‘Sane Cow’ Roast Staged in Paris

Joggers, skaters and freeloaders converged on a park here Sunday for a giant spit roast held by French butchers determined to convince their compatriots they do not sell “mad cow” beef.

The butchers of Paris held their “sane cow” barbecue to counter consumer fears after news that French supermarkets had sold beef from a herd to which bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, had been traced.

A small army of apprentices ferried steaming platters of meat over the heads of the crowd in the Luxembourg Gardens. Two hundred butchers working in shifts couldn’t fill their trays fast enough.

“This isn’t just some electric oven--it’s grilled on wood coal and takes 12 to 14 hours to roast,” said Maurice Lormeau, head of the butchers of St. Denis.

“The dairy breeds are the ones that are more at risk,” said Bernard Merhet, president of the Federation of Butchers in the Paris Region. “Given the current situation, we want to show Parisians that we only sell beef from cattle raised for meat.”