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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mad Cow Scare, Meat Recall

Aired December 29, 2003 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Mad cow disease. Let's talk more on that. Add four more states to the list. The government tells us it's just a precaution, but it is now recalling 10,000 pounds of meat from the infected cow and 19 other cows slaughtered at the same Washington State location.
So, where's the beef? Well, the Agriculture Department believes meat from the infected cow wound up in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana and the U.S. territory of Guam. That's in addition to the initial four states on the recall list: Washington State, Oregon, California and Nevada.

Still, health officials insist the meat is safe. Of course, even if it is, that doesn't mean great things for the beef industry. As Ceci Rodgers reports, it's bracing for the fallout.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CECI RODGERS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS (voice-over): Some are calling it the cattle market's version of a stock market crash. Futures prices on cattle plummeted the daily price limit for two straight sessions. The cattle industry scrambled to repair the damage, as many U.S. trading partners banned all beef imports.

CHANDLER KEYES, CATTLEMEN'S BEEF ASSOCIATION: And we're going to use every means possible to make sure that we track down and find out what happened and close up any little pinpricks in our firewall to make sure that the American consumer can feel safe about our product.

RODGERS: Beef production is a $40 billion business in the U.S. Five states account for fully half that amount: Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma.

CHRISTINE MCCRACKEN, FOOD SERVICE ANALYST: It's a very broad- scale impact. And if you look at agriculture in general, it does constitute one out of every five jobs in the U.S. So, on that basis, the impact could be expanded to basically every corner of the U.S.

RODGERS: It's a stunning reversal of fortunes for the cattle industry. Beef prices were at record highs just a few weeks ago as a result of the ban on Canadian imports and souring demand from Americans on a high-protein diet. So far at least, that hasn't changed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has steak and he has steak, and I have a rib roast for tonight, so we're going to have steak again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not worried about it at all. I'm going to order filet mignon today.

RODGERS: Falling prices may be bad news for cattle ranchers, but it's welcome news for steakhouses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should see a nice drop in the prices of meat between 15 and 20 percent. So, with the drop of price of meat and this mad cow disease and hopefully some sliding soon, it will be good for the restaurants and the consumers.

RODGERS (on camera): The beef industry is hoping against hope that U.S. consumers continue to stay calm about the discovery of mad cow, and that they continue to enjoy their beef.

Ceci Rodgers, CNN Financial News, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired December 29, 2003 - 06:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Mad cow disease. Let's talk more on that. Add four more states to the list. The government tells us it's just a precaution, but it is now recalling 10,000 pounds of meat from the infected cow and 19 other cows slaughtered at the same Washington State location.
So, where's the beef? Well, the Agriculture Department believes meat from the infected cow wound up in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana and the U.S. territory of Guam. That's in addition to the initial four states on the recall list: Washington State, Oregon, California and Nevada.

Still, health officials insist the meat is safe. Of course, even if it is, that doesn't mean great things for the beef industry. As Ceci Rodgers reports, it's bracing for the fallout.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CECI RODGERS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS (voice-over): Some are calling it the cattle market's version of a stock market crash. Futures prices on cattle plummeted the daily price limit for two straight sessions. The cattle industry scrambled to repair the damage, as many U.S. trading partners banned all beef imports.

CHANDLER KEYES, CATTLEMEN'S BEEF ASSOCIATION: And we're going to use every means possible to make sure that we track down and find out what happened and close up any little pinpricks in our firewall to make sure that the American consumer can feel safe about our product.

RODGERS: Beef production is a $40 billion business in the U.S. Five states account for fully half that amount: Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma.

CHRISTINE MCCRACKEN, FOOD SERVICE ANALYST: It's a very broad- scale impact. And if you look at agriculture in general, it does constitute one out of every five jobs in the U.S. So, on that basis, the impact could be expanded to basically every corner of the U.S.

RODGERS: It's a stunning reversal of fortunes for the cattle industry. Beef prices were at record highs just a few weeks ago as a result of the ban on Canadian imports and souring demand from Americans on a high-protein diet. So far at least, that hasn't changed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has steak and he has steak, and I have a rib roast for tonight, so we're going to have steak again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not worried about it at all. I'm going to order filet mignon today.

RODGERS: Falling prices may be bad news for cattle ranchers, but it's welcome news for steakhouses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should see a nice drop in the prices of meat between 15 and 20 percent. So, with the drop of price of meat and this mad cow disease and hopefully some sliding soon, it will be good for the restaurants and the consumers.

RODGERS (on camera): The beef industry is hoping against hope that U.S. consumers continue to stay calm about the discovery of mad cow, and that they continue to enjoy their beef.

Ceci Rodgers, CNN Financial News, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.