Answer:
The correct answer to the question: What is the most likely reason an article about the disease from 2000 was included in the passage, would be, A: To provide the first writings about the disease.
Step-by-step explanation:
In fact, when reading this particular piece of the passage, the reader immediately gets the idea that he/she is being given all the background, and historical information, about how Mad Cow disease began, and how it was handled in the beginnings, as well as the progress that was achieved through different actions and plans established by governments, as of 2010. Basically the article about such an event, that happened so long before, has the purpose of giving a background, and also a progress report, on the issue. This is why the answer is A.