040163 Ex-Rancher Blasts U.S. Mad Cow Measures

Safe to say that Lyman, the central figure in Oprah Winfrey's ballyhooed legal fight with cattle ranchers, is feeling validated since the disease was discovered last month in a cow in Washington state.

And Lyman says the federal government's decision this week to ban cattle blood in livestock feed isn't enough to protect against more mad cow cases. Every cow should be tested for the disease, he said.

"Let's do what we need to do to reassure the consumers in the export markets so we can get back to business before we break all the family farmers and ranchers," said Lyman.

Lyman first drew the ire of the cattle industry when he appeared on Winfrey's talk show in 1996 for a panel discussion on food safety, and said that processed livestock was being fed to cattle — a practice he said could spread mad cow disease in the United States. Winfrey responded by saying she'd never eat another hamburger.

The beef industry sued under Texas' little-used "veggie libel" law that forbids false and disparaging remarks about agriculture products, claiming the nationally televised comments caused beef prices to tumble and cost ranchers millions of dollars.

Jurors sided with Winfrey and Lyman in 1998, and an appeals court upheld the verdict. A second lawsuit against Winfrey filed shortly after the first trial lingered until its dismissal in 2002.

Those in the beef industry dismiss Lyman's prediction that more mad cow cases are imminent and vow that the nation's meat supply is safe. They also stress that the diseased cow wasn't from a U.S. herd.

"All I can say is the cow came from Canada," said Kevin Crooks, 40, who raises about 7,500 head of cattle in West Texas. "That's where the problem all came from. I think that's what's going to save the United States cattle industry."

Paul Engler, the rancher and feedlot owner who initially brought the lawsuit against Winfrey, also says the Canadian link undermines Lyman's claim.

"If the cow originated in the United States, I'd say yes, I'd have the same concerns. But it didn't," Engler said.

Winfrey spent six weeks in Amarillo during the trial, drawing mixed reviews. Some critics wore hats and sported bumper stickers that read "The only mad cow in Texas is Oprah," but many wore "Amarillo Loves Oprah" buttons, caps and T-shirts.

Winfrey declined to talk to The Associated Press for this story, but Chip Babcock, one of the First Amendment attorneys who represented her in the lawsuit, said Lyman's 1996 comments were prophetic.

"It turns out the man who was saying we should be prepared for this and it very well could turn up here, that opinion has been vindicated," Babcock said.

Mad cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE (news - web sites), is a threat because scientists say humans can develop a brain-wasting illness, a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (news - web sites), from consuming contaminated beef. But that link has been challenged, and experts say the risk to individual consumers is minuscule.

While 153 people worldwide have contracted that illness, most in Britain, there has never been a confirmed case in the United States.

Lyman was a Montana rancher-turned-vegan at the time he appeared on Winfrey's show. He now lives in Arlington, Va., where he operates Voice for a Viable Future, a non-profit with a mission described as educating people "about organic sustainable agriculture and the dangers of current methods of food products." For Lyman, that means traveling as a professional lecturer to speak about diet, animals, trade and the environment.

Lyman said he's certain the mad cow case reported in Washington won't be the last in the United States.

But those in the beef industry say they're conducting tests and taking other measures to ensure a safe product.

"I sure can't speculate on whether we'll find any more or not, nor, I think, can anyone else," said Burt Rutherford, spokesman for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association in Amarillo. "But I can tell you that we are going to very aggressively look for it."

For many in the industry, a vegan's predictions are the least of their concerns — they're still suffering since cattle prices have fallen and layoffs have been reported since beef exports have been restricted. Ten percent of the nation's meat is exported. But they're certain beef is still safe.

"American ranchers and American producers strive to create a safe product because we love to eat it too," said Crooks, the West Texas cattleman. "We wouldn't want to be eating it if it was bad for us."

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