows infected tissue
It really isn't too absurd
To see transferral as an issue.
From sheep to cow, from cow to cat,
Why shouldn't man be part of that?
What you say, Sir, is quite absurd..
Rather than hear another word,
We'll shut our ears; we'll hear no more.
Your briefcase, Sir; your coat; the door!
BSE starts slow but steady.
It takes a while to incubate.
Some cows that have the bug already,
are sure to end up on our plate.
Eighty percent of those infected,
May reach our tables undetected.
A minute risk, Sir, we confess,
But there's a way to stop this mess
The abbattoirs will throw away
The bits worth pennies anyway.
Mad cow disease can go no further.
No use working up a lather.
We found the source and broke the chain.
The numbers will go down again.
That's fine; it sounds very pretty,
BSE, goodbye, so long.
But people, here's the nitty gritty.
The Min of Ag. may have it wrong.
500 cases weekly show
Their estimates were somewhat low.
You doubt us, Sir! But can you prove
That BSE's still on the move?
Please eat your beefsteak with impunity
We're quite convinced of man's immunity.
All well and good, but please explain
Why cows have gone on falling ill.
Since feed's no longer in the chain,
30000 head they've had to kill.
If fodder didn't cause their doom
They might have caught it in the womb.
Not so, Sir, not at all, no way!
And what is more we're glad to say,
We've tested all the bits you eat;
There's no infection in your meat.
800 cases weekly now;
Its soon apparent that the test
For meat infection in the cow
Decidedly was not the best
And dangerous levels of infection
Escaped the scientist's detection.
How many times, Sir, must we say,
That BSE will go away?
We've briefed the vets, we've paid the farmers,
What you don't know now - can't harm us!
Man also hosts a malady,
That much resembles BSE.
It also has no remedy;
It's known for short as CJD.
In 4 years it's increased twofold.
Don't you think we should be told?
But Sir, that's simply happenstance,
A curious effect of chance.
6 farmers dead? two kids infected?
That's all? No cause to be dejected.
If we did what you say we should,
The farming lobby'd have our blood.
So cool the figures, calm the press,
The country can't afford the mess.
What! Slaughter whole herds and restock?
The industry would die of shock.
And paying all that compensation,
Would rapidly bankrupt the nation.
In March up stand the Commons men
For health and farming side by side
"It looks as 8 or even ten
young ones with new CJD have died
But all that we told you before
is good as we can do no more"
Fifteen new young CJD
Reported as the year goes past
They start to say "its in MAFF tea"
With media headlines all aghast
Promises from MAFF weren't met
It seems the laws were badly set
What chance now that someone with the prion
Gives blood that victims still rely on?
They hope the sang can save them still
Beware, the future may turn ill.
New CJD from cows?; What rot!
BSE's just scrapie. It's a lot
Of worry for a harmless pest
BSE is going and its best
Researchers at St Mary's showed
scrapie was not the same as BSE
Indeed in Nature they even vowed
That from cows we got new CJD
But pity the farmer who's been shaken
and "eat your beef" the risk's been taken
So is it just coincidence,
Or are these deaths the first of many?
Will BSE, slow death, advance,
In humans and their progeny?
One thing is sure; our precious State,
Won't tell us till it's much too late!
Be it nobler to enjoy the good-eating of a hamburger,
and then suffer the brain-eating destruction of BSE?
Or to live on vegetables, chicken, and food from the sea.
Do you dare to partake and eat tainted steak?
Do you eat any beef and chance becoming mad;
or do you stick to your veggies, and just be sad?
Will BSE make "cow"ards of us all?
The answer you see depends on BSE.
When the bovine craving becomes too great,
then let this verse help set you straight.
by Tom and Peg Chase
No man is a mad cow disease victim, entire of himself,
When one eats infected beef, and others do the same,
They too become victims of this fate.
BSE knows no age, rank, or gender;
And its venom forces a mind into permanent surrender.
Even if we are one of the lucky ones, we still cannot be
sure,
For BSE could just be dormant.
Ask not for whom the bull tolls, it tolls for thee.
(Tom Chase details under Comet Hyakutake)
There is a Wiltshire band called The Mad Cow Band. Unfortunately I have no contacts.
As Comet Hyakutake became visible in March 1996, the issue of Mad Cow Disease or BSE was announced to the public in England. English farmers had created an epidemic of BSE in English cattle by feeding material from sheep to the cattle. Some of the sheep were infected with this brain disease, resulting in cattle becoming infected. England's government recently admitted that some recent human cases of CJD disease may result from people consuming products of BSE-infected cattle. The fear is that an epidemic of CJD disease in people in England may result from eating English beef in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when BSE was an epidemic in English cattle. In my astrology writing, I use a method I call "Religious Astrology": combining astrology with Biblical symbolism, in particular from the Christian Bible's last chapter, Revelation. Revelation consists of a series of strange images and prophecies of a future time: disasters, earthquakes, diseases, wars, angels, and weather changes. Some people think these prophecies are coming true in our time, because of the many disasters and weather changes in recent years. This BSE problem was announced in England just as Comet Hyakutake passed by the Constellation Virgo the Virgin, near March 20. Note that here I am talking about this comet's path through actual Constellations-- not astrological signs. The comet's path took it close to Virgo, and then Bootes, Draco the Dragon, Ursa Minor, and Perseus. Comets are usually considered a bad omen in both mythology and religious symbolism. So, how does the comet passing by Virgo the Virgin relate to the Mad Cow Disease? Isis, the Egyptian version of the female goddess Virgo represents, originally was portrayed as a woman with a throne on her head. Isis had cow's horns in a later representation, and later the head of a cow, with the cow sacred to Isis. Also, consider the Greek legend of Europa, a woman who rides a bull that is actually Zeus -- Zeus being the Greek equivalent of Jupiter. Europa riding a bull is the symbol of Europe, and Mad Cow Disease is a concern even outside England, in other parts of Europe. We can consider Europa another version of Virgo. And this myth of Europa riding the bull brings to mind a Biblical image described in the Book of Revelation: a woman named Babylon who rides a beast. The woman is often associated with Europe, because it is said she sits on a city with seven hills, meaning Rome -- referring to the ancient Roman Empire. Revelation describes her as having a cup in her hand, full of filthinesswhich we could compare to the spreading of BSE disease through improper farming practices. Revelation 18:11 even states that one day the merchants of the earth will no longer buy her goods-- including cattle and sheep, and souls of men. It also says in Revelation 18:6 that she will drink a double portion from her own filthy cup. Sadly, all this could imply that a widespread human CJD epidemic in Europe could result from BSE disease. I hope this does not happen, but that is how it looks to me.
(Tom Chase is educated in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and is interested in New Age philosophy, Prophecy, and Astrology. The theme of his writing is finding a middle ground between New Age philosophy and Christianity; his articles have appeared in Welcome to Planet Earth Astrology magazine. He may be reached at: 60 Thoreau Street, #317, Concord, MA 01742) 2