Ads in Europe Aim to Allay Mad-Cow Fears, Boost Beef Sales

The trouble is that no one can say with any certainty how risky a given slab of beef might be. Human deaths from the disease total more than 80 so far in Britain, and there have been a few cases in France. Those deaths are believed to be linked to consumption of beef from animals infected with BSE,...

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Published inThe Wall Street journal. Eastern edition
Main Author By Wall Street Journal staff reporters Sarah Ellison in London, Cecilie Rohwedder in Berlin and Anne-Michele Morice in Paris
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y Dow Jones & Company Inc 11.12.2000
EditionEastern edition
Subjects
Advertising campaigns
Beef
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Cattle
Food contamination & poisoning
Meat quality
Restaurants
Europe
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Summary:The trouble is that no one can say with any certainty how risky a given slab of beef might be. Human deaths from the disease total more than 80 so far in Britain, and there have been a few cases in France. Those deaths are believed to be linked to consumption of beef from animals infected with BSE, a disease that has recently been detected in a few cattle in Spain and Germany. It's too early to tell if the rest of Europe will face a crisis on the order of Britain's, though it appears unlikely. In Italy, the Coop supermarket chain is using a touch of humor. Its full-page color ads feature a photo of a cow staring at the reader. The tag line says: "For our animals, vegetables aren't just a side dish." The text says all beef sold by the chain comes from cows that are less than 20 months old and have never been fed animal byproducts. BSE is believed to have been spread in Britain and elsewhere through feed containing contaminated ground bone and meat; older cows are considered more likely to have been infected. Despite the unfortunate example of Britain's Mr. [John Gummer], French politicians and government officials are stoutly defending beef. Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany has told journalists that he and his children are still eating beef. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin chastised local officials for taking beef off school menus, urging them not to "yield to the prevailing psychosis." The French agriculture ministry has bought newspaper ads stating that "beef can be eaten without fear."
ISSN:0099-9660