text: People throughout the United Kingdom were, doubtless shocked and perhaps upset by images in the national press and television news of cows who had contracted the disease bovine spungiform encephalapthy, or BSE. The so-called 'mad cow disease' seemed to make the cows lose all sense of balance and direction, stumbling around drunkenly. Herds where this disease was found were put down before the symptoms progressed further. Those cows which had been put down were not used for food. The disease infects the cow, and is then present in the spinal fluid within the spine and the brain, and as the spinal fluid is usually spilt in the slaughter of cattle for meat, the risk of contamination of the meat was one the industry was not willing to take.
  
  The human disease, Crentzfeld-Jacob disease, or CJD, is believed to be a human form of BSE, although no clear link has yet been established between the two. It is unclear whether incidence of CJD is on the rise, or whether awareness of the condition is heightened, but more cases, from all ages have been diagnosed recently, and the disease is always fatal.
  
  The government insists, perhaps correctly, that British beef is perfectly safe to eat. However, people are genuinely scared of the presence of the disease in the U.K., and many are abstaining from eating beef. Many schools have removed beef from their menus, substituting pork and chicken, and sales of beef have shown a decline. The implications for the beef industry could be rather serious, where everybody to boycott beef products. To compensate, beef prices have dropped, in attempts to sell more meat, but the public remains sceptical.
  
  If beef continues to fall from favour, then the beef industry's future would be unclear. Beef products are present in many foodstuffs such as jellies, fruit gums, and of course stock cubes. Would all these products have to find synthetic or substitute ingredients?
  
  Even if the entire beef industry were to grind to a halt, the numerous heads of beef cattle worldwide would no longer be needed, but, being bred as they are, for beef, they would be useless for milk products. Not all beef can be infected, though, and the situation has become a waiting game. For beef to be repreived or condemned, we are forced to turn to the scientists to establish whether or not BSE and CJD are linked, and, more importantly, whether the latter can be contracted by eating meat contaminated with the former. The nation awaits the verdict on tenterhooks, and it is in the majority's interests that there be no proven link. Watch this space. Personally, I believe that it is merely that man is better at diagnosing CJD now than ever before. Some reports say that it can take up to 20 years to develop, so we could all already have it. Whatever you believe, I shall continue to enjoy my roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, thankyou.
edits.text: encephalopathy , were , reprieved thank you