31.   Too many people think their steaks originate in the back of the supermarket where they are wrapped in cellophane and carried to the meat counter.

32.   Yet the price of pork at the meat counter has barely budged.

33.   Fear of mad cow disease has hit the British beef market hard, and shoppers around the country face difficult decisions at the supermarket meat counter.

34.   Experts say such steps will not only improve food safety but should also nudge worried shoppers back to meat counters at supermarkets and butchers.

35.   Many big grocery stores provide plastic conversion cards and post conversion charts at the meat counter to ease the transition.

36.   Many Japanese shoppers are staying away from meat counters and several countries have banned imports of Japanese beef.

37.   The genetic tinkering is aimed at faster stocking of supermarket meat counters and dairy sections.

38.   They gaze at the meat counter, mumbling to each other about what to get.

39.   They move directly to the meat counter in back where Maxi rushes to offer the children lollipops from a plastic jug.