Beginning today, colossal numbers of Irish cattle will be slaughtered and massive amounts of what is probably prime beef will be excluded from the food chain. At the end of six months, coinciding with the operational period of the EU-wide slaughter for destruction scheme, the latest panic measure prompted by BSE will have run its course. It may culminate in the culling of more than 500,000 Irish cattle aged over 30 months. The ramifications, unfortunately, will continue on many fronts. The nature of the disease means it will continue to bring plenty of surprises, not least because of the indestructability of the infectious agent - the BSE prion - which so easily evades disinfection. So nobody should be labouring under the illusion that this move in one short shock is going to get rid of BSE or eliminate the largely unknown threat of variant CJD (BSE's equivalent in humans). Nor will it necessarily restore consumer confidence in beef and stabilise prices for farmers who have faced unrelenting turbulence since 1996.
Those calmly analysing progress of BSE throughout Europe, and increasing disease levels among cattle in the Republic, are acutely conscious of the need to continue targeting older cattle, particularly cows born prior to 1996. Equally, there are strong indications the feeding of meat and bone meal (believed to facilitate transmission of BSE) to livestock is unlikely to be permitted again once the six months are up. This will have cost implications and farmers will have to find other protein sources for their animals. Given the precarious state of the Irish beef sector, all this is likely to deal a further punishing blow to farmers and probably force yet more of them out of beef - the food product Ireland was renowned for throughout the world prior to 1996.
On a separate front, the cull is likely to cause untold problems for the State's waste management system, as highlighted by Irish Times correspondents this week in our focus on the waste implications of the scheme. A vast amount of carcass material has to be processed with meticulous attention to food safety and environmental considerations. Yet, there is no suitable means available within the State, or elsewhere, to dispose of it adequately. Storage is at best an acceptable short-term measure.
BSE is exposing unacceptable shortcomings in the way we process waste, and further underlines the flawed thinking that says `No' to new landfills even if they are well-managed; `No' to anything incorporating thermal treatment no matter how effective it may be - and continues to be preoccupied with unrealistic recycling targets. Within this frame-work, provision for a modern, highly efficient thermal treatment process is urgently needed. The Environmental Protection Agency has endorsed the safety of this approach, particularly in the context of understandable concern about dioxin pollutants. Moreover, it is possible to locate such facilities in industrial rather than residential or rural areas.
This dimension to the BSE story has also exposed the need for a great many people to take responsibility for their waste. That includes those most directly involved - farmers and meat/rendering plants - but, in addition, local authorities, public representatives (who have an obligation to take sound decisions quickly), and individuals who oppose plans to end primitive waste practices.