A n i m a l W r i t
e s
© sm
The
official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Publisher
~ EnglandGal@aol.com Issue # 05/28/00
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Journalists ~ PrkStRangr@aol.com
~ MRivera008@aol.com
~ SavingLife@aol.com
THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1
~ Water Water Everywhere And Not A Drop to Drink
by PrkStRangr@aol.com
2
~
Fear of Disease Prompts New Look at Rendering by Sandra Blakeslee
3
~ Animal Rights 2000 National Conference from FARM
4
~ Fur Facts submitted by veegman@erols.com
5
~ 5-A-Day Across the USA (tm) Cross-Country Tour
submitted by DBrown@5aday.COM
6
~ Poem: Poppins by
tapster@mindspring.com
7
~ Quote to Remember by Mark Twain
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Water Water Everywhere
and Not a Drop to Drink
by
PrkStRangr@aol.com
Well,
sure, Bill Clinton's recent moves to establish more national parks, monuments
and preserves to protect wilderness and coastal areas may be partially
motivated by helping Gore in the election, but at least the effort is being
made. A few days ago Clinton announced
the planned creation of protected areas for beaches in the continental states
and the coral reefs of Hawaii, and strengthening of the EPA's regulations on
water quality.
This
is a small step, but an important move in the right direction. However, a major problem with the
implementation of these measures is funding.
Congressional republicans have attached riders to the annual appropriations
bills which would prevent federal agencies from receiving the money to create
and maintain these new preserves. The
major exploiter of our natural resources, the meat industry, continues to exert
more influence on Congress than those who are concerned about a clean and
healthy environment.
The
livestock industry is responsible for half of all water used in the US and
taxpayers are paying the price so that farmers can receive water subsidies and
bailouts to grow crops for livestock.
It seems easy to sympathize with farmers and agree that they get price
supports and bailouts, that is until you realize that over 75% of all US
soybeans, corn and grains is being grown to feed livestock.
The
other half of our fresh water supply, the half not used to maintain a supply of
dead animal flesh, is being used as a toilet to flush away the billions of tons
of animal wastes. Animal manure from
spills, direct dumping and runoffs from factory farms has become the major
source of pollution in our nations rivers.
On
May 19th, a report was released by the Sierra Club and Consumers Union
(publishers of Consumer Reports) that found that Texas was the nation's leader
in producing animal waste. (I will
resist the urge to say I've long realized that Texas was full of ....) Texas Governor George Bush, Jr. is an
industry puppet who, through weak regulations and nonexistent enforcement, has
allowed my state's water and air to be terribly compromised. If Bush is elected president, at least
Americans will have plenty of guns to defend their supplies of bottled water.
The
report went on to find that Texas is producing 280 billion tons of manure per
year which amounts to 40 pounds of manure per Texas resident per day.
"Howdy, Neighbor. Say, I'd like to
give you my share of this crap. I'm a
vegan and didn't help make it so I figure I don't deserve to keep it."
The
deadly bacteria E-coli 0157, which was responsible for the tragic deaths and
illnesses in Ontario last week, lives in the guts of cattle. It leaks into water supplies. This occurrence, which mirrors the same
event that happened in upstate New York not long ago, will become more and more
commonplace in the future. Don't
participate in the environmentally irresponsible act of eating animal
products.
I
was somewhat amazed by Clinton's weekly radio address of May 27th in which he
proposed the mandatory labeling of meat with the amount of fat, cholesterol and
nutritional information now found on most food labels. Wow.
His recommendation that all Americans cut back on fat and eat more
grains, fruits and vegetables sounded like the rap from my fellow vegetarian
advocates. We should write Clinton, and
send a copy to Secretary Glickman of the USDA, thanking Bill and suggesting
that one step to achieve this would be that less federal money be spent buying
hamburger, cheese and hogs to feed our children in the federal school lunch
program.
Go
Vegan!
`*³³¤³*´`´`*³:»§«:´*´`´`*³¤³«:*´`³¤³´`³¤³´`³¤³´`³:»«:*´`´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³*´`´`*:»§«:³*´`´`*¤³³*'
Fear of Disease Prompts
New Look at Rendering
By Sandra
Blakeslee
When
cows in Britain began staggering around and dying, their brains eaten away by a
mysterious disease, officials in the United States were reassuring. The disease
would not be a problem here, they said.
Later,
when it appeared that a few people in Britain had contracted a similar lethal
condition from eating affected meat, experts at the Department of Agriculture
said there was no reason for Americans to worry.
Now,
though, the Food and Drug Administration is starting to talk about new
regulations in the aftermath of disturbing hints that something similar
conceivably could appear in American animals.
So
far, the only affected animals are a few hundred mink in Wisconsin. Nevertheless, the agency wants to restrict
the little-known agricultural practice that lies behind the problem in Britain:
the use of rendered animal tissue in animal feed. In the process, they are
drawing new attention to rendering -- the ancient but seldom-discussed practice
of boiling down and making feed meal and other products out of slaughterhouse
and restaurant scraps, dead farm animals, road kill and -- distasteful as it
may seem -- cats and dogs euthanized in some animal shelters.
This
quasi-cannibalism lies behind the outbreak in Britain and regulators want to be
sure it will not cause problems in the United States.
The
disease that struck the British cows, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, may
have originated as scrapie, a mysterious condition limited to sheep. Scientists believe the so-called mad cow
disease results when cattle eat feed made from the brains or spinal cords of
sheep suffering from scrapie. They
believe the people who died were infected when they ate beef or other products
from these cows, a theory that remains controversial, though evidence is
accumulating.
Public
health officials and agricultural experts say there are good reasons to believe
that mad cow disease will not become a problem in the United States. Scrapie is less common in this country than
in Britain. More importantly, the Food and Drug Administration is moving to ban
the use of certain animal tissues in cattle feed. The agency recently held
hearings on the effects that such a ban might have on the billion-dollar
industry and hopes to decide this year whether to impose a ban.
Rendering,
which dates to the early Egyptians, operates in the shadows of polite society,
persisting because it provides an essential service: disposing of millions of
pounds of dead animals every day.
''If
you burned all the carcasses, you'd get a terrible air pollution problem,''
said Dr. William Heuston, associate dean of the Virginia-Maryland College of
Veterinary Medicine at College Park, Md. ''If you put it all into landfills,
you'd have a colossal public health problem, not to mention stench. Dead
animals are an ideal medium for bacterial growth.''
Renderers
in the United States pick up 100 million pounds of waste material every
day -- a witch's brew of feet, heads, stomachs, intestines, hooves, spinal
cords, tails, grease, feathers and bones. Half of every butchered cow and a
third of every pig is not consumed by humans. An estimated six million to seven
million dogs and cats are killed in animal shelters each year, said Jeff Frace,
a spokesman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
in New York City.
For
example, the city of Los Angeles sends 200 tons of euthanized cats and dogs to
West Coast Rendering, in Los Angeles, every month, according to Chuck Ellis, a
spokesman for the city's Sanitation Department.
Pet
food companies try not to buy meat and bone meal from renderers who grind up
cats and dogs, said Doug Anderson, president of Darling International Inc., a
large rendering company in Dallas. ''We do not accept companion animals,'' he
said. ''But there are still a number of small plants that will render
anything.''
At
least 250 rendering plants operate in the United States, said Bruce Blanton,
executive director of the 130-member National Renderers Association in
Alexandria, Va. While there are still a few small operations on the outskirts of
some cities, he said, modern rendering plants are large and centralized, and
the industry's revenues amount to $2.4 billion a year.
After
trucks deliver the wastes to the plants, the material is minced and fed into a
vessel where it is steam-cooked to 250 degrees or more, and then the stew is
cooked for 20 to 90 minutes, Mr. Blanton said. In the resulting mash, heavier
material drops to the bottom and the lighter stuff floats to the top. Fat is
siphoned off the top, filtered and sent through centrifuges to further refine
it, Mr. Blanton said. Chemical manufacturers turn much of it into fatty acids
for lubricants, lipstick, cement, polish, inks and waxes. Other fractions,
including gelatinous layers, tallow and grease, go into thousands of products,
including soaps, candles, pharmaceuticals, homeopathic medicines and gummy
candies.
The
heavier protein material on the bottom goes through a separate process, Mr.
Blanton said. It is dried, squeezed to remove more fat and dried again. The resulting powder is the major ingredient
in pet and animal feed. It is a cannibalistic practice that has proved highly
profitable.
''We
are the original recyclers,'' said Dr. Don A. Franco, a veterinarian and
director of scientific services for the Animal Protein Producers' Industry,
another trade group representing rendering firms. ''We recycle 40 billion
pounds of material a year.''
Mad
cow disease erupted in Britain because of a number of factors there, said Dr.
Linda Detweiler, a veterinarian with the United States Agriculture Department's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Trenton. Unlike the United
States, Britain has a large sheep population relative to cows and a serious
problem with scrapie, a transmissible, slowly progressive degenerative brain
disease of sheep.
Many
scientists who have studied the problem now believe that scrapie somehow
crossed a species barrier to infect cows, possibly when the cows ate feed
composed in part of brain tissue from infected sheep. The disease presumably
jumped to people who ate infected cow brains. Current theory holds that some
people may have genes that make them particularly susceptible.
Mad
cow disease was first recognized as a cattle disorder in November 1986. Since
then more than 165,000 cows have been affected.
Dr.
Heuston said renderers were shocked to learn that an agent like scrapie might
survive the rendering process.
But
British rendering practices may have helped spread the disease, said David
Evans, president of Carolina Byproducts, a rendering company in Greensboro,
N.C. There are people in Britain, called knackers, who make a living going
around the countryside picking up dead animals and rendering them in their
backyards. The fat they obtain brings good money from chemical firms, he said.
These knackers simply grind up and partly cook their daily haul to break fat
cells and collect the gunk from the top of their vats. The remaining material,
called greaves or crackling, was sold to farmers who then mixed it with grain
and fed it to their animals. This material, some derived from sheep with
scrapie or cattle with mad cow disease, was fed in large amounts to dairy herds
in the late 1980's, Dr. Detweiler said.
Yet
another factor lay in the way greaves were processed in conventional rendering
plants, Mr. Anderson said. Until the early 1980's, many renderers had used
flammable solvents to dissolve fats and the solvents may have deactivated the
agent that causes mad cow disease and scrapie. But after several plant
explosions, the companies switched to other methods that appear not to
deactivate the agent -- a mysterious particle called a prion.
Since
1989, British renderers have tried to keep infected meat out of their products,
many knackers have gone out of business and brains are no longer put into
hamburger. But the incubation for the human disease is 7 to 30 years, Mr. Evans
said. While only 15 cases of human disease have been confirmed, many experts
fear a latent epidemic.
In
1989, the American rendering industry initiated a voluntary program under
which, for example, no sheep heads were to be accepted at rendering
plants. An Agriculture Department
survey three years later found that 6 of 11 plants inspected still did so.
Nevertheless,
many experts feel that American shores are safe from mad cow disease, especially
if scrapie is the underlying vector. In Britain, sheep account for 14 percent
of raw rendering material. Here it is six-tenths of 1 percent and most of that
material is free from scrapie.
The
reason is that scrapie is closely monitored by United States Agriculture
Department veterinarians under a Federal program.
There
are no knackers in this country and no greaves to infect cattle, Dr. Detweiler
said. Few ranchers here feed meat and bone meal to young cows and American
renderers usually treat the raw material at higher temperatures.
But
the key element in efforts to prevent the cow disease is a newly proposed
Agriculture Department ban on feeding protein derived from ruminant animals to
other ruminants. Ruminants are animals that chew cuds, including cows, sheep,
goats, deer and elk. Mink are included in the ban because they can be affected
by a disorder similar to mad cow disease.
If
the Agriculture Department rules are adopted, cow protein might still be fed to
fish, chicken or pigs in hope that if mad cow disease were to appear, a species
barrier would stop it from spreading.
At
the same time, the Agriculture Department continues to monitor American cows
for signs of mad cow disease. Scientists have examined the brains of 5,342 cows
that displayed symptoms of central nervous system disease; no cases have been
discovered.
But
a major reason to worry is that the cow epidemic may have nothing to do with
scrapie or the processing techniques used by renderers, said Dr. Richard F.
Marsh, a veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. There are reasons to believe that mad cow
disease has already risen spontaneously in American cattle, he said. But it
apparently has not jumped into the animal feed supply at this point.
The
strongest evidence is an outbreak of mink encephalopathy (a disorder similar to
mad cow disease) that occurred in 1985 in Stetsonville, Wis. The mink farmer
did not feed commercial meal to his animals, Dr. Marsh said. Rather he fed them the meat from a downer
cow, a cow that is down and cannot get up. It is possible that the cow had a
spontaneous case of mad cow disease and passed it into mink, Dr. Marsh said.
Spontaneous
cases of mad cow disease may well occur in one cow out of every million cows
each year, said Dr. Joseph Gibbs, a leading expert on mad cow disease at the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md. There
are 150 million cows in this country, which means that each year 150 of them
might develop mad cow disease -- all on their own, without any exposure to
tainted feed.
Renderers
pick up the carcasses of 100,000 downer cows every year and mix them in with
other animals, Dr. Marsh said. Although the Agriculture Department tries to
test downer cows for signs of mad cow disease, it can only sample a small
percentage. Moreover, animals can be quite sick and not show signs of it before
they are sent to slaughter, Dr. Marsh said. Thus, try as they might to avoid
the problem, renderers could unknowingly introduce infected animals into animal
feed and start an epidemic.
Deer
and elk also have a spontaneous mad-cow-like disease, Dr. Gibbs said. If they die in the woods, the disease would
not be transmitted. But if they are killed on the road, they are sent to zoos
or greyhound tracks or, more often, go straight to the rendering plant to end
up as cattle feed or pet food.
Source: "Nancy
Mills" <girl@airmail.net>
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Animal Rights 2000 Conference
From Farm
Animal Reform Movement (FARM)
ANIMAL RIGHTS 2000 -- Washington, DC; July 1-5
Be there for the animals and bring a friend!
July 1, 2000,
Affinity Meetings - The Animal Rights 2000 national conference will feature
eight two-hour Affinity Meetings on Saturday, July 1, 11am-1pm. The
themes of the meetings will be:
- Animals in Agriculture
- Animals in Research/Testing
- Companion Animals
- Animals for Amusement
- Grassroots Networking
-
Youth Outreach
- Outreach to Children
- Politics/Legislation/Litigation.
The
purpose of the Affinity Meetings is to allow activists with similar interests
to get acquainted, exchange contact information, and plan joint projects. Each meeting will have a facilitator and
will determine its own agenda.
As
a special courtesy, the $160 registration rate is extended to May 31 for
Affinity Meeting participants. Registration can be accomplished with a credit
card at:
www.AnimalRights2000.org or 888-FARM USA
as
well as by sending a web site registration form with payment by mail.
July 5, 2000, Lobby
Day
- Several hundred animal rights activists will take part in Lobby Day 2000,
immediately following the Animal Rights 2000 National Conference. The event is
sponsored by the Humane Society of the US.
Participants
are requested to arrange meetings with their Representatives and Senators
between 10:30am and 3:00pm on July 5, 2000 to discuss "animal
issues." Specific legislation will be presented at a briefing preceeding
the visits. For additional help, visit:
www.hsus.org/forms/search_reps.html
or call
Caitlin Hills at 202-955-3665.
HSUS
will provide transportation from the Animal Rights 2000 hotel at 8:30 am on
July 5 and will store luggage. HSUS will also treat participants to breakfast,
lunch, and a legislative briefing on Capitol Hill.
Although
participants are not required to register for Animal Rights 2000, their visits
will be much more effective if they do. As a special courtesy, the $160
registration rate is extended to May 31 for Lobby Day 2000 participants. Registration can be accomplished with a
credit card at
www.AnimalRights2000.org
or 888-FARM
USA
as
well as by sending a web site registration form with payment by mail.
http://www.AnimalRights2000.org
1-888-FARM USA
Email:
Farmusa@erols.com
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Fur Facts
The
majority of furs taken from animals killed by trappers are used in the trim
trade. Otter, muskrat, raccoon,
lower-quality beaver skins, and many other furs are being used only in
"secondary" markets. These
markets include the manufacturers of fur-covered toys, hat linings, fly-tying
and trim for parkas. Although it is not
confirmed, it is suspected that the felt that tops pool tables is manufactured
from ten to fifteen percent beaver fur.
Fur
factory farming is declining in Russia.
Only ten years ago, 200 factory farms were in operation. Today, the number hovers around thirty. Russian fur consumers are not looking for
the high-quality mink that is typically used in the US. They are looking for fur that is of lower
quality since it is being used mostly for trim. Many of the fur coats sold in Russia are manufactured in
China. The ABLE International Company
of Tianjin manufactures black dog fur overcoats and markets them in China and
Russia. The coats are popular because
they are inexpensive, durable, and not considered to be culturally offensive.
Source: Trapper & Predator Caller June-July 2000
Contributed
by:
veegman@erols.com
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5-A-Day Across the USA (tm)
Cross-Country Tour
Wilmington,
Delaware - The journey is about to begin.
The stage is set for the Produce for Better Health Foundation's 5-A-Day
Across the USA (tm) cross-country tour, which kicks off May 18 in Salinas,
California, and concludes June 2 in Washington, DC. The many special events and activities along the way will
encourage consumers to pledge to eat daily 5 or more servings of fruits and
vegetables to improve their health.
With
stops in 24 cities and a route of 6,100 miles, this third 5-A-Day Across the
USA(tm) will certainly be the biggest yet.
Following the kick-off event in Salinas, the Foundation will make the
following stops:
*
May 18 in Livermore, California.;
*
May 19 in Pleasanton, California;
*
May 20 in Bentonville, Arkansas;
*
May 21 in Millington and Memphis, Tennessee;
*
May 22 in Dallas, Texas;
*
May 23 in Phoenix, Arizona;
*
May 24 in Salt Lake City and West Jordan, Utah;
*
May 25 in Lenexa, Kansas, and Des Moines, Iowa;
*
May 26 in Eden Prairie and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Brookfield (near Milwaukee),
Wisconsin.;
*
May 27 in Park Ridge (near Chicago), Ill., and Indianapolis, Indiana;
*
May 30 in Lexington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio;
*
May 31 in Cincinnati;
*
June 1 in Boston and Pembroke, Massachusetts, Wilmington, Delaware; and
altimore, Maryland;
*
and June 2 in Washington, DC.
In
these locations, the Foundation will visit retailers, produce company
headquarters, state capitols, a newspaper, magazine editors, corporate
headquarters, state health departments, a Naval base, a bank, and the nation's
capitol.
To
liven up each event, the Foundation's "Produce Man" costumed
character will encourage consumers to sign a pledge card to "Take the 5 A
Day Challenge" to eat 5 A Day each day for an entire year. Consumers can
sign a huge pledge card, which will be displayed at each stop. Governors and
mayors will sign pledge cards and issue proclamations.
The
kick-off event at Salinas High School will feature the "World's Largest
Tossed Spinach Salad." Premier
Farms donated a majority of the product for the event. The California Department of Health Services
is encouraging local elementary schools to gather more than 10,000 pledges from
individuals promising to take the 5-A-Day pledge.
The
finale will take place at the Rayburn Office foyer and Capitol building in
Washington, DC, where government officials will learn about 5-A-Day at a
special reception. The Foundation is
coordinating the event with help from the Florida Fruit & Vegetable
Association, United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, U.S. Apple
Association, and Western Growers Association.
On the Capitol steps, the Foundation will display the many banners
featuring signatures from consumers nationwide who pledged to eat 5 A Day.
This
is the Foundation's third 5-A-Day Across the USA (tm) tour. The Inaugural 5-A-Day Across the USA (tm)
tour took place May 20-27, 1999. The
1,500-mile route from Orlando, Florida, to New York, brought the 5-A-Day
message to residents in 17 cities along the East Coast. The West Coast tour
took place August 27-Sept. 4, 1999 along an 1,800-mile route reaching 14 cities
from Seattle, Washington, to Los Angeles, California.
For
more information on 5 A Day Across the USA(tm), contact the Foundation at
302-235-2329; fax to 302-235-5555 or check out the 5 A Day Across the USA(tm)
pages on the Foundation's website at http://www.5aday.com.
The
Produce for Better Health Foundation is the catalyst for creating a healthier
America through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization
which, in cooperation with the National Cancer Institute, sponsors the national
5 A Day -- for Better Health program.
Produce
for Better Health Foundation
RELEASED:
May 15, 2000
CONTACT:
ROBB ENRIGHT (302-235-ADAY, ext. 18; Fax: 302-235-5555 )
5301 Limestone Road
Suite 101
Wilmington, DE 19808-1249
http://www.5aday.com
Source: Donate Brown
<DBrown@5aday.COM>
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
POPPINS
by
tapster@mindspring.com
frightened
howls, beat to death
frenzied
oinks, they fall
disemboweled
mixed with eyeballs
slaughterhouses,
guilty, we all
Mary will stay
'til the wind changes
when will that
be, Mary?
Supercalfa
fragilistic expialitrocious
how long will
the butcher tarry?
I see you as a
still, dark shadow
nestled on
some windowsill of life
quietly
spreading buttered peace
ribbon
rainbows end my strife
1999 By diana
moreton.
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
Quote To Remember
"If you pick up a starving dog and make
him prosperous, he will not bite you;
that is the principal difference
between a dog and a man."
--
Mark Twain
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
Susan Roghair
- EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights
Online
P O Box 7053
Tampa, Fl
33673-7053
http://www.oocities.org/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal
Rights Online=-
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boards:
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