030921 Vegetarian Cowboy Risks Mad Cow Showdown

Winnipeg, Manitoba - The vegetarian cowboy, best known for spurring Oprah Winfrey to spurn burgers, rode into Canadian cattle country on Wednesday to warn about the dangers of meat, despite fears of a hostile reception from cattle farmers hard hit by the mad cow scare.

Howard Lyman said he expects to be a target for anger from farmers who have been battered by lost export markets and slumping beef prices after a single case of mad cow disease was discovered in Alberta.

"Of course (farmers) are suffering, and I'm their greatest friend," Lyman. He added that Canada needs more testing for mad cow disease and stricter rules about what livestock can eat.

"I've been telling them now for 14 years that some changes had to be made. For 14 years, they disregarded what I had to say. I'm not going to go and say I told you so."

Cattle prices crashed after Lyman appeared on Oprah Winfrey's popular television talk show in April 1996 and discussed the then-legal practice of allowing cattle feed to contain protein made from cattle.

A group of Texas ranchers tried unsuccessfully to sue Lyman and Winfrey for their remarks.

The feed practice was thought to have caused the outbreak of mad cow disease in Britain, which led to more than 100 people contracting the human form of the disease from eating contaminated meat.

Since 1997, the practice has been banned in North America, though pigs and chickens can still be fed protein from cattle.

Canadian regulators are mulling changes to those rules as part of their response to a confirmed case of mad cow disease in May. Since then, the beef industry has lost more than C$1 billion ($740 million) as export markets like the United States, Mexico and Japan slammed their doors to Canadian beef and cattle.

Invited to Canada by vegetarian groups, Lyman said he doesn't advocate shunning meat, but rather encourages people to make "better choices" about what they eat.

But organizers in the Alberta town of Red Deer got cold feet about hosting the controversial speaker, said David Parker, an environmental and vegetarian activist helping with the tour.

"In rural areas of Alberta, they might be a bit timid about having him," Parker said, recalling hostile reactions garnered by Lyman during an appearance two years ago.

"I think it could be a bit colder (this time around)," Parker said.

A group of farmers with concerns about environmental issues thought about hosting Lyman, but worried about linking their names to that of a prominent U.S. vegetarian.

"I can see a lot of people being offended by bringing him in ... because he's American and they're the ones that have the border closed," said Sue Pearson, a Red Deer cattle farmer.

Stocking up on beef has become a patriotic duty for Canadians, who bought 123,000 tonnes in July, up 62% from the same period last year, said Barry Haner, an Alberta rancher who heads the Beef Information Center.

"This whole thing has turned into politics and the Canadian consumers have realized that," Haner said.

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