Word: cowing
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...Coming on the heels of the mad cow disease crisis, how has the foot-and-mouth outbreak affected British eating habits...
...There's a significant shift toward vegetarianism, obviously. Polls show that some 20 percent of the population is now seriously contemplating vegetarianism, and restaurants are turning largely toward chicken and fish. This outbreak may shift attitudes a lot more sharply than the mad cow issue did. That initially brought down beef consumption by about 20 percent, but it soon recovered its old levels. But this foot-and-mouth outbreak may prompt a more significant and long-lasting move away from meat...
Compared with policing tourists, policing meat imports is relatively easy. For all the seeming sweep of the new restrictions, there is simply not that much to restrict. With beef from the U.K. already banned because of mad-cow disease, the hardest-hit imports will be pork and goat, mostly from the Netherlands and Denmark. Such cooked and cured meats as canned hams, prepared sausages and prosciutto are not affected because heating or processing kills the foot-and-mouth virus. Certain dairy products like yogurt, Brie and hard cheeses are also exempt, since they are already subject to strict manufacturing conditions...
However the debate plays out, it is unlikely to have an impact on U.S. policy. Partly by vigorous policing, Americans have dodged the mad-cow bullet, and officials aren't inclined to take foot-and-mouth less seriously. "Inspectors make up the first line of defense," says Richard Dunkle, a USDA administrator. It is a line they're determined to keep unbreached...
...rest of Europe, the arrival of mad-cow in January and foot-and-mouth last week is more recent and thus more alarming. There were lines seven miles long at the Spanish border as authorities made all vehicles from France drive over disinfectant-filled carpets. Beef consumption is down 40% in Germany, Italy and Spain. Le Carnivore, a restaurant in the French city of Nantes that specializes in such alternative meats as ostrich, kangaroo and bison, is booming. French farmers estimated their losses at $185 million a month if all the embargoes against their produce hold...