1.   As I bent to cut the beef, my mess kit tilted and the meat slid into the mud.

2.   Cut the beef into three-quarter-inch chunks.

3.   Cut the beef into -inch-thick strips on the diagonal, and marinate until cooking time.

4.   Cut beef across grain into thin strips.

5.   Others, like Catherine de Vignon, did not cut beef out altogether, but stopped buying beef in supermarkets.

6.   Some people have cut beef from their diets completely.

7.   You can virtually cut the beef with a fork.

8.   Panic over mad cow disease swept Europe on Wednesday, with French chefs abandoning beef specialties, Italian schools cutting beef from menus and French leaders convening emergency meetings.