This is particularly so in Europe, where the Common Agricultural Policy provides billions in subsidies to protect European farming. The BSE crisis was both foreseeable and preventable. Its origins lie in the intensified production methods introduced in the mid 1980s, and particularly the practice of adding meat and bone meal to animal feeds. Once cattle that had succumbed to BSE were ground up and used in such high-protein food additives, a cycle was established that ensured the disease multiplied throughout the national herd. The EU has only imposed a temporary six-month ban in December last year, with no indication if it will be made permanent.
Agricultural policy is still a nationally guarded preserve.
There are plans to establish an EU food safety authority, but it will only be an advisory body and is not expected to come into operation for more than 10 years. The BSE crisis is only the most critical in a long line of food safety scandals, which include salmonella and e-coli and have cost countless lives. As the BSE scandal now spreads across Europe, it confirms tragically that as long as food production and safety are subordinated to the profit system and the market, then public health will continue to suffer. The WSWS invites your comments. Please send e-mail .