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Mad Cow Report in the Wings Editors, Farm Progress -- Monday, October 23, 2000 Compliments Linda Campbell and UnitedGoats@egroups.com
From the debacle of 1996 when the British swore off beef eating to concerns over government credibility over any scientific information, the mad cow problem has been top of mind for this country for nearly five years. Now, the government is ready to release its definitive report on the mess this Thursday. Already, British media are getting bits and pieces of the report in front of the public. The biggest news is that the government is going to agree to compensate people who are victims of the brain disease -- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) -- said to be caused by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. There are 84 known cases of this variant of CJD, and 73 of those people have died. One paper says that families of those victims could expect to see "hundreds of thousands of pounds" in payments from the government. Meanwhile, a German report, which will be released at the same time as the main mad cow report, says the British government hid the risks of BSE and told scientists to keep quiet. The German researcher interviewed more than 50 ministers and scientists from Britain and Germany about how they were treated by the British government from the mid 1980s to 1996. The report makes some pretty tough allegations about negligence and deceit for the whole BSE issue. American farmers have been told for several years that one of the reasons the British don't buy into biotech is that the mad cow incident caused them to mistrust all government information. This new BSE report isn't going to do anything for government credibility anytime soon. Mad cow meat found in French grocery store A few days after a British scientific panel opined that French meat may actually be less safe, it turns out a major food retailer in Paris took delivery of tainted beef. The ton of infected beef apparently went on sale October 9 in Northern France and Paris. Two more tons of the meat were intercepted at the slaughterhouse and the government is prosecuting the beef trader involved. Meanwhile, that grocery chain has to clear its meat cases of beef. The rising number of infected herds in France, and a few nefarious traders, could cause plenty of headaches for that country's beef buyers in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, France remains locked in a bitter battle with the European Union over its continuing ban on British beef, claiming a continued risk of mad cow disease-infected product getting into the country. <How to spot if your cow has Mad Cow Disease> http://mats.gmd.de/~steffi/madcow/madcow.htm 
Diatomaceous Earth: The "Silver Bullet" by Howard Garrett compliments the Oberhausli list
Not long ago, I started talking about diatomaceous earth as an insecticide. Boy, was I a genius. This stuff had only been around since near the beginning of time. It's been nature's insecticide since than and its other uses are many. So why haven't the university systems and all the gardening experts been recommending it for years? More recently I started talking about using natural DE as a food supplement for animals. The results are almost too good to believe - even for me, and the question again comes up - why am I the only one recommending this stuff? Seems like the vets should be extolling the virtues of DE from the highest hills. Undaunted ( hard headed might be a better choice of words), I wrote about DE in the Dallas Morning News and when I started the gardening show at WBAP, it was the main topic of conversation. So much so that my boss told me that show was getting a little boring from talking about DE every call. I didn't ask the questions - just answered them. Natural diatomaceous earth (DE for short) is the remains of microscopic one-celled plants (phytoplankton) called diatoms that lived in the oceans that once covered the western part of the United States and other parts of the world. Huge deposits were left behind when the water receded. They are now mined and have several important uses in toothpaste, beer filtering, and swimming pool filters. DE is approximately 3% magnesium, 86% silicon, 5% sodium, 2% iron and many other trace minerals such as titanium, boron, manganese, copper and zirconium. Natural DE also makes a very effective natural insecticide. The insecticidal quality of DE is due to the razor sharp edges of the diatom remains. When DE comes contact with the insects, the sharp edges lacerate the bugs' waxy exoskeleton and then the powdery DE absorbs the body fluids causing death from dehydration. Said more simply, DE kills insects by drying then up. You'll see how drying DE is if you handle it with bare hands. There is no residual danger of contamination. In fact, DE is actually beneficial to the soil. It's loaded with trace minerals. However, there are a few precautions. Diatomaceous earth is very dusty and can cause lung problems if breathed heavily, so when applying it dry always wear a good dust mask or stand up wind. The second precaution is that DE sold for swimming pool filters is ineffective for insect control because it has been heated and chemically treated. It won't kill insects and it is very dangerous to breathe. Finally natural DE will kill beneficial insects too, so use it sparingly to kill problem infestations of harmful insects and don't use it too often. Diatomaceous earth can be applied in a variety of ways. to use for flea and tick control, apply a light dusting over the lawn, in dog runs, around pet bedding or favorite resting spots and sprinkle a little on your pet between baths of a mild herbal soap. Avoid Dips and soaps containing chemical insecticides. It's also a good idea to avoid soaps that contain ammonium laurel sulfate. It's used to make good studs but it is a skin irritant. Check out your own soap and tooth paste while you're at it. The best way to apply the dust over a large area is with a light weight apparatus such as Dustin' Mizer, Spritzer or other similar blowers. Applying by hands can be done but wastes a lot of material and will dry your skin. To apply with water, mix 1/4 cup of DE in a gallon of water and apply to the lawn and/or shrubs where pest problems exist. It doesn't hurt insects until it dries out. One of the best uses of DE is to add it to animal food - pets or livestock. When used at 1% to 2% of the food volume, it controls internal parasites, increases digestion and provides valuable trace minerals. You will usually see an overall increase in health of any animals fed DE on a regular basis. Here are some of the common questions I get on natural diatomaceous earth. Is DE dangerous to my pets, me or my family? Since DE is dusty and abrasive, it can cause lung damage if breathed heavily. remember, however, that breathing any dusty materials can be dangerous. be sure to wear a dusk mask if applying with a dry blower. Mixing into a water spray eliminates most of these problems. DE will not hurt earthworms or beneficial soil microorganisms. DE is one of the few pesticides in the world classified as nontoxic, although I'm not real comfortable with the classification. I think anything can be toxic if over used or misused. How much DE should I feed my animals? Some of the feeding rations suggested by suppliers and users include: 1-2% by weight of DE in ground, dry feed. 5% by weight in stored grain. 5 ounces ( one cup) daily ration for horses. one tablespoon per day for large dogs (over 55 lb.). One teaspoon per day for small dogs, cats and puppies. Does spraying DE in a wet solution work as well as the dry dust? The wet spray method does work but only after the liquid had dried. Mix from 1-4 tablespoons DE per gallon of water and spray on the lawn, shrubs, tree trunks and building foundations. When the mixture dried, it has the same abrasive and dehydrating powers as the original dry dust. When sprayed wet the material covers the foliage and other surfaces better than dusting dry, thus giving better insect control. It seems to last longer when applied wet, but the dry application is usually more effective at killing insects quickly. DE has no insect killing power while it is wet. Can I mix DE with other sprays? Yes, it can be mixed with other organic products such as seaweed, fish emulsion, garlic tea, and biostimulants. it would be silly to mix DE with chemical insecticides. In fact, it's silly to use synthetic toxic pesticides for anything. Is DE registered by the EPA and labeled for insect control? Yes! Some people would have you believe that DE is untested, unlabeled and therefore unsafe for use. That's just one of the feeble arguments left to the organiphobes. DE has been used for years in the food processing industry to treat stored gains to eliminate weevil and other insect infestations. There are currently dozen of registrations of DE with the EPA for various insecticidal and food supplement uses. DE, with and without pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide, is registered and labeled for fleas, ants, roaches and many other pests. Piperony butoxide (PBO) is a synthetic synergism that is added to increase the killing power of the product. I do not recommend it for any use. Those wanting to avoid it can mix pure pyrethrum and DE together at a 25% -75% ratio. Pyrethrum products that are available include Natural Guard and ECOsafe . There is approximately 1% pyrethrin in natural pyrethrum powder. Pyrethroids are synthetic insecticides. They do not resemble natural pyrethrum and should not be used. (note: ECOsafe was a trade name for Natural Animal) PESTE DES PETITS RUMINANTS - AN EMERGING PLAGUE? November 6, 2000 New Agriculturist Online http://www.new-agri.co.uk/00-6/focuson/focuson9.html Rinderpest, arguably the most feared livestock disease of previous decades, is currently a reality to farmers in a few isolated areas only. But perhaps more worrying for farmers in many parts of Asia and Africa, is the reality of another highly contagious viral disease peste des petits ruminants (PPR), which affects goats and sheep, gives similar signs to Rinderpest and is becoming more widespread. Rinderpest now remains a persistent plague in only a few small areas and, with international commitment, could soon be eliminated completely. And, with the breadth of experience that has accumulated through the radication efforts of this major disease, it is possible that eventually PPR may also be brought to its knees. From Rinderpest to PPR Specific recognition of PPR has proved difficult in many countries, especially when the disease is first introduced. It is characterized by a sudden decline in the animal, fever, discharges from the eyes and nose, sores in the mouth, labored breathing, diarrhea and death. It is important to discriminate between PPR and Rinderpest, because Rinderpest has sometimes also been recognized to affect sheep in the Indian subcontinent with signs similar to PPR. Peste des petits ruminants is an important disease in its own right but correct identification is essential particularly as any outbreak of Rinderpest, at this stage of the eradication program, represents an international emergency. PPR was once thought to be only an African problem: it has not been recognized in southern Africa, nor in most of northern Africa, but infection has been identified in many of the African countries between these regions where it has been, and continues to be, a serious problem. It is also present in much of the Middle East but it is in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India that it is currently causing alarming losses and there is a grave risk that it could spread into the central Asian countries. "It¹s becoming very clear that if you are undertaking any development of livestock production involving small ruminants in Asia and much of Africa, that PPR has be taken extremely seriously. Livestock have to be protected against it," states Peter Roeder, Animal Health Officer responsible for viral diseases at FAO and the Secretary of the Global Rinderpest Eradication Program. This is particularly the experience of Bangladesh where PPR is currently jeopardizing a goat development project, which had been very successful. Development projects based on sheep in Afghanistan and Jordan have also been seriously affected. Unfortunately, unlike the situation with Rinderpest, coordinated eradication of PPR is not a likely prospect in the immediate future but progressive control of the disease is possible. Vaccination, combined with commonsense actions such as safeguarding flocks and herds against inadvertent introduction of the disease, are able to provide good control, particularly as a vaccine is available to provide lifelong immunity. The turnover rate of small ruminant populations is, however, much faster than that of larger livestock, which means that vaccination has to be used more intensively and more frequently. But, if this can be achieved within a program of progressive control, losses could be minimized and certain areas should be able to be freed from PPR. In the meantime, further support is to be provided by FAO to help authorities understand PPR and to be able to differentiate it from a variety of diseases that cause similar respiratory problems and mortality of small ruminants, including pneumonic pasteurellosis and contagious Caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP). For further information: Recognizing peste des petits ruminants A field manual By FAO/EMPRES (see In Print 99-4) or the manual can be downloaded from
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