"When one cow was found with BSE in 2003, many of our trading partners closed their borders to our beef"
- Mike Johanns
About this Quote
This quote by Mike Johanns is describing the 2003 discovery of a cow in the United States with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), typically called mad cow disease. This discovery triggered a lot of concern amongst the United States' trading partners, as BSE is a serious and potentially deadly disease. As a result, a number of the United States' trading partners closed their borders to American beef, in order to secure their own people from the potential danger of BSE. This had a substantial impact on the American beef industry, as it was unexpectedly cut off from much of its significant markets. The discovery of BSE in 2003 was a major setback for the American beef industry, and it took years for the market to recover from the resulting financial losses.
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