Dr Jon's letter Mad Cow Update . . . scary

[Guest guest]

I would encourage all of you to read " The Mad Cowboy: by Howard Lyman.. and

the other books Amazon has listed as those being read along with it.if it

doesnt change your way of eating forever , I would be shocked..

Donna

In a message dated 1/15/02 11:15:15 AM, drjoncat writes:

 

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After my article on Mad Cow disease I received over 300 responses. I

regret that time does not permit me to respond individually. After

reading a lot of research, I am convinced the problem is not nearly

as isolated as we are led to believe.

 

All over the country young steers, weighing 200-300 lbs. are sold to

feed lots. In a matter of a few months these slender, healthy

animals are transformed into fat, frequently diseased, animals,

weighing 600-800 lbs., ready for market.

 

Feeding cattle diets of starchy, high-calorie grain produces more

steak but gives the animals disorders that must be treated with

antibiotics and other drugs.

 

Cattle being readied for the slaughterhouse are typically put on

diets that are 90% grain and the remains of previously slaughtered

cows, pigs and sheep . . . bones, brains, spleen and whatever is not

profitable to sell. This makes them gain weight quickly and produce

meat with the tasty marbling of fat so beloved by steak eaters.

 

This is similar to the massive fraud in the herbal industry. Wild

crafted echinacea takes four years to mature. One can use high

powered fertilizer and pesticides to accelerate maturity in two

years. The plants look better and are almost twice the size. This

translates into far more revenue. The problem is that although the

plant looks great, it is almost worthless and may be dangerous due to

pesticide contamination. James X. Hartman, Ph.D., professor of

biology at Florida Atlantic University, examined the " off the shelf "

echinacea vs. wild crafted in his bio assay system. The commercial

product had only 10% of the activity. One can read his article at:

http://cat007.com/hart.htm

 

The problem, said James B. Russell, a Department of Agriculture

researcher at Cornell University, is that nature designed cattle to

feed on grass and other high fiber foods. An all grain diet makes

them sick, he said in a study appearing Friday in the journal Science.

 

``When you feed cattle 90 or 100 percent grain, it creates an

acidosis in the ruman (stomach) and the ruman wall becomes

ulcerated,'' said Russell. Bacteria, such as Fusobacterium

necrophorum, migrate through the ulcers and

end up in the liver where they cause abscesses.

 

``At least 13 percent of the animals in feedlots have liver

abscesses, some as big as your thumb, which means the livers have to

be discarded as unfit for human consumption,'' he said.

 

To limit this problem, feedlot operators give the animals antibiotics

to suppress F. necorphorum and other bacteria.

 

``If they didn't give antibiotics, about 75 percent of the animals'

livers would be abscessed,'' said Russell.

 

Forty percent of the antibiotics sold are used for cattle. For years

I have warned that chronic use of antibiotics is very dangerous.

Your system can develop an immunity which may render an antibiotic

useless should you be in a life threatening situation where only an

antibiotic can save your life.

 

High grain diets cause other problems, such as bloating and liver

failure, and Russell estimated that about three out of every 1,000

cattle in a feed lot die of grain-related disorders.

 

High levels of grain in the cattle diet, said Russell, cause a slow

and sluggish movement of food through the animal. This allows the

starchy grain to build up high levels of acid in the ruman and the

acid causes the ulcers.

 

The researcher said that about half of the bicarbonate of soda

produced in the U.S. is fed to cattle to partially neutralize the

acid from high grain diets. The industry also use lime placed in the

animal feed. Russell said that cattle are healthiest when they are

fed diets that include grass, hay or other high fiber matter. This

prompts the animal's gut to work properly, limits the production of

acid and allows the animals to gain weight without the need for

antibiotics against liver abscesses.

 

But grass and hay are low in nutrition, compared to grain, and it

takes months longer for cattle to reach market weight, said Russell.

 

In my previous letter I mentioned that Mad Cow disease had not been

found in the Orient. I was mistaken. A few cases have been verified

in Japan.

 

As most of you know, I provided the funding for The Generic Co-Op.

http://cat007.com/meow.htm

 

After learning so much about this problem I contacted one of their

major laboratories which provides the " CA " (Certificate of

Authenticity) on many of their products. I spoke to David Tan. He

assured me that all cattle products (gelatin, collagen and

chondroitin) were of Chinese origin. A sister company, in Taiwan,

produces millions of bottles of nutritional products for the Chinese

market. Mr. Tan said, " Chinese will not buy any animal product

supplements from Europe or the USA. "

 

If you are using Internet Explorer, type in " mad cow disease " in the

address field. You will find hundreds of scientific articles which

clearly show this problem is far more widespread that we are told.

 

I read of one interesting study which examined the relative health of

kids in Oriental areas where a McDonalds was introduced. Within ten

years the children's health declined. From slender and healthy many

became much like Western kids . . . overweight and far more likely to

be chronically ill.

 

The undeniable fact is that commerce is revenue/profit driven. I

doubt we will see many nutritional manufacturers switching to the

more expensive Oriental cattle products for their gelatin,

chondroitin or collagen. My advice would be to switch to veg-caps

from your current gelatin capsules, even though it will cost more.

Alternatively, insist that any cattle derived products clearly

state, " of Oriental origin. "

 

I still believe the risk is relatively small. However, why take a

risk if one cannot afford to lose?

 

The best idea is to substitute fish or poultry for beef and buy only

organically raised veggies.

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