The evidence suggests otherwise. 30% of all new-variant Creutzfeld Jacob's diseases (humans do not contract BSE) are spontaneous. That is, there are vegans and children that have contracted nvCJD because they're genetically disposed to expressing that gene in the presence of prions, which coincidentally are prevalent in the neural matter of infected BSE cows (and also scrapie, etc).
It's really quite fascinating, and if you read much of the detailed technical literature (not the dumbed down AP versions of the stuff) you'll see that there is VAST disagreement about how, and even if, eating infected beef overcomes the species barrier. In fact, there's a lot of interesting evidence that correlates the prions in England's scare very closely to a pesticide the government used more than it did to the cattle! I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying the journalists uniformly asssume the link, but the scientists categorically do not agree. Who do you wanna believe?
In short, if the countervailing theories are correct, and the BSE->nvCJD link is incorrect, then I would hope that the USDA would do everything it can to stem the likely irrational panic that could cause the liquidation of the entire US beef industry as they did in England. More ranchers died from suicide after losing their herds in England than died from all nvCJD's!!!!!!
That kinda destruction of the heartland would make a juicy story for the NYT.....hmmmmmm
I am aware that vegans have tried to exploit the fear of mad cow. I am aware that some foreign governments are envious that America's cattle industry has so far not been tainted (wasn't that a Candadian cow that was not properly tracked to America?).
If a terrorist (eco or political) could infect American livestock, they could create a shortage/boycott raising prices (prices are already higher), affect the economy, etc. It is unlikely that we would go through a famine.
I generally eat buffalo or other lower fat red meat. It is fresh ground (not frozen).
How much of the contaminated meat that went to market was contaminated because of production of patties at the slaugterhouse?
As far as suicide of ranchers in England, there was a different health order but tragic results in Australia. The man who Crocodile Dundee was based on died after he refused to slaughter something like a thousand head of sheep to prevent a disease from sweaping Australia. It wasn't that his herd was infected, it was a concept akin to cutting down trees to prevent the spread of a forest fire.
He died in a Waco style shootout with law enforcement.