Increased beef prices because of the mad cow incident are on the decline, relieving students and restaurant owners around campus.
The first and only instance of mad cow disease in the United States occurred in Washington on Dec. 23, resulting in nationwide attention on the cattle industry at a time when people normally go out to restaurants to eat and throw dinner parties to celebrate the season.
Students still went to grocery stores hoping to find deals on steaks despite heightened awareness of mad cow.
“The mad cow fiasco was more of an obstacle than anything,” Mary Dupuis, a biology sophomore said. “I waited for holiday sales on steaks and because of the late December scare, I ended up paying more than I would have a couple of weeks earlier.”
Dupuis said she understands why people get concerned about the disease, but she does not understand how one cow could have caused prices to rise across the nation.
“One cow, come on!” Dupuis said. “Who knows, it might have been just an excuse to get the public to pay more for a product.”
Other students resorted to buying seafood or chicken during the holidays.
Kurt Guidry, a business freshman, said during football games he and his friends put fish, chicken and sausage on the grill.
“Some of my friends joked about the mad cow disease but none of them brought any steaks to the football parties,” Guidry said. “Personally, I bought what I could afford. There was no way I could afford steaks for even a couple of my friends.”
On average, local grocery store prices on beef increased by 1 to 5 dollars, depending on the type of beef.
Restaurants also felt mad cow effects on beef price.
Most restaurant owners saw prices on beef products rise gradually in November and December because of a lack of supply. But the mad cow incident caused prices to rise even further and some restaurants had to raise prices or limit their menus to break even.
“Restaurants basically got screwed during the holidays this year,” Primoís Restaurant general manager Matt Merchant said. “The best cuts of meat were the most expensive, and since we run a fine dining establishment we did not downgrade, we paid extra.”
As people become more educated on the issue and less afraid, prices will decline, Merchant said.
“Mad cow scared people so they ordered alternatives at restaurants,” Merchant said.
The mad cow incident is causing concern on the national front. The Bush Administration is pushing legislation to initiate a speedy adoption of animal IDs, including animal origin and call numbers, and a ban on using sick or crippled animals in food.
At a minimum, the Farm Bureau will consider making animal ID a top priority for livestock and it may go further to support a mandatory system, according to the Farm Bureau Web site.