NODA, Chiba Pref. -- It is worse than the market collapse during the economic slump triggered by the 1973 oil crisis, when beef prices plunged by two-thirds.
Back then, many cattle ranchers were forced out of business. But at that time, they did not face the need to restore the public's trust, said Hisao Ogura, 66, who raises some 240 beef cows at a family-run farm in this suburb about two hours from Tokyo.
Their nightmare began on Sept. 10, when the farm ministry said that a 5-year-old Holstein was suspected of having mad cow disease -- the first case outside of Europe.