31.   Opponents of the beef program say it has done little to change what until recently had been a steady decline in beef consumption.

32.   The ailment, linked to the human brain-wasting illness variant Creutzfeld Jakob disease, caused a huge drop in beef consumption.

33.   The report noted that beef consumption was declining anyway, and a strong pound has made British products more expensive in key foreign markets.

34.   The spread of the disease in Britain led to an EU ban last year on the export of British beef and a decline in beef consumption throughout the EU.

35.   Guyau said it was urgent to relaunch beef consumption by improving product identification, with the consumer knowing how the animals were raised and fed.

36.   Immediately after the announcement, the EU slapped a worldwide export ban on British beef in a bid to calm consumer fears about beef consumption.

37.   In Luxembourg, France led appeals from at least eight countries for special payments to farmers hit by the EU-wide slump in beef consumption.

38.   An epidemic of BSE in Britain last year sparked worldwide concern about beef consumption and led to a European Union ban on British beef imports.

39.   But despite the export explosion, Argentine consumers have begun to alter their diets, slightly, and are cutting down on their beef consumption.

40.   Japan in September became the only country in Asia known to harbour mad cow disease, triggering a health scare which has decimated beef consumption and exports.