Foot and mouth: myth and fact (British agriculture)

Member Name: magpie

Product:	British agriculture
Date:	26/03/01 (23 review reads)
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Myth: foot and mouth is nothing more than a bad cold.

Fact: foot and mouth is the most virrulent virus known to man or beast. In cattle it causes severe ulceration of mouth and feet, resulting in tongues falling out, inability to eat, severe lameness. In pigs it causes severe ulceration, and much production of virus, in sheep it causes 90% of lambs to die, be still born, or to abort in utero. A little more severe than the common cold, I'm sure you'll agree.

Myth: foot and mouth can be vaccinated against.

Fact: vaccines do exist for foot and mouth -- however, they are not very good. The vaccine consists of 'deactivated' virus. In some animals, the virus reactivates. In other animals, the vaccine fails to cause an immune response. In any case, vaccination has to be repeated every six months to be effective, and there are seven different strains of the disease that would need to be vaccinated against. Add that to the problem of vaccinating every single animal in the country, and you'll see that this really isn't a viable option.

Myth: we don't need farming anyway.

Fact: while farming may not be very important economically for our country, it is crucial for many other aspects of our lives. Firstly, farming provides us with food. If all our food were to be imported, imagine the consequences if we were ever at war again. Think of the cost (environmental and economical) of moving all our food into the country. Think of the animal welfare problems in other countries, which we would then be sanctioning. Remember also that many other countries do not have the same standard of hygiene as the UK (spinal cord in your beef sir?). Secondly, the farmers do an important job in making our countryside the way it is. Think of walking in hill country - you enjoy it? Now think of doing it while fighting through scrubland, gorse and bracken. Hill farming doesn't produce much cash, but it keeps ou
r countryside walkable. Farming is important for our country and our countryside.

Foot and mouth is a tragedy for our country - support our farmers, while they struggle to survive this crisis.

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