Jasanoff (1996) - Mad Cow Disease

Jasanoff, S. (1997). Civilization and madness: The great BSE scare of 1996. Public Understanding of Science, 6(3), 221-232.


Note: BSE stands for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (the medical term for Mad Cow)

In this article, Jasanoff describes the United Kingdom's (UK) response to the BSE scare, which involved cattle infections and human cases/deaths.

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SOME KEY POINTS:

* BSE as a threat to the scientific establishment who thought it knew all the facts. For years, UK health officials acknowledged BSE in cattle but denied there was a risk to humans. In 1996, however, they admitted that human cases arising from consuming BSE-contaminated beef had likely occured.

* Government institutions need public trust as a form of legitimacy. Citizens, moreover, need reassurance that someone is managing risk.

* “Civic dislocation” – British government failed to do its job in warning and protecting the public; trust plummeted.

* Other institutions took its place – everyone from beef producers to restaurants; Accidental Risk Communicators!

* The dangers of having a “trust us, we’re the experts” approach to risk management (prominent in the UK, not so much in the US?).

* A UK risk management process that is insulated from public opinion and input. Do UK risk managers, as a result, downplay uncertainty and avoid dissent?

* “Top-down” versus “bottom-up” risk management – Does the latter (and its emphasis on public engagement) represent a new direction for the British government?