Question

The US is Australia’s major export market for beef. Suppose that the mad cow disease hits the US and causes a shortfall in US beef production. Using a three-panel diagram, explain the effect of the mad cow disease on the US’s and the world’s beef market. (Hint: Consider the US as a large country in this case).

Answer 1

BSE was first detected in cattle in the United Kingdom (UK) in the mid 1980s. An epidemic developed, peaking in the early 1990s and cases are still occurring today. There have been over 185,000 cases reported and the economic effects have been devastating.

The disease attacks the brain and nervous tissues of cattle, altering behaviour and causing them to stagger, hence the name 'mad cow disease'.

Since 1995, over 160 cases of a new human TSE named variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (vCJD) have been diagnosed, mainly in the UK. There is strong scientific evidence to suggest that it is linked to eating nervous tissue from BSE-affected cattle.

Victoria and Australia, being BSE-free, have access to many export markets because of this status. If BSE was discovered in Australia, it would immediately close many of these markets, devastating our cattle industries.