SC - Galingale and Brains

[Joseph M. Lane]

On Tue, 17 Mar 1998, Varju wrote:

> In a message dated 98-03-17 11:04:39 EST, you write:
> 
> <<  thats what the Oprah case in Texas was about. >>
> 
> Actually the Oprah case was about her mentioning that it COULD be a problem
> here too, which upset some cattlemen, etc.  I think again it may be
> geographical, here at least the cattle are range fed until the weather gets
> bad, then go to an alfalfa or hay diet during the winter.  The carcasses to
> feed problem is rare, at least  in this region of the US.


I'm not sure the problem is geographical, but the local eating habits vary
w/ the geography.  There are 6-7 cases per annum of slow infectious
diseases caused by eating "bugoo" a squirrel brain stew common in parts of
Tennessee and Kentucky.

I work on an Indian reservation where sheep/cattle/goats are raised and
eaten.  I have helped out at social events and have butchered 6
sheep to date.  Nothing is wasted.  While we butcher, we cook and eat.
Some things I will eat and some things I will not eat: liver (flukes) and
brains (scrapie/prions).  Since these are free range animals,
I know they have picked up parasites, but only horses are valuable enough 
to be dewormed annually.  Since there was a drought on the Rez from
1994-1996, I know some animals received prepared feed.  Prepared feed
may include ground up dead animals, courtesy of the U.S. rendering
industies.

I am a "guest" on the Rez, so I am mindful that I must respect tribal
customs when I am invited to dinner or to ceremonies.  I am also
mindful that I want to live to a ripe olde age w/ as many of my little
grey cells as possible.  Doctors have reported 1 case/1,000,000 US
population of JCD per annum (1996 stats), but they still aren't sure of
the disease vector.  Scrapie is a virtual mystery, no one understands how
prions might cause the disease; and some researchers even doubt that
prions cause scrapie and BSE.  It is obvious that there are no clear 
answers to the causes and vectors of these diseases.  The cures -- if any
- -- are likely to be decades away.

In short, there are no cures for these slow infectious diseases, so why
take a chance on eating something that might degrade your quality of life 
during your golden years and might remove most of your personality?

>  I guess that's the
> advantage of living in the Wild West!
>

I'm not sure where you are, but "Ya'at'eeh" (Greetings) from Window Rock,
Arizona -- the heart and soul of the Navajo Nation.
 
In service

Arian Aurelia
If it can't be fricasseed, then fry, fry, the hen....

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