1.   They bought so much beef that some went bad.

2.   Argentina is hoping its ad campaign will convince Europeans worried about mad cow disease to buy Argentine beef.

3.   Bought British beef?

4.   But as a practical matter, ban or no ban, nobody is lining up to buy British beef.

5.   But the reaction of those who continue buying beef was in many ways more interesting.

6.   Cattle surged to the highest price in more than a month after the government began buying beef in an effort to support the market.

7.   Consumers traditionally buy more beef during warmer months.

8.   Consumers in Ireland last week became the first shoppers to be given the option of buying beef tested for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

9.   Consumers in Ireland last week became the first shoppers to be able to buy beef tested for BSE.

10.   Grand Metropolitan Plc, the owner of Miami-based Burger King Corp., said it buys beef locally for all its outlets.