Consider the role of cattle in rhyme.
“How now, brown cow?” “Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the
cow jumped over the moon …” “Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn!
The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn …”
Those were the good old days, when the public saw cows as cute and
benign and beef was part of almost every meal.
Cows and beef play quite differently in modern news stories.
Witness Canadian triathlete Kelly Guest, who tested positive for a
Read Also

Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
banned substance last week and was disqualified from competition in the
Commonwealth Games.
Distraught, Guest swore he had not deliberately imbibed nandrolene, an
anabolic steroid, to enhance his performance.
How sad for this man. We all want Canadian athletes to distinguish
themselves in international sport. And don’t we all want to believe the
athletes who carry the torch of our national pride can excel without
need or benefit of performance-enhancing drugs?
As Guest cast about for possible causes for his plight, he suggested
the drug might have been contained in beef he had eaten before the
test.
He has since apologized to Canadian cattle producers for the remark – a
gallant gesture that was unfortunately necessary.
For the record – and we’re probably preaching to the choir here – beef
does not contain nandrolene. The drug is not used by Canadian livestock
producers, is not approved for use on livestock and is not generally
available.
Nandrolene is produced naturally in the human body and is also used to
treat humans for testosterone deficiency, osteoporosis and breast
cancer.
It may also be included in supplements and health products used by
athletes in their training diets. It is not found in beef.
It’s irksome that Guest fingered his food without initial regard for
this fact. Things are serious enough in the cattle business without
remarks that might harm the market.
But in a way Guest has given beef a back-handed endorsement. Remember,
beef has taken some bad raps over the years. It was once blamed for
heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity and maybe even ring around the
collar.
Now athletes including Guest are eating steak three or four times a
week to maintain health and develop their bodies, strength and
endurance.
Those who have always known the goodness of beef should be feeling
pretty smug, but they still have to keep their guards up over
misinformation.