ABSTRACT
The crisis surrounding BSE and the safety for humans of British beef initially followed on the coat-tails of earlier ‘food scares’ around listeria and, most notably, salmonella-in-eggs in 1988/9. This had prompted a substantial drop in the sale of eggs (Commons Agriculture Committee, 1990). Since 1989 the British government had been publicly stating that there was no risk associated with the consumption of beef or beef products for humans. One effect of the public profile BSE had been afforded in 1990 was that beef sales had dropped by up to 20 per cent (Spencer, 1990). Following the initial crisis in 1990 BSE was no longer high profile and between 1991 and 1996 there was relatively little mass media coverage of the issue (Reilly and Miller, 1997). The ‘no risk’ message which had originally been put forward by the Government of the day was not subject to any serious public challenge (Kitzinger and Reilly, 1997). Then came an announcement in March 1996 of the existence of a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD) the most likely explanation for which was a link with BSE. The issues surrounding the risks associated with BSE once again hit the headlines. The new information, based on the findings of SEAC (Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee), again caused concern about the safety of British beef. This chapter sets out to examine audience understandings of the issue of BSE or ‘Mad Cow Disease’ following the initial crisis of 1990 (and following the announcement of the nvCJD) in order to assess how public perceptions of the issue altered with the presentation of what was radical new information.
