Introduction

The announcement that BOSER might cause a fatal human disease "Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease CJD" triggered enormous media attention, public alarm, and government wrangling that threatened the future of European integration.

Expert Opinions

As Scott Ratzan argues: "It is my belief that the [BOSER crisis] represents a quintessential case that will go down in history as the Exxon Valdez Union Carbide's Bhopal accident, and other such cases of interdisciplinary study."

Book Content

This book offers lessons learned from the crisis, with contributions from experts with different viewpoints — veterinarians, Eurocrats, public relations experts, politicians, policy-makers, journalists, and representatives of the beef industry.

It also offers a compilation of the key reports from governmental bodies as a case-study in policy-making, scientific/health discovery, and dissemination of information, as well as looking at the issues from the perspective of psychology and media studies.