Mary G...You say "farming is the most important thing we do"
To my way of thinking ,farming ,and especially intensive farming is the most destructive thing we do.
Im afraid the blame for the arrival of BSE,lies squarely on the shoulders of the farmers.I live in a sheep and beef cattle area in Scotland and most of the farmers are well known for love of money before anything else.When i was a boy this area had a mixed farming economy .The farms produced a wide range of foodstuffs, the farmers didnt make much money, but the work provided lots of much needed employment.
Round about the mid 70s the farmers realised that there were big profits in raising beef cattle,so they sacked all their workers, turned their farm steadings into cattle courts,and ordered the BMWs and 4 x 4s.They used anti- biotics indiscriminately,and used meat derived feed because it was cheaper, although they had been warned frequently by scientists, of problems in the future.   Ake