Mad cow disease, a relatively newly discovered malady, was first identified in Britain in 1986, when farmers noticed that their cows' behavior had changed. The cows began to shake and fall, became unable to walk or even stand, and eventually died or had to be killed. It was later determined that a variation of this fatal neurological disease, formally known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), could be passed on to humans.

It is still not known to what extent the population of Britain and perhaps other countries is at risk from consumption of contaminated meat and animal by-products. The significance of the BSE problem lies in its as yet unquantifiable potential to not only damage Britain's $7.5 billion beef industry, but also to endanger millions of people with the threat of a fatal brain disease.

A factor that stood out in the autopsies of infected animals...