Humane Activist p. 1, 7 "Down on the Farm." The transport and sale of downed animals continues despite well-publicized reports that these animals are a food safety risk. Most recently, in May, a downed cow in Alberta, Canada, tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) -- or mad cow disease. Disaster was narrowly avoided when a veterinarian pulled the slaughtered animal out of the food processing line to be tested. Humans who eat BSE-infected meat can contract the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Several states -- including California*, Colorado*, Illinois* and Oregon* -- have passed legislation prohibiting the processing of downed animals. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has signed into law two bills that establish a standard of care for downed animals: One requires immediate action to restore downed animals to an ambulatory state or humanely euthanize them. The other prohibits the delivery of downed animals to auction market. UPDATE: Farm Sanctuary News 1/2004, p. 7 "Downed Animals" In Oregon, HB 3339, restricting the trade in downed animals, passed both legislative houses and was signed into law by the governor. The bill prohibits the delivery or acceptance of downed animals at stockyards.

p4, 5, "The Latest In..."

Author describes and cites various kinds of non-animal studies.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES

1) "More Evidence That Milk Does Not Prevent Osteoporosis." The Harvard Nurses' Health Study of 72,000 postmenopausal women showed that neither milk nor a high-calcium diet reduce fracture rates in 18 years of follow-up. Adequate intake of vitamin D was associated with a lower risk of osteoporatic hip fractures. Women consuming 12.5 micrograms of vitamin D from foods plus supplements had a 37% lower risk of hip fracture. Skin exposure to sunlight can also serve as a major source of vitamin D [Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:504-11].

2) "Diet and Parkinson's Disease." The Harvard School of Public Health reports that men with the highest intakes of lactose, dairy calcium, dairy vitamin D, or dairy protein had a 50 to 80% increase in risk, compared with men who consumed the least. Possible contributors to the disease were thought to be tetrahydroisoquinolines, found in milk and cheese, or pesticides and PCBs that commonly contaminate dairy products [Ann neurol 2003; 52:793-801].

3) "Outsmarting Alzheimer's Disease." Saturated and hydrogenated fats in the diet appear to increase the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Illinois studied 815 people over age 65, found that fatty diets were a major predictor of who would develop dementia over the next four years [Arch Neurol 2003;60:194-200] [Arch Neurol 2003;60:203-8] [Arch Neurol 2003;60:209-12].

CELL CULTURE

"New Human Blood Test Reduces Animal Usage." University of Leipzig has developed a method for testing whether certain substances will cause an inflammatory or anti-inflammatory reaction in humans. Technique relies on cultured human monocytes (a type of white blood cell) taken from human blood samples. This system could reduce by millions the number of animals used in experiments worldwide.

FIELD STUDY

"Germ Warfare." An experiment at the University of Nebraska found that antibiotics used in farmed chickens, pigs, and cows pass from feces into soil and remain there longer and reach deeper soil levels than previously thought, perpetuating the spread of antibiotic resistance [JAMA 2003;289:885-8].

COMPUTER SIMULATION

"The Heartbeat of Technology." Digital animation is allowing heart surgeons to practice complex surgeries without risk to human patients. The CyberHeart produced by New York University Medical Center and the company CyberFiber, is a computerized 3D heart.

META ANALYSIS

"Outweighing the Competition." Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed nationwide food consumption surveys for1977-1998 and found that portion sizes have increased for salty snacks, desserts, soft drinks, fruit drinks, French fries, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and Mexican food, served inside and outside the home. Since 1971, adult obesity in the U.S. has increased from 14.5% to more than 30% of the population [JAMA 2003;289:450-3].

p5, "Wesleyan Students Win Victory for Hens, Egg Producers Edgy."

On April 27 the Wesleyan Student Assembly of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut passed a resolution to eliminate cruelly-produced eggs from the campus grocery store WEShop. The resolution makes Wesleyan the first American University to say No to the cruelties of factory egg production, in which hens are stuffed in wire cages in filthy buildings, debeaked, and starved for up to three weeks in the vicious practice known as forced molting.

OTHER SOURCE: Animal People, 7/05, p9, "82% of Caged Broilers are Burned by Urine." Free range eggs have only 2% of the US egg market share, but got a boost when the 75-store, 23-state Wild Oats Natural Marketplaces chain discontinued selling cage-produced eggs. This makes Wild Oats the first national retailer to officially commit exclusively to cage-free eggs.

"Huge Farm Cesspools Blamed for Creating Noxious Clouds" by Jennifer B Lee (NY Times). A growing number of scientists and public-health officials around the country say they have traced a variety of health problems of neighbors of huge industrial farms to vast amounts of concentrated animal waste, which emit toxic gases while collecting in open-air cesspools or evaporating through sprays. The gases, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, are poisonous. Livestock trade officials and Bush administration regulators say more study is needed before any cause and effect can be proven. But Dr. Kaye H Kilburn, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies the effects of toxic chemicals on the brain, said evidence strongly supported a link between the farms and the illnesses. Bush administration officials are negotiating with lobbyists for the livestock farms to establish voluntary monitoring of air pollution, which will give farm operators amnesty for any Clean Air Act violations while generating data that will enable regulators to track the type and source of pollutants more accurately.

"Neighbors of Vast Hog Farms Say Foul Air Endangers Their Health", by Jennifer Lee. Author describes the health effects of factory farms on neighborhoods and current roadblocks to research, legislation and regulation. Robert and DianeThornell were diagnosed with irreversible brain damage from hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from an industrial hog farm half a mile from their house. Author give brief case studies of others with illnesses associated with vicinity to industrial farms. About 1,800 residents of Mississippi have filed class-action lawsuits against factory farms. The industrial hog farm contains open-air cesspools the size of football fields, emitting toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. The National Academy of Sciences says that efforts to regulate water pollution may cause the farms to divert chemicals into the air by spraying liquid manure into the air, creating mists easily carried by the wind. Dr Kilburn, who diagnoses neurological disorders, remarks, "The coincidence of people showing a pattern of impairment and being exposed to hydrogen sulfide arising from lagoons where hog manure is stored and then sprayed on fields or sprayed into the air [makes connection] practically undeniable." Livestock trade officials and Bush administration regulators, however, say more study needs to be performed. Ron Prestage, owner of Prestage Farms, and Dick Isler, executive vice president of the Ohio Pork Producers Council, deny that there are any health problems associated with their farms. State environment officials in Iowa, one of the country's biggest pork-producing states, conducted air quality tests for hydrogen sulfide and ammonia at six neighborhood locations and found that the gases exceeded the state's recommended air standards. Iowa's state environmental agency announced new pollution regulations affecting farms, but the state legislature, "under industry pressure," nullified the regulations. Bush administration officials are negotiating to establish a voluntary monitoring of air pollution by large farms, which in turn will receive amnesty for any Clean Air Act (CAA) violations. Additional examples of potential vested interests hampering further study and regulation are detailed in the article, including quotes from those who have left the Environmental Protection Agency, and Agriculture Department (USDA) in protest. Viney Aneja, professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences at North Carolina State University, remarks, "This is a factory. . . . It should be under the same constraints as a chemical operation." OTHER SOURCE: Washington Post, 8/17/01, p.A01, "For Big Hog Farms, Big Subsidies" by John Lancaster. Large factory-style hog farms have generated concern over potential threats to drinking water and streams from untreated waste that is stored in lagoons and sprayed onto fields. Lancaster discusses various legislative proposals for regulating and supporting the industry, such as using taxpayer dollars to "help livestock producers pay for environmental damages caused by their operations." Lancaster details the debate as to whether the USDA should restrict livestock assistance to smaller producers, or if it should be expanded to any livestock producer, regardless of size and profit. Views are presented from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, a North Carolina hog farmer, and environmental groups who want to move away from farm subsidies in favor of increased conservation efforts. New York Times, 9/25/03, p. 23, "Amnesty Plan on Pollution From Farms" by Jennifer Lee. EPA is considering a policy of exempting industrial-size animal farms from federal lawsuits for air pollution if those farms pay a $500 penalty and $2,500 to "finance a program to monitor air quality near the farms." Large hog and chicken farms have been criticized for releasing high concentrations of toxic gases and many people have attributed human health problems in nearby areas to such gases. Environmental groups criticize the proposed policy for being too open-ended with no firm deadlines and providing amnesty to all when only a few farms would be monitored. EPA says that such "universal amnesty" is the most efficient way to develop a pollution control system. Within the industry, some have commented that a lack of standards and haphazard enforcement has created confusion as to what is needed to be in compliance with the CAA.

p. 1, 7, "Safeguarding Hens -- Protecting Children." The bleak life of an egg-laying hen on a factory farm is made worse by "forced molting" -- the practice of starving the bird to subsequently make her lay more eggs. Hens forced to molt typically lose 35% of their body weight and many die from starvation. Kept in cramped battery cages without food, they often exhibit intense frustration and aggression. The severe stress usually suppresses their immune systems, increasing the flock's susceptibility Salmonells enteritidis bacterial infection. During a forced molt, hens shed Salmonella in their eggs -- which can expose consumers to the bacteria. In fact, recent studies by the US Dept of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that force-molted hens shed a much higher rate of Salmonella than others and the risks of schoolchildren being exposed to the bacteria are high.

p. 1, 6 "Civil Disobedience Comes to Farm Country." Purported anti-terrorism bills pushed in recent legislative sessions by lawmakers in Texas, Oregon, Utah, and Pennsylvania, among other states, have sought to criminalize almost any unauthorized exposure of anything done in the name of agriculture. Factory farmers are finding that even when they win convictions of activists who enter their property to rescue animals and document suffering, they lose in the court of public opinion. Prosecuting rescuers, moreover, appears to increase the public perception that the farmers are cruel -- even when the farms are traditional family operations. Consider the case of Susan E. Costen. Costen, 38, a farm manager for the Ithaca, New York branch of Farm Sanctuary, on November 22, 2002 responded to a call about an injured lamb by visiting the property of sheep farmer Rory Miller, in the nearby village of Tyrone. Finding that Miller was not home, Costen entered the barn, found the lamb, and took him to the Cornell University veterinary teaching hospital, where he was euthanized. On December 3 Costen was charged with third degree felony burglary. The charge was reduced to misdemeanor criminal trespass on January 27, because Costen had no prior criminal record. Costen on March 17 plea-bargained a sentence of 100 hours of community service, and was ordered to write Miller a letter of apology, to accompany restitution of $200 to Miller for the lost value of the lamb. But, Miller won little if any sympathy from nationally syndicated news coverage of the case. Costen, conversely, was widely praised as a Good Samaritan.

"Environmentalists Sue Over Factory Farms," by Amy Lorentzen (Associated Press Writer). (www.nrdc.org/news/newsDetails.asp?nID=911.) A federal appeals court is hearing arguments on whether a beef promotion program that charges cattle ranchers $1 for each cow sold should be allowed to continue its collections and activities. Ranchers have paid the mandatory fee, known as the "beef checkoff," since 1985. The checkoff raises some $86 million annually to spend on promotions, including those that carry the slogan "Beef: It's what's for dinner." A South Dakota judge ruled the program unconstitutional last summer and ordered the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to halt collections starting July 8. US Circuit Court of Appeals ordered at the time that the collections could continue while the issue was appealed. Douglas Letter, an attorney representing the USDA, defended the program Monday, saying it is a form of government speech, and not subject to challenge. Cattle producers argue that the program violates their free speech rights, and are irritated that the advertisements promote beef in general and not just American beef.

Press release, "Environmentalists Sue EPA Over New Factory Farm Pollution Rule." (www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/030310.asp). The Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Waterkeeper Alliance filed a lawsuit against the Bush administration over new federal rules. The environmental groups say that new federal rules for large-scale farms are not strong enough to keep manure from contaminating the nation's waters: in particular, they are concerned such rules weaken protections of the Clean Water Act and endanger public health. The Environmental Protection Agency's regulations for confined animal feed operations require large confinements, as well as some medium confinements, to obtain water-pollution permits every five years. Those required to have a permit must establish a plan on how they will manage the manure problem.

p6, 7, "PCRM Files Suit Against Tyson" by Mindy Kursban and Jay Ukryn.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed suit on 12/18/02 in California against Tyson Foods, the world's largest producer of meat and poultry products, under that state's statute barring false advertising.

Tyson says its products are "all natural" and even heart-healthy, despite the fact that they are often tainted with disease-causing bacteria and harbor nearly as much cholesterol and saturated fat as beef. On the Web, Tyson encouraged consumers to "serve chicken as often as you like" as part of a heart-healthy diet. Tyson paid the American Heart Association to certify eight of its products, but the certification does not mean that such foods can be consumed in unlimited quantities.

Tyson's "all natural" claim is belied by the fact that its birds have been manipulatively bred over many generations, become obese within six weeks after hatching, besides which the unnatural conditions in which they are raised where diseases easily spread often require antibiotic use, applied to the entire flocks.

The Center for Disease Control reports that this widespread use of antibiotics in factory farming has contributed to the developing problem of bacterial contamination which a Consumer Reports survey of all producers' chickens found 90% were antibiotic resistant.

Consumer Reports also found campylobacter, a potentially deadly bacterium causing at least 100 deaths each year, in 56% of Tyson products tested.

At least 86% of American consumers believe products labeled "natural" are safe, but there are few regulations to help shoppers differentiate factual nutritional information from false marketing claims.

Within days of PCRM's legal action Tyson pulled the "Heart Healthy" Web ads, though its plan for further corrective action is unclear.