Defending Good Science

June 2, 2003

Mad Cows, Mad Communicators

It’s the sort of phone call every cattle producer, restaurateur, regulator or politician has nightmares about: “Yes – that cow did test positive for BSE.” Unfortunately, it’s true – one single cattle beast did test positive for “Mad Cow disease” in the heart of Alberta’s Beef Country.

This is indeed a horrible event. In the words of the National Post the day after the story first appeared, “Alberta's cattle and beef industry is about to take a hit that will make the SARS impact on Toronto tourism look like economic cattle feed.”

However – there is no excuse for NOT being prepared for an incident like this. The law of averages dictates that something horrible was bound to happen to North America’s meat industry – especially in the wake of Mad Cow and Foot and Mouth disease in Europe.

A few minor thoughts and observations as I watched this play out in the media:

• Don’t take it personal
  During the joint Federal/Provincial announcement about test results, media were understandably shocked and upset. As is often the case, questions in such a scenario tend to get personal.
  
  No one likes answering questions like “How long have you been hiding this information?” and “Why should Canadians believe you?” Unfortunately, it’s not fun, but it should be expected. Lyle Vanclief, the Federal Minister, reacted poorly, and took offense to the line of questioning. At the end of the day, it’s never fun to be on the firing line, but getting upset just detracts from your message.
  
• Set the example
  Canada’s Prime Minister had the right idea – he went out for a steak dinner, to prove his confidence in Alberta’s beef. I can understand the political motivation to be seen as supportive, but really – does anyone care what Jean Chretien thinks about beef? Given the circumstances, it would be nice to see someone from the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames chowing down on Alberta beef. On the other hand, Country Music Star kd lang would probably be a bad choice, given her long-standing support for vegetarianism.
  
• Think visual
  The story led the evening newscasts for several days. And in those days, unless someone from the Cattle industry would care to correct me, I saw no industry-supplied B-roll footage. I did, however, see the same image of a sick cow stumbling across a yard, time and time again.
  
  The incident is a great opportunity to talk about the safety of Canada’s meat supply, and how seriously Canada takes beef inspections. Now, more than ever, consumers need to hear “Beef is safe.” Video footage of a nice, sterile lab with slabs of beef hanging in the background would have been a welcome change. Perhaps a few inspectors in white lab coats, hair nets, gloves… instead, all consumers saw was a sick cow stumbling across a yard. That doesn’t say “safe food” to me.

It’s too early to properly assess what impact this development will have on the beef industry on both sides of the border. All in all, the event wasn’t poorly handled – everyone was supporting the “isolated incident” message – but it could have been improved.

Hopefully, something like this will never happen again. But when it does, the industries which survive will be the ones prepared for it anyway.

Checkmate Link of the Month

The Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) has become a much-valued resource on the use and abuse of science and statistics in the media. Their goal is to correct scientific misinformation in the media resulting from bad science, politics, or a simple lack of information or knowledge. http://www.stats.org. For readers north of the border, you may want to check out a Canadian version – http://www.canstats.org

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