Howdy!  Welcome to the 20th Issue of the Mad Cowboy e-Newsletter!

In this edition we've got an excerpt of one of Howard's 24 fifteen minute
video segments on the "Environment" (they are all in the process of being
transcribed), new pix of the Filming of the Documentary, buncha shots taken
with Howard's camera during recent travel, and a strong environmental focus
as today is Earth Day!

Reading further you'll learn about the History of Earth Day, some of the
best websites for near real-time satellite imagery of the Earth,
Worldometers, about seven special people who were awarded the equivalent of
the "Nobel Prize" for their environmental activism, cranberry juice helping
prevent cancer, and the $250,000 toilet.

There's a story about the world's oldest living dog being vegan, a bit of
the history of compost, harvesting spaghetti, the "Hippie Gourmet," a ton
of links for urban and container gardening (you have started your garden,
haven't you?), a disturbing article on where animal products are used
without our overt knowledge, and notice of the first scientific study to
give solid evidence that a diet of whole grains helps prevent diabetes.

And as always, a special nod of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can
read back issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Finally, to everyone and theirs, a very Happy Earth Day!

Best regards, Mark  Editor


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00: Excerpt from Howard on "Recycling"
01: Pix from Filming the Documentary
02: New Digital Pix from Howard's Camera
03: Earth Day History, Earth Pix Links, & Worldometers
04: Articles:  Enviro Awards, Global Sanitation, Plant Trees
05: Articles:  Compost History, TeleGarden, Green Roofs
06: Humor:  The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
07: Articles:  Animal Products, Rendering, "Live" BSE Tests
08: Article:  The World's Oldest Dog: Vegan??
09: Articles:  Cranberries, Whole Grains, the Anti-Emeril
10: Resources: Urban & Container Gardening
11: Resources:  Veg'n
12: Animal Rights 2003
13: Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
14: Howard's Schedule
15: Answer to Last Issue's Question
16: Next Issue
17: Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  Excerpt from Howard on "Recycling"
************************************************
"Hi, my name is Howard Lyman, better known as "the Mad Cowboy."  I'm a 4th
generation agriculturalist from Montanna.  I travel about a hundred
thousand miles a year around this Earth.  I believe the way we are treating
our environment today is absolutelly totally non-sustainable.  The Earth is
a gift from God and our responsibility.

We together, can be a Voice for a Viable Future.  Every day we knowingly or
unknowingly make choices.  Let's look at making beter choices.  Our
environment is a gigantic interconnected system which resembles a puzzle.
Today, we will look at one of those pieces of the puzzle.  I want to spend
some time reviewing these problems so we can assure our children and
grandchildren a viable future.

Our topic day, is "recycling."  Let's examine some important facts.

Recyling.... many of us, we look at it and say "we'll, I'm already doing
it... I save aluminum cans. I recyle my newspaper,  my  plastics."

How many people stop and take a look at 'recycling' as we should?  We
should be looking at "zero-waste."  We should be looking at those things
that we're buying being re-designed in the products and packaging so that
they are totally re-cyclable.  The product producer has a tremendous
responsibility in this, but remember, their job is supplying the demand of
the customers.   Are we demanding that we get something that has
zero-waste?  Investing in infra-structure is by far better than putting
money in landfills and incinerators.  These are not the solution, they are
part of the problem. We need to start working ending tax-payer subsidies on
wasteful and polluting industries, we need to create jobs and businesses
from discards."

[Note: Howard taped 24 fifteen minute segments on topics related to the
Environment. They are currently being broadcast around the world on 3ABN]


************************************************
*01: Pix from Filming the Documentary
************************************************
Pat Fitzgerald is one of the film crew for "Mad Cowboy:  The Feature
Documentary," set for release later this year.  The following is the 3th of
4 sets shot by Pat during filming in the U.S.:

http://www.madcowboy.com/MCDOC_USA_PF_vO3/index.html

[Previous U.S. Pix from Pat:
http://www.madcowboy.com/MCDOC_USA_PF_v01/index.html
http://www.madcowboy.com/MCDOC_USA_PK_v02/index.html


************************************************
*02: New Digital Pix from Howard's Camera
************************************************
http://www.madcowboy.com/04_17_03_HowardPix/index.html

[Note:  check out the beautiful "Boston Holocaust Memorial," background
info about the memorial to a Quaker woman burned at the stake, the origin
of the Democratic "donkey" symbol, the self-cleaning toilets of Boston, and
Colonel Shaw (of "Glory" fame).  Info links are available with the
thumbnail pictures]


************************************************
*03: Earth Day History, Earth Pix Links, & Worldometers
************************************************
"Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots
level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million
demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that
participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized
itself."  (Senator Gaylord Nelson)

[From:
http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html

[See also:
http://earthday.envirolink.org/


IMAGES OF THE EARTH:

Five views of the Earth in visible, infrared, and water vapor, updated
continously, on ONE web page:
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/sat-bin/global.cgi

The NEW GOES-12 satellite imagery of the United States, updated continously:
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goese/autogvar/goes8/hurrican/color/0000_latest.jpg

GOES-10 (Pacific Coast point of view of continental United States, updated
continously:
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goesf/autogvar/goes9/pacific/color/0000_latest.jpg

The best collection of Earth data-based imagery & articles on the Internet:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/


WORLDOMETERS:  Worldometers on Population, Food Supply, Education, Economy
& Gov't, Energy, Health, and Environment:
http://www.osearth.com/resources/worldometers/


************************************************
*04: Articles:  Enviro Awards, Global Sanitation, Plant Trees
************************************************
7 ACTIVISTS WIN TOP ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE:  04/15/03: by Michael Kahn,
Reuters - San Francisco, CA: "A coal miner's daughter fighting to end a
destructive form of mining and two Aboriginal elders working to block the
construction of a nuclear waste dump in Australia were among seven winners
of a top environmental prize awarded Monday.

"This year's winners have looked beyond themselves, often risking freedom
or safety, to inspire their communities for environmental protections,"
said Richard Goldman, the award's founder.  The Goldman prize, awarded
annually to grass-roots activists from six regions across the globe, is
often termed the Nobel prize of the environmental movement. Each regional
winner, or group, is awarded $125,000."

[Excerpted from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-04-15/s_3823.asp


COMPOSTING TOILETS KEY TO GLOBAL SANITATION, SAY SCIENTISTS:  03/18/03,
Fred Pearce, Kyoto:  "Giving large sewer systems to communities in the
developing world could be disastrous for them and their environments,
sanitation scientists are telling the World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan.
Their advice flies in the face of United Nations targets to hook up more
than a billion people to sewers in the next decade.

Government ministers and water experts are meeting to hammer out plans for
meeting the UN target of halving the number of people in the world who lack
clean drinking water and modern sanitation by 2015. Allowing for population
growth, that means connecting 400,000 people every day for the next 12
years.

But scientists at the forum say installing conventional sewer systems that
empty into rivers could create a public health disaster, rather than
solving one. Instead, they want to recycle sewage from poor villages and
shanty towns so it can fertilise fields.  "Conventional sewer systems are
just not the right answer," said Bengt Johansson, of the Swedish
International Development Agency. "They are very expensive; they pollute
rivers; they use a lot of water for flushing that could be set aside for
drinking; and they deprive farm soils of the nutrients in sewage."

[Excerpted from:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993512


CITY IMPROVEMENT: PLANTING TREES:  by Ross Atkin, CSMonitor, 04/16/03:
"Over the past 15 years, the number of trees in many US cities has declined
by about 30 percent, while the space covered by concrete and other solid
surfaces has risen by 20 percent, says Mr. Moll [American Forests, a
conservation group].  He estimates that to redress the imbalance,
metropolitan areas need 634 million more trees.

Trees are natural pollution-control devices. They absorb carbon dioxide (a
byproduct of burning fossil fuels) and return oxygen to the air. Their
leaves, branches, and and trunks help slow the runoff of storm water.  They
also provide sound buffering, shade, and measurably cooler temperatures on
hot summer days, and breeding and roosting places for local and migratory
birds, whose habitat has been disappearing.  Research has shown that
substantial increases in the number of city trees can reduce storm-water
and pollution-control expenditures by millions of dollars."

[Excerpted from the long and interesting article at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0416/p13s02-lihc.html

[See also for a lot of info about the value of trees and determining such:
http://www.americanforests.org


************************************************
*05: Articles:  Compost History, TeleGarden, Green Roofs
************************************************
THE HISTORY OF COMPOSTING: "One of the earliest written references to
compost use in agriculture appears on a set of clay tablets from the
Akkadian Empire, nearly 4,500 years ago (2350 BCE). Mesopotamia is the
region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in the modern-day country
of Iraq. These two rivers created the Fertile Crescent, an area of rich
abundance surrounded by deserts and mountains. About 10,000 yrs. ago, the
people of this area began the agricultural revolution. Instead of hunting
and gathering food, they domesticated plants and animals and began living
in small villages where they tended their crops. Composting is mentioned by
virtually every civilization since. The Romans, Egyptians and Greeks all
practiced composting and there are references to composting in the Talmud,
Bible and Koran.)"

[Superb collection of information from L.A. County Dept. of Public Works.
"Saving the Earth in Your Backyard."  The above from the "backyard
composting" link at:
http://www.smartgardening.com/


THE TELEGARDEN:  "This tele-robotic installation allows [web] users to view
and interact with a remote garden filled with living plants. Members can
plant, water, and monitor the progress of seedlings via the tender
movements of an industrial robot arm.  Internet behavior might be
characterized as "hunting and gathering''; our purpose is to consider the
"post-nomadic'' community, where survival favors those who work together.

Users participate in tending a living garden using a remote industrial
robot to perform simple requests such as watering, planting and viewing the
garden. Users are presented with a simple interface that displays the
garden from a top view, the garden from a global composite view and a
navigation and information view in the form of a robot schematic. By
clicking on any of the images one commands the robot to move to a new
absolute location or one relative to where they just were. The robot, upon
completion of the move, will return a refreshed image of the garden."

[A must see at:
http://telegarden.aec.at/

[History, stats, FAQ, bunch of info:
http://telegarden.aec.at/cgi-bin/knapsack/html/info.html


GREEN ROOFS: by Wayne Roberts:  "... an unusual coalition of grassroots
environmentalists, high-end roofing companies and top-down government
agencies teamed up to deliver the first science-based and comprehensive
evaluations of green roofs, and pronounced them a way cool way to save
lives, energy, water, money and space.

According to the computer models generated from the City Hall study,
rooftop flower power can save building owners money on energy bills and
maintenance while generating a host of free public health benefits to the
city, and keeping an estimated 620,000 tonnes of global warming gases out
of the picture.

We now know that green roofs reduce energy use, thereby eliminating the
fossil fuels and air pollution that come along with energy production, in
two distinct ways.

First and most obvious, the soil and plants add a layer of insulation at
the top...

Second and more surprising, the green roofs don't just act as passive
insulation... They become a living machine, a breathing and sweating place
that air conditions the entire city.  They also extend the life of roofs by
protecting the roof's covering from the sun's damaging UV rays and by
evening out the temperature fluctuations that put building materials
through so much wear, tear and stress.

They store rainfall, keeping it out of the sewage system that gets flooded
during moderate rains, forcing beaches to be closed during the summer.
They also create space for food production in the city."

[Excerpted from article published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban
Agriculture:
http://www.cityfarmer.org/greenroofTO.html#roof


************************************************
*06: Humor:  The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
************************************************
"On April 1, 1957 the British news show, Panorama, broadcast a segment
about a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland. The success of
the crop was attributed to an unusually mild winter. The audience heard
Richard Dimbleby, the show's anchor, discussing the details of the
spaghetti crop as they watched a rural Swiss family pulling pasta off
spaghetti trees and placing it into baskets.

"Another reason why this may be a bumper year lies in the virtual
disappearance of the spaghetti weevil, the tiny creature whose depradations
have caused much concern in the past."

... soon after the broadcast ended, the BBC began to receive hundreds of
calls from puzzled viewers. Did spaghetti really grow on trees, they wanted
to know. Others were eager to learn how they could grow their own spaghetti
tree. To this the BBC reportedly replied that they should "place a sprig of
spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

[Very excerpted from:
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/spaghetti.html


************************************************
*07: Articles:  Animal Products, Rendering, "Live" BSE Tests
************************************************
MAD COW/CJD - STAGGERING LIST OF PRODUCTS MADE FROM CATTLE:  by Jeff Rense,
12/24/00: "From anti-aging creams to surgical sutures to chocolate
milkshakes and marshmallows...we have injected animal products from cattle,
sheep, and hogs into nearly every corner of our lives. Behold... "

- PRODUCTS FROM BLOOD: blood sausage, bone meal, cake mixes, deep-fry
batters, egg substitute, gravy mixes, imitation seafood, pasta, whipped
toppings and coffee whiteners.

- PRODUCTS FROM HIDES and SKINS: sausage casings, gelatin, candies and
confectionery, flavorings, foods, gelatin desserts, ice cream,
marshmallows, mayonnaise, yogurt.

[The amazing and long list also contains products from sheep and pigs:
http://www.stat.cmu.edu/~carriea/MadCow/Products_Made_From_Cattle.htm


THE DARK SIDE OF RECYCLING (RENDERING):  "Published in the fall 1990 issue
of Earth Island Journal, by Keith Woods. (Note: A warning to readers: this
report is not for the squeamish.)

Rendering is the process of cooking raw animal material to remove the
moisture and fat. The rendering plant works like a giant kitchen. The
cooker, or "chef", blends the raw product in order to maintain a certain
ratio between the carcasses of pets, livestock, poultry waste and
supermarket rejects.

... the recycled meat and bone meal is used as "a source of protein and
other nutrients in the diets of poultry and swine and in pet foods, with
lesser amounts used in the feed of cattle and sheep. Animal fat is also
used in animal feeds as an energy source."  Some product label names are:
meat meal, meat by-products, poultry meal, poultry by-products, fish meal,
fish oil, yellow grease, tallow, beef fat and chicken fat.

The dead animals (the "raw") are accompanied by a whole menu of unwanted
ingredients.... [pesticides, DDT, flea collars, Dursban, pharmaceuticals,
heavy metals, plastic, and more]"

[A very disturbing and long article:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0106-02.htm


BIOMARKERS FOR DIAGNOSIS OF MAD COW DISEASE IN LIVE COWS: 04/03/02:
"Proteome Sciences plc (Proteome Sciences) announced today that it has
entered into a licensing and collaboration agreement with IDEXX
Laboratories, Inc., for its Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
biomarkers.  The EU cattle population totaled 80 million in 2001.  Experts
estimate that the demand could grow to 30 million tests in the EU,
projecting a future market size of  450m. These figures exclude any demand
from the USA, which has an estimated 100 million cattle population.

The global market for live animal testing for BSE using a simple blood test
is expected to be much larger and IDEXX will use Proteome Sciences
proprietary biomarkers to seek to develop highly sensitive blood assays for
the testing of live animals. Current detection methods require brain tissue
or spinal cord samples from slaughtered animals."

[Full press release:
http://www.proteome.co.uk/news/index.html


************************************************
*08: Article:  The World's Oldest Dog: Vegan??
************************************************
08/29/02:  "A border collie said to be 27 could make it into the Guinness
Book of World Records as the world's oldest living dog.  Bramble's owner
Anne Heritage says she's still alert and active and goes for a walk four
times a day near her home in Bridgwater, Somerset.  The 43-year-old says
she feeds her a vegan diet of rice, lentils and organic vegetables."

[More at:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_659722.html?menu=news.quirkies


************************************************
*09: Articles:  Cranberries, Whole Grains, the Anti-Emeril
************************************************
CRANBERRY JUICE A COCKTAIL FOR THE HEART: by Janet Raloff: "Many
plant-based foods, especially the colorful ones, contain large quantities
of polyphenols. As antioxidants, these compounds quash the damage that
natural oxidants can do in the body. Indeed, a large number of disorders
associated with aging including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and
several types of dementia have been linked to damage caused by a slow and
unremitting onslaught of oxidants.

In his latest study, [Chemist Joe] Vinson and his colleagues [found that
drinking] cranberry juice three times a day over the course of a month
increased all the volunteers' blood concentration of high-density
lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol the so-called good cholesterol by 10 percent.
However, epidemiological studies by others have correlated HDL-cholesterol
increases of this magnitude with about a 40 percent drop in heart-disease
risk, Vinson notes.

Overall, fruits surpassed the veggies, "and cranberries had more
antioxidants than any other fruit," Vinson observes.   When the chemists
investigated pure cranberry juice, they found its antioxidant punch
exceeded by 50 percent the potency of its next closest juice competitor,
grape juice."

[More details on the above and related studies at:
http://www.sciencenews.org/20030329/food.asp


WHOLE-GRAIN DIET REDUCES DIABETES RISK: The Fiber Reduces The Body's Demand
for Insulin: by Jeanie Lerche Davis, WebMD, 02/28/03:  "Whole grains in
your diet can lessen diabetes risk, according to a new study from Finland.

The study puts teeth to a theory many nutritionists have promoted -- that a
high-fiber diet composed of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables keeps
obesity at bay. Obesity and lack of exercise are the top risk factors for
type 2 diabetes.

A diet high in whole grains -- specifically rye -- had greater impact on
reducing risk of type 2 diabetes, reports lead author Jukka Montonen, who's
with the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki. His study appears in
the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

A few studies have suggested a link between whole grains and reduced risk
of type 2 diabetes, but there has been little concrete evidence until now,
Montonen says."

[The above excerpted from:
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/61/67531.htm?z=1728_00000_1000_nb_04

[Original study: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 03/01/03
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/77/3/622


THE ANTI-EMERIL: by Ed Murrieta, The Examiner, 02/29/03: "The star of this
rock 'n' roll cooking show [The Hippy Gourmet] is 49-year-old Bruce
Brennan, a James Beard-meets-Jerry Garcia bear of a man whose program
originates from a Victorian boarding house in the Haight-Ashbury District.
Behind the heavy-lidded gaze, shaggy gray beard and mellow baritone of this
Summer of Love DJ is a classically trained French chef who wants to feed
the people.

Each 30-minute show covers a side dish, main dish and dessert. Brennan's
typical attire is an aloha shirt, denim shorts, sandals and wax-dappled
talisman. His laid-back delivery includes instructions to "chunk it up" and
announcements like, "This'll be awhile before it gets rippin'."

Brennan promotes composting and recycling, and shows commune with food and
nature: a vegan barbecue at an animal sanctuary, a wild-huckleberry hunt at
the seashore, a sunset snack at the beach.  Documentary-style segments
spotlight nonprofit agencies, while mood-altering shots of waves and
flowers are intercut with paisley graphics and psychedelic music. Every
show ends with a "yummy shot" and a tribal-gathering meal.

"The Hippy Gourmet's" culinary philosophy is easy, tasty and inexpensive.

[Excerpted from:
http://www.examiner.com/sf_eats/default.jsp?story=X0219HIPPYw


************************************************
*10: Resources: Urban & Container Gardening
************************************************
[A tremendous site for urban/home gardening information:
http://www.smartgardening.com/

[Guide to Container Gardening:
http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/container.htm
http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/container2.htm

[Container Gardening Interactive Online Forum:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/contain/

[Designing a Container Garden:
http://www.my-container-garden.com/

[Vegetable Gardens in Containers:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/container/container.html
[Apartments Cater to Residential Gardening Article:
http://www.homestore.com/HomeGarden/Gardening/Features/Gardens/Apartment.asp

[Gardening on your Apartment Deck or Patio Links:
http://apartments.about.com/cs/gardening/

[Largest Community Garden Program in the USA:
http://www.greenthumbnyc.org/

[American Community Garden Association:
http://www.communitygarden.org/

[Extensive Resource on all types of Gardening:
http://webgarden.osu.edu/

[Minigardening (Growing Vegetables in Containers):
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VH032

[Ecoroof Program: City of Portland Environmental Services:
http://www.cleanrivers-pdx.org/clean_rivers/ecoroof.htm

[Urban Ecology:
http://www.urbanecology.org/

[Organic Gardening Tips and Plants - How to:
http://www.backyardgardener.com/organic/jan00.htm


************************************************
*11: Resources:  Veg'n
************************************************
[Vegan Meat substitutes:
http://www.vegweb.com/food/subs/

[VeggieBoards! - Great online Interactive Boards:
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/

[Vegan recipes free from animal products:
http://www.vegancooking.com/

[Tazarat Vegan Recipes:
http://www.tazarat.com/recipe.asp

[Over 4,000 recipes - Veg'n No/Low Fat:
http://www.fatfree.com


************************************************
*12: Animal Rights 2003 West and East Coasts!
************************************************
WHAT: Animal Rights 2003 is the animal rights movement's annual national
conference. This year it will be held on both the East and West coasts.
AR2003  provides a forum for teaching skills, sharing knowledge, discussing
strategies  and tactics, networking, and "recharging our batteries." This
conference  will feature 120 presenters from every faction of the animal
rights  movement. There will be in ten Plenary Sessions, 100 Workshops, 50
Campaign  Reports, and 16 Rap Sessions. Other functions include Exhibits,
Videos, Newcomer  Orientation, Employment Clearinghouse, Group Workouts,
Planning Meetings,  Welcome and Networking Receptions, Awards Banquet, and
the Animal Rights Hall of  Fame.

EAST
When: June  27- July 1, 2003 (post-conference activities on July 2)
Where: McLean  VA (just outside Washington, D.C.)

WEST
When: Aug 1-5, 2003  (post-conference activities on Aug 6)
Where: Los Angeles, CA

Contact:  info@...
Website: http://www.animalrights2003.org


************************************************
*13: Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
*Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*14:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
April 22:  Spokane, Wash > Spokane Com. College - ARowan@...
April 25:  New Ashford, MA < Matt Kelly, 6PM - Berkshire Veggie Dinner
peace@...

May 16:  Worthington, OH < Wellness Forum - Dr. Pamela Popper 614.841.7700
May 17:  SDA, OH
May 25:  Potomac, MD < Potomac SDA - Richard Gonzales - 301.441.2427
May 26:  Silver Spring, MD  < 2:30 - 5:00pm   -  Potomac Adventist Book and
Health Food Store - 12004 Cherry Hill Road. Contact: Paul Glenn -
301.572.0700

JUN 28 - JUL 01: AR2003 (Wash. DC)

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*15:  Answer to Last Issue's Question
************************************************
What two leaders said the following?

1) "It's exciting to have a real crisis on your hands, when you have spent
half your political life dealing with humdrum issues like the environment."

2) "I am fond of pigs.  Dogs look up to us.  Cats look down on us.  Pigs
treat us as equals."

Margaret Thatcher (1) referring to the Falklands Crisis, and Sir Winston
Churchill (2)


************************************************
*16: Next Issue
************************************************
Next issue, more focus on factoids & nutrition, more transcripts, more pix,
and more information!

Also, answer to the question:  who said the following?

"It takes two to speak the truth--one to speak, and another to hear."

and

"Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a
  truth."

[Hint: transcendental]


************************************************
*17: Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"Luck is the least of it.  I think of the Earth as a living organism.  The
rocks, the air, the oceans, and all life are an inseparable system that
functions to keep the planet livable.  In fact, I now believe that life can
exist only on a planetary scale.  Can't have a planet with sparse life any
more than you can have half a cat."

- James Locklock (as quoted by Lawrence E. Joseph, "GAIA:  The Growth of an
Idea," p. 3.  ISBN:  0-312-05866-7)


  "'Tis said that the views of nature held by any people determine all their
institutions."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, English Traits


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 21st Edition of the Mad Cowby e-Newsletter.

In this issue, we've a little more focus on Howard and animal
issues/concerns, with a touch of environmental and health news.  You'll
have the chance to see pictures from Howard's camera on his recent trips,
realize why Howard loves sauerkraut (and it's considerable nutritional
qualities), learn about the first new vitamin discovered in decades, and
note the hidden relationship between the Sugar Association and the Salt
Institute.

You'll also have a chance to laugh at the "Meatwave" that hit Chicago
recently, know about a Memorial to animal veterans, read about the
intriguing issues involving rocket fuel contamination in lettuce, have
access to fact sheets on "West Nile Virus" and the recent study nailing
down the relationship between fat and cancers, learn about a unique study
to explore powering San Francisco with tidal energy, and more.

Note:  the deadline for early registration to the AR2003 East Conference is
05/15/03.

As always, a nod of the hat to our new subscribers!  Y'all can access past
issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Best regards to everyone, Mark


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00: Excerpt from Howard on "Population"
01: New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
02: Articles:  A New Vitamin, Chronic Disease & Sugar Battle
03: The Lymans and Sauerkraut
04: Humor:  Meatwave hits Chicago
05: Articles:  Animal Memorial, Protecting Ants & Animals
06: Articles:  Tidal Energy, Rocket Fuel In Lettuce, Herbicide Drift
07: Humor:  The American Spy Cow Information Center
08: Resources:  Fat-Cancer, West Nile, Animal Concerns, & Veg'n
09: AR2003 West/East Coast Conferences
10: United Poultry Concerns 4th Annual Conference
11: Howard's Schedule
12: Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
13: Answer to Last Issue's Question
14: Next Issue
15: Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Excerpt from Howard on "Population"
************************************************
[In late Sept. 2002, Howard taped 24 fifteen-minute video segments on
topics related to the environment for broadcast to a potential 1/6 of the
world's population via satellite (3ABN).  The following is an edited
transcript of the segment on "Population."]

[START]

"Hi, my name is Howard Lyman, better known as "the Mad Cowboy."  I'm a 4th
generation agriculturalist from Montana.  I travel about a hundred thousand
miles a year around this Earth.  I believe the way we are treating our
environment today is absolutely totally non-sustainable.  The Earth is a
gift from God and our responsibility.

We together, can be a Voice for a Viable Future.  Every day we knowingly or
unknowingly make choices.  Let's look at making better choices.  Our
environment is a gigantic interconnected system which resembles a puzzle.
Today, we will look at one of those pieces of the puzzle.

I want to spend some time reviewing these problems so we can assure our
children and grandchildren a viable future.

Our topic day, is "Population."

Let's examine some important facts:

There are 6.2 billion people on the planet today.  Every day, 1.2 billion
of them go to bed hungry.  1.2 billion every day go to bed overweight and
obese.  Twice as many people live today, as the day I was born.  If I live
to the age I aspire to, we will see that number double, again.

We are growing by 80 million people per year.  Half of all the people on
the world today, are living in cities.  One-third of the world's population
is under 13 years of age.  India will add 519 million people, China, 211
million, Pakistan, 200 million.  Our diet in the U.S. today requires about
800 kg. of grain per person per year.  In India, people are fed with one
quarter of that.

[IF THE WORLD WERE A VILLAGE OF 100 PEOPLE]

If we were to look at the world's population today and equate it to a
village of a hundred people, it would mean that, half would be men, and
half women.  Of the hundred, 2 would be infants, 30 would be under fifteen,
7 would be sixty-five or older, and 1 would be close to death.  61 of the
hundred would be Asians, 14 would be Americans, 13 would be Africans, 12
would be Europeans, one Australian.

67 of the hundred people in this world would be non-Christian, 33 would be
Christian, 18 would be Muslim,  half would live in the cities, 17 of the
hundred would live without shelters, 25 would be living on less than one
dollar a day, 47 of the hundred people would be living on less than two
dollars a day, 13 would be hungry, 41 would be without sanitation, 16
without clean water to drink.

14 of the hundred would be illiterate, 1 would have AIDS, 4 would be
Internet users, 8 would own personal computers, 7 would be educated at a
secondary level of school, 2 of the hundred would be college educated.

[CLOSING]

The Earth's carrying capacity as we discuss this, could be anywhere for 4
to 16 billion more people.  More people with more waste.

But the question is not about more people, it's:  how we are going to feed
the people?  How we are going to end up giving them clean water to drink,
shelter?  How are we going to take care of those needs that everyone will
have?

Forty percent of all of the energy today, is used for people that do not
need any more energy, but they are wasting it.  Twenty percent of people in
high-end countries, use 86% of all of the resources.

83 million people are added every year, only 1 million in industrialized
countries --- all the rest in the developing world.  Y'know... in the year
2050, six times as many people will live in cities instead of the country.

When we look at what is happening with the number of people that are coming
onto the Earth, the way we are using are resources, isn't it about time
that we stopped and looked into our hearts?  Isn't it about time that we
asked ourselves:  AM I DOING MY PART?"


[Web page "world as a village" statistics/sources/caveats:
http://216.239.39.104/custom?q=cache:rmBjOuAhmdIC:www.populationconnection.org/C
ommunications/ED2002WEB/WorldOneHundredDataMaster.pdf+village&hl=en&start=1&ie=U
TF-8

[Downloadable PDF version of the same:
http://www.populationconnection.org/Communications/ED2002WEB/WorldOneHundredData
Master.pdf

[Pix from Howard's camera during the two days of taping and early tests:
http://www.madcowboy.com/10_09_02_HL_3ABN_Photos/index.html
http://www.madcowboy.com/05_02_3ABN_CA_PIX/index.html


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
[Howard in Spokane, Wash., and Mass.:
http://www.madcowboy.com/042203_HowardPix/index.html


************************************************
*02:  A New Vitamin, Chronic Disease & Sugar Battle
************************************************
JAPANESE DISCOVER FIRST NEW VITAMIN IN 55 YEARS: TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese
scientists have discovered a new vitamin that plays an important role in
fertility in mice and may have a similar function in humans, the research
leader said on Thursday.

PQQ is the first new vitamin to be discovered since 1948, the institute
said. The best source of PQQ discovered so far is "natto," a pungent
Japanese dish of fermented soybeans. Other foods rich in the substance
include parsley, green tea, green peppers, kiwi fruit and papaya.

There are 13 other types of vitamin already known, and PQQ is believed to
belong to the vitamin B group, the release said. "

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030424/hl_nm/vitamin_new_dc_
1


FAO/WHO REPORT ON GLOBAL CHRONIC DISEASE, DIET, & NUTRITION: "The Expert
Report examines cardiovascular diseases, several forms of cancer, diabetes,
obesity, osteoporosis and dental disease. The burden of chronic diseases is
rapidly increasing; in 2001, they contributed approximately 59 per cent of
the 56.5 million total reported deaths in the world and 46 per cent of the
global burden of disease.

The Report concludes that a diet low in saturated fats, sugars and salt,
and high in vegetables and fruits, together with regular physical activity,
will have a major impact on combating this high toll of death and disease."

[Full press release, recommendations, & report:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2003/pr32/en/


SUGAR LOBBY CAMPAIGNS AGAINST WHO REPORT:  WashDC, 4/23/03, (PTI): The
powerful American sugar lobby, which donated more than $3 million in last
year's Federal elections, has launched a vigorous campaign against a World
Health Organisation report that concludes people derive no more than 10 per
cent of their daily caloric intake from sugar additives.

The sugar lobby not only wants to block the report, but threatens to lobby
Congress to cut off the $406 million (the US contribution constitutes 25
per cent of the WHO's annual budget)."

[Edited from:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/03232008.htm


CONNECTING THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION TO THE SALT INSTITUTE: [Andrew Briscoe,
leading the charge above, is current CEO and President of the Sugar
Association, was previously Director or Public Policy and Vice President of
the Salt Institute for nine years:

http://www.sugar.org/newsroom/abbio.html


************************************************
*03:  The Lymans and Sauerkraut
************************************************
[Howard speaks fondly of his mother and her cooking.  She was known in her
community for her great homemade sauerkraut, and used to bring home cabbage
by the truckload to make literally 100s of lbs. of it fresh every fall in 4
or 5 huge crocks.  She gave sauerkraut to everyone she knew, often
bartering for fresh vegetables and/or fruits (as long as they returned the
jars)!

Howard loves sauerkraut on pizza, sauerkraut sandwiches, and has often
remarked that there "isn't any food that can't be made better with
sauerkraut]

HISTORY OF SAUERKRAUT: "Although sauerkraut - German for "sour cabbage" -
is thought of as a German invention, Chinese laborers building the Great
Wall of China over 2,000 years ago ate it as standard fare. Chinese
sauerkraut, made from shredded cabbage fermented in rice wine, eventually
found its way to Europe, where the Germans and Alsatians adopted it as a
favorite.  There is a theory that the Tartars introduced the acid cabbage
from the Orient into eastern Europe, and from there kraut went to Germany,
Alsace-Lorraine, and France. "

[Edited from:
http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/sauerkraut.htm

SAUERKRAUT NUTRITION: "In the 17th century a law was passed in Germany that
the German navy had to take sauerkraut on board their ships since this was
the only way to preserve vitamins in those times.  Without the important
vitamin C (app. 200 mg per 1 kg of sauerkraut) the men on these ships would
have contracted scurvy."

"Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable and contains several phytochemicals:
Indoles block cancer-causing substances before they can damage cells;
Phenolic acids help resist cancer by inhibiting cell proliferation induced
by carcinogens in target organs; inhibit platelet activity; decrease
inflammation and act as anti-oxidants;   Sulforaphane induce protective
enzymes, suppress tumor growth. Studies of people who eat a diet high in
cruciferous veggies show lower rates of cancer than those who don t.

Cabbage contains choline which is used by the brain to make acetylcholine,
a neurotransmitter that plays a role in memory function.  Cabbage is a good
source of B-6, or pyridoxine, a vitamin responsible for a whole host of
beneficial effects, from aid in digesting proteins and fats and alleviating
nausea, to reducing muscle spasms. B-6 works as a natural diuretic and
helps maintain a healthy immune system."

[Edited from:
http://www31.brinkster.com/kefirgrains/wat.htm
http://www.wholife.com/issues/7_4/04_article.html

[Sauerkraut festivals, events, & recipes (some non-veg'n):
http://www.sauerkrautrecipes.com/events.shtml

[Veg'n recipes (search the site using "sauerkraut"  - 15 recipes:
http://www.vegweb.com/


************************************************
*04:  Humor:  Meatwave hits Chicago
************************************************
DOZENS DEAD IN CHICAGO-AREA MEATWAVE:  "A deadly meatwave swept through the
Chicago area over the weekend, leaving an estimated 40 residents dead of
steaks, chops, ribs, bacon, and various other forms of meat exhaustion.

"This is easily the worst meatwave I've seen around these parts since the
summer of '79," said John Gruznek, a Chicago gravicologist.  Max Peltz,
director of Emergency Medical Services And Barbecue for Cook County, said
that non-stop ingestion of beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and veal had caused
the victims' digestive systems and, ultimately, their entire bodies to shut
down.

"If you or someone you're eating with collapses from The Meats, know what
to do," Barreras said. "Many people think that administering them emergency
salads or tofu is the way to go, but the shock to the system is too great.
Bring their meat index down gently and gradually by first immersing them in
cold cuts."

Meateorologists speculate that the deadly meatwave was caused by a
stationary high-protein ridge extending along the shore of Lake Michigan."

[Heavy editing - the "full" outrageous satire is a must-read:
http://www.theonion.com/onion3917/meatwave.html


************************************************
*05:  Articles:  Animal Memorial, Protecting Ants & Animals
************************************************
ANIMAL VETS TO GET WAR MEMORIAL: 6/5/03 - ABCNews Online: "The Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals plans to build a memorial
to the hundreds of thousands of horses, donkeys, dogs and pigeons and other
animals that died fighting Australia's wars.   The RSPCA says work on the
$340,000 memorial will begin by the end of the year.

"We sent an estimated 100,000 horses to World War One alone. Only one came
back," said an RSPCA spokeswoman.  The memorial will be dedicated to the
horses, donkeys and camels that hauled wagons, artillery or men; pigeons
that carried messages or warned of gas attack; dogs that sniffed for mines
or hunted the enemy; and mascots, like monkeys, that armies have long taken
with them on campaign.  The RSPCA says an animal war memorial is also in
the works in Britain."

[From:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s848278.htm


GERMANS BANNED FROM KILLING ANTS:  4/19/03 - "Germany has introduced new
laws making it illegal to kill ants and appointed 85 ant protection
officers to protect the insects.  Homeowners and gardeners who attempt to
destroy an anthill or underground nest will face hefty fines if caught.
They must now apply for a permit from their local forestry office to have
the ants carefully moved to local woods.  "People with an ant hill in their
garden must under no circumstances resort to the use of poison," said
senior ant protection officer Dieter Kraemer.

"This is a violation of federal nature protection laws and punishable with
hefty fines."  He added that ants were highly valued by German foresters
for eating insects which attack trees.  A high ant population can prevent
costly and environmentally unfriendly woodland spraying aimed at pests such
as the Nun moth which attacks pines and other conifers."

[From:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_775325.html?menu=news.weirdworld.animaltale
s


MOVEMENT TO GRANT LEGAL PROTECTIONS TO ANIMALS IS GATHERING FORCE:  5/02/03
- (Jim Motavalli, E/The Environmental Magazine): "Does a pig packed into a
tiny factory cage waiting to be killed have any rights in the United
States? Should it have?  And what about the chimpanzee, who shares 99
percent of its active DNA with humans? Should anyone be allowed to "own" an
animal with so many of our own attributes, including the ability to reason,
use tools, and respond to language? Isn't that like slavery?

The fight to give animals legal rights barely registers on the
environmental agenda, but perhaps it should. This isn't simply an endless
philosophical debate but a gathering global force with broad implications
for our planet's future, including how we use our natural resources. If
animals had rights, we probably couldn't continue to eat them, experiment
on them with impunity, or wear their skins on our backs. Our fundamental
relationship would change.

In 2003, however, a new movement is gathering force that is trying to
afford some genuine legal rights for animals. Buoyed by a growing awareness
about animal intelligence and capacities, the courts, state governments,
and the general public (in statewide referenda) are enacting and enforcing
new legislation."

[From the long, informative, thoughtful article on the past, present, & future:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-02/s_3517.asp

[Animal Legal Defense Fund:
http://www.aldf.org/

[Animal Rights Legal Foundation:
http://www.animalrightslaw.org/

[Great Ape Project:
http://www.greatapeproject.org/

[Humane USA PAC:
http://www.humaneusa.org/


************************************************
*06:  Articles:  Tidal Energy, Rocket Fuel In Lettuce, Herbicide Drift
************************************************
SAN FRANCISCO TO TEST TIDES FOR ENERGY: 5/08/03 (Miguel Llanos, MSNBC):
"San Francisco is now turning to that body of water as a potential source
of electricity for its entire population [deciding] to spend $2 million on
a pilot project that uses the energy from tides to generate electricity.
Expanding from a test to an underwater grid powering the entire city would
take years and would need to pass environmental hurdles but the idea has
generated a wave of interest.

Each day, nearly 400 billion gallons of water rush through the mouth of San
Francisco Bay. If harnessed, the energy from this water could be an answer
to the city's power needs. San Francisco believes it'd be the first project
in the United States to test tidal power..."

[Edited from:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/910115.asp?cp1=1


WINTER LETTUCE & ROCKET FUEL:  4/28/03, (Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Science
Writer): "Potentially high levels of a toxic chemical in rocket fuel have
been detected in winter lettuce purchased in Northern California
supermarkets, an environmental group claims in a report being released
today.  Laboratory studies commissioned by the Environmental Working Group
in Oakland found the chemical perchlorate, a hormone disrupter, in four of
22 samples of lettuce traced to growers in Southern California or Arizona.

At high doses, perchlorate can disrupt activity of the thyroid gland, which
in a pregnant woman could upset delicate hormone levels crucial for normal
development of the fetus. Exposure in very young children also could pose a
problem, theoretically producing deficits in brain function and motor
skills.   But it's unclear how much perchlorate might be contained in salad
greens or other vegetables, even those irrigated with contaminated water.
Nor is it clear how much perchlorate in the diet actually would be
dangerous.

Perchlorate is the explosive ingredient in rocket fuel. It is a well-known
groundwater contaminant throughout the Southwest and the subject of
thousands of lawsuits, but has not been deemed a significant problem in
food.

[Edited from:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/04/28/MN93797.DTL


EPA BANS STAFF FROM DISCUSSING ISSUE OF PERCHLORATE POLLUTION:  04/28/03:
(Peter Waldman, Wall St. Journal): "The Bush administration has imposed a
gag order on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from publicly
discussing perchlorate pollution, even as two new studies reveal high
levels of the rocket-fuel component may be contaminating the nation's
lettuce supply.   Perchlorate pollution in drinking water has become a
major concern in some 20 states across the country, after an EPA
recommendation last year that found perchlorate in drinking water poses
dangers to human health, particularly to infant development, in
concentrations above one part per billion.

The Pentagon and several defense contractors, who face billions of dollars
in potential cleanup liability for perchlorate pollution, vehemently oppose
that EPA health-risk assessment, arguing perchlorate is safe in drinking
water at levels 70 to 200 times higher than what the EPA says is safe.  The
White House recently proposed a bill in Congress, in the name of military
"readiness," that would effectively exempt the Pentagon and defense
industry from much of their potential liability for perchlorate cleanup...
the Defense Department refused to fund the roughly $215,000 needed to
collect vegetables for sampling.

"If they can spend $1 million on a cruise missile, it seems kind of
ridiculous they won't spend $200,000 to see if our food is contaminated
with rocket fuel," said Renee Sharp, a staff scientist with Environmental
Working Group in Oakland, Calif., which initiated its own lettuce study
instead.  Using private funding, the environmental group paid Texas Tech
University, of Lubbock, Texas, to test 22 lettuce samples purchased in
January and February in the San Francisco Bay Area."

[Very edited from:
http://www.ewg.org/news/story.php?id=1636


HERBICIDE DRIFT CALLED A DANGER:  (5/07/03, Mike Lee, Bee Staff Writer): "A
herbicide widely used on the Sacramento Valley rice crop drifts into
communities and endangers residents, assert pesticide watchdog groups in a
new study of California farm chemicals to be issued today.  The "Secondhand
Pesticides" report -- the latest attempt by advocacy groups to trim
pesticide use -- alleges that hundreds of thousands of Californians
potentially face health risks from airborne farm chemicals because
regulators poorly monitor and control drift.

"These 'secondhand pesticides,' like secondhand cigarette smoke, can cause
serious adverse health effects and are forced on others against their
will," said the report by Californians for Pesticide Reform. The report's
authors are from the Pesticide Action Network North America, California
Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and the Pesticide Education Center.

Californians for Pesticide Reform, a coalition of more than 160 groups,
would like stricter pesticide drift controls from the federal EPA and the
state Department of Pesticide Regulation, increased air monitoring and a
phase-out of some fumigant pesticides that sterilize the soil.
California's $28 billion agriculture industry relies heavily on pesticides.
An unrelated study released last week predicted California crop losses of
nearly $900 million a year if herbicides were not used."

[Edited from:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/environment/story/6616103p-7568470c.html


************************************************
*07:  Humor:  The American Spy Cow Information Center
************************************************
"The American spy cow is the newest addition to a series of radio
controlled robotic farm animals which were developed by Armorobotech
Weapons, Inc. for the US Army's Military Farm Animal Operations Program or
MFAOP to innocently walk into enemy territory where they would be mistaken
for real harmless farm animals. The program was first used during the gulf
war when explosive chickens were used to attack people and buildings in
enemy cities.

After the war MFAOP was used by the FBI to track down and chase dangerous
criminals. In 1994 a mechanical race horse chased a convicted murderer from
the scene of a fatal hostage situation for an hour and a half before he
finally collapsed from exhaustion. In 1993 a team of 5 Mechanical Ducks
rescued a five year old from the raging waters during the Great Mississippi
River Flood."

[Extensive details at:
http://www.fmp.com/rodent/spycow/


************************************************
*08:  Resources:  Fat-Cancer, West Nile, Animal Concerns, & Veg'n
************************************************
FAQ ABOUT THE NEW FAT-CANCER LINK:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/health/cst-nws-fat25.html

FAQ ABOUT WEST NILE VIRUS:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/q&a.htm

THE SUPERB ANIMAL CONCERNS COMMUNITY WEBSITE:
http://www.animalconcerns.org/

CATS & TEA: ROMANIAN-INFLUENCED VEGAN RECIPES (BY INGREDIENTS!):
http://www.catteacorner.com

GREAT STARTING POINT FOR NEW VEG'NS:
http://www.vegsoc.org/newveg/

NATIONAL VEGETARIAN WEEK (EUROPE) WEEK OF MAY 18TH:
http://www.vegsoc.org/nvw/2003/recmain.html

THE VEGAN CHEF (+ RECIPES):
http://www.veganchef.com/

GREAT VEG'N DISCUSSION BOARDS:
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/


************************************************
*09:  AR2003 West/East Coast Conferences
************************************************
WHAT: Animal Rights 2003 is the animal rights movement's annual national
conference. This year it will be held on both the East and West coasts.
AR2003  provides a forum for teaching skills, sharing knowledge, discussing
strategies  and tactics, networking, and "recharging our batteries." This
conference  will feature 120 presenters from every faction of the animal
rights  movement. There will be in ten Plenary Sessions, 100 Workshops, 50
Campaign  Reports, and 16 Rap Sessions. Other functions include Exhibits,
Videos, Newcomer  Orientation, Employment Clearinghouse, Group Workouts,
Planning Meetings,  Welcome and Networking Receptions, Awards Banquet, and
the Animal Rights Hall of  Fame.

EAST
When: June  27- July 1, 2003 (post-conference activities on July 2)
Where: McLean  VA (just outside Washington, D.C.)

WEST
When: Aug 1-5, 2003  (post-conference activities on Aug 6)
Where: Los Angeles, CA

Contact:  info@...
Website: http://www.animalrights2003.org


************************************************
*10:  United Poultry Concerns 4th Annual Conference
************************************************
UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS 4TH ANNUAL FORUM 2003

SAT August 16 - SUN August 17, 2003
Univ. of Colorado-Boulder Campus

TOPIC: How To Promote Veganism Widely And Effectively

REGISTRATION & TABLE RESERVATION DEADLINE: August 1, 2003

For detailed information:
http://www.UPC-online.org/alerts/forum2003.html


************************************************
*11:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
May 16:  Worthington, OH < Wellness Forum - Dr. Pamela Popper 614.841.7700
May 25:  Potomac, MD < Potomac SDA - Richard Gonzales - 301.441.2427
May 26:  Silver Spring, MD  < 2:30 - 5:00pm -  Potomac Adventist Book and
Health Food Store

Jun 28 - Jul 01: AR2003 (Wash. DC)

Aug 17:  Los Gatos, CA < SDA

Oct 04:  University of Alberta
Oct 11:  Chicago EarthSave

Feb 15 - 22:  CHIP Cruise

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*12:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*13:  Answer to Last Issue's Question(s)
************************************************
Who said the following?

(1) "It takes two to speak the truth--one to speak, and another to hear."
(2) "Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a
truth."

ANSWER:
(1): Ralph Waldo Emerson - A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (p.
283) [Truth]
(2): Henry David Thoreau entered the first draft of this sentence in his
notebook in Dec. 1837


************************************************
*14:  Next Issue
************************************************
"According to the USDA statistics, total X production in the United States
in 1999 was 7.94 billion pounds.  For every one pound of X produced,
approximately 9 pounds of Y result. "

"If not disposed of properly, Y can increase soil salinity and promote
blue-green algae by adding phosphorous to our waterways.  Created as a
by-product of X manufacture, Y can by sprayed onto fields or discharged
into the sewerage system, but it has such a high biological oxygen demand
that it can kill fresh water and the plants and animals that live in it. "

QUESTION:  what are "X" and "Y"?  Hint: most people don't know that "Y" is
in their food products as a tasteless and cheap filler.


************************************************
*15:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************

"And so as our population increases, we will basically face the choice of
whether to continue feeding our corn, wheat, barley, oats, and soybeans to
animals, while letting untold millions go hungry, or else to eat our grains
directly, and have many times as much food available for human consumption.

If you think that we are currently using our agricultural surplus to feed
the hungry world, consider that 2/3 of our agricultural exports go to feed
livestock abroad.  We are helping to fatten animals for slaughter
everywhere. It is generally only people who are left hungry."

"In China, should population growth and food utilization patterns continue
uninterrupted, by the year 2030 that nation will need to import twice as
much grain as is currently exported today from all countries to all
countries.  In short, there's no way in hell that we're ever going to be
able to feed ten to twelve billion people on this planet if we keep
diverting even the percentage we now divert --- much less an increasing
percentage --- of our grain to animals.

But the Council on Agricultural Science and Technology gives us a more
helpful perspective.  The think tank says that we could manage to feed ten
billion people with the available crop land we have today, using current
technology --- with the single proviso that the population of the world
becomes vegetarian."

-- Howard Lyman, in "Mad Cowboy" (with Glen Merzer), edited from pp. 42 - 44


******************************************************************
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To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Howdy!  Welcome to the 22nd edition of the Mad Cowboy e-Newsletter.

This is a special event.  Mad Cow Disease (BSE) has been all over the news
the past week due to verification that a cow in Canada had the disease.  In
tune with this major news, Howard has reflected on his 13 years of speaking
out about the potential dangers of BSE, and wrote an essay for us about his
"Mad Cow Journey."  It is an exclusive for the Newsletter and won't be
posted on the MC website until next week.

As such, there are several related articles and resources about Mad Cow in
Canada, available in this issue, and it's a bit longer than normal.  For
space considerations, the usual "resources" section (usually containing
links on veg'n, recipes, organic gardening, nutrition, etc.) has been
omitted.

In this edition, among many things, you'll still get a chance to listen and
laugh at "Food Safety Songs,"know about our new & regularly featured "Vegan
Mind-Bender Contest,"  find out about the estimated costs of obesity to the
U.S., how legumes help prevent heart disease, the 10 foods best to eat as
organic, a major event in wind power, that a Congressman is concerned about
industry's treatment of livestock, learn about a movie that has the fish
industry concerned, and understand the potential risks to Monsanto's
investors from genetic engineering.  Then there's the Nobel-prize winner
who says that the U.S. Gov't and Cattle Industry are doing a "terrible job."

As always, a nod of the hat to our new subscribers.  Welcome aboard!  You
can read back issues of the Newsletter (including the aforementioned
"resource" sections) at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

And hear's hoping we dry out on the East Coast, cool down in the West, and
have no more tornadoes in the mid-section....

Best to all, Mark   Editor


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00: Exclusive: "My Mad Cow Journey" by Howard Lyman
01: New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
02: The Vegan Mind Bender Contest!
03: Articles:  Mad Cow Disease - Spring 2003
04: Humor:  Food Safety Songs
05: Articles:  Obesity Costs, Legumes/Heart, Veggies/Arteries,+
06: Articles:  Gene/Weather Engineering, Wind Power, Fish Gone,+
07: Articles:  Rep. Moran/Peta, Movie/Fish Industry, Shelter Music,+
08: Links:  Quick Bytes
09: AR2003 West/East Coast Conferences
10: Howard's Schedule
11: Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12: Answer to Last Issue's Question(s)
13: Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  Howard:  "My Mad Cow Journey"
************************************************
"Thirteen years ago was the first time I publicly spoke out about what I
considered a looming potential disaster, bovine spongiform encephalopathy,
(BSE) or what has become known as mad cow disease.

During these years I have been bombarded with verbal and legal abuse from
many different adversaries.  These adversaries have unlimited funds.  I
wish I could say the same about my position.

Year after year I have called for an honest approach to a problem that may
demand a cost in human life which is beyond comprehension by most citizens
of the world.  Governments have repeatedly chosen to ignore the problem
until the cost of the solution has reached astronomic proportions.

England, the first known place of BSE, denied the problem to the point
where they almost destroyed the cattle industry along with more than three
and a half million of their cattle.  Even today the industry only survives
with taxpayer support.

With England's example, you would think other countries around the world,
using like feeding practices, would learn and try to err on the side of
safety.  Unfortunately that lesson is yet to be learned.   Germany using
the same BSE test we are using was adamant their agriculture practices were
preventing mad cow in their herds.   When they started administrating the
rapid test, which is free from human error, they found plenty of infected
animals.

I have tried to educate our nation so we would not have to repeat this
painful lesson.  For this effort I have been attacked by the animal
industry and accused of being a traitor to the business where I worked the
majority of my life.

When verbal abuse didn't work they tried the legal path. I had appeared on
the Oprah Winfrey television show explaining to millions of viewers that we
were feeding cows to cows.  Subsequently I spent over six years defending
myself in four suits brought by cattle feeders.  Litigation continued even
after the appellate court said, in their opinion, every thing I said on the
Oprah Show was true and the truth is not actionable.

I can't count the number of times we have heard public officials state that
BSE is not a threat to the human population.  That, BSE is only an animal
problem, which has been controlled by the swift action of government
agents.  Every time these assurances have proved to be wishful thinking.

Country after country has tried to deal with this problem with a public
relations campaign.  Each time it has backfired, exposing the consuming
public to greater danger while trying to enhance the profits of the animal
industry.

I'm on the record saying that the United States, using similar feeding
practices as England, should expect similar results.  We have been
reassured repeatedly not to worry because we have installed the so-called
firewalls to protect our industry from mad cow disease.  With over
thirty-seven million cattle being slaughtered each year in the U.S., we are
testing less than twenty thousand.  This is like a blind person finding a
needle in a haystack.

Today we are faced with the report a confirmed case of mad cow in Canada.
Canada exports almost eighty percent of their bovine animals to the United
States annually.  In reaction to this report we immediately banned Canadian
beef and sent out a press release declaring consumers in the U.S. safe.

The United States and Canada can almost be considered one country as far as
the animal population is concerned.  Our wild animals are not impeded by
the lines drawn on a map and our farm animals travel, both live and dead,
in the millions across the borders.  The recent assurances from public
officials from both the U.S. and Canada repeat the failed statements of the
past.

I will continue to speak on the dangers in our food supply.   These efforts
could have been avoided if consumer safety would have been addressed
instead of corporate profit.  This war is not over but the end is in sight.
  Let us pray we need not fill our cemeteries to bring this war to an end."

- Howard Lyman, May 27, 2003

************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
[Howard in Worthington, Ohio for a radio broadcast, at the Wellness Forum,
in Potomac, MD, and at the Adventist Book Center in Silver, Spring, MD]
http://www.madcowboy.com/05_27_03_HL_Pix

************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest!
************************************************
[Joe Connelly, Editor of the great VegNews Newspaper, has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.

THIS WEEK'S POSER:
"What's produced in the U.S., with near 50% of the total harvest from
Arkansas, and the other 50% from California, Louisiana, Missippi, Missouri,
and Texas combined?  90% of the total production is consumed in the U.S.,
the rest is exported."

HINT:  only Thailand and India export more than the U.S. of this product.

[E-Mail your answers by 06/09/03 to: webmaster@...
and please use the word "Contest" in your Subject Line.  One entry per MC
Newsletter subscriber, tks!]

[Many thanks to Joe, and you can learn more about VegNews at:
http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1
415-665-NEWS.  VegNews is published monthly by the Vegan News Network.
Subscriptions are $20/yr in the US, $30/yr in Canada, and $40/yr elsewhere.
Vegnews accepts articles for publication.]

************************************************
*03:  Articles:  Mad Cow Disease - Spring 2003
************************************************
BSE IN CANADA
"Canada has been virtually free of BSE, bovine spongiform encephalopathy,
also known as Mad Cow Disease.  But in May 2003, veterinary officials in
Alberta confirmed that a sick cow sent to a slaughterhouse in January had
been condemned, removed from the food chain and sent to a processing plant
for rendering. Officials, suspicious of the animal, kept its head. Samples
were sent to the world testing laboratories in the U.K., which confirmed
the case."

[In Depth:  The Science and the Story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/madcow/canada.html


'MAD COW' LIKELY FED TO PIGS, CHICKENS
05/21/03: Edmonton: "Despite assurances that a cow infected with mad cow
disease was never eaten by humans, officials said Wednesday it was likely
fed to pigs and chickens which in turn could have been on a dinner table.
But officials rushed to say the risk of contracting the human version of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) through another animal is low.

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. said the border will likely be closed to
Canadian beef for weeks, so Washington can be satisfied the food supply is
safe from BSE.  The U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea
have all stopped importing Canadian beef, a move that could be devastating
to the industry if it lasts for any length of time."

[Edited from:
http://calgary.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ca_2madcow20030521


MAD COW PARTS IN DOG FOOD
05/28/03: Ottawa: "Some parts of a Canadian cow that tested positive for
mad cow disease may have been made into dog food sold in the United States,
officials have revealed.  Urging consumers to return the product, the US
Food and Drug Administration said it had learned from the Government of
Canada that "rendered material" from the diseased cow may have been used in
the pet food.

Brian Evans, the chief veterinary official with the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency, said the dry dog food, with the brand name Kibble, may
have been distributed in both Canada and the United States.  He told
reporters, however, that there was no known case of any dog suffering from
any variety of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad
cow disease."

[Edited from:
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6506116%255E1702,00.htm


BSE KILLING EUROPE'S PETS
Autumn, 2001 Earth Island Journal Vol. 16, No. 3 by Ann N. Martin:
"Contaminated material from cattle infected with BSE has been rendered and
used in commercial pet foods in Europe. Most scientists determined the
practice would be safe; that BSE would not cross the species barrier. They
were wrong.  As of January 2000, more than 100 cats in the UK had died from
illnesses attributed to eating diseased meat contained in commercial pet
foods made in Europe. Some veterinarians believe the actual number of cats
who died from feline spongiform encephalopathy (the feline variant of mad
cow disease) is far greater.

In 1996... not only were household cats contracting the disease but it had
also spread to animals in zoos where it killed a lion, five cheetahs, three
ocelots, two tigers, three pumas, six eland, six kudu and one bison.

For years, government officials claimed that dogs were not susceptible to a
canine form of BSE. But were we getting the truth? In 1997, Reuters
European Business unearthed a 1991 study on the brains of 444 dead hunting
hounds that suggested some of the animals had developed the first signs of
"spongiform disease."  Despite the concerns of medical doctors and
veterinarians, no further tests on the tissue samples from these animals
were ever done."

[The above very excerpted from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/petsautumn01.cfm


BEEF WASTE IN CHICKEN
05/21/03: The Guardian, Felicity Lawrence:  "Food processors have been
caught on video boasting that they have developed undetectable methods of
adulterating the chicken that goes into hospitals, schools and restaurants
with cheap beef waste and water.  In what is likely to be a major food
scandal, secret filming for BBC1's Panorama has revealed that vast
quantities of frozen chicken coming into the UK each week have been
injected with beef proteins."

[Very edited from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,2763,960404,00.html


CANADIAN BEEF FAT USED IN FOOD PRODUCTS/COSMETICS
05/23/03: New Zealand: "Food Safety Authority (FSA) officials say 350
tonnes of beef fat imported from Canada since 2002 have been used in
cooking and products such as cosmetics.  The FSA has been tracking Canadian
beef products after the discovery of a case there of "mad cow" disease."

[Edited from:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnewsstory.cfm?storyID=3503530&thesection=news&th
/esubsection=general

NOBEL SCIENTIST: "U.S. GOV'T/CATTLE INDUSTRY DOING A TERRIBLE JOB"
05/23/03: KQED Forum hosted by Angie Coiro:  Mad Cow Disease in Canada:

Guests (partial list, full is at links below): Stanley Prusiner, director
of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, professor of neurology at
UCSF, founder of InPro Biotechnology and awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology / Medicine in 1997 Michael Greger, BSE coordinator of the
Organic Consumers Association, Gary Weber, executive director of regulatory
affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association

Michael Greger: "In the European Union they banned the feeding of all
slaughterhouse waste to livestock, and we should do that here in North
America as well. Both in Canada and United States, we still allow the
feeding of cattle remains to pigs and chickens; we still allow the feeding
of blood and tallow as starter rations to a number of animals like young
pigs and calves."

Host: "Do you have any of these same concerns, Stanley Prusiner, about
what's acceptible in U.S. cattle feeds?"

Stanley Prusiner: "Yeah, I think that we shouldn't be using anything from
ruminants in cattle feed; I think that's clear."

[...]

Stanley Prusiner: "I want to come back to Dr. Weber for a moment... Dr.
Weber sees the USDA and the U.S. government and the cattle industry doing a
great job in the United States. I see them as doing a terrible job in the
United States. I think we have to be very clear--we have about a hundred
million cattle in the United States, and we slaughter about a third of
these every year. About one percent of this hundred million cattle are
called downer cattle, or fallen cattle--they fall down and they die. And
these animals just disappear. And when we talk about 19,000 cattle [tested
last year in the United States for mad cow disease]--looking at those
animals--they represent, most of that number represents fallen cattle. But
that's 19,000 out of a million... so I think those numbers [of cattle
tested in the U.S.] are appalling."

[major edit]

Stanley Prusiner: "Well, I'd like to see every downer cattle, every fallen
cow tested. That's a beginning. And then after that, at some point, I'd
like to see every cow tested, just as they do in Japan. Every single cow is
being tested in Japan."

[VERY edited from Dr. Greger's posted excerpts in their entirety at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ivu-veg-news/message/3176

[Listen to the whole incredible interview online:
http://www.kqed.org/programs/program-archive.jsp?progID=RD19&ResultStart=1&Resul
tCount=10&type=radio

[Chronology: The Spread Of Mad Cow Disease
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20216647.htm

[Robert Cohen's Speculation on BSE in America:
http://www.notmilk.com/itshere.html

[Dr. Greger's superb collection of articles/links:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm


************************************************
*04:  Humor:  Food Safety Songs
************************************************
"As a serious food toxicologist with 15 years of experience as a University
of California faculty member, I enjoy conducting research and developing
food safety educational programs.   For the past five years, I have
combined my previous background as a musician with my scientific and
communication training to develop an innovative, humorous, and effective
musical approach for food safety education.

I develop parodies of popular songs by re-writing their lyrics, composing
and recording musical arrangements, and producing the music. The songs can
be accessed directly from this website as RealPlayer streaming audio
files." [Craig Winter]

[Mad Cow Disease: "Beware La Vaca Loco"
Inspiration: "Livin' La Vida Loca" (Ricky Martin)

http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu/FSMUSIC/mras/lavacaloca.ram
http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu/FSMUSIC/lyricsweb.html#lavacaloca

["Veggie Believer:"
Inspiration: "I'm A Believe" (The Monkees)

http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu/FSMUSIC/mras/veggie.ram
http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu/FSMUSIC/lyricsweb.html#veggiebeliever

[There are several songs, and they are hilarious.... check it all out at:
http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu/music.html

************************************************
*05:  Articles:  Obesity Costs, Legumes/Heart, Veggies/Arteries,+
************************************************
OBESITY REPORTED TO COST U.S. $93B A YEAR
05/14/03: WashDC  (Laura Meckler, AP):  "Obesity is costing not only
American lives, but dollars too. A study tallies that $93 billion per year
goes to treat health problems of people who are overweight.  Overall,
spending attributed to excessive weight made up 9 percent of all medical
spending in 1998, researchers reported Wednesday on the Web site of the
journal Health Affairs."

[Edited from:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/5855363.htm

[Study results, methodology, interactive information:
http://www.healthaffairs.org/WebExclusives/Finkelstein_Web_Excl_051403.htm


COPPER MAY BE BEHIND LEGUMES' HEART-HEALTHY PROPERTIES
08/12/02: Grand Forks, ND: "Increased dietary copper through legume
consumption may protect against heart disease, according to an editorial by
Leslie M. Klevay, M.D., S.D.(Hyg), (USDA's Human Nutrition Research
Center), [discussing a study] in which researchers identified a reduced
risk of coronary heart disease with increased legume consumption.

The researchers concluded legumes protected against heart disease because
of the possible protective properties of calcium, fiber, folate, magnesium,
potassium or vegetable protein, but Klevay believes copper is the
heart-healthy nutrient.  Klevay cited research on the copper content of
legumes, of which soy and lima beans ranked in the upper tertile of 235
foods for copper content."

[Edited from (with cite details):
http://www.hsrmagazine.com/hotnews/28h12113233.html

[Original study abstract (free):
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/21/2573

[Editorial cited above: (requires subscription):
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/162/15/1780


FRUITS AND VEGETABLES MAY HELP KEEP ARTERIES ELASTIC
05/21/03: "Blood vessel reactions after high-fat meals offer clues to how a
balanced diet may protect health.  Components of fruits and vegetables
appear to help blood vessels retain their ability to expand in response to
increased blood flow, even after a high-fat meal, according to a new study
in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.  Dr. Plotnick
cautioned that the results do not suggest that fruit and vegetable
concentrates can protect people from damaging health effects of a poor
diet.  The study did not look at the increase in cholesterol or other
health effects associated with fatty diets."

[Edited from:
http://www.acc.org/media/releases/highlights/2003/may03/fruits.htm


WHO TREATY ON SMOKING
05/21/03: GENEVA (Reuters, Richard Waddington): "More than 190 countries on
Wednesday approved the first international treaty against smoking,
including an advertising ban, aimed at kicking a habit that kills nearly 5
million people a year.

The U.N. health agency says that the toll is likely to exceed 10 million by
2020, with 70 percent of the victims in the developing world.  Many of the
pact's policies already apply in rich countries, but for much of the
developing world -- where some 800 million of the world's 1.2 billion
smokers live -- it marks the first attempt to fight what the WHO says is
already the biggest cause of premature death.

The United States, home to some of the world's largest tobacco companies,
said its constitution -- guaranteeing rights of free speech -- prevented
any such prohibition.

"This is an outstanding day when you can stand up and make a tremendous
step forward for good public health across the world," U.S. Health
Secretary Tommy Thompson said, although he stopped short of committing
Washington to ratifying it."

[Edited from:
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=2786865


************************************************
*06:  Articles:  Gene/Weather Engineering, Wind Power, Fish Gone,+
************************************************
PUTIN ORDERS THE CLOUDS NOT TO RAIN ON HIS PARADE
05/23/03: (Clem Cecil, TimesOnline): Moscow: "President Putin has ordered
fine weather for the St Petersburg summit and 300th anniversary festivities
next week, and it is unlikely to rain on his parade.  Ten aeroplanes will
take to the skies, equipped with cloud-seeding agents in an attempt to
induce rain away from the city, allowing holidaymakers and visiting heads
of state to enjoy dry weather below.  Russia's first private weather
controlling agency, the Atmosphere Technologies Agency, will be taking part
in the delicate operation. It is hoping for rainclouds. "No rainclouds
equals no pay," Viktor Petrov, the deputy director, said."

[Edited from:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-689317,00.html


MONSANTO & GENETIC ENGINEERING: RISKS FOR INVESTORS
04/2003: "Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, a financial services firm
based in New York, London, Paris and Toronto, analyzed investor risks
related to Monsanto's genetic engineering (GE) strategy [commissioned by
Greenpeace].  Monsanto received a CCC EcoValue'21� rating from Innovest,
the lowest environmental rating.  As a result, it will likely underperform
in the stock market over the mid to long-term.

Environmentally, Monsanto warns investors in its 10K about substantial
losses that could result from unintended contamination of food crops by its
GE seeds. Given the tendency of pollen and seeds to spread in nature,
contamination is inevitable. As a result, the company is lobbying for
regulations that allow some GE contamination of non-GE food products.

Contamination of food crops by GE seeds designed to produce pharmaceutical
products (GE pharma crops) poses an even greater risk to investors.
Indicating the inevitability of such contamination, GE corn designed to
produce pig vaccine recently contaminated food crops in Nebraska and Iowa.
Contamination of food products by Monsanto's GE pharma crops could bankrupt
the firm and cause substantial investor losses."

[Very edited.  Read the Executive Summary or Download the full report:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/media/publications/monsanto_investors2003.htm


GE'S MOVE INTO WIND POWER BUSINESS SEEN AS SIGNIFICANT
05/16/03: (John Christoffersen, AP):  Fairfield, Conn.:  "A year after its
purchase of Enron Corp.'s wind turbine business, GE expects the operation
to generate more than $1 billion in revenue during 2003 and expand about 20
percent annually.

"The purchase of the wind manufacturing company by GE is really a historic
move that symbolizes the maturation of the wind industry," said Randall
Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association."

[Very edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-16/s_4482.asp


RAPID WORLDWIDE DEPLETION OF PREDATORY FISH COMMUNITIES
05/14/03: (Patricia Reaney): London (Reuters): "Large predatory fish --
marlin, tuna and swordfish -- are disappearing from the world's oceans,
with their numbers down by 90 percent in the past 50 years, Canadian
scientists said on Wednesday.  "There is no blue frontier left."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20030514/
sc_nm/science_fish_dc

[Study cited:
http://www.nature.com/nature/links/030515/030515-1.html

[First paragraph of study:
http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/nature01610


************************************************
*07:  Articles:  Rep. Moran/Peta, Movie/Fish Industry, Shelter Music,+
************************************************
CONGRESSMAN MORAN CALLS FOR BETTER TREATMENT OF LIVESTOCK
05/20/04: WashDC: "Cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals that Americans
eat everyday are still subject to inhumane treatment," Congressman Jim
Moran, Virginia Democrat, said today as he joined actor Alec Baldwin and
the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in calling for better
treatment of livestock.

"Animals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, even those that
will be slaughtered for human consumption," Moran said. "Cruel acts against
these defenseless animals cannot and should not be tolerated. Congress, in
a very bipartisan way, has made clear through the HMSA that livestock must
be treated humanly. The Agriculture Department must not shirk from its
responsibilities in enforcing the law."

[Edited from:
http://www.moran.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=5985


NEW DISNEY MOVIE HAS PET FISH INDUSTRY NERVOUS
05/25/03:  Los Angeles (AP): "Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Inc.'s animated
film, "Finding Nemo", opens Friday, and it has pet-fish traders worried
about rough seas ahead.  Eric Cohen, co-owner of Sea Dwelling Creatures
Inc., a Los Angeles distributor of wild-caught marine fish and coral said
he is concerned moviegoers may walk out of the film saying, "fish should
not be separated from their friends in the ocean."

Some believe the movie could even boost fish sales. Pet Store owner Mitch
Gibbs of Bowling Green, Ky, said he's not worried. "'Bambi' did not stop
deer hunting," he said."

[Edited from:
http://www.gainesvillesun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030525/APN/305250576


HOUSE REJECTS LAW AGAINST PHOTOGRAPHING FARM ANIMALS
05/14/03: (AP): "A proposal that would have made it a felony to photograph
animals on private property was rejected Tuesday by the Missouri House.
The provision would have made it a Class D felony, carrying a maximum five
years in prison, to make a photograph, videotape or image of "any aspect of
an animal facility" if the recording equipment were placed on private
property.

Reps. Rick Johnson and Rob Schaaf led the fight to kill the proposal, which
Johnson called the "puppy mill protection act" -- a reference to Missouri's
dog breeding operations, some of which are criticized over their methods
and practices.

The proposal was introduced by Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, who said he
wanted to protect farmers from animal rights activists."

[Edited from:
http://www.newstribune.com/stories/051403/sta_0514030961.asp


SHELTER PLAYS CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR ANIMALS
Scottsdale, AZ:  "The Arizona Animal Welfare League has started playing
classical music to calm animals at its no-kill shelter.  The music comes
courtesy of Scottsdale residents Scott Goldberg and Hannah Romberg, who
paid for the installation and service for the Muzak system that provides
the music continuously via satellite.

A United Kingdom study published in the journal Animal Welfare says shelter
animals overwhelmingly spend more time in a relaxed state when exposed to
classical music.

"The dogs bark less and are more relaxed when people visit the shelter,"
Weiner [League VP] said. "Visitors stay longer and spend more time with
animals, so more may be adopted."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=816&ncid=816&e=11&u=/ap/20030526
/ap_on_fe_st/calming_animals


************************************************
*08:  Links:  Fast Bytes
************************************************
CAN SHE REALLY EAT LOCALLY? AN EXPERIMENT:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0514/p14s02-lifo.html

WE WILL TURN VEGGIE BY 2047?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12971726&method=full&site
id=50143&headline=WE%20WILL%20TURN%20VEGGIE%20BY%202047

AMERICA'S TOP 10 VEGETARIAN-FRIENDLY CITIES (AND THE FIVE THAT AREN'T)
http://www.peta.org/feat/vegcities/

BROCCOLI CHEMICAL BLOCKS CANCER CELL GROWTH
http://www.bio.com/newsfeatures/newsfeatures_research.jhtml?action=view&contentI
tem=110339996&Page=1

ONE GRADUATE'S TRASH IS ANOTHER'S TREASURE
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0520/p13s01-lecs.html

HIDDEN TOXINS IN HOMES/10 IMPORTANT FOODS TO EAT ORGANIC
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/page.asp?id=1186#6

************************************************
*09:  AR2003 West/East Coast Conferences
************************************************
WHAT: Animal Rights 2003 is the animal rights movement's annual national
conference. This year it will be held on both the East and West coasts.
AR2003  provides a forum for teaching skills, sharing knowledge, discussing
strategies  and tactics, networking, and "recharging our batteries." This
conference  will feature 120 presenters from every faction of the animal
rights movement. There will be in ten Plenary Sessions, 100 Workshops, 50
Campaign Reports, and 16 Rap Sessions. Other functions include Exhibits,
Videos, Newcomer Orientation, Employment Clearinghouse, Group Workouts,
Planning Meetings, Welcome and Networking Receptions, Awards Banquet, and
the Animal Rights Hall of  Fame.

EAST
When: June  27- July 1, 2003 (post-conference activities on July 2)
Where: McLean  VA (just outside Washington, D.C.)

WEST
When: Aug 1-5, 2003  (post-conference activities on Aug 6)
Where: Los Angeles, CA

Contact:  info@...
Website: http://www.animalrights2003.org

************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Jun 21:  Lodi, CA < 4pm to 515pm; Modern Manna's Health Healing Crusade:
http://www.modernmanna.org

Jun 28 - Jul 01: AR2003 (Wash. DC)

Aug 01 - 05:  AR2003 (Los Angeles, CA)
Aug 06 - 11:  Johnstown, PA < NAVS Summerfest 2003

Oct 04:  Canadian University at Red Deer Alberta
Oct 11:  Chicago EarthSave
Oct 17 - 19 San Rafael CA < Bioneers Conference - http://www.bioneers.org

Nov 09:  Orange Co., NY
Nov 22:  NYC < Vegetarian Vision

Feb 15 - 22:  CHIP Cruise -  http://www.dumptheplump.com

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html

************************************************
*11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!

************************************************
*12:  Answer to Last Issue's Question(s)
************************************************
"According to the USDA statistics, total X production in the United States
in 1999 was 7.94 billion pounds.  For every one pound of X produced,
approximately 9 pounds of Y result. "

"If not disposed of properly, Y can increase soil salinity and promote
blue-green algae by adding phosphorous to our waterways.  Created as a
by-product of X manufacture, Y can by sprayed onto fields or discharged
into the sewerage system, but it has such a high biological oxygen demand
that it can kill fresh water and the plants and animals that live in it. "

QUESTION:  what are "X" and "Y"?  Hint: most people don't know that "Y" is
in their food products as a tasteless and cheap filler.

ANSWER:  "X" is cheese, and "Y" is whey.  [contains cow blood cells,
proteins, hormones]

[Sources:
http://www.nabt.org/sub/htdi/v62n01p065.asp
http://www.wastenot-organics.wisc.edu/library/whey.htm
http://www.osmonics.com/products/Page232.htm

************************************************
*13:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"In some, change inspires fear.  What would happen to the economy, one
friend challenged me, if I had my way and the nation went vegetarian?  What
would happen to all the jobs in the meat industry?

They would be lost, of course.  Gone would be all the jobs in the
slaughterhouses - the most dangerous jobs in America - as well as all the
other foul jobs in meat processing, not to mention all the minimum wage
jobs flipping burgers.  They would be replaced by even more jobs - safer,
cleaner, more satisfying, and probably better-paying jobs - in the
production and selling of organic, healthy, plant-based products.  The
savings in medical costs attributable to meat consumption, estimated at $28
to $61 billion annually, would be plowed back into our economy and boost
its productivity enormously.

The question we must ask ourselves as a culture is whether or not we want
to embrace the change that must come, or resist it."

-- Howard Lyman (edited from "Mad Cowboy" p. 187 & 188 (1998, with Glen
Merzer))

******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 23th edition of the Mad Cowboy e-Newsletter!

In this issue you'll get to read an interview with Willow Jeane Lyman,
learn who won the first of our Vegan Mind-Bender Contests, see some new
pictures of the filming of the Mad Cowboy Documentary, and know what
Consumer Reports recommends the U.S. Gov't does to protect us from Mad Cow
Disease.

You'll also hear about a 13-year old genius vegetarian activist, the
unprecedented release of 1200+ pages of secret illegal activities at the
largest animal research center in England, know why Cosmonauts will be
listening to frogs on the Space Station, admire "Mr. Stinky," and get
access to activist kits to keep irradiated food out of our schools and
universities.

Finally, you'll realize the surprising environmental threat posed by
bottled water (and what you can do about this), the seedy practices of
Monsanto and the implications for farmers/agriculture, as well as have
access to links to several websites for info on Animal Law, veg'n
recipes/products, raising veg'n children, how human babies and birds learn
the same way, and the green side of insect repellants.

As always, a special nod of the hat to our new subscribers!  Y'all can read
past issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Best wishes to everyone as we approach the Summer Solstice!

Regards, Mark   Editor/Webmaster

***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes from Howard
01:  Interview with Willow Jeane Lyman
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  More Pix from the Filming of the Documentary
04:  Articles: Mad Cow Disease - Late Spring 2003
05:  Articles: Irradiated Lunch, More Nuts, & Salad Scrutiny
06:  Humor:  Elephant Protectors, Mr. Stinky, & Frog Music
07:  Articles:  US/Global C02, Bottled Threats, Seedy Issues
08:  Articles:  Lab Secrets, Animals & Law, Babies & Birds
09:  Articles:  Greens/NY, Farm Animal Confinement Poll/Ban
10:  Links/Info:  Quick Bytes
11:  AR2003 West/East Coast Conferences
12:  Howard's Schedule
13:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
14:  Closing Thoughts from Will Rogers

************************************************
*00:  Quotes from Howard
************************************************
"All of my years in the activist movement have been made better by the
folks I have worked with.  I could write a book about the shoulders I have
had the opportunity to stand on and from those who supported our efforts.
At this time of the year I want to stop and say thanks to all my friends.
Every victory we have had came from a team effort.  You are my heroes, each
and everyone of you.

There is no doubt in my mind we are changing human perception on our diet,
environment, and the way we treat animals.  My concern is can we do it
before it's to late for our children and grandchildren.  My commitment
remains unshaken, I will do all I can, as long as I have the ability, to
change the future for the better.

Please join me in saving the future, ONE BITE AT A TIME."

- Howard, 12/13/02

[Edited from "A Holiday Message from the Mad Cowboy":
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_HolidayMsg2002.html


************************************************
*01:  Interview with Willow Jeane Lyman
************************************************
[This interview was conducted by Joseph Connelly in April 2003 and first
appeared in VegNews, May/June 2003. Reprinted with permission]

"VN: I would guess that you were not vegan when you first met. Speak a bit
about how and why you transitioned to this lifestyle. Whose idea was it?
Who or what were some of your greatest influences for kicking the meat
habit?

WJL: Howard and I have also been fortunate as a couple to have grown
together. Sometimes one of us is ahead of the other but we manage to come
out at the end together. I have been careful with my diet since I was a
teenager, for health and weight control reasons. I stopped eating red meat
long before I became vegetarian. I realized I could not control my weight
while consuming it and I found it hard to digest. At that time I still
believed it was a good source of nutrition. My education on this issue
started when we became involved in the Beyond Beef Campaign. I read Jeremy
Rifkin's book and the light came on.

I began reading everything I could find on the issue. This is another
instance where Howard and I ventured down the same path, sometimes one
ahead of the other. I think I started the change, Howard joined in and
forged ahead, then I finally caught up by giving up dairy."

[You can read the full interview online at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_WJL_VN_Interview.html


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
THE QUESTION WAS:  "What's produced in the U.S., with near 50% of the total
harvest from Arkansas, and the other 50% from California, Louisiana,
Missippi, Missouri, and Texas combined?  90% of the total production is
consumed in the U.S., the rest is exported."  HINT:  only Thailand and
India export more than the U.S. of this product.

DAWN RESSEL from Chicago, Illinois, correctly answered "rice."  She won the
random pick from the four correct entries.  Congratulations Dawn!

[For statistics:
http://www.ricecafe.com/stats.htm
http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2003/05/0157.htm

THIS WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:  "We eat enough X in a year to make more than 10
billion sandwiches, spending almost $800 million US a year on [this
product].

What is "X?"  HINT:  it's not bread, and it's one of Howard's favorite food
products.

[E-MAIL YOUR ANSWERS by 07/01/03 to:
webmaster@...  and please use the word "Contest" in your Subject
Line]
[Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, has offered a FREE one-year subscription to
a winner chosen at random those submitting the correct answer to each MC
Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you can learn more about
VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  More Pix from the Filming of the Documentary
************************************************
[Pat Fitzgerald was one of the film crew for "Mad Cowboy:  The Feature
Documentary," set for release later this year.  The following is the 4th of
4 sets shot by Pat during filming in the U.S.:

http://www.madcowboy.com/MCDOC_USA_PF_v04/index.html

[Previous U.S. Pix from Pat:
http://www.madcowboy.com/MCDOC_USA_PF_vO3/index.html
http://www.madcowboy.com/MCDOC_USA_PK_v02/index.html
http://www.madcowboy.com/MCDOC_USA_PF_v01/index.html


************************************************
*04:  Articles: Mad Cow Disease - Late Spring 2003
************************************************
WHERE'S THE BEEF? SEIZED BY SANDWICH POLICE! (Joe Prociuk, The Edmonton
Journal: 06/14/03 - " Stupidity has reached an all-time high in regard to
mad cow disease. I am speaking of how the U.S. border patrol officers are
searching vehicles for roast beef sandwiches. If found in a vehicle, the
person is asked to strip their sandwich of the aforementioned product,
leaving them with only the bread."

[Rant from:
http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=86a6dac2-dbe1-462c-8c07-0ee3c580998c


ONTARIO INSPECTORS LACK SUFFICIENT MAD COW TRAINING: (Colin Perkel,
06/08/03): Toronto (CP) - "Many of Ontario's front-line meat inspectors
have had no specific training on mad cow disease despite claims to the
contrary from the government.  Dr. Tom Baker, the head of the ministry's
food-inspection branch, confirmed in an interview that at least one-third
of inspectors lacked specific BSE training.   On the ministry's Web site,
the government boasts about the training record for its meat inspectors.
"All of Ontario's meat and veterinary inspectors receive ongoing,
comprehensive training in all aspects of meat inspection, including
recognition of BSE signs and collection of samples for BSE testing."

[Very edited from:
http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2003/06/08/106766-cp.html


COW CARCASSES PILE UP IN CANADA MAD COW SCARE: (Roberta Rampton, Reuters):
06/2003: Winnipeg, Manitoba - "Farmers in parts of Canada are shipping dead
cattle to landfill sites, but some may be tempted to simply dump them in
the backwoods, after rendering companies stopped taking carcasses because
of a single case of mad cow disease.   "I don't think any of us want to see
dead animals lying around," said Lyle Vanclief, federal agriculture
minister.  Rendering companies normally collect the dead animals and turn
them into protein supplements for pig and poultry feed as well as
industrial products."

[Edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-03/s_4706.asp

[For edited (and disturbing) discussion of rendering, check out MC
Newsletter 20:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/message/30


CORRALING MAD-COW DISEASE: (Consumer Reports, June 06, 03): "Is the
American government doing enough to prevent this deadly disease from
developing here?"

- The USDA needs to screen far more cattle for the disease. Last year, the
department tested only about 1 of every 5,000 cattle. It should require
rapid tests, which have allowed screening of nearly 1 of every 4 cattle in
Europe.

- The FDA should outlaw the widespread practice, already banned in Britain,
of feeding the remains of any mammal to any animals that humans eat.

- Congress should tighten the current law on dietary supplements. That law
currently allows supplements to contain materials from the brains, eyes,
and spleen, which are mostly likely to contain the mutant protein. Congress
should require manufacturers to prove their safety prior to being marketed."

[Very edited from the nicely summarized article at:
http://www.consumerreports.org/static/0306mad0.html


************************************************
*05:  Articles: Irradiated Lunch, More Nuts, & Salad Scrutiny
************************************************
BAN ON IRRADIATED GROUND BEEF LIFTED IN SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM: (Michael A.
Fletcher, WashPost, Pg. A11 ): 05/30/03 - "The Department of Agriculture
yesterday lifted its prohibition on irradiated ground beef in the national
school lunch program, giving local school districts the option of ordering
meat decontaminated with gamma rays, X-rays or electrons as early as next
January.  USDA officials said they would provide information packages about
the safety of irradiated beef to help guide local districts in their
decisions.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) released a letter he wrote to Agriculture
Secretary Ann M. Veneman, warning that many parents have concerns about the
"possible health effects" of eating irradiated meat. He also urged USDA to
disclose the full range of opinions about the process to local school
districts.  "The scientific debate over the safety of meat irradiation is
far from conclusive," Leahy wrote, citing European and other studies
linking the process to elevated cancer rates."

[Edited from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55624-2003May29.html

[Senator Leahy's Letter to the USDA:
http://leahy.senate.gov/issues/Agriculture/foodirradiationletter.pdf

[For more info and school/university activism kits:
http://www.citizen.org/cmep/foodsafety/


THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU NIX NUTS FROM YOUR DIET: (Mayo Clinic, 05/29/03) -
Rochestor, Minn. - "It's true that nuts are generally high in calories and
fat, but eaten in moderation as part of a healthy diet, ... offer potential
health benefits, according to the June issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

Nuts have a lot of nutrients in relation to calories. Some nuts are good
sources of thiamin, niacin, phosphorus and folate. Others are excellent
sources of selenium, copper, magnesium and manganese. They are also rich in
flavonoids. These antioxidants help reduce by-products in the body that may
contribute to cancer and cardiovascular disease. For their size, nuts are
one of the best plant sources of protein... most of the fats are
monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, the fats that don't appear to increase
blood cholesterol."

[Edited from:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/2003/5/NUTS.MMC.html?sc=wire


SALAD SCRUTINY: (Kathleen Purvis, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer): 06/04/03
-"The poor fast-food chains. Battered by legal challenges and headlines
taking them to task for supersizing our national waistline, they're trying
to offer us healthier options. Salads are sprouting on menus from
McDonald's to Burger King, Wendy's to Jack-in-the-Box.  [However] The
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit group that
supports vegan diets, released a report last month slamming many of the
salads for excessively high fat and calorie counts."

[Very edited from:
http://www.modbee.com/life/healthyliving/story/6899842p-7836023c.html

[PCRM's Press Release and report:
http://www.pcrm.org/news/health030508.html


************************************************
*06:  Humor:  Elephant Protectors, Mr. Stinky, & Frog Music
************************************************
ELEPHANTS PROTECTING FORESTS IN INDONESIA: (AP, 06/05/03) - " Indonesian
forest rangers have trained elephants to charge at loggers cutting down
wood illegally.  The 28 elephants attack when they hear the sound of the
loggers' chainsaws.  Illegal deforestation has declined in areas where the
animals operate.  The Jakarta Post reported that, "Most of the time,
illegal loggers run away when they see an elephant coming straight at
them."

[From:
http://www.anc.org/wildlife/wildlife_article.cfm?identifier=2003_0605_elephants


MEET AMORPHOPHALLUS TITANUM OR 'MR. STINKY':  (Michael Bowman, 05/17/03) -
"Miami (voa) - ... in Miami, scores of plant enthusiasts recently gathered
to experience what they say is one of the most pungent, foulest odors that
nature can provide.  Inside, a mammoth plant known as "Amorphophallus
Titanum", or Mr. Stinky for short, is about to bloom.  Native to the
Indonesian island of Sumatra, Mr. Stinky grows more than two meters tall.
The cone produces an oil that the plant heats and expels through tiny holes
as a noxious gas for roughly half a day before fading and eventually
falling to the ground.  "... in the jungle, the rainforest where Mr. Stinky
comes from, he might have to attract a pollinator from many miles away,"
[Mr. Allen] said [proudly].

[Edited from:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/?articleID=3672


FROG MUSIC ARRIVES TO SUSTAIN SPACE STATION CREW: Moscow (Reuters.
06/11/03) - "A Russian cargo rocket, the only remaining supply link to the
International Space Station (news - web sites), arrived at the outpost
Wednesday carrying food and recorded sounds of rain and croaking frogs for
the homesick crew.  Psychologists working with the Russian and U.S. space
agencies say the sounds of nature will relax the crew and help them cope
with the six-month stint in space."

[From:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20030611/
sc_nm/space_russia_dc


************************************************
*07:  Articles:  US/Global C02, Bottled Threats, Seedy Issues
************************************************
TRANSPORTATION IN US LARGEST GENERATOR OF CO2 EMISSIONS: STUDY (WashDC
(AFP): 05/30/03: "The US transport system generates more carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions than the entire economy of any country in the world except
China's, according to a new study released Thursday.  In fact, the study by
the Pew Center on Global Climate Change found that the US transport sector
alone produces nearly one-third of the country's entire CO2 emissions.

"The US transportation system emits more CO2 than any other nation's total
economy, except that of China, and presently accounts for seven of 10
barrels of oil this nation consumes," Claussen said.  But, if the United
States were to put to use existing technology and investments, carbon
emissions could be cut by some 20 percent by 2015 compared with 'business
as usual'."

[Edited from:
http://www.terradaily.com/2003/030529224647.b7d3q2xk.html

[Original study, factoids, and lotsa suggestions/ideas:
http://www.pewclimate.org/projects
http://www.pewclimate.org/policy/index_transp.cfm


SURGE IN BOTTLED WATER POPULARITY THREATENS ENVIRONMENT: Sacramento, CA -
"... according to a report released today by the California Department of
Conservation ... more than 1 billion water bottles are winding up in the
trash in California each year. That translates into nearly 3 million empty
water bottles going to the trash EVERY day and an estimated $26 million in
unclaimed California Refund Value (CRV) deposits annually. If recycled, the
raw materials from those bottles could be used to make 74 million square
feet of carpet, 74 million extra large T-shirts or 16 million sweaters,
among other things.

Instead, they are swallowing landfill space, increasing air pollution and
destroying the ozone layer.  According to the report, only 16 percent of
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottles sold in California are being
recycled. At that rate, the amount of water bottles thrown in the trash ten
years from now would be enough to create a two lane, six-inch deep highway
that stretches the entire coast of California.

[Edited from (and report available at):
http://www.consrv.ca.gov/index/news/2003%20News%20Releases/NR2003-13_Water_Bottl
e_Crisis.htm


CARTOON:  "BOTTLED WATER"
http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha082001.asp?source=daily


SEEDS OF DOUBT: MONSANTO IN COURT: 06/13/03: (Orna Izakson, E/The
Environmental Magazine) - "Did Canadian canola farmer Percy Schmeiser
intentionally plant patented, genetically engineered (GE) seed on his
Saskatchewan farm in 1997 and 1998? Chemical giant Monsanto says he did; he
says he didn't.  A Canadian federal court ruled in 2001 that Schmeiser
violated Monsanto's patent - regardless of how the seed got there - and
must pay the company nearly $100,000.

The case is now headed for Canada's Supreme Court, with Schmeiser's
countersuit against Monsanto following close behind. The Saskatchewan
farmer argues the chemical giant contaminated the environment and his crops
through inadequate safeguards to prevent the spread of pollen and seed for
its herbicide-resistant canola.

Farmers who want the seed must buy it new from the company each year, sign
special agreements to spray only Monsanto herbicides, and allow company
officials unfettered access to their fields.

Researchers at the University of Manitoba are shortly to publish findings
that 32 of 33 supposedly GE-free seed lots in Canada were contaminated by
as much as 5 percent genetically engineered seed."

[Very edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-13/s_4773.asp

[Check out the farmer's website:
http://www.percyschmeiser.com/


SEEDS MORE RISKY THAN POLLEN FOR GM ESCAPE: (06/03/03, Andy Coghlan) -
"Seeds are more likely than pollen to spread genes from
genetically-modified sugar beet into wild relatives, researchers have
warned.  Previously, concern about the leakage of genes from GM crops into
the environment has focused on pollen, which can blow for long distances on
the wind. But new research in France reveals that the transport of seeds
may present a greater risk.  Jean-Fran�ois Arnaud, head of the research
team at Lille University, says: "Accidental transport of seeds within soils
carried on motor vehicles, or by other normal agricultural activities
provide the best explanation."  The team found that the weedy hybrids,
which produce more seeds that the commercial sugar beets, had somehow
migrated 1500 metres from the fields and were mingling with wild sea beet."

[Very edited from:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993840


************************************************
*08:  Articles:  Lab Secrets, Animals & Law, Babies & Birds
************************************************
EXPOSED: SECRETS OF THE ANIMAL ORGAN LAB: (Mark Townsend , 04/20/03, The
Observor) - "This is Europe's largest animal research centre, the
mysterious Government-sanctioned Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) laboratory.
A huge volume of confidential documents - the largest-ever set of data
concerning animal experiments in the UK. These documents chart the race to
supply an unlimited supply of animal organs in a bid to save the lives of
thousands of Britons.

Many of the 1,274 pages of documents reveal a litany of failings that will
serve to ignite further controversy over HLS, which last week won a
ground-breaking injunction preventing animal protesters getting close to
employees' homes. Fundamental questions over the value of vivisection
itself will also be asked.  The papers reveal attempts to bury the true
extent of animal suffering from experiments conducted at the HLS
laboratories between 1994 and 2000. Serious incidents of unlicensed animals
suffering were not adequately investigated and regulations were not
enforced properly.

The verdict represents an extraordinary triumph for a Sheffield-based
animal rights group, Uncaged Campaigns, which defeated the injunction
imposed by Imutran and Novartis [30 months ago] to suppress the release of
the documents. The group successfully argued that the issue was one of
overwhelming public interest on a highly sensitive area of policy.

[Very edited from:
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,940033,00.html


ANIMAL RIGHTS AND THE LAW: "This website contains materials written in the
course on Animal Rights and the Law that [has been] taught at Rutgers
University School of Law for over a decade.

The materials on this website include selected documents from some of the
legal and regulatory actions litigated by Francione and Charlton. These
actions involve: the right of a student to object to vivisection or
dissection in the classroom; hunting and wildlife issues, hunter
"harassment," wild horses, animal sacrifices, and animal care committees.
The website also offers on-line handbooks concerning freedom of expression
and housing issues involving companion animals, various essays and journal
articles on animal rights and animals and the law, information about books
written by Francione and Charlton,  and various state and federal laws and
regulations.

[Edited from the Home Page of this information site:
http://www.animal-law.org/

[Interview with Gary Francione:
http://www.vegdot.org/special/Gary%20Francione


VOCAL LEARNING SIMILAR IN HUMANS, BIRDS:  (Kate Wong, 06/03/03) - "A baby
songbird doesn't emerge from the egg singing perfectly. It starts out
babbling, and gradually refines its tune over time. Human infants follow a
similar developmental path when learning to talk. According to a report
published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, babbling human babies respond to social cues from their mothers
in much the way that avian babies do."

[Very edited from:
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=00018110-C481-1EDB-8E1C809EC588
EF21


************************************************
*09:  Articles:  Greens/NY, Farm Animal Confinement Poll/Ban
************************************************
GREENS LEAD TAKEOVER OF NEW PALTZ, N.Y.:  Media Release: 05/08/03 -  WashDC
- "In an upset victory, Green Party of New York State committee member
Jason West was elected Mayor of the Village of New Paltz.  West campaigned
for mayor on a platform of environmentally sustainability, calling for the
creation of artificial wetlands to help the water treatment plant filter
water without toxic chemicals.  He also pledged to have Village government
use solar power and wind energy, and to use biodiesel fuel in Department of
Public Works trucks.

At least 178 Greens in 24 states now hold elected office in the U.S."

[Edited from and more Green Party links at:
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_05_08_03.html


OPPOSITION TO FARM ANIMAL CONFINEMENT SHOWN: (Amanda Katz. 05/30/03) - "A
poll recently conducted by Zogby International has revealed that seven of
every 10 California residents who have registered to vote favor enactment
of legislation banning the use of veal and gestation crates to prevent
calves and pregnant pigs from turning around and/or lying down comfortably.
Use of the crates, which some farmers claim is necessary in order to
maximize efficiency, has been banned by the government of the European
Union.  Use of gestation crates has been made illegal in Florida."

Sources:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/newsletter/veal_calves.htm
http://www.noveal.org/science.htm

[Edited from:
http://www.anc.org/farm/farm_article.cfm?identifier=2003_0530_confinement


CALIFORNIA: INITIATIVE TO BAN GESTATION CRATES: "A statewide ballot
initiative may be launched in California to outlaw the confinement of pigs
on industrial factory farms. If so, volunteers will have to gather 600,000
signatures to place this measure on the 2004 November ballot to ban the
intensive and unnecessary confinement of breeding pigs.  Following a
successful initiative that banned the use of gestation crates for pregnant
pigs in Florida last year, many organizations are considering launching a
similar ballot initiative in California."

[Edited from much more info at:
http://www.hsus.org/ace/19073


************************************************
*10:  Links/Info:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
MAD COWS, SANE CATS: MAKING SENSE OF THE `SPECIES BARRIER'  [a fine and
detailed article about the science and confusion... requires free
registration]
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/03/science/03SPEC.html

HUMAN ACTIVITIES GIVE RISE TO NEW DISEASES  [a great summary
article/viewpoint from Dr. Suzuki]
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-03/s_4695.asp

US HOUSE PANEL VOTES TO DENY USDA MONEY FOR COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN MEAT LABELS
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/ap/tx/business/1957752

[The entire FY04 Agriculture Appropriations Bill - check out these numbers]
http://www.house.gov/appropriations/news/108_1/04agsub.htm


A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO VEGANISM DURING PREGNANCY & THROUGHOUT CHILDHOOD
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/info/info26.html

FOR TEENS, DINNER WITH FAMILY MEANS HEALTHIER DIET
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&ncid=751&e=1&u=/nm/20030603/
hl_nm/teens_dinner_dc

VEG GENIUS INTERVIEWED ["Gregory Smith is a 13-year-old activist... he the
founder of International Youth Advocates, an organization designed to give
young people an opportunity to put an end to worldwide violence and
suffering, Gregory also completed high school at the age of 10 and is
graduating from college [May '03]. Gregory shares his reasons for becoming
a vegetarian and how we all can help make the world a better place."]
http://www.vegetarianteen.com/interviews.shtml

VEGANFORLIFE ["VeganForLife is a grassroots, non-profit Vegan resource. We
aim to respond to all queries about Vegan living, and one of our goals is
to source Vegan products and information for the worldwide Vegan and
Vegetarian community."]
http://www.veganforlife.org/

VEGANFOOD [Superb and extensive collection of well-organized vegan recipes]
http://www.vegan-food.net/


STEVEN'S PORTAL [an impressive collection of links and information on diet,
agriculture, health, environment, the arts, education, social issues and
"For everyone concerned about humanity and the world we live in."]
http://www.stevensportal.com/index.html


PROTECTION AGAINST MOSQUITOES AND OTHER ARTHROPOD VECTORS
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/bugs.htm

THE GREEN TAKE ON INSECT REPELLANTS AND SUNSCREENS
http://www.gristmagazine.com/possessions/possessions061803.asp?source=daily

SUMMER SOLSTICE - SATURDAY JULY 21, 2003
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/solstice.html


************************************************
*11:  AR2003 West/East Coast Conferences
************************************************
WHAT: Animal Rights 2003 is the animal rights movement's annual national
conference. AR2003  provides a forum for teaching skills, sharing
knowledge, discussing strategies  and tactics, networking, and "recharging
our batteries." This conference  will feature 120 presenters from every
faction of the animal rights movement. There will be in ten Plenary
Sessions, 100 Workshops, 50 Campaign Reports, and 16 Rap Sessions. Other
functions include Exhibits, Videos, Newcomer Orientation, Employment
Clearinghouse, Group Workouts, Planning Meetings, Welcome and Networking
Receptions, Awards Banquet, and the Animal Rights Hall of  Fame.

EAST
When: June  27- July 1, 2003 (post-conference activities on July 2)
Where: McLean  VA (just outside Washington, D.C.)

WEST
When: Aug 1-5, 2003  (post-conference activities on Aug 6)
Where: Los Angeles, CA

Contact:  info@...
Website: http://www.animalrights2003.org


************************************************
*12:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Jun 21: Lodi, CA < Modern Manna's 9th Annual Health Healing Crusade
Jun 28 - Jul 01: Washington DC < AR2003

Aug 01 - Aug 05: Los Angeles, CA < AR2003
Aug 06 - Aug 11: Johnstown, PA < NAVS Summerfest 2003

Sep 22 - Sep 30: "We the People" Fall 2003 Tour (Spitfire)

Oct 01: Winnepeg, Canada
Oct 02: Moosejaw, Canada
Oct 03: Calgary, Canada
Oct 04: Red Deer, Canada
Oct 05: Edmonton, Canada
Oct 06: Kelowna, Canada
Oct 07: Abbottsford, Canada
Oct 08: Victoria, Canada
Oct 09: Vancover, Canada
Oct 11: Chicago EarthSave
Oct 17 - 19: San Rafael CA < Bioneers Conference

Nov 09: Orange Co., NY
Nov 22 - Dec 23: USA < Vegetarian Vision

Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise

Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details, links and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html

************************************************
*13:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!

************************************************
*14:  Closing Thoughts from Will Rogers
************************************************
"RUMOR TRAVELS FASTER, BUT IT DON'T STAY PUT AS LONG AS TRUTH." ("Politics
Getting Ready to Jell") The Illiterate Digest, 1924.

"WELL, ALL I KNOW IS WHAT I READ IN THE PAPERS."  New York Times, Sept 30 1923.

******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 24th edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

This time we've a bit more emphasis on nutrition, food, and diet, than in
recent editions.

Today you'll learn about a vegetarian's father who created a business
around foods his daughter couldn't get (Karla's Kitchen in "Quick Bytes"),
the Vegan Bakery in Washington DC (Sticky Fingers), see some pictures from
Howard's camera during recent trips to the West Coast, learn about Sea
Vegetables, marvel at the World Carrot Museum, and realize the dangers of
"biopharming."

You'll also be motivated to "lighten-up" when you read about the
relationship between hostility, the blues, animal fat consumption, and
cancer, be tempted to purchase a "meowlingual" to understand your cat, have
access to a superb report on "irradiated meat," think more about barley
recipes, know "seven steps to break the food seduction," and be challenged
by this issue's "Vegan Mind-Bender."

There's also several new links for various informational sources on the
web, and a new webpage on the Mad Cowboy website that has a list of Twenty
Vegan Cookbooks for your review.

...and as always, a special nod of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all
can read past issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Best wishes as we approach mid-Summer (and may your plants be thriving)!

Regards, Mark  Editor/Webmaster


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quote(s) of Note
01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  Veg Approved, Organic Wins, Versatile Barley, Sea Veggies
04:  Ancient Gingko, Space Soy, Biopharming, Sheep Burps
05:  Humor:  Come & Get It!, World Carrot Museum, Mr. Rogers
06:  Hostility/Heart Disease, The Blues/Fatty Foods & Cancer
07:  Meowlingual, Antibiotic Phase-Out, & Irradiated Truth
08:  Links: Quick Bytes
09:  AR2003 West Coast Conference
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quote(s) of Note
************************************************
"In 1990, I was well over 300 pounds. My blood pressure was sky high. My
cholesterol was over 300. I'd sit down and have lunch and my nose would
bleed.  I'm not a Rhodes scholar but I knew I was in trouble. I knew I had
to change my diet but I'd rather be caught riding a stolen horse than
admitting to someone that I was a vegetarian.

In 1990 I became the world's worst vegetarian. No meat.  My diet was
lettuce and dairy products.  For a year that was my diet. I lost some
weight.  My blood pressure came down slightly.  My cholesterol came down
slightly. I thought, "damn if I could do that being the world's worst
vegetarian just think what I could do if I became vegan."  And since
becoming vegan I've lost 130 pounds.  My blood pressure is normal. My
cholesterol has dropped from 300 to 135. I saved my life by changing my
diet.

<snip> "...I was convinced that the fork was the most dangerous weapon in
mankind's arsenal."

(An Interview with Howard Lyman:
http://www.veganstreet.com/community/lyman.html)


"HOW CAN YOU HAVE COLD CEREAL, YOU WONDER, ON A VEGAN DIET?  Simple.
Instead of cow's milk, explore a whole new world of nutritious, low-fat
milks that contain not a trace of bovine growth hormone:  rice milk, almond
milk, oat milk, and soy milk.  They come in all kinds of varieties with all
kinds of flavorings, and they are delicious.  Be adventurous.  Let your
taste buds adapt to new tastes and textures."

- Howard Lyman ("Mad Cowboy," pg. 171, with Glen Merzer)


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
[Howard's travels in California during June 2003:
http://www.madcowboy.com/07_09_03_HL_Pix/index.html


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
THE QUESTION WAS:  "We eat enough X in a year to make more than 10 billion
sandwiches, spending almost $800 million US a year on [this product].  What
is "X?"  HINT:  it's not bread, and it's one of Howard's favorite food
products.

Russell Nix from Atlanta, Georgia, correctly answered "peanut butter."  He
won the random pick from the four correct entries.  Congratulations!

[For statistics:
http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=253e186d-7c88-4f01-bc43-3e1e709ab962
http://www.nationalpeanutboard.com/

THIS WEEK'S MIND-BENDER!!!

"They constitute between 90 and 95% of all animal life on earth (either in
biomass or quantity).

What are they?"  HINT for those 30 to 40ish:  "Poor Mr. Loopner's birth
defect."

[E-MAIL YOUR ANSWERS (one guess per person, please!) by 07/27/03 to:
webmaster@...  and please use the word "Contest" in your Subject
Line]

[Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, has offered a FREE one-year subscription to
a winner chosen at random those submitting the correct answer to each MC
Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you can learn more about
VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  Veg Approved, Organic Wins, Versatile Barley, Sea Veggies
************************************************
GOING VEGETARIAN CAN BE HEALTHIER - THAT'S OFFICIAL: 06.03.03: "Think that
vegetarian diets are risky or just a passing phase? Not so! According to
the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and Dietitians of Canada (DC), a
well-planned vegetarian diet can be a healthy alternative to standard
meat-based eating styles for all age groups.

"Vegetarians have been reported to have healthier body weight than
non-vegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from heart disease, lower
blood cholesterol levels and lower rates of high blood pressure, type 2
diabetes and prostate and colon cancer," says Cynthia Sass, a registered
dietitian and ADA spokesperson .

"Planning a healthy vegetarian diet doesn't need to be complicated, but
steps should be taken to ensure the diet is nutrient-dense," Sass says.
"Just as with a meat-based diet, the key to ensuring the body meets all its
nutritional needs is to choose a wide variety of foods."

[Edited from:
http://www.sabcnews.com/sci_tech/science/0,1009,59810,00.html


GERMAN BREAKTHROUGH FOR ORGANIC PRODUCERS: 06.20.03: "Danish organic food
producers have scored an important agreement on the vital German market.
Ten Danish-based organic food producers have reached an agreement with
German wholesaler Grell.

Speciality shops account for 38 percent of all organic produce sales in
Germany, and the German market represents one-fourth of the overall organic
market in Europe. For that reason, the agreement is a significant
development for Danish companies working together under the name Bio aus
D�nemark.  In Germany, over 100 local organic brands have been supplied
with a trademark which complies with EU requirements, and which the Danish
organic brands have easily met. The greatest barrier for Danish exports on
the German market is that organic food sales are traditionally concentrated
in small health food shops, rather than the major supermarket chains.

[Edited from:
http://cphpost.sites.itera.dk/default.asp?id=32152


BARLEY LAYS CLAIM TO HEALTH GAINS: 05.03: "Barley is a very versatile
grain. It can be used in soups, stews, cereal, or baked goods. It can be
used as a side dish or in a salad. It's also very healthful, because it's
low in fat and cholesterol free. So why aren't Americans eating more barley?

ARS chemist Kay Behall contends that some Americans, especially those who
are diabetic and overweight, would be better off doing just that.
Significant reductions in blood pressure have previously been reported in
other high-fiber grain diet studies. Diets rich in soluble fiber also show
potential benefits in reducing elevated glucose or insulin in people with
impaired glucose tolerance or insulin resistance.  It is known that the
soluble fiber found in oats can reduce cholesterol.

"Oats are widely recognized as promoting beneficial reductions in the rise
of glucose and insulin levels after a meal," Behall says. "Barley also has
high amounts of soluble fiber, so one should expect similar advantages.
Soluble fiber in barley could also help reduce cardiovascular and diabetes
risk factors.  Most barley is used in animal feed or for the production of
barley malt for making beer. However, it could add a real boost to the
diets of the millions of overweight people in the United States."

[Edited from Agricultural Research Magazine:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/may03/grain0503.htm


SEA VEGETABLES: DON'T CALL 'EM WEEDS:  06.30.03: (Amy Topel): "Plants are
considered weeds when they are growing in an area where they are not
desirable. There is a group of plants that we commonly call seaweeds but
this term doesn't make sense and it denies the value of these plants in our
diets. Like land vegetables, sea vegetables are nutritious additions to our
diet. They provide many minerals (most notably iron), a good supply of
protein and fiber as well as Vitamins A, B6 and C.

Sea vegetables are most often associated with Japanese cuisine, but are
also common ingredients in both Korean and Chinese cookery. Sea vegetables
are not confined to these cuisines however. They are harvested off the
coasts of almost every continent, and are traditional foods in Wales,
Scotland and Ireland, Western Europe, Iceland, Alaska and Chile among
others."

[Full unedited article with descriptions, nutrition information, cooking
tips, and recipes:
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=97&s=seaweed


************************************************
*04:  Ancient Gingko, Space Soy, Biopharming, Sheep Burps
************************************************
GINKGO IS LIVING FOSSIL:  06.19.03: (Christopher Surridge): "Herbal
medicine's favorite tree, the Gingko, is a living fossil. Newly found
specimens that grew more than a hundred million years ago are remarkably
similar to present-day plants.  Extracts of the Gingko or maidenhair tree,
a distant relative of the conifer, are believed to improve concentration
and stave off dementia. Some specimens in Chinese monastery gardens are
over three thousand years old. Others, such as those in Utrecht and Kew
Gardens, are approaching three hundred. Wild specimens are extinct.

There is now little doubt that today's Gingko is a direct descendent of
forebears that provided food for the dinosaurs.

[Edited from:
http://www.nature.com/nsu/030616/030616-9.html


FIRST SPACE-GROWN SOY RESEMBLES EARTHGROWN CROP:  06.13.03: (Sue
Schwendener, Reuters): "Soybeans grown in space are similar to those
produced on Earth, offering the possibility that space-age vegetation could
support a long-term human presence in space, scientists said this week.

"When we started, we were unsure if the seeds would even remain planted in
space without any gravity, let alone grow," said DuPont Co. researcher Tom
Corbin. "As it turned out, the project was the first ever to complete a
major crop growth cycle in space, from planting seeds to growing new seeds.
It was also the first major crop grown on the International Space Station."

However, the space-grown seeds were higher in sugar content, but lower in
oil and amino acid content, presumably because of the higher level of
carbon dioxide on the International Space Center, Corbin said."

[Edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-13/s_4971.asp


IS BIOPHARMING WORTH THE RISK?: 06.01.03: (Danila Oder): "The latest trend
in genetic engineering is to grow modified crops that are not intended for
food. 'Pharma' crops are GE plants that produce proteins or chemicals for
pharmaceutical and industrial uses. Since 1991, more than 300 open-air
field trials of pharma crops have been conducted in the US, although few
details have ever been released to the public.  Today, detailed public
information is available on only 10% of the 400 products currently being
developed by about 20 companies and universities. These products include
vaccines, anti-HIV drugs, anti-clotting agents and industrial enzymes. Even
the American government is involved - the US National Institutes of Health
are now safety testing a corn-grown oral treatment for traveler's diarrhea.

Many critics wonder why food crops are used for biopharming at all, rather
than using non-food crops like hemp, tobacco or a prolific weed like ivy.
...US government policies keep the prices of bulk crops low, so many
American farmers are desperate for any crop, like pharma plants, that
offers a higher profit margin.

Plants are living beings, and their DNA can impact on the surrounding
environment in unpredictable ways.  Canola, or rape seed, is another
open-pollinated GE plant, widely grown in Canada. Recently, the Certified
Organic Associations of British Columbia stated that the canola gene pool
is now so contaminated that growing organic canola has become almost
impossible. On December 29, 2002 the British lndependent newspaper reported
that a new British government study had found that GE rape seed was
interbreeding on a large scale with conventional crops, as well as breeding
and transferring its herbicide-resistant traits to wild turnip, a related
weed.

People outside the US often wonder why American activists aren't ripping up
these fields and why the US public appears relatively complacent about GE
experiments and production. One reason is that, unlike in Britain, the
European Union and Australia, which publish the precise locations of field
trials, US trial locations are virtually treated as state secrets.  Without
open public information, farmers can't determine if GE crops are being
grown next door."

[Very edited from the comprehensive article at:
http://www.inquisitoronline.com/news/0306gm.html


NEW ZEALAND TRIES TO CAP GASEOUS SHEEP BURPS:  05.13.03: (John Roach,
National Geographic): "New Zealand scientists trying to curb their
country's influence on global warming may have found an answer to belch
about: Livestock that eat plants high in condensed tannins produce up to 16
percent less methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

New Zealand's 45 million sheep outnumber the country's human population by
more than 11 to one. Methane is one of the three most potent gases that
some scientists say are causing the Earth to warm up at an accelerated and
unnatural rate. Carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is the most
common greenhouse gas in the world.

"New Zealand is unique in that over 50 percent of its greenhouse gas
emissions arise from methane released by enteric fermentation," said
Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.  Enteric fermentation is methane produced as
part of the normal digestive process of animals, such as cows and sheep. It
is primarily released in the form of burps.

For comparison, livestock are responsible for about 2 percent of the United
States' greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.

[Very edited from:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/05/0509_020509_belch.html


************************************************
*05:  Humor:  Come & Get It!, World Carrot Museum, Mr. Rogers
************************************************
[Regarding Corporate "self-regulation:"
http://www.markfiore.com/animation/meat.html

[The World Carrot Museum:
http://website.lineone.net/~stolarczyk/

[Quotes from the Official Will Rogers Website:
http://www.cmgww.com/historic/rogers/quote.html


************************************************
*06:  Hostility/Heart Disease, The Blues/Fatty Foods & Cancer
************************************************
YOUTHFUL HOSTILITY LINKED TO ADULT HEART DISEASE:  05.26.03: (Alan Mozes,
Reuters Health): "Children and adolescents who approach the ups and downs
of life with a hostile attitude might be at a heightened risk of developing
health complications that can progress to adult heart disease, according to
U.S. and Finnish researchers.

"There is a need for interventions designed to reduce hostility in young
people to prevent the precursors to cardiovascular disease, like obesity or
type II diabetes, which has become a huge health problem in children in the
U.S.," the study's lead author, Dr. Karen A. Matthews of the University of
Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, said in a statement.  Parents, Matthews told
Reuters Health, should try to address any conflicts their children might be
having in order to ease hostile feelings.

Among the children and teens her team studied, the researchers found that
anger, cynicism and aggression were associated with several cardiovascular
risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure and a condition called
insulin resistance that can be a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

[Edited from:
http://yalenewhavenhealth.org/HealthNews/Reuters/NewsStory0526200318.htm

[Original study abstract: Health Psychology 2003;22:279- 286.
http://www.apa.org/journals/hea/503ab.html#6


BANISHING THE BLUES COULD CUT THE CHANCES OF CANCER: 06.23.03: (Raj
Persaud): "Research aired at the recent annual meeting of the American
Psychiatric Association in San Francisco adds intriguing new data to the
controversy over whether stress in itself can cause cancer.

Psychiatrists led by Dr Arnstein Mykletun from the University of Bergen in
Norway followed up 62,591 participants in Norway's largest medical survey
of a general population, and found a statistically significant relationship
between high scores on an anxiety scale completed in 1995 and the later
development of premalignant states of disease.  Another recent large study
published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute from the National
Institute of Ageing in the US has found that chronic depression can cause
cancer. In particular, the researchers found that being despondent for a
long time (in their study the low mood had been present for at least six
years) almost doubled your risk of getting cancer.'

[Very edited from:
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=686342003


FATTY FOODS TIED TO BREAST CANCER IN YOUNGER WOMEN:  07.15.03: (Anthony J.
Brown, MD, Reuters Health): "Younger women who regularly eat foods
containing certain types of fat may be increasing their chances of
developing breast cancer, new research suggests.  This is the first study
to link fatty foods with breast cancer in women who have not yet reached
menopause, lead author Dr. Eunyoung Cho, from Harvard Medical School in
Boston, told Reuters Health. Previous studies, which have focused mainly on
postmenopausal women, have not tied fatty foods to cancer.

The current findings are based on a study of more than 90,000 premenopausal
women who were followed for 8 years.  The total amount of fat consumed was
not linked to breast cancer, but eating certain types of fat was, Cho said.
Eating animal fat, which is usually found in red meat and high-fat dairy
foods, increased the risk of cancer, while eating vegetable fats did not.
Women who ate high amounts of animal fat were up to 54% more likely to
develop breast cancer than women who ate the lowest amounts, the findings
indicate.

[Edited from:
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=3095278

[Study abstract: Journal of the National Cancer Institute July 2003
http://jncicancerspectrum.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jnci;95/14/1079


************************************************
*07:  Meowlingual, Antibiotic Phase-Out, Irradiated Truth
************************************************
WHAT YOUR CAT IS TRYING TO TELL YOU: 07.16.03: " Tokyo (Reuters):  Takara
Co, a major Japanese toy maker, said on Wednesday it would launch a device
called the "Meowlingual" that can interpret a cat's meow, hoping to repeat
its success with the "Bowlingual," a dog translation device.  Takara said
the Meowlingual, a palm-sized electronic console that displays the
interpreted phrase on a screen, will be priced at 8,800 yen ($74.62) and it
would aim to sell 300,000 units by the end of March 2004.

Takara has sold about 300,000 dog translation devices in Japan since last
year and plans to launch an English-language product in the U.S. market in
August for about $120.

[From:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=3&u=/nm/20030716/
od_nm/tech_takara_cats_dc


MCDONALD'S PHASES OUT ANIMAL ANTIBIOTICS:  06.27.03: "Last week, the fast
food chain issued a Global Policy on Antibiotics Use in Food Animals ,
which includes a set of "Guiding Principles for Sustainable Use." Besides
eliminating human medicine antibiotics as growth promoters in food animals,
the policy also sets standards for sustainable antibiotic use by direct
suppliers. Enforcement mechanisms include supplier certification,
assurance, and auditing. Compliance with the standards cannot be applied to
indirect suppliers, but it will factor into purchase decisions.

The policy, which resulted from deliberations between McDonald's and a
multi-stakeholder Antibiotics Coalition, will affect some 2.5 billion
pounds of chicken, beef and pork purchased annually by the fast food giant."

[Edited from:
http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/article1158.html

[McDonald's Global Policy on Antibiotic Use in Food Animals:
http://www.mcdonalds.com/corporate/social/marketplace/antibiotics/global/index.h
tml


THE TRUTH ABOUT IRRADIATED MEAT:  Consumer Reports, Aug. 2003:
"Irradiation "eliminates any bacteria that might exist in food," according
to a Food Emporium supermarket flyer. "You can't taste the difference,"
claims a pamphlet from SureBeam, a leading food irradiator. "Enjoy with
confidence!" says a poster advertising irradiated double cheeseburgers at a
Minneapolis Dairy Queen. Full-page newspaper ads from Wegmans supermarkets
tell customers that they can cook a juicy irradiated burger "the way they
like it" and "without worrying about safety."

Consumer Reports put claims like those to the test. Our research, taste
tests, and microbial analysis of irradiated and nonirradiated chicken and
ground beef--the largest analysis of its kind on meat sold at
retail--counter many of the assertions:

* Bacteria levels in the irradiated, uncooked ground beef and skinless
chicken tenders were generally much lower than levels in the nonirradiated
meat. But the irradiated meat still contained some bacteria.

* Our trained taste testers noted a slight but distinct off-taste and smell
in most of the irradiated beef and chicken we cooked and sampled, likening
it to singed hair.

* Irradiated food is safe to eat, according to federal and world health
officials. It certainly does not become radioactive. But a recent study on
the chemical byproducts that irradiation creates in meat has led some
researchers and the European Parliament to call for further studies."

[Very edited from the impressive and comprehensive article at:
http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv2.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=322725&FOLD
ER%3C%3Efolder_id=162689&bmUID=1057841976954

[For the Consumer's Union perspective:
http://www.consumersunion.org


************************************************
*08:  Links:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
[NEW! 20 VEGAN COOKBOOKS REFERENCED ON MADCOWBOY:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VCookbooks.html

[GREAT VEGAN RECIPES SEARCHABLE DIRECTORY:
http://www.vegweb.com/recipes.html

[RESOURCE-FULL WEBSITE FOR "VEGETARIAN FAMILIES:"
http://www.vegfamily.com/

["SEVEN STEPS TO BREAKING THE FOOD SEDUCTION:"
http://www.pcrm.org/news/health030529_tips.html

[FRIENDS OF HOWARD'S WEBSITE:
http://www.all-creatures.org/

[PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM COMMERCIALISM:
http://www.commercialalert.org/

[FISHING:  WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT?
http://www.fishinghurts.com/

[Howard and the owner of the vegan "Sticky Fingers" bakery in WashDC:
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0627.0628.mssPIX/pictures/pdrm0169.html

[STICKY FINGERS VEGAN BAKERY:
http://www.stickyfingersbakery.com/

[Howard and the Founder of the Kinship Circle:
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0627.0628.mssPIX/pictures/pdrm0170.html

[KINSHIP CIRCLE (Send a Letter; Save An Animal):
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/

[Howard approves of the vegan beef/chicken salad/BBQ:
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0629.0630.mssPIX/pictures/pdrm0364.html

[KARLA'S KITCHEN:
http://www.karlas-kitchen.com/BURBS.HTM

[Howard checking out the herbed olive oil on whole grain bread:
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0629.0630.mssPIX/pictures/pdrm0367.html

[VIGOA CUISINE:
http://www.vigoacuisine.com/

[ADOPT-SPOT: OAKLAND ANIMAL SHELTER:
http://www.adoptspot.com/shelters/oakland_as.html

************************************************
*09:  AR2003 West Coast Conference
************************************************
AR 2003 WEST:  the Program Schedule for the Animal Rights 2003 West
conference has just been posted at: http://www.animalrights2003.org.  The
first west coast animal rights conference since 1985 will take place on
August 1-6 at the Westin - LAX Hotel in Los Angeles. Approximately 500
participants are expected, including 100 speakers representing more than 50
animal organizations.

Key speakers scheduled thus far include Carol Adams, Alan Berger, Steve
Best, Linda Blair, Theo Capaldo, Lawrence Carter-Long, Robert Cohen, Joe
Connelly, Rod Coronado, Karen Davis, Karen Dawn, Joyce D'Silva, Michael
Greger, Alex Hershaft, Steve Hindi, Kevin Jonas, Elliot Katz, Howard Lyman,
Bill Maher, Jim Mason, Jack Norris, Sherry Schlueter, Paul Shapiro, Lauren
Ornelas Sullivan, Peter Singer, Joyce Tischler, and Paul Watson.

Presidential Candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich will be speaking on Monday at
1230pm.

The program will include plenary sessions, workshops, 'rap' sessions,
campaign reports, videos, and exhibits, as well as Newcomer Orientation,
planning meetings, group workouts, Employment Clearinghouse, networking
receptions, and Awards Banquet. Several post-conference activities are
scheduled for August 6.

Be there for the animals, and bring your friends!  Alex Hershaft, Director,
FARM


************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Aug 01 - Aug 05: Los Angeles, CA < AR2003
Aug 06 - Aug 11: Johnstown, PA < NAVS Summerfest 2003

Sep 22 - Sep 30: "We the People" Fall 2003 Tour (Spitfire)

Oct 01: Winnepeg, Canada
Oct 02: Moosejaw, Canada
Oct 03: Calgary, Canada
Oct 04: Red Deer, Canada
Oct 05: Edmonton, Canada
Oct 06: Kelowna, Canada
Oct 07: Abbottsford, Canada
Oct 08: Victoria, Canada
Oct 09: Vancover, Canada
Oct 11: Chicago EarthSave
Oct 17 - 19: San Rafael CA < Bioneers Conference

Nov 09: Orange Co., NY
Nov 22 - Dec 23: USA < Vegetarian Vision

Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise

Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*12:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"THOSE WHO EAT FLESH are but eating grains and vegetables second hand, for
the animal receives from these things the nutrition that produces growth.
The life that was in the grains and vegetables passes into the eater. We
receive it by eating the flesh of the animal. How much better to get it
direct, by eating the food that God provided for our use."

- Ellen G. White ("Counsels on Diet and Foods," 313)


"ARE WE LIVING UP TO OUR RESPONSIBILITY? Are we getting involved?   Are we
paying attention to who produces our food, what they are using on it, what
it's doing to us, the animals, and the environment?  I think too many of us
have given up the responsibility, and we have passed it over to some
government agency with the idea that they are looking after us, and they
will do what is right.

Let's go back to the manual.  Let's look at what the Lord says.  Let's look
at the fact that we have  responsibility for the future.  It is up to us to
do those things that are right.  And we need to do it very soon before it
is too late."

- Howard Lyman (from 3ABN "Earth Talk" Segment, "Meat and the USDA")


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 25th Issue of the MadCowboy e-Newsletter!

This one's a bit late as there's been many Veg'n-related conferences in
July and August.

In this edition of the Newsletter, you'll see exclusive pix of Vegan
Presidential Candidate and Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Howard, learn
about the "America's 1st Food Chain," hear of new findings about green tea
and cancer prevention, understand why "feeding your mind" is important,
that proper nutrition can be as effective as drugs in reducing cholesterol
levels in your blood,  and be surprised that cell phones threaten Ape
populations in Africa.

You'll also marvel at the biodiversity of Planet YOU, read about the "Sheep
Whisperer", be encouraged by new efforts to track Global Climate Change,
restaurants going "green", science validating increases in US food portions
and obesity effects --- let alone have a preview of an upcoming interview
with Dr. Pam Popper (The Wellness Forum).

Finally...look closely and you'll see some new material from Howard's 3ABN
broadcasts, favorite pix of the Mad Cowboy at AR2003West in L.A., CA, and a
multitude of new resource links in "Quick Bytes" to meet many interests.

....and as always, a nod to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read past
issues of the newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Here's hoping everyone's having a great summer and that our subscribers in
Cleveland, New York, and Canada, have sufficent power to run their
computers (finally).

Best, Mark  Editor


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quote(s) of Note
01:  EXCLUSIVE!  Dennis Kucinich and Howard
02:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
03:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
04:  Tea Health, Diet vs. Drugs, Food Portions, Feed the Mind
05:  ANST01, Cell Phones/Apes, Whales Undercount, Planet YOU
06:  Humor:  Elephants Know Swedish, Sheep Whisperer
07:  Tracking Change, Soils Crisis, Drip Irrigation, Eating Green
08:  Quick Bytes
09:  Howard's Schedule
10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
11:  Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  Quote(s) of Note
************************************************
"And they said you're never gonna get half of the people to do anything.  I
said we don't need half.  Less than 20% of the people are thinking, 80% of
the people out there today are part of the herd. They are following nose to
tail, and if you follow nose to tail there is only one thing you ever see
in front of you.

We need to go and talk to the 20% of the people that are still thinking.

I went out and started talking to the American people and I talked to 'em
about God's creation, I talked to 'em about our environment and our animals
and what we were doing with our natural resources.  For me it has been one
of the most phenomenal things in the world.  Because I've learned as much
from those people as what they have learned from me.

Our job, our job is not to individually save the world.  Our job is to do
what we can do, walking our talk.  Do we ever stop and think about that?
Do we stop and think about that when I get up in the morning and I walk
outside and the birds are singing, the dew is there and the sun is coming
up, it is one of the most magnificent things in the world.  Are we thinking
about who's making the decisions about what we are doing?  Are we getting
involved?  I think that we need right now, each and every one of us, to
look at the issues that are out there, whether it is collection of our
trash, taxes, voter registration, look at what happened in the last
presidential election in Florida, where they ended up where thousands of
people were denied the opportunity to vote because of the problems with
their registration.  These are the things that need to be dealt with at the
local level.  We need to get involved in all elections.  This doesn't mean
that you have to go out and spend money, but you need to educate yourself."

---- Howard Lyman (edited from the 3ABN "Earth Talk" Segment, "Politics")


"These buildings [state government] should be full of people who are
concerned enough about what's going on, to come down here and scream and
holler, and talk to people.  They're not.  And that's very very disturbing,
and that's how this whole situation got to the where it is.

And the way we'll undo it, and this is why the work that Howard's doing is
important, what I am doing is important, is we just have to go out there.
Every time I'm in front of a hundred people, two hundred, ten thousand...
it doesn't matter how many, because those people are going to tell other
people, and we're going to build this critical mass to the place where so
many people are educated, that these companies and these governments can't
get away with this stuff any more."

---- Dr. Pamela Popper, The Wellness Forum (from the upcoming Mad Cowboy
Interview!)


************************************************
*01:  EXCLUSIVE!  Dennis Kucinich and Howard
************************************************
[Howard has a private chat with Vegan Presidential Candidate and
Congressman Dennis Kucinich:
http://www.madcowboy.com/08.04.03_HL_Kucinich_PIX/index.html

[For information about Dennis Kucinich's campaign:
http://www.kucinich.us


************************************************
*02:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
[Howard in Oklahoma visiting friends and at AR2003East:
http://www.madcowboy.com/07_31_03_HL_AR2003E_OK_PIX/index.html

INFO ABOUT HARVEYHOUSES:

["America's First Restaurant Chain:"
http://www.epicurus.com/Angelonesept.html

[Website devoted to the many stories around Harvey Houses:
http://www.harveyhouses.net/

[Info about the Harvey House Restoration project Howard visited:
http://www.waynoka.org/


************************************************
*03:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST ISSUE'S QUESTION WAS: "They constitute between 90 and 95% of all
animal life on earth (either in biomass or quantity). What are they?"  HINT
for those 30 to 40ish:  "Poor Mr. Loopner's birth defect."

Phil and Julie Segura from Dallas, Oregon, correctly answered
"invertebrates."  They won the random pick from correct entries.
Congratulations!

[For statistics and more:
http://www.xerces.org/

[The Hint:  on Saturday Night Live, Jane Curtain would moan about her
husband dying young. "Poor Mr. Loopner, he was born without a spine."]


THIS WEEK'S MIND-BENDER!!!
"What human activity provides close to 40% of the total amount of oil
entering our global oceans?"

[E-MAIL YOUR ANSWERS (one guess per person, please!) by 08/31/03 to:
webmaster@...  and please use the word "Contest" in your Subject
Line]

[Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, has offered a FREE one-year subscription to
a winner chosen at random those submitting the correct answer to each MC
Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you can learn more about
VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*04:  Tea Health, Diet vs. Drugs, Food Portions, Feed the Mind
************************************************
GREEN TEA: A CUP FULL OF HEALTH: (08/07/03): "Green tea's ability to fight
cancer is even more potent and varied than scientists suspected, research
suggests. Scientists already know that green tea contains anti-oxidants
that may protect against cancer.   But now they have discovered that
chemicals in the tea also shut down a key molecule that can play a
significant role in the development of cancer.

Tobacco smoke and dioxins, in particular, disrupt the functioning of the
molecule and cause it to trigger potentially harmful gene activity.   The
researchers, from Rochester University, found that two chemicals in green
tea inhibit [this] activity.  The chemical is similar to compounds called
flavonoids, which are found in broccoli, cabbage, grapes and red wine, and
which are also known to help prevent cancer.

[Edited from:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6875291%255E662,00.htm
l


DIET MAY CUT CHOLESTEROL AS MUCH AS DRUGS DO: (07/23/03, by Sarah Graham):
"Eating a diet similar to that of our ape ancestors can have as much of an
effect on cholesterol levels as modern medicine does, a new study suggests.
Results published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association
indicate that a strict, low-fat vegetarian diet high in specific plant
products can lower levels of bad cholesterol as much as widely prescribed
statin drugs can.

"As we age, we tend to get raised cholesterol, which in turn increases our
risk of heart disease," Jenkins explains. "This study shows that people now
have a dietary alternative to drugs to control their cholesterol, at least
initially."

[Edited from:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=000C594C-D1D7-1F1D-B4FD8
0A84189EEDF

[Actual Study Abstract,JAMA. 2003;290:502-510:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/4/502


RESEARCHER DOCUMENTS GROWTH OF U.S. PORTIONS - AND U.S. WAISTLINES:
(07/17/03, AICR Press Release, WASHDC):  "Studies Now Confirm That Portions
Have Gotten Bigger; Allow Scientists to Measure the Effect of Oversize
Portions on Overeating: A recent flurry of scientific research on US
portion sizes has transformed two previously unconfirmed beliefs into hard
scientific facts: US portion sizes have never been bigger, and bigger
portions encourage overeating - by as much as 56 percent.

Speaking at a press conference at the American Institute for Cancer
Research (AICR) International Research Conference, Dr. Barbara Rolls of the
Pennsylvania State University explained how emerging science is allowing
scientists to definitively answer lingering questions about the role of
portion size in the obesity epidemic.

[Very edited from:
http://www.aicr.org/presscorner/pubsearchdetail.lasso?index=1644


FEED THE MIND AND SAVE THE BRAIN, STUDY SHOWS: (08/11/03): "WASHINGTON -
People who are more intelligent and better educated use their brains
differently, which in turn may help to explain why keeping the mind active
can protect against Alzheimer's Disease, researchers say.

United States studies have shown that people who do puzzles, who dance and
who keep their minds active have a lower risk of Alzheimer's - the most
common cause of dementia.

This has led scientists to believe that some people have a "cognitive
reserve" that allows them to tolerate more damage from Alzheimer's and
other brain diseases.  Yaakov Stern, a professor of neuropsychology at
Columbia University in New York, and colleagues have done a series of brain
imaging experiments that suggest it is not how much brain you have, but how
you use it, that matters.  Whatever was at work must start early in life,
he said - before the brain damage caused by Alzheimer's started.  An
estimated 38,000 New Zealanders have dementia, and it is estimated that 8
per cent of adults over the age of 65 are affected."

[Edited from:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3517294&thesection=news&thesu
bsection=world&thesecondsubsection=

["Cognition and Lifestyle:" Journal of Clinical and Experimental
Neuropsychology 2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 625-633
http://www.szp.swets.nl/szp/frameset.htm?url=%2Fszp%2Fjournals%2Fjc.htm


************************************************
*05:  ANST01, Cell Phones/Apes, Whales Undercount, Planet YOU
************************************************
ANST 101: ANIMALS AND SOCIETY: DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES:  "Animal  Studies 101,
the first accredited college course of its kind, will be offered this fall
[2003] by  CCBC Dundalk (in Baltimore County). The course will explore the
ways animals are viewed by various subcultures in American society.  The
course will look at factory farming,  medical research, hunting and
trapping, and entertainment industries. Writing  instructor Brenda Fick,
and former PETA Executive Director/editor of  Animals Agenda, Kim
Stallwood, will teach the course.  The course  reference number is 97726,
ANST 193 (page 25 of the fall schedule). For more information, please
contact Brenda Fick at 410-285-9877, or bfick@..."

[From the Veg-DC list, from Don Robertson.  Course listing online:
http://www.ccbc.cc.md.us/academics/dundalk/home.html


CELL PHONE USE ENDANGERS APES: (07/17/03, ENS, London, UK): "As the debate
rages about the possible health hazards to humans of cell phones, a British
television documentary has aired the claim that mobile phone technology is
endangering some African ape populations.   "No Hiding Place - Part Two,"
made by Television Trust for the Environment (TVE), and shown on BBC World
in its Earth Report series, argued that extraction of the mineral coltan
has put great apes at risk.

Coltan is used to make pinhead capacitors, which regulate voltage and store
energy in mobile phones. The mineral is obtained mainly from the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC).  This eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei
graurei) is dependent on intact forests in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo.  Part of the DRC territory is the remaining stronghold of the
eastern lowland gorilla, populations of which are in steep decline. A
United Nations initiative to save the apes could reverse damage done so
far, says the film - but time is of the essence.

Evidence suggests that in the last five years these eastern lowland
gorillas have declined by 80 to 90 percent, with just 3,000 or so animals
left alive."

[Very edited from:
http://www.ecoisp.com/species20.asp

[To watch BBC video online:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/02/earth_report/10jun.ram


WHALES' RECOVERY 'VASTLY OVERESTIMATED': (07/24/03, Alex Kirby, BBC News
Online): "Several great whale species were once far more abundant than
records suggest, geneticists say.  They think there were about 10 times
more fin and humpback whales in the North Atlantic than modern estimates
claim.  But minke whale numbers appear historically to have been much
closer to current populations.

The findings could radically change the terms of the debate on a possible
resumption of whaling.  The geneticists, from the universities of Stanford
and Harvard, US, report their findings in the magazine Science.  The
immediate significance of what [the geneticists] are saying lies in the
debate over the resumption of commercial whaling, suspended since 1986
under an IWC moratorium. There is pressure, led by Japan, Norway and
Iceland, to lift the moratorium.

The IWC says there can be no whaling until populations have returned to at
least 54% of their historic levels.  Other arguments aside, that could mean
North Atlantic humpbacks being killed again some time within the next
decade.  But the genetic analysis suggests whaling should not start for
something like 70 or 100 years."

[Very edited from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/3092711.stm


BIODIVERSITY THRIVES ON THE PLANET YOU:  (07/22/03, by Chet Raymo):
"...what you don't know, or don't want to know -- is that your body is a
planet as densely populated with creatures as is the planet Earth --
creatures a million, 10 million, times smaller than you; creatures not
visible to the unaided eye. But shrink yourself to the size of a bacterium,
say, and land on planet You. You'd find the place teeming with beasties of
every sort.  All those creatures that inhabit your body live in a delicate
equilibrium with each other and with their host planet. Good health depends
on maintaining balance.

A recent article in the journal Nature discussed the fate of a bacterium,
H. pylori, that inhabits the human stomach and causes ulcers and stomach
cancer. It turns out that, thanks to improved sanitation and widespread use
of antibiotics, the bacteria is on the decline in many parts of the world,
and faces extinction.

Great, you say. Sounds like a public-health triumph. But not all scientists
agree. The tremendous evolutionary success of H. pylori as a denizen of
human guts suggests that it offers some advantages to the host, they say.
It may protect against childhood diarrhea, a major killer in parts of the
world, by boosting the immune system and producing peptides that kill other
bacteria.  It is also possible that H. pylori's decline is behind an
increase in acid-reflux diseases and cancer of the esophagus. In other
words, solving one health problem by eliminating an apparently pernicious
species may lead to other maladies that are just as bad or worse.

Maintaining biodiversity on planet You may be just as important as
maintaining biodiversity on planet Earth.''

[Very edited from:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/203/science/Biodiversity_thrives_on_the_planet
_You+.shtml


************************************************
*06:  Humor:  Elephants Know Swedish, Sheep Whisperer
************************************************
ELEPHANTS DON'T UNDERSTAND SWEDISH, YET:  (07/18/03, Stockholm, Sweden):
"When the Swedish royal couple visited Thailand earlier this year, they
were presented with two elephants as a gift from the king of Thailand. But
the giant mammals don't understand Swedish, so two zookeepers are traveling
to Thailand to learn Thai.

"The elephants must be able to understand commands in the languages they've
been raised with, so that we don't have to teach them Swedish," Magnus
Nilsson, chief executive of Sweden's Kolmaarden safari park, told The
Associated Press on Friday."

[Edited from:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/07/18/139715-ap.html


"SHEEP WHISPERER" SPEAKS TO BIGHORN WITH CRACKERS:  (08/15/03, Santa Fe,
NM, Reuters): "New Mexico Game and Fish Department officials said they were
frustrated by efforts earlier this week to relocate about 30 to 40 bighorn
sheep from 12,300-foot (3.75 km) Mt. Wheeler. The first day of the
operation ended with no Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in traps and several
forest officials staring up mountain at a herd that they could not entice
to move.

Equipped with eight wheat crackers and a knack for calling sheep, game
department intern Fernando Clemente managed to entice 30 sheep about half a
mile (1 km) down from the mountaintop.  Game officials followed the cue
that the animals may have a taste for salt and were able to capture eight
ewes and two lambs who were caught munching on carefully placed Doritos and
other snack chips left on a trap.

The intern who lured the bighorn down the mountain has been dubbed "The
Sheep Whisperer" in honor of the character who has an amazing ability to
communicate with animals played by actor Robert Redford in the movie "The
Horse Whisperer"

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=857&ncid=757&e=10&u=/nm/20030815
/od_uk_nm/oukoe_odd_bighorn


[Privatization of National Parks animation:
http://www.markfiore.com/animation/parks.html


************************************************
*07:  Tracking Change, Soils Crisis, Drip Irrigation, Eating Green
************************************************
GLOBAL TRACKING OF CLIMATE CHANGE PLANNED:  (08/01/03, by Matthew Lee,
WashDC): "The world rapidly needs to develop an integrated system to
observe and rack climate change and other environmental trends on Earth,
government officials and scientists from more that 30 countries have
agreed.  Participants at the Earth Observation Summit, held here at the
Washington headquarters of the U.S. State Department, pledged to move ahead
with an "international, comprehensive, coordinated and sustained"
monitoring mechanism within a decade.

The aim is to link the thousands of individual land, sea and space-based
climate observation technologies to better predict environmental changes
and natural disasters and limit their impact, they said.  Such a system
would greatly improve weather forecasting, particularly with major trends
such as El Ni�o, crop yield estimates, the monitoring of water and air
quality, boost airline safety and promote climate-related health research,
they said.

El Ni�o forecasting, a global effort, saves businesses and crop managers
worldwide an estimated at US$450 to US$550 million annually. For every
dollar invested in improving weather forecasting, farmers reap 15 in
benefits, they said.  There are other benefits: the annual cost of
electricity could decrease by at least US$1 billion if forecasts could be
improved by just one degree. And, the airline industry, which now loses
about US$4 billion a year because of weather-related delays and
cancellations, could cut those losses by as much as US$1.7 billion through
better forecasting."

[Very edited from:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s915253.htm


WORLD SCIENTISTS MEET ON SOILS CRISIS: (International Soil Tillage Research
Organization Media Release, 07/09/03):  "Leading international scientists
meet in Australia next week to hammer out solutions to a growing crisis
affecting the soils that produce most of the world's food.  Heavy modern
farming equipment is causing widespread damage to soils, leading to water
loss, increased risk of floods, pollution of waterways, poorer crop yields
and global warming, the researchers warn.

"As populations and cities expand, the world is literally running out of
good soils on which to grow food - so we need to look after what we have
with extraordinary care," says [ Univ. of Queenland's] Dr. Jeff Tullberg,
president of ISTRO, the International Soil Tillage Research Organisation.
The wheel has been a great human invention for 5000 years - but 5 tonne
wheel pressures also compress and damage the soil. This causes greater
water runoff leading to flooding, pollution by pesticides and fertilisers,
and the loss of soil, water and crop yield. It even has implications for
global warming."

"Now, using controlled traffic, we are restricting the wheels to just 15
per cent of the area of land used for cultivation, so the 85 per cent
remains healthy and undamaged."

"A healthy soil 'breathes'.  It is more open, stores more water, and allows
both water and air to pass through. It makes better use of fertilizers and
reduces runoff. It encourages worms and plant roots.  The result is higher
food production - and fewer environmental problems off the farm."

[Very edited from:
http://lists.justnet.info/pipermail/asc-media/2003-July/000357.html


DRIP IRRIGATION ISN'T JUST FOR COMMERCIAL GARDENERS ANYMORE:  (08/07/03, by
Dean Fosdick, AP, New Market, VA): "Extensive drought and tougher water
restrictions are forcing homeowners to water more efficiently and more
responsibly. In many areas of the nation, there simply isn't enough water
to go around.  Enter drip irrigation, which ends the wasteful practice of
spraying or gushing water into the air. The system simply drips, applying
moisture precisely where and when plants need it. There's little
evaporation and virtually no runoff.

The concept isn't new, says Larry Stein, an associate professor and
extension horticulturist with Texas A&M University. German and Italian
horticulturists were working out the kinks in the 1930s. "However, it took
the development of UV-light resistant plastic pipes and fittings to make
drip irrigation practical for home gardeners," Stein says in a recent Texas
A&M brochure, Lawn and Garden Update.

The most practical home applications are in gardens, hedgerows, flowerbeds
and around trees and shrubs, Stein says. "The key to making drip irrigation
work in home landscapes is scheduling - knowing when and how long to
water," he says.  Drip irrigation systems are made up of hose or tubing,
filters, pressure regulators, couplers, emitters and a plan."

[Edited from (where there are also tips for conventional watering):
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-07/s_7311.asp


IT'S SO EASY EATING GREEN: "Restaurants Inch Toward Sustainability" (by
Sara Bir), 07/13/03: "The restaurant industry accounts for 10 percent of
the U.S. economy. That means that tons of crumpled napkins, countless
gallons of sanitizer-laced dishwater, and millions of those little
squeezable ketchup packets result from our national obsession with eating
out.  Restaurants are one of the country's top consumers of energy.
According to the National Restaurant Association, they account for 42
percent of all retail spending on fuels for heating. That's why some chefs
and restaurateurs are pitching in to make dining out a greener experience.

Erin Wheeler is a chef and one of the five co-owners of Sparks, a vegan
restaurant that opened in Cotati in 2001 and later moved to Guerneville.
Sparks' earth-friendly consciousness extends beyond the food on the plate
to the plate itself and the napkin next to it. "We pretty much recycle
everything that we use," Wheeler says.

As for the food, "we definitely do on-site composting and recycling at
caterings," Wheeler says. "We take responsibility of disposals for both and
bring them back to the restaurant and incorporate that into our normal
composting and recycling."

[Edited from the long article with useful tips for consumers:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/07.17.03/dining-0329.html

[For an article about the upscale vegan Sparks Restaurant:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/07.17.03/dining-0329.html


************************************************
*08:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ANIMALS:
[Pix: Selected photos of Howard at AR2003West:
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0801_mssPIX/pictures/pdrm0001.html
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0801_mssPIX/pictures/pdrm0025.html
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0801_mssPIX/pictures/pdrm0108.html
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0801_mssPIX/pictures/qpdrm0043.html
http://www.animalrights2003.org/AR2003_0801_mssPIX/pictures/qpdrm0047.html

[Website: Excellent resource of info, links, events, and more:
http://www.farmedanimal.net

[Article: Canada introduces strict mad cow safeguards:
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2003/07/21/eline/links/20030721elin001.html


VEG'N:
[Website: Fat-free veg'n online database of recipes:
http://www.fatfree.com

[Website:  Innovative vegan recipes:
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com

[Website: vegetarian teens online (by teens, for teens):
http://www.rawveganteen.com/

[Website: B12 recommendations for vegans (Vegan Outreach)"
http://www.veganoutreach.org/health/b12rec.html

[Letter: What every vegan should know about B12:
http://www.veganhealth.org/everyvegan/

[Article: Go meatless the healthy way:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/952178.asp?cp1=1

[Article: Get in the raw:
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2003/08/13/bz13.htm

[Article: What to feed a vegetarian party animal:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030813/NEWS/308130585/
1006

[Website: Vegetarian Starter Guide > Shopping List Suggestions:
http://www.tryveg.com/shopping.php

[ABCNEWS.com: Tips on Keeping Kids at the Right Weight:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/US/OverweightKids030730.html


FOOD SOURCES OF NOTE:
[Website: The 1st quick serve meatless restaurant:
http://www.mrgoodburgers.com/

[Website: 1st vegan fast food francise:
http://www.eatopiaexpress.com/mainframe.html

[Website: Welcome to Wild Oats Natural Marketplace
http://www.wildoats.com/app/cda/oat_cda.html?pt=Home

GARDENING:
[Pix: Burtonsville, MD Community Gardens:
http://www.madcowboy.com/07.24.03.BCGardens.PIX/index.html

[Website: Long Beach Organic Community Gardens:
http://longbeachorganic.org/CommGardens.htm

[PDF: Community Garden Start-up Guide:
http://longbeachorganic.org/Site/englishstartupguide.PDF


SUSTAINABILIY:
[Article: Earth-Friendly Ways to Clean Your Room
http://www.teenwire.com/infocus/articles/if_20011113p133.asp

[Website: 1st distribution company certified as a handler of organic products:
http://www.unfiwest.com

[Becoming a certified "green restaurant:
http://www.dinegreen.com


************************************************
*09:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Sep 23 - Sept 30: "We the People" Fall 2003 Spitfire Tour:
[with Tracy Chapman and Julie Butterfly Hill:
http://www.spitfiretour.org/

Sep 23: Ypsilanti, MI < 7:00 PM, Eastern Michigan Univ., Pease Auditorium. Free
Sep 24: Dekalb, IL < Northern Illinois University. Venue TBA
Sep 25: St. Paul, MN < 7:30 PM, Univ. of St. Thomas, OEC Auditorium. Free

Oct 01: Winnepeg, Canada
Oct 03: Calgary, Canada
Oct 04: Red Deer, Canada
Oct 05: Edmonton, Canada
Oct 06: Kelowna, Canada
Oct 07: Abbottsford, Canada
Oct 08: Victoria, Canada
Oct 09: Vancover, Canada
Oct 11: Chicago EarthSave
Oct 17 - 19: San Rafael CA < Bioneers Conference

Nov 09: Orange Co., NY
Nov 22 - Dec 23: USA < Vegetarian Vision

Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise

Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*11:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"THERE WAS NEED for the establishment of the health food work and hygienic
restaurants, and these have accomplished good. But they are not to become
simply commercial enterprises. They are to be an object-lesson."

---- Ellen G. White (The Health Food Ministry, pg. 88)


"YOU COULD DO BETTER TOMORROW than what you've done today.  We need to lead
by example.  We need to show that it can be done. When people come to our
house they need to know that we are recycling, that we are buying
correctly.  We care about the future, we are going to do the best we can."

---- Howard Lyman (from the 3ABN "Earth Talk" segment on "Recycling")


"CONTINUOUS EFFORT, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking
our potential."

---- Winston Churchill (attributed)


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Welcome to the 26th issue of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

In this edition you'll find a marvelous exclusive essay on "My Politics" by
Howard, some excerpts from the upcoming MC Interview with Dr. Pam Popper,
learn about bacteria producing electricity from sugar, how organic produce
reduces pesticides in children, and be concerned about the Global Diabetes
Epidemic.   You'll also see pix from Summerfest 2003 in Johnstown (with a
kudo to VRG's Debra Wasserman and Charles Stauber for being admitted into
the "Vegetarian Hall of Fame" (you'll see them, Dr. Fuhrman, Dr. Esselsytn,
Dr. Lisle, Suzanne Havala-Hobbs and family, and other notables in Howard's
"Digital Pix from the Road.")).

Among other things, read this tome, and know about the Global Diabetes
e-Atlas, more about Turkeys, be surprised at what's in some Vietnamese
food, probably start using sage when you can, find out how many vegans
there are in the U.S., and be curious about veg'n oysters.  Then there's
Pam's thoughts on "guerilla warfare" in schools, World Farmed Animals Day,
PCRM pointing out the hypocrisy of the American Cancer Society having a
"beef-focussed" fundraiser, and then get to enjoy a new online interview
with Howard.

Don't miss the "We the Planet" tour!  You can access info about it in the
"Quick Bytes" section.

....and as always, a tip of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read
back issues at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

[Happy Fall Equinox:
Sept. 23 at 6:47 a.m., est.:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/equinox1.html

Best to everyone!  Mark   Editor


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  EXCLUSIVE:  Howard writes about "My Politics"
01:  From upcoming MC Interview with Dr. Pam Popper
02:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
03:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
04:  Sweet Seeking Bacteria, Scrap Tires, Unhealthy Emissions
05:  Pesticides/Children, Heart Attacks/Lifestyle, Global Diabetes
06:  "No Kill" Shelters, Turkeys Info, Too Many Toads
07:  Beef Standards Lite, Deer Spread CWD, Dioxin in Food
08:  Lotta Vegans, Sage/Memory, Sea Veggies=Love?
09:  Quick Bytes
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12:  Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  EXCLUSIVE:  Howard writes about "My Politics"
************************************************
MY POLITICS:

"In 1978 I was setting at the table complaining to my wife about the state
of politics in Montana.  She said something that I'm sure she has regretted
many times since.  She said I had no right to complain because I had never
become involved in the political system.  I assured her that I was
registered to vote and never missed voting in an election.  She reminded me
that there was a big difference between voting and working in the process.
I must admit this conversation had a very large impact on my approach to
the way I viewed politics from that day on.

My dislike for the sitting governor caused me to become involved in
supporting and working for the Lt. governor.  We were able to pull off a
tremendous upset in the primary and then elect our candidate as governor in
the Nov. election.

In this race I was one of the key supporters and a true insider on my first
attempt at working in the political process.  I was directly responsible
for the largest section of the state and raised the majority of the
campaign funds.  It was a very heady time for a novice politician.

After winning the governor's race I was giving a lot of thought to the
representation we were receiving from our member of congress.  In a
prolonged discussion with my wife she agreed with me that I should oppose
him in the next election.  It was a significant step for a political novice
to take against an entrenched incumbent.

In a campaign that lasted for a full year I provided a platform of clean
air, clean water, and clean food.  Although I was outspent ten to one I
lost by only four percent.  Many people told me that if I ran again in the
future with the name recognition I had achieved I could prevail in a
statewide race.  My wife told me if I decided to run again I would need to
find a new wife.  She meant more to me than any elected office.

The year I spent running for congress was one of the greatest experiences
of my life.  I learned that the common folks are the heart and soul of this
nation and they deserve better candidates.

Up to this time there has been only one presidential candidate who stood
for the policies I strongly supported and that was in 1968.  He was
assassinated before I ever had a chance to vote for him.  In all of the
following elections I was forced to vote for the lesser of two evils.  I
was to the point where I thought I would never have the opportunity to
completely connect with a person running for President of the United
States.

Now, in 2003, there is a large group of aspiring folks running against a
popular incumbent and, according to the popular press, none of them stand a
snowballs chance in the furnace of unsetting him.  I'm unhappy with the
direction of our country and I have to remind myself the advice my wife
gave me years ago.  I should not complain unless I was willing to get
involved.  I took a close look at the candidates.  To my surprise I found
one that was almost a mirror image of the strong views I held about the
future of America.

I had worked with and known Dennis Kucinich for many years and always found
him to be a man of his word.   But that was a far cry from having the
policies to lead the most powerful nation in the world.  I started
researching what ideas Dennis was proposing and all of a sudden I had, for
the first time since 1968, I found a candidate that I was truly excited
about.

I'm committed to supporting a candidate who sees a future that allows our
children and grandchildren a chance to survive on planet earth, rather then
a candidate who rolls over to large special interests for campaign
contributions.  I'm willing to commit my time and energy to a candidate who
stands for what I believe rather than accepting one that says what needs to
be said to win an election at the expense of our future.

I think there are millions of Americans who have given up on the political
process.  If we can energize this segment of the voting public, Dennis
Kucinich will be the next President of the United States.  I'm pleased to
be working for a candidate I believe in and I hope you will also take a
close look and find the one that fits your view of the future and get
involved before it's too late."

--- Howard Lyman, 09/05/03

[Candidate Kucinich's Website:
http://www.kucinich.us


************************************************
*01:  From upcoming MC Interview with Dr. Pam Popper
************************************************
MS:  "What do you think are the biggest threats in this country and this
planet to more people eating properly and having good nutrition or diets?"

PP:  "The biggest threat we have is the ignorance of people."

MS:  "This is the average person you're talking about?"

PP:   "I'm not talking about ignorance as a derrogatory comment.  I've said
this for years... we've have got to wake people up.  And that's one of the
reasons we do things the way we do at the Wellness Forum.  We can't change
and legislate that people eat properly or legislate that they shouldn't
take drugs that their medical doctors prescribe.  We have to educate them
from the ground up to make decisions differently.

The biggest problem that this presents, is we have a populace that doesn't
read, it doesn't vote.  People don't pay attention to issues that are so
important to their lives.  We've got to get people involved in the process.
Because, politically, how the American Medical Association and the medical
establishment and the dieticians in Ohio get control of these kinds of
things, is that they do it while people aren't paying attention.  And I
used to not pay attention."

MS:  "So you're saying that the only reason corporations run the show
because we let them?"

PP:  "We let them.  And the only reason the doctors are in control is
because we let them."

[Dr. Popper is founder of the "Wellness Forum:"
http://www.wellnessforum.com/index.html


************************************************
*02:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
[Howard's Trip to NAVS Summerfest 2003:
http://www.madcowboy.com/08_07_03_HL_SummerFestPix/index.html


************************************************
*03:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER: "What human activity provides close to 40% of the
total amount of oil entering our global oceans?"

We had no correct answers!  We're talking about 370 million gallons of oil
yearly (the Exxon spill was only around 11 million gallons).  The correct
answer:  industrial and/or urban run-off (via water drains, sweage
outfalls, creeks and rivers).

[From the fact sheet on: Oceans & Oil Spills:
http://www.aip.com.au/industry/fact_oceans.htm

[See also:  Ocean Planet: Oil Pollution:
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/peril_oil_pollution.html

["How much oil was spilled [from the Exxon/Valdez]?"
http://www.oilspill.state.ak.us/facts/qanda.html


THIS WEEK'S MIND-BENDER!!!

Out of all the nations in the world, 10 nations share 65% of the world's
annual X resources.

What is "X"?

[E-MAIL YOUR ANSWERS (one guess per person, please!) by 07/27/03 to:
webmaster@...  and please use the word "Contest" in your Subject
Line]

[Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, has offered a FREE one-year subscription to
a winner chosen at random those submitting the correct answer to each MC
Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you can learn more about
VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*04:  Sweet Seeking Bacteria, Scrap Tires, Unhealthy Emissions
************************************************
BACTERIA-POWERED BATTERY RUNS ON A SWEET TOOTH: (09/07/03):  "Scientists at
the Univ. of Massachusetts-Amherst have developed a battery that uses
iron-breathing bacteria to eat the sugars in carbohydrates and turn them
into electricity.

"You can harvest enough electricity to power a cell phone battery for about
four days from a sugar cube," Lovley says. "A cup of sugar contains enough
power to light a 60-watt light bulb for about 17 hours. They're slow, but
they run 24/7.  The technology is still young, Lovley says.

"Where we are now is where solar power was 20 or 30 years ago."

[by Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY):
http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2003-09-07-bacteria-battery_x.htm


TREADING LIGHTLY IN NEW YORK: (02/00): "... 273 million scrap tires
generated annually in this country, 18 million of them by New York drivers
alone. That's approximately one tire per person per year. Have you ever
wondered what happens to tires when they come off your vehicle? Aside from
the danger of fire, stockpiled tires capture rainwater, which breeds
mosquitoes-as was recently highlighted with the outbreak of West Nile virus
and St. Louis encephalitis.

Last year a group formed with the sole purpose of finding a way to clean up
the tires. Calling ourselves the Saugerties Tire Stockpile Remediation Task
Force..."

[Heavily edited from activist Manna Jo Greene's article at:
http://www.chronogram.com/backIssues/2000/02february/room%20treading.htm

[More about Manna: "She Gave Electricity Back To New York:"
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/081903/biz_124-1799.shtml


U.S. EPA SAYS IT WON'T REGULATE CO2 EMISSIONS FROM AUTOS: (08/29/03,
WashDC): "The Bush administration denied a petition on Thursday by three
environmental groups to declare carbon dioxide spewed by automobiles as a
pollutant, saying it has no authority over emissions linked to global
warming.

Passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs account for 20 percent of U.S.
carbon dioxide emissions, with coal-burning power plants responsible for 40
percent.  The administration's move puts greenhouse gas standards squarely
on the shoulders of Congress."

[By Chris Baltimore, Reuters:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-29/s_7886.asp


SMOG FROM AUTO EMISSIONS CAUSING 'EPIDEMIC':  (08/19/03):  "Air pollution
from cars and trucks in Los Angeles costs roughly $1.8 billion a year in
public health costs, according to a report released Tuesday by a national
transportation reform group.  Public health officials said the price tag
isn't surprising considering the number of emergency room visits, hospital
stays and deaths associated with the pollutants pouring out of tailpipes.

"Millions come to the emergency department because of asthma and other
respiratory problems," said Dr. Carlos Camargo, an asthma researcher and
member of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The report, called Clearing the Air, was produced by the Surface
Transportation Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based transportation
reform group.  Nationwide, childhood asthma rates have doubled in the last
two decades and the public health cost of pollution from cars and trucks is
estimated to be $40 billion to $65 billion a year, according to the report."

[Very edited from the article by Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer:
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~1579984,00.html

[The STPP Transportation Action Network, the report, and more:
http://www.transact.org/


************************************************
*05:  Pesticides/Children, Heart Attacks/Lifestyle, Global Diabetes
************************************************
PESTICIDE EXPOSURE OF CHILDREN WITH ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL DIETS: "We
assessed organophosphorus (OP) pesticide exposure from diet by biological
monitoring among Seattle, Washington, preschool children.

The dose estimates suggest that consumption of organic fruits, vegetables,
and juice can reduce children's exposure levels from above to below the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's current guidelines, thereby shifting
exposures from a range of uncertain risk to a range of negligible risk.
Consumption of organic produce appears to provide a relatively simple way
for parents to reduce their children's exposure to OP pesticides."

[From the abstract at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1
2611667&dopt=Abstract


MOST HEART ATTACKS CAUSED BY AN UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLE: (08/19/03 ): "Two
sweeping studies out today appear to explode the long-held myth that half
of heart attacks result from bad genes or bad luck.  The studies, focusing
on different populations totaling about half a million people, indicate
that roughly 90% of people with severe heart disease have one or more of
four classic risk factors: smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol and high
blood pressure.

That means the vast majority of the 650,000 new heart attacks each year
could be prevented or delayed for decades by quitting smoking, reducing
cholesterol and controlling hypertension and diabetes.  "If we could
eliminate smoking and get people to be fit and trim we could turn this
thing around without unraveling the genes that cause heart disease," says
researcher Eric Topol of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, co-author of a
study involving more than 120,000 heart patients.

The research has major policy implications. It suggests that doctors and
patients should place even greater emphasis on prevention. The American
Heart Association and National Cholesterol Education Program both have
emphasized aggressively treating people who have not yet had a heart attack
if their "global risk" is high."

[Edited from article by Steve Sternberg, USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-08-19-heart-riskfactors_x.htm


WORLD FACING DIABETES CATASTROPHE: EXPERTS: (08/25/03, Reuters, Paris):
More than 300 million people worldwide are at risk of developing diabetes
and the disease's economic impact in some hard-hit countries could be
higher than that of the AIDS pandemic, diabetes experts warned on Monday.

In a report released at the International Diabetes Federation conference in
Paris, experts estimate the annual healthcare costs of diabetes worldwide
for people aged 20 to 79 are at least $153 billion.  "In some countries
with a higher incidence, diabetes has a higher economic impact than AIDS,"
Williams Rhys, professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of
Wales, told a news conference.

According to the Diabetes Atlas report, total direct healthcare spending on
the disease worldwide will be between $213 billion and $396 billion by
2025, if predictions are correct that the number of people with diabetes
will rise to 333 million by 2025 from 194 million.

Zimmet and other experts .... warn that type II diabetes was increasing in
children and adolescents in many countries and is linked to rising obesity.
They urged food companies -- especially those that make fast foods -- to
produce healthier foods and governments to set up national campaigns to
combat diabetes."

[Edited from the article by Emelia Sithole:
http://www.ivillagehealth.com/news/diabetes/content/0,,412631_593668,00.html

[IDF - International Diabetes Federation:
http://www.idf.org/home/

["The e-Atlas, based on the world's first Global Diabetes Atlas:"
http://www.idf.org/e-atlas/home/


************************************************
*06:  "No Kill" Shelters, Turkeys Info, Too Many Toads
************************************************
L.A. MAYOR PLANS NO KILL SHELTERS WITHIN 5 YEARS: (08/14/03, Los Angeles):
"Mayor Jim Hahn is backing a plan that would save animals in Los Angeles
shelters from being euthanized.   Hahn on Thursday announced plans to
implement the "no-kill" policy within five years.

The city would be the largest municipality in the country to implement such
a policy, officials said. "In five years, we want Los Angeles to be a city
that we can call a 'no- kill' city -- that no adoptable animal has to be
euthanized in Los Angeles," the mayor said.

[Edited from:
http://www.nbc4.tv/pettalk/2407172/detail.html

[Comprehensive List of No Kill Animal Shelters in the U.S.:
http://www.saveourstrays.com/no-kill.htm


TURKEYS INFORMATION SHEET:  "Turkeys are intensively reared for their meat.
Traditionally, turkeys were mainly reared for the Christmas market but
today they are produced throughout the year. Nearly 35 million turkeys were
slaughtered in the UK in 1992, about 16 million of which are for Christmas.

... diseases affecting [factory farm] intensively reared turkeys include
colisepticaemia, blackhead (which damages the liver), turkey
rhinotracheitis (TRT) and pasteurella infection which causes a commonly
fatal respiratory disease. Turkeys are also often infected with salmonella
which has implications for public health. Mortality for turkeys is
estimated at 7% or nearly 2 1/2 million birds. Many of these deaths are
young birds unable to find feed and water points. These are called
starve-outs."

[Very edited from the graphic and informative data at:
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/turkey.html


HUNDREDS OF TOADS INVADE N.J. SHOPPING CENTER:  (09/10/03, Local6,
Hillsborough, NJ): "Hundreds of toads are making their presence known at a
recently opened shopping center.   The 1-inch-long toads have been seen
hopping around at the Hillsborough Promenade during the last few weeks,
especially on rainy days, and many have made their way into some of the
shops.

However, experts say the growing toad population at the Somerset County
site -- which opened in October -- is not a cause for concern. They say
it's most likely due to the wet and steamy conditions the state saw for
most of this summer.

[Edited from:
http://www.local6.com/news/2469596/detail.html


************************************************
*07:  Beef Standards Lite, Deer Spread CWD, Dioxin in Food
************************************************
U.S. SOFTENS DEMAND FOR SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULES ON BEEF:  (09/04/03, Calgary,
Canada, CP): "The United States has agreed to accept Canadian beef
slaughtered at plants which process both older and younger cows - clearing
the way for boneless cuts to finally roll across the border.

Experts believe younger cattle are safe from bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, known as mad cow disease.  Cows with permanent teeth are
generally considered older than 30 months, but that test is not done until
after the animal is slaughtered. Industry officials were worried packing
plants would lose certification without the ability to segregate older
carcasses."

Live cattle remain banned in all countries."

[Very edited from:
http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=ab_home&articleID=1398911


CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE SPREADS EASILY AMONG DEER: STUDY:  (09/03/03, Fort
Collins, CO):  "Chronic wasting disease is highly infectious in wildlife
populations, according to researchers. The findings may explain why the
brain-wasting disease has become common among deer in North America.

Researchers found 90 per cent of animals in an experimental herd in
Colorado came down with the disease within four years. A second group of
captive Colorado mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) were born to disease-free
does and joined the other group at three to four months of age.   All of
the deer with diseased mothers and almost all of the second group
contracted CWD, which is thought to spread in urine, saliva or feces from
shared scratching posts or contaminated grazing land.

The findings discount the theory that maternal transmission is a major
route for spreading the disease, which causes weight loss, stumbling,
tremors and lack of co-ordination."

[By CBC News Online staff and edited from:
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/09/03/cwd_deer030903


AGENT ORANGE FOUND IN SOME VIETNAMESE FOOD:  (08/25/03, Dallas, TX): "A
recent study says Agent Orange is still contaminating food in the Hoa City
area of Vietnam.  The study, published in the current issue of the Journal
Of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, indicates Agent Orange residue
is responsible for high blood dioxin levels among the city's residents.

The spraying of the defoliant ended 30 years ago, but Dr. Arnold Schecter
of the University of Texas School of Public Health in Dallas said people
are affected by eating highly contaminated foods, such as ducks, chicken
and fish.  Very high levels of Agent Orange were found in most types of
animals studied. The highest levels were found in ducks: up to 343 parts
per trillion, compared with a usual level of less than 0.1 part per
trillion.

Even higher dioxin levels were found in animal fats, which are considered a
delicacy in Vietnam.

[Edited from UPI at:
http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/08250002aaa03e0c.upi&Sys
=rmmiller&Fid=NATIONAL&Type=News&Filter=National%20News

[Study abstract:
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2003; 45(8):781-788
http://www.joem.org/


************************************************
*08:  Lotta Vegans, Sage/Memory, Sea Veggies=Love?
************************************************
VEGAN COUNT:  (09/12/03): "Although vegetarian foods are more commonplace
than ever before, the question remains: how many vegetarians are there? The
Vegetarian Resource Group sponsored a Harris interactive survey, and found
that 2.8 percent of the population, or about 5-and-a-half million adults in
the U.S., consider themselves vegetarians. The survey also found about 10
percent of younger adults, from 18 to 34, indicated that they preferred to
eat meatless meals."

[From News 14 Carolina:
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=35531&SecID=2


SAGE MAY HELP COMBAT ALZHEIMERS:  (08/29/03, London): "The herb sage can be
used to improve memory, British scientists said Thursday, backing up
centuries-old theories about the plant. The new research could have
significant implications for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, the new
study suggests.

Alzheimer's is one of the most common forms of dementia, affecting some 10
million people worldwide, making it one of the hottest areas of
pharmaceutical research. Researcher Tildesley played down sage's benefit
for people taking exams..."

[Edited from:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/958833.asp?0cv=HB10&cp1=1

[The Alzheimer's Association Website:
http://www.alz.org/


CANCER SOCIETY PROMOTES DISEASE WITH BEEF FUNDAISERS: "(09/09/03 News
Release, Wash DC): "The American Cancer Society (ACS) would be guilty of
promoting the very disease it's committed to curing if it goes ahead with
plans for a major beef promotion in Atlanta, says the Physicians Committee
for Responsible Medicine. The ACS fundraiser, one of more than 50 "Cattle
Barons' Balls" held across the country each year, is scheduled for October
11 at Atlanta's Freight Depot.  The event would be a first for Atlanta, the
headquarters for the ACS.

PCRM is also launching a nationwide write-in campaign today, asking
Americans to demand that the American Cancer Society stop promoting
cancer-causing foods.

"It's outrageous for the American Cancer Society to sponsor beef
promotions. Regular meat consumption is linked to a three-fold increase in
colon cancer risk and a significantly higher overall risk," Dr. Barnard
[founder, PCRM] says. "It's no different than if the ACS held smoking
marathons to raise money for lung cancer research."

[Edited from the Press release at:
http://www.pcrm.org

[For more info on the campaign:
http://www.pcrm.org/news/alert030909.html

[For an Atlanta-based article about this controversy
http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/0903/17ball.html?urac=n&urvf=106380


NOW SEAWEED IS THE FOOD OF LOVE:  (09/12/03):  "Oysters might be the food
of love but if you are vegetarian, then asparagus or strawberries were,
until now, your next best aphrodisiac option.  But a salmon farm and marine
scientists are trying to re-create the potent magic of oysters with an
all-new vegetarian version made entirely from seaweed.

As it is still from the sea, it retains some deep-sea magic and a "fishy
taste", but can the "vegetarian oyster" compete with the original?  Nick
Joy, managing director of Loch Duart salmon farm in Sutherland, certainly
thinks so.

He said: "I'm not sure if we can match the aphrodisiac qualities but it
does have the benefits of being full of vitamins and minerals.  I have
sampled them and they are lovely. I haven't eaten enough yet to say how
they compare in some areas, but they taste exactly the same, are extremely
nutritious and very good for you. They would be suitable for vegetarians,
unlike real oysters."

He added: "It's stunning how widely seaweed is eaten."

[Edited from the article by Sharon Ward:
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/uk.cfm?id=1007322003


************************************************
*09:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
EVENTS:

["Consciousness Is Cool, Just Ask Julia Butterfly Hill:"
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16808

[We the Planet Tour (yup, Howard's one of the speakers):
"A unique collage of celebrities, musicians and activists in on-stage
discussion, the tour will travel by vegetable oil and bio diesel-powered
bus to a dozen locations across the Midwest and Southern California over
the next two months. "
http://www.wetheplanet.org

[World Farmed Animals Day - October 02: Sponsored by FARM, In Defense of
Animals, and PeTA. Register Your Event:
http://www.wfad.org

[Clean Plants, Healthy Animals: Farm-Based Solutions to Food Safety
Problems. Wash. DC 10/02/03: this one-day conference at the National Press
Club in Washington, DC will address how practices on the farm might affect
food-borne illnesses.
http://www.cspinet.org/onfarm


ARTICLES:

[Undersea Lab at Cutting Edge of Marine Research:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20030821/
sc_nm/environment_aquarius_dc

[The Vegetarian Candidate:
http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/22066925.html

[Red Wine Molecule Shown to Extend Life:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&ncid=751&e=1&u=/nm/20030824/
hl_nm/health_longlife_dc

[Scientists Study Canny Canines' 'boldness' Genes:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/living/science/6600507.htm

[Urban Sprawl Makes Americans Fat, Study Finds:
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=3353503

[Hour Of Exercise A Week Eases Hypertension, Study Says:
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/fitness/articles/2003/08/28/hour_of_exerci
se_a_week_eases_hypertension_study__says/

[New Inteview: Howard Lyman: Saving the World, One Bite at a Time"
http://www.aquarianonline.com/Values/Lyman_Interview.html


RESOURCES:

[CHOICE School Lunch Nutrition Resources:
http://www.choiceusa.net

[Cancer Prevention Coalition:
http://www.preventcancer.com/

[Whole Issue Veg'n Articles: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/vol78/issue3/index.shtml

["101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian":
http://www.vivavegie.org/vv101/101reas2003.htm

[Vegans In Motion:
http://www.all4vegan.net/vim

[Tips For Going Vegetarian:
http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=83181&SecID=2

[Action Center - Organic Consumers Association:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/action.htm

[A Practical Guide to Veganism during Pregnancy & throughout Childhood:"
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/info/info26.html

[Veg'n recipes, Articles, Online Forums:
http://www.vegweb.com


************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
SEPTEMBER 2003
Sep 23 - Sept 30: "We the People" Fall 2003 Tour (Spitfire)
    Sep 23: Ypsilanti, MI < 7:00 PM, Eastern Michigan University, Pease
Auditorium. Event is free and open to the public.
    Sep 24: Dekalb, IL < Northern Illinois University. Venue TBA
    Sep 25: St. Paul, MN < 7:30 PM, University of St. Thomas, OEC
Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public

BEYOND SEPT 2003
Oct 01: Winnepeg, Canada
Oct 03: Calgary, Canada
Oct 05: Edmonton, Canada
Oct 06: Kelowna, Canada
Oct 07: Abbottsford, Canada
Oct 08: Victoria, Canada
Oct 09: Vancover, Canada
Oct 11: Chicago EarthSave
Oct 17 - 19: San Rafael CA < Bioneers Conference

Nov 09: Orange Co., NY
Nov 22 - Dec 23: USA < Vegetarian Vision

Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise

Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!

************************************************
*12:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
MS:  "Are you finding schools more receptive now?

PP:  "No... you have to do what I call "guerilla warfare."  When people
call me up and ask what can they do, I tell them "guerilla warfare."  First
thing you do, is get one teacher who's your ally, who believes in what
you're doing, and gets knowledgable about it, and starts using the material
in his or her classroom.  Then that teacher helps get other teachers.  And
you reach a point where you've got 50 or 60 teachers in the school system
that have an understanding of this. and you can start working on school
system-wide cafeteria offerings and so on."

[Excerpt from the upcoming MC Interview with Dr. Pamela Popper]


"Beware the fury of a patient man."

---- John Dryden (1631-1700, "Absalom and Achitophel.  Part i.  Line 10)


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy! Welcome to the 27th issue of the MadCowboy Newsletter.

Herein you'll learn about what might be a new type of mad cow disease, how
air pollution in the US Southwest may change our numbers on global
emissions affecting climate change, and how ineffective the USDA has been
regarding food-borne disease.  You'll read about PCB buildup in animals,
the Blue Planet Prize winners, Fried Oreos (yuk), the Critter Cam, and the
possible secret to a monkey's high-energy levels.

And further on, an intriguing study about non-human molecules from meat
being transferred to humans consuming meat, the Feds soliciting feedback on
changing the infamous "Food Pyramid (how YOU can let them know what you
think),  a Vegan Skateboarder's PeTA commercial of note, how non-human
primates show a sense of "fairness," and why you should respect kangeroos.

BTW:  Howard's been on the road for several weeks, and has promised many
pictures from the "Spitfire Tour" (with Tracey Chapman and others), as well
as his experiences in Canada, for the next issue.

And finally, the overdue online interview with Dr. Pam Popper (of the
"Wellness Forum") and her extraordinary ideas, efforts, and enthusiasm, has
been posted.  Learn why the "Diet for a New America" video is so, well,
subversive.... and why she still shows it!

As usual, a nod of the hat to our new subscribers, and y'all can read past
issues of the newsletter (searchable!) at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Have a great Autumn!  Mark    Editor/Webmaster (and don't miss the closing
quote from one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and some
articles about the Mad Cowboy in Canada ("quick bytes"))


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quote(s) of Note
01:  Popper Interview Now Online!
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  New Type of BSE?/Animal Feed Limits/Ineffective USDA
04:  PCB Buildup in Animals/Pollution in US S'West/Blue Planet Prize
05:  Fried Oreos, the Critter Cam, and the Monkey's Secret
06:  Meat Molecules/Food Pyramid Change/Farmer's Mkts/Pheidias
07:  Primate Fairness/Zoo'd Carnivores/Frog Eggs/Rescuing Roo
08:  Quick Bytes
09:  Howard's Schedule
10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
11:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quote(s) of Note
************************************************
"While traveling over one million miles in my life as an activist I have
met some of the most remarkable people on the face of the earth. I have
decided we'd interview some of these folks from time to time so the readers
of the Mad Cowboy newsletter will get a chance to understand what giants
they are.

This group is as diverse as anyone could imagine. They are young and old,
female and male, quiet and outspoken, foreign and American, every color and
religion under the sun. The common denominator for this group is they are
my friends."

--- Howard, 01/21/03


************************************************
*01:  Popper Interview Now Online!
************************************************
MS: "I'm looking a document that's called the "Testimony of Pamela A.
Popper, to the Ohio State Commerce and Labor Committee" entitled, "The Ohio
Board of Dietetics HAS Used Heavy-Handed Tactics In its Investigations."
HOW did you get involved in this one?"

PP: "Well, this is a long story. The short version is that essentially when
I started teaching people how to eat healthier in Columbus, Ohio, it never
ocurred to me that it might be against the law. So I'm happily doing my
thing, and one day I got a call from an investigator from the Board [Ohio
Board of Dietetics] who wanted to know what we are up to. I got checked out
a little bit, and left alone. I didn't think much of it at the time.

About a year later, the State Investigator called again. She came out to
see me and informed me that, unless you are a registered and licensed
dietician, in the State of Ohio, you can't talk about food. Some of the
things she said to me almost had me laughing out loud. One of them was that
if I showed the movie "Diet for a New America" [John Robbins], that could
be construed as the practice of Dietetics because somebody might change
their lifestyle habits as a result of seeing that movie."

MS: [laughs] "...and you're still showing that movie, aren't you?"

PP: "Oh, we still are. We're TERRIBLE lawbreakers."

[For the full interview with hyperlinks:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_MCinterviews.000.html


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER: "Out of all the nations in the world, 10 nations
share 65% of the world's annual X resources.  What is "X"?"

"X" is.... water!

Congratulations to Glenn Darling of British Columbia, who was one of the
correct answerers and won the luck of the draw!  You've won a year's
subscription to VegNews!

[NOW: Science & Health - Leasing the Rain - Water Facts:
http://www.pbs.org/now/science/water2.html


THIS WEEK'S MIND-BENDER!!!

"In 1929, this Seventh-Day Adventist (T.A. Van Gundy) was the first
westerner to make this popular soy product commercially. The earliest
American document to refer to this product was written by a signer of the
Declaration of Independence.  WHO was he?"

[E-MAIL YOUR ANSWERS (one guess per person, please!) by 10/27/03 to:
webmaster@...  and please use the word "Contest" in your Subject
Line]

[Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, has offered a FREE one-year subscription to
a winner chosen at random those submitting the correct answer to each MC
Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you can learn more about
VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  New Type of BSE? Animal Feed Limits & Ineffective USDA
************************************************
JAPAN FINDS POSSIBLE NEW TYPE OF MAD COW DISEASE: 10/08/03: (The Japan
Times):   "A Holstein bull slaughtered was confirmed Monday to have been
infected with mad cow disease.  The 23-month-old bull is the eighth case of
the brain-wasting illness found in Japan and is believed to be the world's
youngest carrier of the disease also known as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

It also said the abnormal prions found in the bull were of a different type
from those of any of the mad cow infection cases reported worldwide so far.
The bull was born in October 2001 and was younger than the seven beasts
previously diagnosed with mad cow disease, the latest of which was
confirmed in late January. Until now, the youngest infected cow here was 64
months old.

Cows examined in Europe for the disease are generally older than 24 months.
Mad cow disease is believed to be caused by the consumption of
meat-and-bone meal contaminated with abnormal prions. It has been linked to
nervous system illnesses such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.  It said there
could be over 30 additional animals in Japan with mad cow disease, which
first broke out in 1986 in Britain.  The fact that the bull, which was born
after the first domestic case came to light, was confirmed as having the
disease indicates that there may be another route of contamination, experts
said.

[Very edited from:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20031007a3.htm


FDA TO LIMIT WHAT GOES INTO ANIMAL FEED:  09/24/03:  (WASHDC (AP)) -- "The
government is working on expanding its ban against brains and spinal tissue
in cattle feed to include food for dogs, cats, pigs and poultry.  Stephen
Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the FDA, said
Tuesday the agency wants to prevent animal diseases from being passed onto
consumers and other animals.

The Animal Protection Institute, a California-based animal welfare group,
said the remnants of slaughtered animals -- such as bones, spinal tissue
and the brain -- do not belong in pet food. "When it comes to animal feed
for the welfare of animals like companion animals, we wouldn't want to eat
that garbage, so why should they?" said DeWitt.

But Dan Murphy, a meat industry spokesman, said that while meat companies
want to prevent disease, expanding a ban on the use of spinal and brain
tissue in animal meal and pet food would leave meat companies with a lot of
waste to dispose of.   "You're talking about the skull, the brain and the
spinal cord -- that's 100 pounds of material from every animal that would
end up in a landfill," said Murphy, of the American Meat Institute."

[Edited from:
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/341/369631.html


USDA CALLS CONAGRA MEAT RECALL INEFFECTIVE:  10/03/03: (by Julie Vorman,
Reuters, WASHDC):  "An investigation by the U.S. Agriculture Department
into ConAgra Foods Inc.'s 2002 recall of more than 18 million pounds of
ground beef found the recall was "ineffective and inefficient" and the vast
majority of the meat was never accounted for.   The meat produced at a
plant in Colorado was linked to an outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 that caused
46 illnesses in 16 states, according to the USDA's Office of Inspector
General.

"Our audit found that neither ConAgra nor FSIS effectively fulfilled their
responsibilities," the report said. "Data were available to both ConAgra
and FSIS in the period prior to the recall that indicated E. coli 0157:H7
contamination was becoming a continuous problem at ConAgra."

The USDA investigators described the recall as "ineffective and
inefficient," noting that only 3 million pounds of the recalled meat was
recovered by the end of January 2003. The recall was delayed because of
poor recordkeeping, it said. A spokesman for Swift & Co. said the Colorado
plant followed all measures prescribed by the USDA, and made its internal
E. coli test results available to meat inspectors."

[Edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-10-03/s_9079.asp


************************************************
*04:  PCB Buildup in Animals/Pollution in US S'West/Blue Planet Prize
************************************************
DANGEROUS CHEMICAL BUILDING UP IN MARINE LIFE AND ARCTIC PEOPLE:  09/20/03:
(Press Release: WASHDC):  "Oceana released a report today that shows the
devastating impact of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, on public health
and animals. The report, "Toxic Burden: PCBs in Marine Life," describes
levels of PCBs so alarmingly high in humans and marine animals that in one
case, a bottlenose dolphin was discovered to have PCB levels of 2,000 ppm
(parts per million), 40 times the amount needed to subject the animal to
hazardous waste disposal requirements.

PCBs have long been linked to cancer, birth defects and other harmful
effects on humans and animals. They are no longer produced in the United
States but remain one of the most ubiquitous chemicals in the environment.
The Environmental Protection Agency cautions against eating fish containing
more than .094 ppm PCBs (simply put, equal to less than one drop of water
in ten million drops). In 2002, 38 states issued 813 fish consumption
advisories due to PCBs.

The POPs Treaty calls for the phase-out and ultimate elimination of 10
chemicals, which, in addition to PCBs, includes aldrin, endrin, dieldrin,
hexachlorobenzene, chlordane, DDT, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene. The
treaty also restricts the release of dioxins and furans.  After signing the
POPs Treaty with great fanfare in 2001, the White House introduced
legislation in April 2002 that would gut the treaty because it lacks a
provision known as an "adding mechanism."

"Giving the EPA the direction to add new chemicals to the list is vitally
important," Savitz added. Lawmakers continue to allow production and use of
other chemicals that are very similar to the banned POPs. In the past few
months, new studies have been released showing that chemicals such as
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are used as a flame retardant
in everyday items such as furniture and clothing, pose serious health risks
to humans and animals. Recent studies show that women in California have
three to 10 times more PBDE in their breast milk than European or Japanese
women.

[Very edited from:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030929/dcm024_1.html

[POPs Treaty:
http://www.chem.unep.ch/pops/

[The Oceana report:
http://www.Oceana.org/pops/


STUDY FINDS HIGH POLLUTION LEVELS IN U.S. SOUTHWEST:  10/07/03: (Reuters,
WASHDC):  "Oil and gas wells and refineries in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas
are creating an air pollution problem similar to the notorious smog of Los
Angeles and Houston, researchers said Monday.  The pollution is so bad it
greatly increases estimates of how much methane the United States is
pumping into the atmosphere, the scientists report.

"Based on these findings, it appears that the United States is emitting 4
[million] to 6 million tons more methane per year than previously
estimated," said Rowland, who shared the 1995 Nobel prize for chemistry for
his work on ozone chemistry in the atmosphere. "In fact, our study suggests
that total hydrocarbon emissions are higher than stated in current
estimates. This means the American air pollution problem has still another
new, significant aspect."

Rowland and Blake said the highest high pollution levels in Texas,
Oklahoma, and southwestern Kansas correlated with the locations of oil and
natural gas refineries."

[Edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-10-07/s_9156.asp


WINNERS OF THE 2003 BLUE PLANET PRIZE:  "Dr. Gene E. Likens and Dr. F.
Herbert Bormann will receive the 2003 Blue Planet Prize in Tokyo, on
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2003. The Blue Planet Prize, in its 12th year, is an
international environmental award bestowed annually by The Asahi Glass
Foundation to two individuals or organizations that have made major
contributions to the conservation of the global environment.

Likens and Bormann developed the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study, which
revealed the relationship between fossil fuel use in North America and acid
rain, and contributed critical data to the U.S. Congress for the 1990 Clean
Air Act Amendments. Now in its 40th year, the study has become a model for
the study of whole, intact or experimentally manipulated ecosystems
throughout the world. The model allows for the evaluation of human effects
on ecosystem functions. "

[Edited from:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/10/prweb83732.php


************************************************
*05:  Fried Oreos, the Critter Cam, and the Monkey's Secret
************************************************
TEXAS-FRIED OREOS, ANYONE?:  09/30/03: (by Jon Herskovitz - DALLAS
(Reuters):  "Welcome to the State Fair of Texas -- Fried potatoes and
catfish are old hat to Texans at what is billed as the largest state fair
in the United States. What they long for is a new offering for the vats of
hot grease to go along with fair favorites such as fried pickles, fried
okra, fried corn on the cob and fried cheesecake.

This year, 14 new food items were introduced to the fair and eight of them
are fried. New to the fair, held in a land that is home to chicken fried
steak, are items such as fried Oreo cookies, fried candy bars, and fried
cheese curds.   The candy bar is dipped in a batter, fried for about 30
seconds and served hot on a plate that quickly becomes saturated in oil. A
calorie count was not immediately available.  Last year, fried Twinkies
were a huge hit, and this year, the new food darling could be fried onion
on a stick."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=1&u=/nm/20030930/
od_nm/odd_fried_dc


CRITTER CAM REVEALS BEAR'S-EYE VIEW:  09/14/03:  (by Riley Woodford Alaska
Department of Fish and Game, National Geographic): "The bear was in a
stream bottom half a mile away, but the view was up close and personal,
transmitted from a tiny video camera mounted in a collar around the bear's
neck. The researchers were clustered around a monitor at a makeshift
hillside outpost.

The "critter cam" was deployed by a three-man crew from National Geographic
Television, working with Alaska Department of Fish and Game bear
researchers Steve Lewis and LaVern Beier. Fish and Game has been studying
the bears of northeast Chichagof Island, about 40 miles west of Juneau,
since 1989. The joint team spent 10 days in August working to get the
cub's-eye view of the world."

[VERY edited from:
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/091403/out_bearcam.shtml


MONKEY ENERGY SECRET?:  (by Lena Sanchez): "Could bananas have anything to
do with it? Seems so, their three energy boosting natural sugars, sucrose,
fructose and glucose and when combined with fiber gives an instant,
sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research studies have proven
that eating two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute
workout. Not the only great thing about bananas though! They do not lose
nutritional content after being picked as do other fruits and vegetables
with thinner skin!

Here are some tasty ideas to help some common problems by starting your day
and ending your day eating a banana.

Doctors in India have discovered just two bananas a day can reduce blood
pressure by 10% in just one week. This backs up a previous American study
showing that eating five bananas a day was 50% as effective as taking
prescription medication to reduce hypertension. The US Food and Drug
Administration now allows the banana industry to make official claims for
the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. "

[For the full article and 14 banana-health tips:
http://www.nutricounter.com/articles/sanchez.htm


************************************************
*06:  Meat Molecules/Food Pyramid Change/Farmer's Mkts/Pheidias
************************************************
NON-HUMAN MOLECULE IS ABSORBED BY EATING RED MEAT:  09/29/03:  (National
Academy of Sciences Press Release): "A non-human, cellular molecule is
absorbed into human tissues as a result of eating red meat and milk
products, according to a study by researchers at the University of
California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, published in Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers also showed that the
same foreign molecule generates an immune response that could potentially
lead to inflammation in human tissues.

Several previous studies have linked ingestion of red meat to cancer and
heart disease, and possibly to some disorders involving inflammation.
However, that research has primarily focused on the role of red-meat
saturated fats and on products that arise from cooking. The UCSD study is
the first to investigate human dietary absorption of a cell-surface
molecular sugar called N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), which is found
in non-human mammals. Not produced in humans, Neu5Gc occurs naturally in
lamb, pork and beef, the so-called "red meats". Levels are very low or
undetectable in fruits, vegetables, hen's eggs, poultry and fish.

[Full press release, and table of Food Products and Sialic Acid/Neu5Gc content:
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/health/09_29_Varki.htm


NEW FOOD PYRAMID RUNS INTO OPPOSITION:  09/25/03:  (by Emily Gersema, WASH
AP): "The government's plan for a new food pyramid to help fat people lose
weight is running into opposition from experts on the panel writing the
guidelines for it.   ...some are questioning whether the guidelines are the
place for tackling that problem.   At the committee's first meeting this
week, some members also said a stronger "eat less, exercise more" message
aimed at fat consumers will not reduce obesity. They said the guidelines
should continue to focus on helping Americans maintain their present
weight.

"It's not that I'm opposed to weight loss," said Russell R. Pate, a fitness
expert from the University of South Carolina and an adviser for a food
industry research group, the International Food Information Council. "But
by focusing on weight maintenance, you're encouraging calorie balance."

At the guideline committee's meeting this week, several members indicated a
preference for continuing to target the government's advice to healthy
consumers. Critics say that would avoid sending an "eat less" message
vehemently opposed by the food industry. "

[Edited from:
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2003/09/25/pyramid/

[PUBLIC INPUT ON PYRAMID SOLICITED FROM USDA:
http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2003/09/0308.htm


LOCAL FARMERS' MARKETS ARE A HEALTHY CHOICE:  09/26/03:  (by Laura Faye
Taxel, E Magazine):  "According to statistics from the USDA there's been a
63 percent increase in the number of farmers markets nationwide since 1994.
There are more than 3,000 farmer's markets currently in operation,
generating more than $1 billion annually. This impacts more than what goes
on the plate.

"Our customers come from all walks of life, all income levels," said
special projects market manager Gabrielle Langholtz. "You don't need to be
a gourmet to recognize how much better this food tastes."  Unlike the
fruits and vegetables from big commercial growers, which are bred for
durability and their suitability for mechanical harvesting and handling,
Greenmarket vendors [NYC] choose varieties for their flavor and pick them
at the peak of ripeness.

It's estimated that food processing, packaging, transportation, and
marketing consume 75 to 85 percent of the energy used in the commercial
food industry. Farmer's markets are the lynchpin of a nationwide,
grassroots effort to create an alternative: sustainable food systems that
directly connect growers and producers with their customers."

[Edited from the full and marvelous article at:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-09-26/s_6691.asp

[National Association of Farmers Markets:
http://www.farmersmarkets.net/


PHEIDIAS IN PETA TV AD:  10/09/03:  (Press Release, PETA): "Vegan
Skateboard Pro Urges Young People to Kick the Meat Habit:" "The folks at
peta2.com - PETA's alternative Web site that encourages members of
Generation "Why?" to fight for animal rights - nearly flipped when
skateboarding pro Laban Pheidias, a lifelong vegetarian, offered to star in
a new PETA pro-vegetarian ad. Now the ad,. . . .is getting a big-time
national debut, thanks to Fusion TV, a nonstop action show that runs on Fox
Sports. Although PETA originally planned to pay to run the spot a limited
number of times on Fusion TV, the show's producers were so impressed with
it that they are running it-for free-through the end of the year.

Why are Laban, Dave, and PETA so down on meat? Consumption of meat and
other animal products is responsible for intense animal suffering,
environmental devastation, and a host of life-threatening illnesses,
including heart disease, strokes, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

"Three million animals are killed every hour in the U.S. for meat," says
Laban. "Meat is full of steroids, antibiotics, fat, and cholesterol-I don't
want to put that in my body! Farming animals is what is depleting our soil,
choking our oceans, and burning our rain forests."

[Edited from:
http://www.skateboarding.com/skate/news/article/0,12364,517226,00.html

[For more information and to view the ad:
http://www.peta2.com/ot/o-spotlight-laban.html.

[To view trailers from Pheidias'  video:
http://www.AmericanMisfits.com.


************************************************
*07:  Primate Fairness/Zoo'd Carnivores/Frog Eggs/Rescuing Roo
************************************************
A SENSE OF FAIRNESS IN NONHUMAN PRIMATES:  09/19/03:  (Emory University
Health Sciences Center), Atlanta):  "In the first experimental
demonstration of its kind, researchers led by Sarah Brosnan and Frans de
Waal, PhD, at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory
University, and the Living Links Center, have shown nonhuman primates
respond negatively to unequal reward distribution, a reaction often seen in
humans based on their universal sense of fairness. While researchers have
long recognized the sense of fairness within the human species, Brosnan and
de Waal are the first to confirm this trait in nonhuman primates. The
findings appear in the September 18 issue of Nature.

[Very edited from:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030918092951.htm


WIDE-ROAMING CARNIVORES SUFFER MOST IN ZOOS:  10/01/03:  (by James
Randerson, New Scientist): "Carnivores with large home ranges have worse
reactions to being caged than those that roam less widely in the wild,
according to a major study of zoo animal welfare.   The researchers
conclude that wide-ranging carnivores should not be kept in captivity. "If
we can't keep them well then don't keep them at all," says Ros Clubb at
Oxford University, UK, who compiled the research.

Scientists have suggested before that range size is important, but the new
work is the first to show this with comprehensive data.  The home range of
polar bears, for example, is around one million times bigger than the size
of a typical enclosure, and the species is notorious for developing
behavioural problems in captivity.

Journal reference: Nature (vol 425, p 473)

[Edited from:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994221


FROG EGGS FALL FROM THE SKY ONTO HOME IN BERLIN:  10/01/03: (by Kathryn
Masterson, AP, Berlin, Conn.): "In a scene that sounds more biblical than
plausible, masses of amphibian eggs rained down on Primo D'Agata's porch
last month as the remnants of Hurricane Isabel moved through the state.

Biologists from nearby Central Connecticut State University say the eggs
are likely from frogs. "It is quite possible the storm carried the eggs
right up the coast and dropped them here in Connecticut," Diaz said. "If
you had a strong wind and strong updraft, it could lift something right
up," he said."

[Edited from:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct--flyingfrogeggs1001oct01,0,35840
98,print.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire


ROO TO THE RESCUE:  09/22/03:  (ABC News, AU): "A man knocked unconscious
by a tree branch during the weekend's storms in north-eastern Victoria has
been rescued, reportedly, by a Morwell family's pet kangaroo.  The kangaroo
kept banging on the door of the family's house in Tanjil South, then led it
to the man lying unconscious about 150 metres away.

Rural Ambulance Victoria paramedic Eddie Wright says the man was taken to
the Austin Hospital with serious head injuries.  He says he could have died
if he had not been found until later.  "The kangaroo alerted them to where
he was and has gone and sat down next to him and that's how they found
him," he said.

"Especially when you consider it's not a pet as such, it's just an animal
that's adopted them over the years and comes and goes as it is free to,
they were lucky yesterday it was in the area."

[Edited from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s950492.htm


************************************************
*08:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
NEW ARTICLES ABOUT HOWARD:
["Vegetarian cowboy risks Canada mad cow showdown"
http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2003/10/01/rtr1097059.html

[Mad Cow, Mad World: Howard Lyman Comes to Winnipeg
http://www.mts.net/~wva/lyman.html


ACTIVISM:
[Action Center - Organic Consumers Association:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/action.htm


ANIMAL ISSUES:
[Amelia's Wild-Life Newsletter:  lotta pix, links:
http://www.ameliakinkade.com/autumn03newsletter/

[Gentle Thanksgiving, National Meat-Out:
http://www.farmusa.org

[Superb always updated website:
http://www.animalconcerns.org


THE ENVIRONMENT:
[The EnviroLink Network:
http://www.envirolink.org/


HUMAN HEALTH:
[The Potential Dangers of Sucralose 12/3/00 (SPLENDA):
http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm


VEG'NISM:
[The Post Punk Kitchen: Vegetarian cooking & vegan baking with no attitude:
http://www.theppk.com/

[Ton of great links to recipes, advice, and more for vegetarians old and new:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/137422.html

[Vegetarian Vision:
http://www.vegetarianvision.org/

[OrgasmicVegan:
http://www.orgasmicvegan.org/

[Vegetarian cooking school - SDA program in Guam:
http://www.guampdn.com/news/stories/20030926/lifestyle/330857.html

[Vegan Society:
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/

[Vegetarian Societies and Vegetarian Organizations for vegetarian food and
a vegetarian diet
http://www.veganfood.com/

[Veg Articles:
http://vegweb.com/misc/articles.shtml

[Guide to Fast Food -- The Vegetarian Resource Group
http://www.vrg.org/catalog/ff.htm

  [The comprehensive L.A.-based Internet Website:
http://www.vegparadise.com


************************************************
*09:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Oct 17 - 19: San Rafael CA < Bioneers Conference

Nov 09: Middletown, NY < afternoon: Orange County Community College
Nov 24: Manhattan, NY < 6 pm: Thanksgiving Dinner - Vegetarian Vision

Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise
Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*11:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution, the time will come
when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship ... To restrict
the art of healing to one class of men and deny equal privileges to others
will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are
un-American and despotic and have no place in a republic ... The
Constitution of this republic should make special privilege for medical
freedom as well as religious freedom."

--- Benjamin Rush, M.D., signer of The Declaration of Independence,
physician to George Washington. from THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENJAMIN RUSH

[cited at:  http://altmedangel.com/ ]


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

HOWDY!  Welcome to the 28th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter.

We wish everyone a safe and happy veg'n' Halloween!  You'll find a ton of
vegan recipes for Halloween, tofu (over 500), tempeh, and information on
safe Halloweening below (as well as how to protect your pets during "All
Saint's Eve.")  As a special surprise, when you receive this Newsletter,
check out:

http://www.madcowboy.com

...and you'll see SURPRISE Halloween Pix of Willow, Howard, and Howling!

In this issue, you'll view over 100 images from Howard's camera (the other
100+ next issue) as he races across Canada, tours South Dakota and National
Monuments (including the World's Largest Sculpture), visits Chicago, and
rides the Veggie-powered Bus on the "We The Planet/Spitfire" tour across
America.

You'll also learn about the EU Beef Ban, that more celebs are speaking out
against animal cruelty, the Beef and Cancer connection, why more Chinese
farmers are going Organic, and that the "Rocket Fuel" in our product
controversity ain't over.

Read about the "Mount Everest of Cholesterol," what cooking methods lose
the most nutrients from broccoli, why "tea" is the beverage of the century,
the Soy Milk in U.S. School's battle deepening, and what produce has the
most (and least) pesticides.

Plus:  an animated chuckle about the "Halloweenish Energy Bill."

As always, a nod of the hat to our new subsribers.  Y'all can read past
issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Finally, best wishes to all our subscribers, their families, and friends,
for a safe, fun, and veg'n Halloween!

Regards, Mark  Editor/Webmaster


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quote(s) of Note
01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
02:  Vegan Halloweenism
03:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
04:  EU Beef Ban Science, More Join Up, Beef & Cancer
05:  Warmest Sept., Oil Sued, Organic Chinese, Rocket Fuel
06:  Mt. Everest Of Cholesterol, Halloweenish Energy Bill
07:  Lost Nutrients, Global Tea, School Soymilk, Pesticides Tallied
08:  Quick Bytes
09:  Howard's Schedule
10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
11:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quote(s) of Note
************************************************
"VEGANISM ISN'T JUST A STRICT VEGETARIAN DIET; it is a complete
philosophical viewpoint. It is practical in outlook, simple to understand
and aspires to the highest environmental and spiritual values. I am sure it
holds the key to a future lifestyle for a humane planetary guardianship..."

-- Howard Lyman

[As quoted at:
http://www.veganpeace.com/FamousQuotesPages/howard_lyman.htm


"HOWARD LYMAN REMINDED ME OF HIS PREACHER GRANDDADDY.  I can still see him
telling us (his congregation for an evening) how going vegan is the most
important act we can take for ourselves, for the animals, and for our
world.  With his passion, one cannot help but feel called to at least
consider converting.  I, of course, am a convert already.  Joyous
Veganinsm, Hallelujiah!

Tracy Chapman shared some of her thoughts with us quietly.  Her hands,
expressive and punctuated, inflected her comments beautifully.  Her music
blew us all away.  I still get goose bumps just remembering.  I am so
deeply graeful for her sharing the gift of herself and her brilliant
creativity with us.

Each of these events holds so much more than I can possibly shove into this
tiny space with my limited time.  I continue to feel so humbled and blessed
to work with such incredible people at Circle of Life, who help make all
this wonderful, divine magic possible.  The world needs each one of us to
do our part."

-- Julia Butterfly Hill

[Edited from:   "We The Planet/Spitfire Tour" in Sept. 2003 (PIX BELOW):
http://www.circleoflife.org/blog/julia/


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera!
************************************************
[Pix of Howard in South Dakota, Chicago, across Canada, and on the "We The
Planet/Spitfire" tour:

http://www.madcowboy.com/09_19_03_HL_TravelPIX
http://www.madcowboy.com/10_06_03_HL_TravelPIX

[Note: info links about the Veggie Bus, Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower, the
Crazy Horse Monument, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Custer's Last Stand
& related, "We the People," and the Spitfire Tour (all topics in the pix)
are under the "Quick Bytes" section below in this Newsletter!]


************************************************
*02:  Vegan Halloweenism
************************************************
[HALLOWEEN TIPS ON PROTECTING YOUR PETS:
http://vetmedicine.about.com/library/weekly/aa100600a.htm?terms=jack+o+lantern

[GOV'T HALLOWEEN PRODUCTS SAFETY ALERTS:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/hallow.html

[ELVIRA'S VEGAN HALLOWEEN TREATS:
http://www.peta.org/feat/halloween01/

[VEGAN HALLOWEEN TREATS RECIPES:
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/773148.htm

[VEGAN HALLOWEEN:  TIPS AND TREATS:
http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/vegan-halloween.htm

["HAVE A SPOOKTACULAR VEGAN HALLOWEEN," (lotsa stuff):
http://differentdaisy.safeshopper.com/666/cat666.htm?895

[SOME VEGAN RECIPES+:
http://www.vegan.org/news/

[VEGAN HALLOWEEN RECIPES:
http://recipes.vegweb.com/events/index-halloween.shtml

[A VEGAN HALLOWEEN PARTY:  HISTORY, SETTINGS, RECIPES:
http://www.vegparadise.com/cookingwith.html

[MORBID OUTLOOK - THE JOY OF EVIL VEGAN COOKING:
http://www.morbidoutlook.com/lifestyle/veggie/2001_11_evilvegan.html


************************************************
*03:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:

"In 1929, this Seventh-Day Adventist (T.A. Van Gundy) was the first
westerner to make this popular soy product commercially. The earliest
American document to refer to this product was written by a signer of the
Declaration of Independence.  WHO was he?"

Congratulations to Maria McMillian, of Quncy, MA,  for answering "Ben
Franklin" and winning the luck of the draw from correct submissions!

"The earliest known reference to tofu by an American wasn't until 1770. It
appears in a letter written by the famous Benjamin Franklin in London to
John Bartram in Philadelphia. He sent Bartram some soybeans- which he
called "Chinese caravances"."

[From:  "The History of Tofu" at:
http://www.tofufest.org/history.html

[Even more kewl info on the "History of Tofu" at:
http://www.thesoydailyclub.com/MOStofu/MOStofu1.asp


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:

The book "Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat
Meat" is a best-seller.  What's the current edition number?"  (Hint:  it's
between 1 and 21) (Hint2: there's a clue in this issue's sections)

Please e-mail guesses with the word "contest" in your subject line by NLT
11/14.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*04:  EU Beef Ban Science, More Join Up, Beef & Cancer
************************************************
EU SAYS SCIENCE BACKS ITS BEEF BAN:
10/15/03: (by Andrew Walker, BBC economics correspondent): "The European
Union (EU) says it now has scientific evidence to support its ban on
imports of beef raised using growth promoting hormones.  The ban is the
subject of a long standing dispute with the United States, which currently
has retaliatory sanctions on some imports from Europe.

A European Union spokeswoman says it can prove that growth promoting
hormones used by cattle farmers in some countries can cause cancer and
should therefore be banned.

She said the evidence is being shared with the US."

[Edited from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3194868.stm


STARS JOIN TO STOP CRUELTY TO CHICKENS:
10/16/03: (Canadian Press): VAUGHAN, Ont.: "Former Baywatch babe Pamela
Anderson is taking on KFC Canada's parent company, calling for an
international boycott of the fast-food chain for what she calls the cruel
treatment of its chickens.  "If people knew how KFC treats its chickens,
they'd never eat another drumstick," Anderson said in a letter faxed to
John Bitove, chairman of Priszm Brandz, at the company's headquarters in
this community north of Toronto today.

Anderson joined Paul McCartney, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and NAACP
president Kweisi Mfume in an international campaign against KFC by the
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The British Columbia native
and animal rights activist accused KFC of scalding live birds and using
crippling drugs."

PETA claims KFC raises 750 million chickens each year in overcrowded,
feces-filled sheds on "factory farms" and kills them in inhumane ways for
its restaurants.

[Very edited from:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T
ype1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1066342208907


LINK EYED BETWEEN BEEF AND CANCER:
09/20/03: (CBS, Los Angeles, CA): "In feed lots across the country, beef
cattle are given growth hormones to make them fatter faster, to save money.
Now questions are being raised about one of the most widely-used hormones,
Zeranol, a synthetic estrogen implanted in cattle. A series of tests done
for the Pentagon show a possible link between breast cancer and Zeranol.

"We know that Zeranol and some of the synthetic hormones used in cattle
production are estrogens, and we know that breast cancer is dependent upon
estrogen," says Lou Guillette, a biologist at the University of Florida.
In his own research, Guillette examined the effects of hormones coming off
cattle feedlots and getting into the water. The study, funded by the
European Union, which bans beef hormones, found serious damage to the
reproductive systems of fish downstream from a Nebraska feedlot.

"It certainly raises a red flag for us," says Guillette. "What it suggests
is that there are very potent hormones that are coming off of these
feedlots that are going into the environment."

But the cattle industry says the minute amount of Zeranol found in beef
poses no threat.   "My wife and my four daughters eat beef on a regular
basis," says Gary Weber, of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
"I've reviewed all this science, and I'm confident that beef is safe and
wholesome for consumers."

[Very very edited from:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/20/eveningnews/main554857.shtml


************************************************
*05:  Warmest Sept., Oil Sued, Organic Chinese, Rocket Fuel
************************************************
WARMEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD, WORLDWIDE :
10/17/03:  (Randolph E. Schmid, AP, Boston Globe Online): "Last month was
the warmest September on record, federal climate experts said Friday.  The
second and third warmest Septembers on record occurred in 1997 and 1998,
respectively.

Worldwide, land surface temperatures were the second warmest for September.
Temperatures were extremely warm throughout much of eastern Canada and
readings were unusually warm over much of Asia and Europe.  The global
ocean surface temperature was warmest on record, although temperatures in
much of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific were near the 1971-2000
average.

Rising temperatures in recent years have led to concern that changes in
atmospheric chemistry caused by human-induced pollution is warming the
globe in a process known as the greenhouse effect. "

[Very edited from:
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/290/wash/Warmest_September_on_record_woP.shtml


ECUADOREANS SUE U.S. OIL FIRM OVER AMAZON POLLUTION:
10/21/03:  LAGO AGRIO, Ecuador (Reuters, by Amy Taxin): "Ecuadorean Indians
wearing feathered headdresses and red face-paint marched outside a jungle
courthouse on Tuesday at the start of a case accusing U.S. oil giant
ChevronTexaco of polluting the Amazon.  "Before Texaco, we were free. We
drank from the river, bathed in the river and everything was peaceful
because it wasn't polluted," 67-year-old Secoya Indian Esteban Lusitande
said in broken Spanish.

"Now there's nothing. We can't even swim."  Environmentalists hope the case
will set a precedent forcing companies in the developing world to observe
the same anti-pollution standards demanded in rich nations.

Lawyers for 30,000 Ecuadorean plaintiffs -- many of them poor Indians --
have said a subsidiary of Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, dumped
18.5 billion gallons of oil-laden water into rivers while it was producing
crude in Ecuador's lush Amazon jungle from 1972 to 1992.  Farmers say their
well-water is laced with an oily film and their children suffer rashes and
fevers after swimming. They are demanding the oil giant clean up the
alleged spills and pay for health programs."

[Very edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20031022/
sc_nm/environment_ecuador_dc


CHINESE FARMERS CASH IN ON DEMAND FOR ORGANIC FOOD:
10/22/03:  (by Nao Nakanishi, Reuters):  SONGYUAN, China: "As consumers in
the West grow increasingly hungry for organic food, Chinese farmers see a
niche market worth cultivating.  In this corner of rural China, the word is
out that more and more people abroad are willing to pay extra for what they
believe is a healthier and more environmentally friendly diet.

Sales of organic food in the United States alone reached $11 billion in
2002 and are projected at $13 billion in 2003, and farmers are ready to get
their hands dirty to reap the benefits.  Industry officials say foreign
buyers pay Chinese farmers at least 30 percent to 50 percent more for
organic food, knowing they can get large premiums from sales in developed
countries.

In China, where farmers account for more than 70 percent of the 1.3 billion
population, organic growers are a tiny minority. And these are no hippie
farmers shunning conventional farming practices for the sake of the
environment. They are poor farmers who could never easily afford expensive
chemicals used in intensive farming and are going organic to boost their
meager incomes."

[Very edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-10-22/s_9661.asp


ROCKET FUEL CONTROVERSY DEEPENS:
10/17/03:  (by Jill Clay, Newsdesk.org): "The discovery of rocket fuel
pollution in groundwater nationwide has aggravated concerns about federal
safety standards.  Manufacturers in 39 states use perchlorate - a fast
moving, long-lasting chemical with adverse health effects - in rockets,
missiles, fireworks, and road flares.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 25 states have detected
it in their groundwater. Despite this, no federal agency has set any
perchlorate safety standards, and state regulatory agencies have been left
to their own devices.

The threat extends beyond drinking water: The Colorado River irrigates
almost a million acres of farmland in California and Arizona.  However,
according to Dave Spath of California's Division of Drinking Water and
Environmental Management, "There are virtually no standards for irrigation
water."

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy
organization, set off a furor earlier this year with a study that found
significant perchlorate contamination of winter lettuce grown in California.

The state Department of Health Services disputed this, stating on its Web
site that the findings were not "credible and reliable" and that "it is
premature to draw any conclusions."

[An extensive article and complex issue.  Very edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-10-17/s_9418.asp


************************************************
*06:  MT. Everest Of Cholesterol, Halloweenish Energy Bill
************************************************
TURNING THE VEGETABLES:
http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha092203.asp

HALLOWEENISH TAKE ON THE ENERGY BILL:
http://www.markfiore.com/animation/energy.html

MOUNT EVEREST OF CHOLESTEROL:
"The Associated Press calls the fried cheeseburger, one of the new culinary
offerings at the Arizona State Fair, the 'Mount Everest of cholesterol.'
The fried cheeseburger features ground beef wrapped around a stick. The
beef is wrapped in cheese, coated in batter, and deep-fried. The final
product looks like an oversize corn dog. If that's not enough, fairgoers
also have the Kaktus Kutter. It's a chunk of hot pepper cheese stuffed
inside a green chili, then wrapped in roast beef, turkey, or ham. The
concoction is batter-dipped and deep-fried."

[From:
http://www.meatnews.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Article&artNum=6299


************************************************
*07:  Lost Nutrients, Global Tea, School Soymilk, Pesticides Tallied
************************************************
NUTRIENTS LOST IN BROCCCOLI COOKING METHODS:
Abstract: "Total flavonoid and individual hydroxycinnamoyl derivative
contents were evaluated in the edible portions of freshly harvested
broccoli before and after cooking and in the cooking water. High-pressure
boiling, low-pressure boiling (conventional), steaming and microwaving were
the four domestic cooking processes used in this work.

The results showed large differences among the four treatments in their
influence on flavonoid and hydroxycinnamoyl derivative contents in
broccoli. Clear disadvantages were detected when broccoli was microwaved,
namely high losses of flavonoids (97%), sinapic acid derivatives (74%) and
caffeoyl-quinic acid derivatives (87%). Conventional boiling led to a
significant loss of flavonoids (66%) from fresh raw broccoli, while
high-pressure boiling caused considerable leaching (47%) of caffeoyl-quinic
acid derivatives into the cooking water. On the other hand, steaming had
minimal effects, in terms of loss, on both flavonoid and hydroxycinnamoyl
derivative contents.

Therefore we can conclude that a greater quantity of phenolic compounds
will be provided by consumption of steamed broccoli as compared with
broccoli prepared by other cooking processes."

[Edited from:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/106558884/ABSTRACT

[A Critical Look at the Flavonoids:
http://www.nutritionreporter.com/Look_at_Flavonoids.html

[Antioxidant Activities of Flavonoids:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/f-w00/flavonoid.html

[USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods - 2003
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Flav/flav.html


TEA IS THE "IN" DRINK OF THE CENTURY:
(10/15/03): (Press Release - PRWEB Newswire): "Tea, the 5,000-year-old
beverage which is now a $5.1 billion industry, is becoming the "In" drink
of the centurydue to its health benefits. All forecasts point to continued
growth in the years ahead. Steve and Jennifer Fowler spent a recent Friday
evening sitting around a popular hangout they used to frequent back in
their college days 20 years earlier. They were sipping their favorite brew.
It wasn't beer, hard cider or espresso they were talking over. It was a pot
of hot tea, the 5,000-year-old drink that is becoming the "in" drink of the
century.

Last year, tea was a $5.1 billion industry throughout the nation, up around
150 percent from 1990, according to the Tea Council of the USA Inc. And
it's not just traditional tea behind the growth. More people are buying tea
for its health benefits. All forecasts point to continued growth in the
coming years.

"Tea is still in its infancy in the U.S. market," said Chas Kroll, managing
director of San Diego-based Royal Dynasty Tea. "After water, it's the most
consumed beverage in the world. Its popularity here in the U.S. is
increasing rapidly."

[Edited from:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/10/prweb84352.php


SCHOOLS MAY ADD SOYMILK TO MENUS:
(10/14/03: By PHILIP BRASHER Register Washington Bureau): "Something new
could be coming to school menus - soymilk. First, however, Congress will
have to settle a fight among the nation's dairy producers and soybean
growers.  Soybean farmers, in an unusual alliance with animal rights
activists, are lobbying Congress to reimburse schools for offering kids
soymilk as an alternative to cow's milk.

An estimated 30 million to 50 million people nationwide are lactose
intolerant, meaning that they have trouble digesting milk and dairy
products, a condition that can cause nausea, cramps, bloating and gas. The
problem is believed to be especially prevalent among blacks and other
minorities.

The Broward County school system in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., experimented
with offering soymilk last year in an elementary school. The pilot program
was so successful - 15 percent to 20 percent of the kids chose soymilk over
cow's milk - that the district is going to repeat it this year, said
Raymond Papa, the district's food service director.

"Soymilk at this point . . . does not meet the same nutritional needs of
growing children," said Eric Bost, USDA's undersecretary for food and
nutrition services. "The other consideration is, how much is it going to
cost?"  Soymilk advocates say the cost will drop when there is enough
demand in the schools.  The dairy industry says concerns about lactose
intolerance are overblown and it wants the government to expand the use of
milk in schools.

Robert Heaney, a physician professor at Creighton University in Omaha,
Neb., says most people can consume milk without problems even if they lack
the enzyme to digest it. Intestinal bacteria will take over the job.
"Milk is a safe, nutritious and economical source of the nutrients our
children need, and there are no effective alternatives," Heaney told the
House Education and the Workforce Committee.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, the senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture
Committee, said soymilk could be a "great addition to the choices we
provide in schools," provided it is nutritionally comparable to cow's milk.

[Very edited from:
http://www.dmregister.com/business/stories/c4789013/22492928.html


MOST & LEAST PESTICIDE CONTAMINATED PRODUCE:
10/21/03:  "These 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables are consistently
the most contaminated with pesticides:

        * Apples
        * Bell Peppers
        * Celery
        * Cherries
        * Grapes (imported)
        * Nectarines
        * Peaches*
        * Pears
        * Potatoes
        * Red Raspberries
        * Spinach
        * Strawberries

These 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables consistently have the lowest
levels of pesticides.

        * Asparagus
        * Avocados
        * Bananas
        * Broccoli
        * Cauliflower
        * Corn (sweet)
        * Kiwi
        * Mangos
        * Onions
        * Papaya
        * Pineapples
        * Peas (sweet)"

[Edited from:
http://nature.gardenweb.com/forums/load/sustain/msg1012312926126.html

[Original source and more details/info:
http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php


************************************************
*08:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ACTIVISM:
[Food Not Bombs:
http://www.foodnotbombs.net

[Meetup: Organizing Local Interest Groups:
http://www.meetup.com/

[Great Links:  The Election & The Environment:
http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/schneider101503.asp?source=daily


ANIMAL ISSUES:
[Food For Companion Animals:
http://www.vegan.org/resources/links/index.html#pet_food

[Adopt A Homeless Pet:
http://www.petfinders.org

[Senior Canine Rescue Society:
http://www.seniordogrescue.org

[Senior Dog Project:
http://www.srdogs.com


THE ENVIRONMENT:
[New Global Map Of Tree Cover:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16330

[Satellite Imgs. Of Fires In California:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=1
1804


HUMAN HEALTH:
[Health Warning Over Jars Used For Baby Food:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=453794

[It's Your Health - The Safe Use Of Cookware:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/iyh/products/cookware.html

[Safety Of Plastics For Cooking: Nice Summary, Comments, Links & The USDA:
http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/plastic.html


VEG'NISM:
[Meet Protein Needs With Beans And Greens:
http://newsobserver.com/features/story/2951563p-2708107c.html

["They Know How To Put The Sizzle In Raw Vegan Food:"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/10/17/NBG0O2
ATSU1.DTL

["3 Reasons To Try Tempeh:"
http://vegweb.com/articles/42.shtml

[27 Tempeh Recipes:
http://www.recipesource.com/special-diets/vegetarian/tempeh/

[147 Tofu Recipes:
http://www.recipesource.com/special-diets/vegetarian/tofu/indexall.html

[400 Tofu Recipes:
http://www.thesoydailyclub.com/members/TheBestofSoyCooking/CONTENTS.asp

["Great Tasting Vegan Recipes Free From Animal Products:"
http://www.vegancooking.com/

[Home Of Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative:
http://www.ImEarthKind.com/

["all About Vegan Nutrition, Ethics, And Lifestyles:"
http://vegetarian.about.com/cs/vegan/

["top Ten" Vegan Websites:
http://www.veganforlife.org/topten.htm

[256 Veg'n Societies & Veg'n Orgs. In North America:
http://www.greenpeople.org/vegetarian.htm

[Astounding!! "Susan's Vegetarian And Vegan Bookmarks:"
http://www.myhq.com/public/s/u/susanv/

[Great Veg'n Online Discussion Boards:
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/index.php?


INFO RE: PIX FROM HOWARD'S CAMERA:
[Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park... On The Lewis And Clark Trail:
http://lewisandclarktrail.com/section2/ndcities/BismarckMandan/fortabraham/

[Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane:
http://www.sd4history.com/Unit4/hickok_jane_alice.htm
http://www.watermargin.com/graves/wildbill.html
http://www.cowgirls.com/dream/cowgals/calamity.htm

[Battle Of Little Big Horn:
http://curtis-collection.com/tribe%20data/custer.html

["Dances With Wolves" Set:
http://www.rushmoretours.com/dancesww.html

[Mt. Rushmore National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/moru/

[Crazy Horse Memorial:
http://www.crazyhorse.org/
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/crazyhorse.htm
http://www.crazyhorse.org/news/spring2003/index.shtml
http://www.sdpb.org/index.html?dakotacast/webcam/crazyhorse

[devils Tower National Monument:
http://www.nps.gov/deto/

[veggie Bus:
http://www.projectbiobus.com/project.htm

[spitfire Tour:
http://www.spitfiretour.org/

[We The Planet:
http://www.wetheplanet.org/


************************************************
*09:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Nov 09: Middletown, NY < afternoon: Orange County Community College
Nov 24: Manhattan, NY < 6 pm: Thanksgiving Dinner - Vegetarian Vision

Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise
Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*11:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"ACTIVISM CANNOT FIT INTO A BOX because it is as beautiful and diverse as
the world is.  It is your world.  What are you willing to do to make it a
better place for all?  That is activism.  It is not a stereotype.  It is as
unique and vital as you are.

I am continuously reminded how each and every one of us is the one to make
the difference."

-  Julia Butterfly Hill (from her 'blog' (Web Log) on the Sept. 2003 "We
The Planet/Spitfire" Tour)
http://www.circleoflife.org/blog/julia/


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 29th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

In this edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter you'll learn about the
relationship between your heart's health and walking, how taking lycopene
supplements (from tomatoes) may not work as opposed to the real thing, some
interesting speculations on the unique way fish may be communicating, and
learn about the 1st adoption of the Precautionary Principle by any school
in the United States.

We've also provided some 30 links to recipes for your veg'n Thanksgiving
Holiday Feast (and a few backgrounders links about the history of
Thanksgiving as well as some current events of note).

Further on in this newsletter, you'll see a buncha new pictures from
Howard's camera as he races across Canada, digs the Chicago EarthSave
potluck, reviews "Hearst Castle," and thoroughly enjoyed the "Bioneers
Conference" in California.  Howard was also recently voted most popular
Speaker by the some 4,000 people voting in the 2003 Veggie Awards:

http://vegnews.com/veggieawards.html

Reading onward below, you'll learn about Talking Trash Cans, the Meatrix,
the disturbing truth about Pet Food, "Point of View," and who's the world's
largest polluter of the environment (hint:  it's not a country or
corporation).

And on a lighter note, be sure to check out:

http://www.madcowboy.com

.... you'll see Howard meeting Howard (and another reason to avoid eating
Turkeys....).

......and as always, a nod of the hat to our new subscribers:  y'all can
read past issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Finally, a very heartfelt Happy Vegan Thanksgiving to all our subscribers!
May your holiday be thoughtful, fruitful, blessed, and cruelty-free.

Best to all, Mark     Editor/Webmaster


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quote(s) of Note
01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera+
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  Veg'n Thanksgiving History, Events, & Recipes
04:  Heartwalks, Bread Crisis, Fat Yanks/Brits, Tomatoes/Cancer
05:  Humor:  Talking Trash, the Meatrix, & Humane Foie Gras
06:  Chemical Evasions, Precautionary Principles, Military Abuse
07:  Don't Eat Wild Boar, Pet Food Truth, Fish Communication
08:  Quick Bytes
09:  Howard's Schedule
10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
11:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quote(s) of Note
************************************************
"WHEN I DECIDED TO BECOME A VEGETARIAN... I could hardly wait to share that
with my friends and family. I was even considering sharing it with my
mother-in-law. I invited her for Thanksgiving dinner. I said to her that
turkey would be available for her. My mother-in-law came into the house,
went to the oven and to the refrigerator: no turkey. She felt I had let her
down. I took her to the back yard where I had a live turkey. I told her
that if she wanted turkey for dinner she would have to kill it herself.
That turkey survived. Even on that occasion I learned not to be angry.

Therefore, if we want to change the world, we must do it with the full
cooperation of others, that is with a smile on our faces. We need to sew
the seed by becoming ambassadors of information.

We have the opportunity to be better equipped to share that information
about vegetarianism with our families, our friends and yes, even our
mothers-in-law: we are winning. Our main job is not to turn them into
vegans, but to get those carnivores out there to understand that every bite
of meat not taken all over the world means greater opportunities for our
children and our grandchildren.

It ends up with more animals living, so let's do it with a smile on our
face. And when somebody walks up to you and says, "Are you one of those 'V
'people?" you look at them, smile and say, "You'd better believe it! And I
did it because it's good for me, it's good for the animals, it's good for
the environment and - most of all - it guarantees a brighter future for the
generations to come."

Howard (speaking as President of the IVU at the Sixth European Vegetarian
Congress, Bussolengo, Italy, Sept. 21 -26, 1997: full speech at:
http://www.ivu.org/congress/euro97/my-name.html)


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera+
************************************************
[10/06-10/12/03: continuing Howard's whirlwind Canadian tour: Kalowana,
Alberta, Abbottsford, Vancover EarthSave, Victoria --- back to the U.S.:
Chicago EarthSave
http://www.madcowboy.com/10_12_03_HL_TravelPIX/index.html

[10/13-10/19/03: Hearst Castle, John Robbins, the Millenium Cafe, Bioneer's
Conference
http://www.madcowboy.com/10_19_03_HL_TravelPIX/index.html


[Pix from Frank McMiller:
http://www.madcowboy.com/10_03_HL_FranksPIX/index.html


["Bioneers - An educational network of visionaries for the environment:"
http://www.bioneers.org/

[The incredible Hearst Castle:
http://www.hearstcastle.org/


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"The book "Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat
Meat" is a best-seller.  What's the current edition number?"  (Hint:  it's
between 1 and 21) (Hint2: there's a clue in this issue's sections)"

We'll, this is the first time we didn't have a winner!  There were no
correct answers.  The correct answer is "11" and the hints:  (1) 11 is
between 1 and 21 and (2) there were 11 Sections in that issue of the MC
Newlsetter.

THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
The United States is forecast to be de-throned as the largest exporter of
soybeans (this year or next).  What country will take its place?  (Hint:
Southern Hemisphere)

Please e-mail guesses with the word "contest" in your subject line by NLT
12/08.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  Veg'n Thanksgiving History, Events, & Recipes
************************************************
HISTORY/INFO:

[George Washington Proclaimation:
http://www.quietwaters.org/george_washington_proclaimation.htm

[Abraham Lincoln Proclaimation:
http://www.quietwaters.org/abraham_lincoln_proclaimation.htm

[Thanksgiving Timeline:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/sh/holidays/stories/holidays-20001113-113948.html

[United Poultry Concerns on "Turkeys:"
http://www.upc-online.org/turkeys/


EVENTS:

[Register your "Gentle Thanksgiving:"
http://www.gentlethanksgiving.org

[Farm Sanctuary's $15 Adopt-a-Turkey Project
http://www.adoptaturkey.org

[Neiman Marcus: Fur Is Cruel protest events:
http://www.neimancarcass.com/fffsched.cfm

[Bay Area Vegetarians "Vote for Best Restaurant Contest:"
http://www.bayareaveg.org/contest.htm


RECIPES:

[Wonderful Vegan Tksg Recipes:
http://www.gentlethanksgiving.org/recipes.htm

["Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes:"
http://www.vegan.com/current/thanks.html

["Vegan / Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes:"
http://vegweb.com/misc/thanksgiving.shtml

[Bryanna's Amazing Vegan Tksg Recipe File:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/137957.html

[More Bryanna Tksg. Recipes:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/128428.html

["PCRM--Health--Holiday Recipes--Thanksgiving:"
http://www.pcrm.org/health/Recipes/thanksgiving.html

[PETA Vegan Tksg Recipes:
http://www.peta.org/feat/canada;

["When a Non-Vegetarian Cook Hosts a Vegetarian Guest:"
http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/forthenonvegcook.html

["Have an awesome veggie Thanksgiving with these recipes:"
http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/food/article/0,1713,BDC_2517_2436164,00.html

["Vegetarians in Paradise/Vegan Thanksgiving Feast:"
http://www.vegparadise.com/cookingwith411.html

[Veg'n Tksg Recipes:
http://www.vegkitchen.com/thanksgiving.html

["Tofu Turkey with Stuffing - vegan:"
http://www.pastrywiz.com/archive/tofu.htm

["Vegetarian/Vegan Thanksgiving Feast/Dinner:"
http://www.shepherds-rod-message.org/health/eats.html

[Vegan Recipes - The Barlow's Recipes:
http://www.barlowsrecipes.com/showgroup_Vegan.html

["Vegetarian Thanksgiving, 2003:"
http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/Thanksgiving.html

["Vegetarian Thanksgiving Central:"
http://vegetarian.about.com/library/holidays/blthanksgiving.htm

[Vegan pecan pie, no-tofu pumpkin pie:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/138154.html

["Tksg Top 10 Most Requested Vegetarian Recipes:"
http://vegetarian.about.com/library/holidays/blthankstop10.htm

[Vegan Holiday Recipes:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/recipes/messages/82468.html

[Veg'n Tksg Recipes:

http://www.geocities.com/tinascranberrycove/Recipes.html

[Veg Nog!
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/recipes/messages/82910.html

[Vegan Thanksgiving:
http://www.tazarat.com/thanksgiving.html

["Small Household Vegetarian Recipe Index:"
http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/index.html

["Recipes For Tofu, Tempeh, Textured Soy Protein And Many Other Soyfoods:"
http://www.soyfoods.com/recipes/

["Holiday menu help is here for vegans and vegetarians:"
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/living/1068728220255
40.xml

[The Infamous Vegan Tofurky:
http://www.tofurky.com

[Natural Foods: A Thanksgiving feast for all: a vegan holiday meal:
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0NAH/n6_v27/21253050/p1/article.jhtml

[Thanksgiving links and recipes:
http://members.tripod.com/~hannahdayan/Thanksgiving.htm

[Frugal Thanksgiving:
http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/cheapthanksgiving.html

[Matching wine with veg'n meals:
http://www.news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1221592003


************************************************
*04:  Heartwalks, Bread Crisis, Fat Yanks/Brits, Tomatoes/Cancer
************************************************
FAT FOOD FIGHT ON TWO FRONTS:  (Dan Ackman): 11/10/03: "The food fight over
what do about obesity is heating up on both sides of the Atlantic as
British official are mulling a ban on some television advertising aimed at
children, and U.S. officials are considering whether to classify obesity as
a disease as opposed to a condition, which would open the door to insurance
coverage paying for treatment.

In the United Kingdom, the Food Standards Agency, described as a food
watchdog, wants to defuse the so-called obesity time bomb and is
considering such methods as a ban on TV advertising aimed at children,
health warnings on foods high in salt, sugar and fat, and requiring school
vending machines to offer healthy alternatives, according to press reports.
"Doing nothing is not an option," said Sir John Krebs, the agency's
chairman.   About 24 million Britons, more than half the population, are
overweight or obese, according to The Guardian, and the numbers are rising,
including among the young. Obesity among six-year-olds has doubled in
recent years to 8.5%, and trebled to 15% in 15-year-olds, the paper says.

Americans are well ahead of Britons when it comes to being obese--and the
race is on in the U.S., too, to stem the tide. One possibility, highlighted
by The Washington Post, is to declare obesity a "disease," which would
allow those affected to claim insurance coverage for "cures" such as diet
drugs or doctor-prescribed nutrition plans. The Post cites experts who say
classifying obesity as a disease would help "destigmatize" the condition,
making it easier for those affected to seek treatment, as happened when
alcoholism was so classified."

[Very edited from:
http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/2003/11/10/cx_da_1110topnews.html


BRISK WALK CAN STRENGTHEN HEART:  11/15/03: "A good brisk walk is enough to
strengthen your heart, researchers have found.   Some experts believe that
only strenuous activity has any beneficial effect. But a study of obese
adults found moderate exercise was enough to raise the heart beat to
recommended levels. The researchers, from Massachusetts University,
reported their findings at a meeting of the American Heart Association.
Advisory groups recommend that exercise must push the heart rate up to at
least 55% of its maximum to have any positive impact.   Many believe that
vigorous exercise is the only way to do this - but the latest study
suggests this is not necessarily true.

Rather than the old adage that there is "no pain, no gain", they believe
that "if the pace feels right, it probably is".   "Being healthy isn't
difficult. People don't need to play sport or go to the gym, they simply
need to get out of their cars and go for a walk."

[Edited from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3260525.stm


US BREADMAKERS HOLD CRISIS TALKS OVER IMPACT OF ATKINS DIET: (Jeremy
Laurance Health, Editor):  11/20/03: "The growing craze for high protein,
low carbohydrate slimming regimes such as the Atkins diet is threatening
the market for one of the staple foods of the West - bread. Consumption of
bread plummeted in America in the past year with an estimated 40 per cent
of Americans eating less than in 2002. The US bread industry is to hold a
crisis "bread summit" tomorrow to discuss measures to curb falling sales.
In Britain, the Federation of Bakers launched a promotional campaign last
month to counter the Atkins effect. British Bread month was advertised with
the slogan "Use your loaf, have another slice."

In America, Patrick Davis of the National Bread Leadership Council, which
organised the summit, said that it was unclear whether the fall in bread
sales was a temporary blip or indicative of a more permanent change in
eating habits. The average American eats 54lbs of bread a year, barely a
third of the quantity consumed by the French and Italians. But the Italians
and the French are not notably obese, Mr Davis said.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) in Britain has warned that the basis of
the Atkins diet is questionable and it could be dangerous. Dr Susan Jebb,
head of nutrition at the MRC, said: "It is an unknown risk. The diet is
nutritionally incomplete."

[Edited from:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=465405


LYCOPENE'S ANTI-CANCER EFFECT LINKED TO OTHER TOMATO COMPONENTS:  11/05/03:
"New research suggests that lycopene -- a carotenoid in tomatoes that has
been linked to a lowered risk of prostate cancer -- does not act alone.
Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Ohio State
University say that lycopene's punch is stronger in combination with other
phytochemicals in the fruit.

Lycopene is an antioxidant and the pigment that provides the red color of
tomatoes. Because of recent epidemiological studies suggestive of
lycopene's role against prostate cancer, the compound has made its way into
dietary supplements. These new findings... indicate that a combination of
the bioactive compounds may offer the best anti-cancer effect.

"Our findings strongly suggest that risks of poor dietary habits cannot be
reversed simply by taking a pill," Clinton, a professor of hematology and
oncology and of human nutrition, said in an Ohio State news release. "We
shouldn't expect easy solutions to complex problems. We must focus more on
choosing a variety of healthy foods, exercising and watching our weight."

[Very edited from:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031105064728.htm


************************************************
*05:  Humor:  Talking Trash, the Meatrix, & Humane Foie Gras
************************************************
[BEWARE "THE MEATRIX"
http://www.themeatrix.com/


[HUMANE FOIE GRAS FARM?
http://www.workingforchange.com/comic.cfm?itemid=15834


BERLIN TO GET TRASH CANS THAT CAN TALK:  (Matt Dueholm, AP):  11/20/03:
"Fed up with garbage-strewn streets? Berlin thinks it has found a solution
- trash cans that say thank you.  Starting next spring, the German
capital's trash service will build electronics into a handful of the city's
20,000 street-side wastebaskets that will allow them to speak or sing to
the public, a spokesman said Thursday.

Making Berlin's visitors feel at home, some of the baskets will be
programmed to say "Thank you" or "Merci" instead of "Danke," Mueller said.
The talking wastebaskets will be installed at heavily visited sites such as
the Reichstag building and the central Friedrichstrasse train station.

Still, the garbage cans will be silent after dark.  "Some people might feel
uncomfortable if these things said something to them at night," Mueller
said."

[Edited from:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20031120/D7UUDF0O0.html


BEEF-BASED SNACK FOOD CALLED CHEESEBURGER FRIES:  (Tania Ralli, NY Times):
09/24/03: "If the National Cattlemen's Beef Association has its way, beef
won't be just for dinner anymore. Looking to emulate the success of Chicken
McNuggets and fried mozzarella sticks, the group is hoping to inject some
red meat into the American snack food diet with cheeseburger fries. The
fries, which look like a squat version of standard french fries, are made
of a meat and cheese compound that tastes - as the name suggests - like a
cheeseburger.

Breaded, deep fried, and served with ketchup or barbecue sauce,
cheeseburger fries have found their way onto menus in several states,
including Nebraska, Minnesota and Texas, since June. There is also a
version being made available to public school cafeterias.

"The challenge is getting people to think of other ways to eat beef," said
Betty Hogan, director of new product marketing for the association. "We
want beef in dessert if we can get it there," Hogan said."

[Very edited from the disturbing, yet funny, material at:
http://www.azcentral.com/home/takeout/articles/0924fries24.html


************************************************
*06:  Chemical Evasions, Precautionary Principles, Military Abuse
************************************************
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY MAY FIGHT TESTS:  (Douglas Fischer, Staff Writer):
11/21/03: "The chemical industry may be considering a covert campaign to
attack a growing effort in California forcing more chemical testing,
according to a leaked "memo" from the American Chemical Council obtained by
the Environmental Working Group.  The council, representing manufacturers
of 90 percent of the chemicals and most plastic resins sold in the United
States, denied such plans were afoot ....  the four-page proposal, which
outlines a strategy to "stigmatize" the pro-testing movement and create an
"independent ... watchdog group" acting as a pro-industry information
clearinghouse.  Industry has a lot riding on the outcome.

Often called the "precautionary principle," the growing movement
essentially revolutionizes how industrial and consumer chemicals get tested
prior to their release to the market.  Rather than force consumer groups
and government agencies to prove a substance causes harm -- as is the case
now in California -- industry under the precautionary principle would be
required to show the substance was safe prior to its sale.

"The American Chemistry Council and their manufacturers have had a free
ride, with some exceptions, for the past 50 years," said Ted Schettler,
science director for the Massachusetts-based Science and Environmental
Health Network. "So that's why it's threatening.  "The notion that one
would have to produce data about the safety or hazards that might be
associated with their product prior to exposing the public is not something
they have any history or inclination of doing."

[Very edited from:
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%7E1865%7E1781839,00.html


2nd LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICT 1ST TO EMBRACE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE:  (Press
Release):  10/18/03: "Los Angeles Unified School District created the most
stringent pesticide policy in nation.  [The] California Safe Schools
Coalition (CSS), having successfully worked with Los Angeles Unified School
District (2nd largest district in USA) to implement a least toxic, low risk
pest management policy, whose preamble includes the "Precautionary
Principle", is sharing its secret for success on the new website [listed
below].

"The policy mandates the use of preventative measures and least toxic
methods first in schools. Only when preventative measures fail does the
district turn to pesticides on the approved list. Pesticides on the
approved list cannot contain products known to cause cancer, neurological
disruption, birth defects, genetic alteration, reproductive harm, immune
system dysfunction, endocrine disruption, or acute poisoning, which stops
the routine use of the most hazardous pesticides in our schools," said
Robina Suwol Executive Director of CSS.

"Our new website will help others understand the policy. There are
downloadable "Parent Right To Know Forms", a copy of the groundbreaking
policy, and links to other environmental organizations. A special
attraction on the website are illustrations by internationally known artist
Michael Bruza", said Action Now's Annie Waterman, founding member of CSS."

[Very edited from:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/10/prweb85273.php

[Check out the website:
http://www.calisafe.org

[Same District is also cutting out sale of junk food from their schools, too!:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-junk29oct29,1,2398330.story?coll=la-head
lines-california


EPA TO PROPOSE EASING RULES FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE: (Nancy Zukerbrod, AP):
11/18/03:
"President George W. Bush's administration is considering allowing
low-level radioactive waste to be dumped at toxic waste sites and other
facilities that currently aren't permitted to receive it.  The
Environmental Protection Agency was expected to issue a notice Tuesday
seeking public comments on the proposal. The notice asks the public to
weigh in on whether certain levels of radioactive waste can be stored in
landfills or hazardous material disposal sites.

Environmentalists criticized the new proposal.  "They can save a lot of
money if their waste doesn't have to go to a facility designed to safely
contain it," said Daniel Hirsch, president of the Committee to Bridge the
Gap, a Los Angeles-based nuclear watchdog group."

[Edited from:
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200311181448320.212214


U.S. MILITARY'S WAR ON THE EARTH: (from "Top 25 Censored Stories of 2004):
"The U.S. military is waging a war on planet Earth. "Homeland security" has
become the new mantra since September 11, 2001, and has been the
justification for increasing U.S. military expansion around the world. Part
of this campaign has been the varied and persistent appeals by the Pentagon
to Congress for exemptions from a range of environmental regulations and
wildlife treaties.

The world's largest polluter, the U.S. military, generates 750,000 tons of
toxic waste material annually, more than the five largest chemical
companies in the U.S. combined. This pollution occurs globally as the U.S.
maintains bases in dozens countries. In the U.S. there are 27,000 toxic hot
spots on 8,500 military properties inside Washington's Fairchild Air Force
Base is the number one producer of hazardous waste, generating over 13
million pounds of waste in 1997. Not only is the military emitting toxic
material directly into the air and water, it's poisoning the land of nearby
communities resulting in increased rates of cancer, kidney disease,
increasing birth defects, low birth weight, and miscarriage.

The military currently manages 25 million acres of land providing habitat
for some 300 threatened or endangered species. Groups such as Defenders of
Wildlife have sued the military for damage done to endangered animal
populations by bomb tests. The testing of Low-Frequency Sonar technology is
accused of having played a role in the stranding death of whales around the
world.

Rather than working to remedy these problems, the pentagon claims that the
burden of regulations is undercutting troop readiness."

[Extremely edited from the very disturbing link at:
http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2004/15.html


************************************************
*07:  Don't Eat Wild Boar, Pet Food Truth, Fish Communication
************************************************
SUSPECTED EBOLA OUTBREAK KILLS NINE IN CONGO:  (Johannesburg):  10/11/03:
"An outbreak of the Ebola virus is believed to have claimed the lives of
nine people in a remote forest region of Congo, Brazzaville, the medical
information service Medinfo reported on Monday.  Spokesperson Dr Andrew
Jamieson said a further three people appeared to have contracted the
disease, although clinical samples collected in the field were still to be
tested at a medical centre in neighbouring Gabon to confirm the diagnosis.

Jamieson said that according to media statements released by Congo's health
ministry, the nine people who had died so far were all members of a group
of hunters who ate meat collected from a wild boar found dead in the forest.

Only one member of the hunting party survived the excursion, a young
schoolboy who refused to touch the game."

[Edited from:
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=23290


"FOOD PETS DIE FOR: SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT PET FOOD: "(Reviewed by Ann
Martin, author of "Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food":
"This book was written to make pet owners aware of what they were feeding
their pets when they feed commercial pet foods.... [it] outlines the fact
that this is virtually an unregulated industry and that anything is fair
game for use in these foods.

The sources of protein are deplorable: 4-D material, condemned and
contaminated meat from slaughterhouse facilities, road kill, zoo animals,
and even euthanized companion animals can be used. The FDA/CVM is well
aware of the use of companion animals in these foods. Although they state
they don't condone the practice, they take no steps to prohibit it.

The industry and veterinarians promote the use of these foods.
Veterinarians and the American Veterinary Medical Association accept big
payoffs from the industry. Just last month the AVMA received funding in the
amount of $1 million dollars from Science Diet. The veterinary profession
is not about to bite the hand that feeds it."

[Very edited from:
http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0162.htm

[You can read an excerpt from the shocking book at:
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/foodbook.html


SURVEY SAYS: CWD IS SPREADING:  (Jeff Gearino, SW Wyoming Bureau):
11/07/03: "Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been detected in 98 mule deer
across Wyoming since the Game and Fish Department expanded its CWD
surveillance efforts this fall to include the whole state, officials
involved in the effort say.  The agency is using a new testing procedure
during this fall's hunting season that has proven very successful so far,
Game and Fish Department Acting Director Gregg Arthur told Wyoming Game and
Fish Commissioners during a meeting Thursday.

Arthur said the "disappointing news" is that the testing has revealed nine
new deer hunt areas where mule deer have tested positive for CWD, including
areas within the Black Hills, the Shirley Mountains and in the Big Horn
Basin near Worland.

CWD has been endemic to a 12,000 square-mile area of southeastern Wyoming
and northeastern Colorado for more than 30 years. Animals that develop CWD
lose weight, drink great amounts of water and seem unable to recognize
humans. There is no known cure and the disease has proven 100 percent
fatal."

[Edited from:
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2003/11/07/news/wyoming/6bea0463a4884c
8928d94e618f9607c4.txt


FISH FLATULENCE COMMUNICATION?:  (Vancover): 11/06/03:
"Herring make farting sounds at night, Canadian and British scientists say.
Scientists knew herring have an excellent sense of hearing, but now
researcher Ben Wilson of the University of British Columbia Fisheries
Centre in Vancouver and his British colleagues investigated their secret
noises.

At night, herring squeeze bubbles out of their swim bladders through an
anal pore.  The action produces distinctive sounds, resembling a person
blowing raspberries or farting.  Wilson is now trying to figure out why.
The fish tend to make noise more often when in the company of others, which
suggests it plays a social role, the researchers say.

If so, sound may be more important in herring than scientists had thought,
and they may need to look into the effects of noise pollution from humans.
The fish may also produce the sounds to ward off predators. Or it could be
an incidental effect of staying buoyant, Wilson said."

[Admittedly written by CBC News Online staff

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/11/05/herring_fart031104


************************************************
*08:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
(will return next issue!)


************************************************
*09:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise
Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*11:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************

POINT OF VIEW:

"Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless
Christmas dinner's dark and blue
When you stop and try to see it
From the turkey's point of view.

Sunday dinner isn't sunny
Easter feasts are just bad luck
When you see it from the viewpoint
of a chicken or a duck.

Oh how I once loved tuna salad
Pork, lobsters, lamb chops too
'Til I stopped and looked at dinner
From the dinner's point of view. "

-- Shel Silverstein (from his collection "Where the Sidewalk Ends")


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 30th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

We've a couple of special treats for you today:  a "Holiday Letter" from
the Mad Cowboy himself, a link to 100 selected pictures from Howard's
Camera and travels around the country in 2003, and around 40-50 links to
information on Veg'n Holiday recipes, resources, and having a Green
Christmas.

Moving onward, you'll learn about a special new web page on the MadCowboy
Website:  "Vegan Pets Resources."  This page contains several links and
resources concerning "what's in pet food?" and how to "veganize" your dogs
and cats.  The link to that page is also available on the Home Page
(middle right part of the page).

In this issue you'll also find out that "Global Warming" is real, read
about an Army Green Beret sent home from Iraq to be court-martialed for
having CJD, how to reduce your risk of food-borne diseases from raw foods,
know the real secret behind birds hitting Cell Towers, and maybe laugh at a
story about "buying tomatoes."

There's also the new "Burger Queen," weblogs from an ex-chicken slaughterer
at Tysons, a famous actor begging the Pope, why you should eat more
oranges, and information about "Pigs Singing to the Moon."

...and as always, a special nod to our new readers.  Y'all can read back
issues at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Finally, Best Wishes for everyone, your family, and your friends, for a
very Happy Veg'n Holiday Season!

Regards, Mark  Editor/Webmaster


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  A Holiday Letter from Howard!
01:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
02:  Veg'n Holiday Recipes & Resources
03:  Global Warming is Real, Ocean & Urban Activists Honored
04:  Reducing Raw Food Risk, Mad Cow/Spain, CJD/Green Beret
05:  "Meatrix" Breaks Records, Birds & Towers, Buying Tomatoes
06:  Veg'n Pet Food, Diet, & Resources - New Webpage
07:  Burger Queen, TV & Veggies for Teens, Eat More Oranges
08:  Tysons Ex-worker Writes, Pigs Sing to Moon, Alec Begs Pope
09:  Quick Bytes
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  A Holiday Letter from Howard!
************************************************
"At this time every year we should stop and review our actions for the past
twelve months.  It is important to see if we are moving forward or if we
are a drag on the system.  We get in a rut thinking that material things
are the measure of success - that the person with the most toys is winning
the game.  If this were true we would not be fighting tooth and nail
against terrorists.  We have more toys so we must be the winner.  This
philosophy is not working to our satisfaction so it must be flawed.

I truly believe that the only thing that causes changes in human behavior
is crisis and even we have a dandy group of crises in place today.  There
are so many that you can take your pick - global warming, third world
hunger, water pollution, ocean fish depopulation, heart disease, diabetes,
cancer and an aids epidemic killing millions to just name a few.

I try to do everything I can do personally to make the Earth a better place
to live for all of us.  I try to spend my money as if each dollar was a
vote on the future.  I'm not always successful but I keep trying.

When I look at the wonderful group of friends around me, along with the
worlds greatest wife, I have many things to be thankful for.  My children
continue to amaze me with new views of the universe that I would have never
seen without their help.

I feel truly blessed to be able to live and work in these troubled times.
I'm humbled when I look at the quality of my friends and see what a
difference they are making in the world.  I'm thankful for the efforts and
support from so many of you, working together to make a Viable Future.
Every victory is a team effort, and every step forward is progress.

My prayer is that we all do good work for as long as we can and the best
happens for all the Earth's creatures.

Happy Holidays from your friend. "

--- Howard Lyman, 12/15/03


[for 100 pictures from Howard's Camera and his activities in 2003:
http://www.madcowboy.com/2003_HL_Pix


************************************************
*01:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
The United States is forecast to be de-throned as the largest exporter of
soybeans (this year or next).  What country will take its place?  (Hint:
Southern Hemisphere)

Congratulations to Lief Youngs, of Lafayette, CO.  He won the luck of the
draw from 10 correct submissions, having guessed "Brazil."

[AP:  11/12/03: (by Emily Gersema):  "China will remain the world's largest
buyer of soybeans and Brazil the largest exporter, the Agriculture
Department forecast Wednesday.  China, the largest soybean buyer in the
world, probably will import 290,000 metric tons this year. Most of the
soybeans it buys are processed into meal for livestock as it tries to
develop its meat industry.   Meanwhile, Brazil is expected to export 26
million metric tons of soybeans while the United States probably will ship
even fewer - nearly 24 million tons, department economists said."]


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"The United States uses more pesticides on this crop than any other.  What
is it?"

Please e-mail guesses with the word "contest" in your subject line by NLT
12/29.


[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*02:  Veg'n Holiday Recipes & Resources
************************************************
RECIPES:

[Vegan Christmas or Yule - recipes and gift idea:
http://www.veganfamily.co.uk/yule.html

[Christmas Vegan Recipes (& Mincemeat Pie!):
http://www.parsleysoup.co.uk/christmas.htm

[Festive Holiday Cooking For Vegans (and shopping lists):
http://www.drmcdougall.com/holidaycooking.html

[Christmas Vegetarian Recipes:
http://www.vegsoc.org/cordonvert/recipes/crackers.html

[60 Veg'n Holiday (Tksg, Xmas) Recipes:
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/holiday/

[A Holiday Celebration - Low-fat Vegan Dinner for Six:
http://www.vrg.org/recipes/holiday.htm

[Vegetarian Christmas Recipes (for 10):
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/xmas.html

[12 Years of Vegetarian Xmas Recipes!!:
http://www.vegsoc.org/cordonvert/recipes/christmas.html

[PCRM--Healthy Vegan Holiday Recipes (Christmas):
http://www.pcrm.org/health/Recipes/christmas.html

[Vegan puddings, cakes, breads, and other treats:
http://www.veganvillage.co.uk/recipes/puddings.htm

[Ukrainian Xmas Eve Meat-free Recipes (12 courses) & Info
http://www.veg.ca/newsletr/novdec96/ukraine.html

[Veg'n Winter Holiday Recipes:
http://vegweb.com/food/events/index-xmas.shtml

[Vegan Christmas Dinner Reciipes -- Part One:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/130470.html

[Vegan Christmas Dinner Reciipes -- Part Two:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/130471.html

[Vegan Christmas Cake:
http://www.garvick.com/recipes-fps/chr3f309.htm

[Index of Vegetarian Christmas Recipes:
http://christmas.allrecipes.com/directory/1425.asp

[Vegetaraian Mince Pie Recipe:
http://www.garvick.com/recipes-fps/chr3f311.htm

[Vegan Scandanavian Christmas recipes:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/137835.html

[Fudge and other veegan candy recipes - how to veganize toffee:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/138335.html

[Great collection Veg'n Jewish Recipes/Links:
http://www.jewishveg.com/recipes.html

[Happy Vegan Hanukkah!
http://www.vegsource.com/hanukkah.htm

[Vegetarian Hannukah Recipes:
http://vegetarian.about.com/cs/hanu/

[The Vegan Connection: Vegan & Fat-free Vegan Recipes:
http://www.veganconnection.com/

[Vegan Beer:
http://www.veganconnection.com/veganbeer.htm

[Vegan Wine:
http://www.veganconnection.com/veganwine.htm

[Vegan Goodies:
http://vegetarian.about.com/library/weekly/aa122198.htm

[Christmas Holiday Recipes:
http://www.vegparadise.com

[66 Veg'n African Recipes:
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/african/

[Vegan Kwanza Feast (extensive, w/ background):
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/2280.html

["Tofu Turkey with Stuffing - vegan:"
http://www.pastrywiz.com/archive/tofu.htm

[Vegan pecan pie, no-tofu pumpkin pie:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/138154.html

["Tksg Top 10 Most Requested Vegetarian Recipes:"
http://vegetarian.about.com/library/holidays/blthankstop10.htm

[Vegan Holiday Recipes:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/recipes/messages/82468.html

[Veg Nog!:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/recipes/messages/82910.html

["Recipes For Tofu, Tempeh, Textured Soy Protein And Many Other Soyfoods:"
http://www.soyfoods.com/recipes/

["Holiday menu help is here for vegans and vegetarians:"
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/living/1068728220255
40.xml

[The Infamous Vegan Tofurky:
http://www.tofurky.com

[Matching wine with veg'n meals:
http://www.news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1221592003


RESOURCES:

[Top 10 Survival Tips for a Vegetarian Christmas:
http://www.vegsoc.org/news/1997/topten.html

[How to have a Green Christmas:
http://www.superpages.ca/holidays/winter_02/green.html

[Simplify The Holidays - Gift Ideas:
http://www.newdream.org/holiday/giftideanew.html

[ULS (42 Ways to Trim your WASTEline):
http://www.cygnus-group.com/use-less-stuff/ULSDAY/42ways.html

[Recycled Christmas Gifts, Decorations, and More:
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Tree/tree.htm

[Vegan Shopping Guide (superb collection of links):
http://www.veganconnection.com/where.htm

[Simplify the Holidays Brochure:
http://www.newdream.org/holiday/simplify.pdf

["PETA Mall is the most comprehensive online shopping mall for the caring
consumer, featuring animal-friendly apparel, cruelty-free gifts, health and
beauty essentials tested on people (not animals), vegan foods from around
the world, and more!"
http://www.petamall.com/index.html

[Ancient Origins of the Solstice & Some Holidays:
http://www.candlegrove.com/solstice.html


************************************************
*03:  Global Warming is Real, Ocean & Urban Activists Honored
************************************************
THERE'S NO DOUBT GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL, SAY U.S. EXPERTS: 12/04/03:
(Reuters, Washington): "There can be no doubt that global warming is real
and is being caused by people, two top U.S. government climate experts
said.  Industrial emissions are a leading cause, they say, contradicting
critics, already in the minority, who argue that climate change could be
caused by mostly natural forces.

"The likely result is more frequent heat waves, droughts, extreme
precipitation events, and related impacts, e.g., wildfires, heat stress,
vegetation changes, and sea-level rise," they added in a commentary
published in Friday's issue of the journal Science. The United States has
balked at signing international treaties to reduce climate-changing
emissions, but the two experts said global cooperation is key.

"Climate change is truly a global issue, one that may prove to be
humanity's greatest challenge," they wrote. "It is very unlikely to be
adequately addressed without greatly improved international cooperation and
action."

[Edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-12-04/s_10994.asp


COUSTEAU HONORED WITH FIRST EVER "OCEAN HERO" AWARD: 12/04/03: (CA):
"Jean-Michel Cousteau, founder of Ocean Futures Society and a
world-renowned advocate for ocean protection, has received the first ever
"Ocean Hero" Award from Oceana for "defending the world ocean" and
"inspiring people around the globe." The Oceana "Ocean Hero" Award will be
presented annually to an individual who has displayed a profound dedication
and effort in defending our oceans."

[Edited from:
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1366D000000F9391442668152
FD9B

[For more info about Oceana:
http://www.oceana.org/


PIONEERING URBAN ACTIVIST WINS MAJOR AWARD: 12/02/03: (Pittsburgh): "Peggy
M. Shepard honored for pioneering urban activism against environmental
injustice. An environmental crusader who fought inner-city ecological
hazards through grassroots advocacy and determined leadership has been
selected to receive the Heinz Award for the Environment, one of the largest
individual achievement prizes in the world. Peggy Shepard, the founder and
executive director of West Harlem Environmental Action and a tireless
champion for the quality of life within urban America, is one of five
notable recipients of the $250,000 awards, presented in five categories by
the Heinz Family Foundation.

"Peggy Shepard raised her voice - and later a veritable army - against a
systemic form of racism that wittingly or not, sacrifices the environmental
health of poor urban areas," said Teresa Heinz, chairman of the Heinz
Family Foundation. "Today, the systematic nature of the environment and ill
health have made all of us, and particularly children, claw and fight for
environmental justice."

[Very edited from:
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1366D000000F937CFAA708152
F813

[For more about the awards:
http://www.heinzawards.net


************************************************
*04:  Reducing Raw Food Risk, Mad Cow/Spain, CJD/Green Beret
************************************************
MAD COW DISEASE INCREASING IN SPAIN: 12/02/03: (Xinhuanet): (Madrid):
"Cases of mad cow disease increased by nearly 30 percent in Spain this
year, a veterinary official announced Tuesday.
Juan Badiola, Director of Spain's National Center of Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE), said the most affected regions were in the northwest
of the country.  Badiola, also President of the General Council of
Veterinary Schools, said a total of 127 cases were reported last year. The
infected number was expected to soar to 150 or 155 this year.

[Edited from:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2003-12/03/content_1211031.htm


"MAD COW" INFECTED GREEN BERET COURT-MARTIALED: 10/27/03: (Dallas Morning
News, Nancy Barr Canson): "KARNACK, Texas - Staff Sgt. James Alford can't
talk. He doesn't recognize his wife. His head shakes, his hands tremble.
In April, the Green Beret and Bronze Star recipient was sent home from Iraq
by the Army. But it wasn't because he badly needed medical care.  "They
sent him home to be court-martialed," said his mother, Gail Alford, a
former Army nurse. "They wanted to strip him of his Special Forces tab.
They wanted him out of the Army."

Army officials say they did not realize the 24-year-old soldier's
increasingly erratic behavior was an early symptom of the
difficult-to-diagnose Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. CJD is a fatal,
degenerative brain disorder that attacks the human brain in the same way
that "mad cow" disease attacks cattle. Staff Sgt. Alford was disciplined
and demoted. Although the Army has restored his rank and corrected what it
admits was a mistake, the Alfords - a family in which many members have
served in the armed forces - question how this could have happened."

[Very edited from the extensive article at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/102703dntexsoldierstory.1b17f.html


STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO GUARD AGAINST FOOD-BORNE ILLNESS: 12/10/03:
(Anchorage Daily News, T.C. Mitchell): "Last week questions from readers
arose regarding how to protect ourselves from contacting food-borne
illnesses. As was reported, there are no guarantees but there are a number
of things people can do to reduce the risks and continue to enjoy foods
they prefer to eat raw."

[For a complete list of steps and suggestions:
http://www.adn.com/life/story/4503365p-4481013c.html


************************************************
*05:  "Meatrix" Breaks Records, Birds & Towers, Buying Tomatoes
************************************************
"THE MEATRIX" BREAKS RECORDS!": 12/02/03: (GRACE): (NY): "Less than a month
after its launch, The Meatrix - the most successful Matrix spoof on the
Internet - has been seen by over 2 million individuals worldwide, an
unparalleled triumph for an online advocacy film.  The Meatrix has been
picked up by outlets ranging from USA Today, The Guardian (UK), the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and NPR to MichaelMoore.com, Utne.com
and AlterNet.org, and has been spreading like wildfire on hundreds of
blogs, message boards and listserves."

[Very edited from:
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1364B000000F938054BA2FAEF
D693

[The animation:
http://www.meatrix.com


THE REAL REASON BIRDS FLY INTO CELL TOWERS:
http://www.adn.com/life/story/4503365p-4481013c.html


SAGE ADVICE ON COMPARING TOMATOES: "A small boy was looking at the red ripe
tomatoes growing in the farmer's garden. "I'll give you my two pennies for
that tomato," said the boy pointing to a beautiful, large, ripe fruit
hanging on the vine.

"No," said the farmer, "I get a dime for a tomato like that one."

The small boy pointed to a smaller green one, "Will you take two pennies
for that one?"

"Yes," replied the farmer, "I'll give you that one for two cents."

"OK," said the lad, sealing the deal by putting the coins in the farmer's
hand, "I'll pick it up in about a week.""

[From: http://www.all-creatures.org/humor/comptom.html


************************************************
*06:  Veg'n Pet Food, Diet, & Resources - New Webpage
************************************************
[A special new web page has been added to the Mad Cowboy website.  It
contains a list of web addresses/text excerpts for information on "What's
in Pet Food?", "What is Rendering?, "Vegan Cats & Dogs," "Diets and
Nutrition," "Commercial Sources of Vegan Pet Food/Products," and
"Additional Resources:"

http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VeganPets.html

Some excerpts from the information available through this webpage:

WHAT'S IN PET FOOD?: ""Animal protein" in commercial pet foods can include
diseased meat, road kill, contaminated material from slaughterhouses, fecal
matter, rendered cats and dogs and poultry feathers. The major source of
animal protein comes from "dead-stock removal operations" that supply
so-called "4-D" animals -- dead, diseased, dying or disabled -- to
"receiving plants" for hide, fat and meat removal. The meat (after being
doused with charcoal and marked "unfit for human consumption" may then be
sold for pet food."

[Excerpted from:
http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/new_articles.cfm?articleID=500&journalID=58


WHAT IS RENDERING?: "Each year, at hundreds of plants in the U.S., more
than 12.5 million tons of dead animals, fat and meat waste are melted down,
most of it to become protein supplements fed to pets, chickens, cows, sheep
and other animals, the rest to make products ranging from gelatin to
cosmetics."

"Rendered cow products are used in a wide variety of consumer goods. As The
Wall Street Journal put it, "Processed cow fats are sometimes used to make
cookies and salty snacks taste rich and to make lipsticks glide smoothly.
Cow proteins show up in shampoo. Collagen, extracted from the inner layer
of cattle hide, is used to balm wounds and cosmetically puff up lips.
Gelatin, refined from cattle hide and bones, is found in such foods as ice
cream, gummy candies and marshmallows--as well as the capsules encasing
drugs."

[Excerpted (respectively) from:
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1996Q1/madcow13.html
http://www.emagazine.com/july-august_1996/0796feat2sb2.html


VEGAN CATS & DOGS: "Many vegetarians and vegans cannot imagine feeding meat
(and meat by-products) to their pets. But can cats and dogs be vegetarians?
With a little extra attention, most pets can be vegetarians. Dogs are
fairly easily converted to vegetarianism, while cats require taurine, an
amino acid usually aquired from animal sources. But, with the addition of
taurine supplements to the diet, cats too can be vegetarian.

In addition, there are all kinds of vegetarian pet treats and foods are
available on the Web, as well as sites devoted to alternative veterinary
medicine including herbs.  Check out the links below and your pet will be
well on the way to a veggie diet."

[From:
http://vegetarian.about.com/library/weekly/aa090798.htm


************************************************
*07:  Burger Queen, TV & Veggies for Teens, Eat More Oranges
************************************************
BURGER QUEEN: 11/26/03: (Edinbourgh, Fiona MacGregor): "Veggie burgers
created by a Lothian schoolgirl are to go on sale in supermarkets across
the UK.  Mhari Robertson, a second year pupil at Linlithgow Academy in West
Lothian, won a competition to create a healthy recipe as part of a schools
initiative run by Sainsbury's.  The prize in the Scottish Food Challenge
was �250 for Mhari's school and a trip to see her winning recipe cooked up
by chefs in Sainsbury���s kitchens.

But when buyers for the supermarket tasted the prize burgers they were so
impressed they decided to add them to the company's product range.  Now
13-year-old Mhari's face is to feature on packs of the burgers which go on
sale in Sainsbury's from today.  The recipe, which uses traditional
Scottish vegetables, is tipped to prove a winner with customers."

[For more article & the recipie (use egg-replacement):
http://www.edinburghnews.com/index.cfm?id=1305052003


HIGH-FIBER DIET MAY REDUCE COLON CANCER RISK: 12/09/03: (USA Today, Rita
Rubin):  "Reducing your risk of colon cancer might be as simple as eating a
bowl of high-fiber cereal and skim [soy, rice, etc.] milk for breakfast,
says a large study out today.  Cancer of the colon and rectum is the
second-most-lethal malignancy in the USA, accounting for about 60,000
deaths annually. Only lung cancer kills more Americans.

The new study's findings are fairly consistent with previous research about
colon cancer risk factors. Though it doesn't prove that cereal fiber and
non-fat dairy products protect against colon cancer, "it shows there's a
strong association here," says lead author David Lieberman, chief of
gastroenterology at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in
Portland, Ore."

[From:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-12-09-colon-usat_x.htm


MORE TV MEANS FEWER VEGGIES FOR TEENS: 12/08/03: (Reuters): Chicago: "The
more television children watch the less fruit and vegetables they eat,
probably because the advertising they see leaves them craving junk food
instead, a study said Monday. Children surveyed for the study who spent
more time watching television ate 0.16 fewer servings of fruit and
vegetables for every extra hour watched. That additional hour a day of TV
watching added up to one less nutritional serving every six days.

Heavy television viewing by children has been linked to eating more junk
food, getting less exercise and obesity, but this was the first study to
show that TV watching led to lower consumption of nutritious fruit and
vegetables, said the report, which was published in the journal Pediatrics.

American children spend more time watching television than engaging in any
other activity except sleeping, averaging 22 hours of viewing a week, the
report said. They are exposed to 20,000 TV commercials a year, or 150 to
200 hours worth."

[Edited from:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/parenting/12/08/television.vegetables.reut/index.
html


ORANGES KEEP CANCERS AWAY: 12/03/03: (Reuters): Australia: "Eating an
orange a day can keep certain cancers away, according to a new Australian
study. The government's key research group, the Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), found consuming citrus fruits
could reduce the risk of mouth, larynx and stomach cancers by up to 50
percent. One extra serve of citrus a day -- on top of the recommended five
daily servings of fruit and vegetables -- could also reduce the risk of a
stroke by 19 percent.

The Australian study, which was based on 48 international studies on the
health benefits of citrus fruits, also found "convincing evidence" that
citrus could reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, obesity and
diabetes.

Baghurst said oranges have the highest level of antioxidants of all fruit,
with more than 170 different phytochemicals, including more than 60
flavonoids shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and blood clot
inhibiting properties."

[Edited from:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/12/03/citrus.cancer.reut/index.html


************************************************
*08:  Tysons Ex-worker Writes, Pigs Sing to Moon, Alec Begs Pope
************************************************
FORMER CHICKEN SLAUGHTERER INFORMS TO EASE GUILT: 12/14/03: Pine Ridge,
Ark.: "In his dim trailer in the pines, Virgil Butler writes of killing.
He served in the American invasion of Panama and recalled killing enemy
soldiers at close range. That is not the violence that drives him to his
keyboard.   He is haunted, instead, by the nine years he spent slaughtering
chickens for a living.  In the chilled dark of a Tyson processing plant,
Butler, with eight other workers, killed 80,000 birds a shift.

Butler writes daily for hours. His words have electrified animal-rights
activists around the globe.  Veterans of the animal-rights movement say
Butler has done more for their cause than endorsements from actress Pamela
Anderson and former Beatle Paul McCartney. Lucy Kelley, 60, a cook in Mount
Juliet, Tenn., said she could respond in only one way: "I don't eat chicken
anymore."

His unemployment benefits, $112 a week, ran out last month.  Hoping for
help, Butler recently put a donations button on his Web site. He has
received one pledge of $75.  But even if he can't make a living off his
activism, he plans to keep writing.  "The more I've done, the more right I
feel about it," he said. "I have found my niche."

[To read Butler's writings:
http://www.cyberactivist.blogspot.com/

[Yahoo group he supports:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/activistsagainstfactoryfarming/

[Very edited from:
http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.chickins14dec14,0,2272214.story?c
oll=bal-nationworld-headlines


THE PIG WHO SANG TO THE MOON: Online Review: " Scholar and prolific author
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson burst on the scene as one of the foremost
contemporary writers about animals with the publication of "When Elephants
Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals" in 1995. "Elephants" was
groundbreaking, showing that non-humans of all shapes and sizes lead
complex emotional lives. The book became a New York Times bestseller.

With the publication of "The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional Lives
of Farm Animals," Masson makes a grand return to his previous lofty
accomplishment.  In "Pig," Masson covers all of the modern-day farmed
animals, devoting chapters to pigs, chickens, sheep and goats, cows, and
ducks and geese. His research is superb; whether you are a long-time
ethical vegan or a committed carnivore you will discover something you did
not know about each of these beings. Are you aware that a pig is easier to
house train than a dog? Or that chickens always know exactly what time it
is? That goats are funny, inventive, and love unconditionally?"

[Very edited from the reviews at:
http://www.homegardenreviews.com/The_Pig_Who_Sang_to_the_Moon__The_Emotional_Wor
ld_of_Farm_Animals_034545281X.html


BALDWIN BEGS THE POPE TO SAVE THE ANIMALS: 12/15/03: "Movie star Alec
Baldwin has written a heartfelt message to the Pope calling for him to
condemn animal cruelty this Christmas. Pointing out that the Catechism of
the Catholic Church directs people to treat animals kindly, the
animal-loving actor sent a letter to The Pope on Friday, calling on His
Holiness to consider the cruelties "inflicted on animals in today's factory
farms", and urging him to condemn them.

Baldwin also sent The Pope a DVD he narrated for People For The Ethical
Treatment Of Animals (PETA) about farm cruelty methods.

Baldwin wrote, "I am writing to ask that you exercise your moral authority
in a clear statement of condemnation of present factory-farming methods.
Your words would do a world of good for God's animals, who are suffering so
horribly on factory farms and in slaughterhouses."

[Edited from:
http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/0/7C99C1CB42743C3B80256DFD00745313!o
pendocument


************************************************
*09:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ACTIVISM:

[We The People Together in Peace:
http://www.BillionforPeace.org/

[Guide to Letter Writing:
http://www.peta.org/alert/tkit.html

[Utne Independent Press Awards Nominees 2003:
http://www.utne.com/pub/2003_120/promo/10914-1.html

[Marvelous list of links and resources:
http://www.austinanimalrights.com/Links.html

[Compassion Over Killing Restaurant Outreach Campaign:
http://www.cok.net/camp/rest/

[A Hunger-free World & Dynamic US Food Wasted Counter:
http://www.secondharvest.org/

SAFETY:

[The Fish-Eater's Cheat Sheet:
http://www.newdream.org/consumer/monterey.html

[Information on all government recalls:
http://www.recalls.gov/

["Pet Food Pocket Guide," (from PETA)
http://www.caringconsumer.com/page/petfoodpocket.pdf


************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise
Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*12:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch
thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought,
"doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit
more!"
- from "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," by Dr. Suess


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 31st Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

...and what an incredible New Year it's been already!  Mad Cow Disease in
the United States..... TAs such, the Mad Cowboy has been incredibly busy
with interviews since 12/23/03, when BSE in a Holstein cow was announced by
the USDA.  Even so, Howard's taken the time to write down his thoughts on
this predicted event as an exclusive, with his unique perspective on this
turn of events.

This is a SPECIAL ISSUE of our newsletter.  Among other things, it is a
little over twice the normal size, so we hope our many new subscribers will
realize that usually the Newsletter is smaller.  This issue is jam-packed
with Mad Cow articles and information.  Normally, we try for a balance
between different topics, with some emphasis on one or more.

Moving forward, you'll find a ton of information about various aspects of
Mad Cow Disease, pertinent info on MC in the USA, BSE's history/chronology,
what happened in Japan and Canada (and how it relates the the U.S.), on the
somewhat confusing science behind BSE & co-topics, and facts & figures on
the Economics of it all (and how this has impacted the Politics).  Plus,
there's a long list of links (Quick Bytes) on related writings and useful
resources.

Also in this edition, we've provided access to over 9000 online veg'n
recipes, in addition to links on veg'n nutrition, diet, and lifestyle.
Plus:  don't miss the photo of the Mad Cowboy with a Mad Cow!

As always, a nod of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read back
issues of the Newsletter at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Next issue:  pix of Howard being interviewed by the Tokyo Broadcasting
System, and more.

Finally, we wish everyone a happy (and healthier) New Year!

Stay warm and informed.... Mark  Editor/Webmaster


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  EXCLUSIVE:  Howard on "Mad Cow in the U.S.A."
01:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
02:  A Mad Cow Round-up of Articles and Information:
          -MC World
          -MC Science
          -MC Economics
          -MC Politics
          -MC Related
03:  Brain Rewards, High Steaks, Come & Get It!, MC/Mad Cow
04:  Toxic Salmon, Keep Walking, Vegan Food Bank, Animal Talk
05:  Over 9000 Veg'n Recipes, +Nutrition & Resources Info
06:  Mad Cow Resources & Quick Bytes
07:  Howard's Schedule
08:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
09:  Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  EXCLUSIVE:  Howard on "Mad Cow in the U.S.A."
************************************************
"In 1990, when I first started talking about mad cow disease, I never
thought that the USDA would risk the entire cattle industry to protect the
profits of a few corporations.  It seemed common sense that we had to quit
feeding slaughter house waste to grass-eating animals.  It is crazy to
continue a practice that is unnatural, dangerous and which consumers find
abhorrent.  Every country dealing with the mad cow issue has learned that
there are two things essential to restore consumer confidence.  You have to
quit feeding animals to your food animals and you must institute a wide
spread program of testing.  When mad cow disease destroyed the cattle
industry in England it also caused the fall of the Tory Government.  It was
plain that lying to the consumers was a bad choice.

North America acted like we were not part of the world and we could
continue to deal with the pending disaster with press releases and loud
pronouncements.

In 2003 the bottom fell out for Canada when they confirmed their first
home-grown case of mad cow.  They tried to assure a nervous importing
community that there was only one mad cow in their herd, but no one
believed them.  Cattle prices dropped like a rock.

The United States treated our northern neighbor like an ugly step sister
and we banned their cattle and meat even though we were their biggest
customer.  Millions of animals both live and dead, had crossed the border
in both directions, but we claimed that Canada had the problem and we were
as pure as the driven snow.

The US cattle industry jumped at the chance to take over the Canadian
export markets and we saw record prices for our cattle.  We filled our
feedlots with the most expensive cattle in our history and continued to use
the same practices that caused mad cow in Canada.  It is not hard to see we
were rushing down the same track as England and Canada and could expect to
suffer from the same train wreck.

On December 23rd the cow-that-spoiled-Christmas was reported to the world.
A Holstein dairy cow in the State of Washington proved what we professed
could never happen here - mad cow was in the US.

The USDA, FDA, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and a host of shocked
meat flacks started to spew the preprogrammed party line that meat was safe
and this was the only mad cow in the United States.  Within a matter of
hours our beef export market had disappeared.  Country after country did to
us what we had done to Canada and other mad cow nations, they banned our
beef exports.

Cattle markets in the US disappeared and the future markets went limit down
without a single buyer.  Containers of US meat on ships around the world
could not be landed at the dock and sold.  The entire cattle industry was
changed over night because of the appearance of one mad cow.

The USDA has instituted some limited response to the disaster such as
banning the slaughter of downer animals from the human food system.  This
was a response that was long overdue. A downer bill was defeated just
before Christmas in the House of Representatives by the Republican
leadership as a present to the big corporations who felt it was infringing
on their profit potential.  When this action came to light after the mad
cow was discovered it was just too hot an issue and USDA banned downers
from the human food chain as a bone to satisfy unsettled consumers.

The solution to the problem of mad cow disease is fairly straightforward.
First quit feeding slaughter house waste to our food animals and second
test the slaughtered animals for the disease.  Currrently, we have over 100
million head of cattle in the US and in the last thirteen years we have
only tested 57,000 animals for mad cow disease.  France has 11 million
cattle in their herd and they test 66,000 each week.  I believe in the US
we have had a "don't look, don't find" policy and up until the 23rd of
December, it worked.

If the cattle industry is to survive in the US we must start listening to
our customers both foreign and domestic.  They are saying loud and clear
the product is not as safe as it should be and until it is, they do not
want to be called customers.

I'm a vegan and eat no animal products so for me there is no direct problem
but I have family and friends that continue to eat beef. Their future is a
great concern to me.  I have many friends in the cattle business and I know
they are willing to correct the problem and they want to return to raising
animals as nature intended.  I pray we solve this issue without filling the
graveyard with our friends and destroying the family farms and ranches that
helped build this nation.  Treat this issue as if your life depended on it
because it just may."

--- Howard Lyman, 01/10/04


************************************************
*01:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"The United States uses more pesticides on this crop than any other.  What
is it?"

Congratulations to Rick Scarfe, of Elkton, MD.  He won the luck of the draw
from those who correctly answered:  "cotton."

[...cotton, when conventionally grown, is responsible for the use of nearly
$2.6 billion worth of pesticides annually-more than any other crop,
according to Pesticide Action Network North America.  These include
organophosphate and carbamate pesticides, potent nervous-system toxins,
which sicken agricultural workers and contaminate the soil and ground
water.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/organic_cotton_products.cfm

THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"People in the UK eat some 200,000 tons of this product every year, via
processed foods.  What is it?"

Please e-mail guesses with the word "contest" in your subject line by NLT
01/29/04.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*02:  A Mad Cow Round-up of Articles and Information
************************************************
MC WORLD:
USA:

04/01/13: "1/5TH OF U.S. ADULTS SAY MAD COW WILL AFFECT EATING HABITS:  One
in every five American adults (21%) say that fear of mad cow disease will
change their eating habits, according to results of a recent Wall Street
Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll.  Most (78%) of these
people say that they would eat less beef while 16% of them indicate that
they will stop eating beef altogether."

[Edited from:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040113/nytu101_1.html


04/01/10: "110 AT-RISK COWS LIKELY IN THE FOOD SUPPLY:  At least 110 cows
considered at risk for mad cow disease have been slaughtered and most
likely entered the food chain for human consumption, federal agriculture
officials said yesterday.  Those cows could have been exposed to the same
contaminated feed source as the infected Yakima County cow.  Consumers
should not be alarmed, however, because there is little chance those cows
were also infected or that the meat poses a human health risk, agriculture
officials said."

[Edited from:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/156108_madcow10.html


04/01/07: "DNA TESTS SHOW FIRST US MAD COW COMES FROM CANADA: The first cow
in the United States found to be infected with mad cow disease did come
from neighboring Canada, US agriculture officials said Tuesday, citing
genetic testing results."

[Edited from:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/07/content_1263444.htm


04/01/06: "U.S. MAD COW SAFEGUARDS BELOW JAPAN STANDARD, MINISTER SAYS: The
U.S. safeguards are not up to the level of those (in Japan)," Agriculture
Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei told a news conference.  Japan, which has
confirmed nine cases of mad cow disease since the brain-wasting illness was
first discovered in Japan in September 2001, tests all domestic cattle used
for consumption.  Japan, the No.1 buyer of U.S. beef, suspended U.S. beef
imports immediately after the December 23 announcement of the first U.S.
case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=721&e=1&u=/nm/20040106/
wl_nm/madcow_japan_us_safety_dc


04/01/05: "U.S. AGRICULTURE OFFICIALS HAVE DECIDED TO KILL 450 CALVES: U.S.
agriculture officials have decided to kill 450 calves in a Washington state
herd that includes an offspring of the cow diagnosed with mad cow disease.
Ron DeHaven, the Agriculture Department's chief veterinarian, said Monday
that the month-old calves would be slaughtered this week at an undisclosed
facility that is not being used.  USDA will not submit the calves' brains
for testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease,
because the illness does not usually show up in animals under 30 months of
age, DeHaven said."

[Edited from:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040105/D7VSVKJO0.html


04/01/02: "MAD POLICIES INFECT NATION'S BODY POLITIC: Perhaps the malady
should instead be called mad executive, mad bureaucrat, mad lobbyist, mad
cattleman or mad politician ....   Their past opposition to increased
federal testing of slaughtered cattle, which would add a few cents per
pound to the cost of beef, certainly appears "mad" in retrospect. Having
pursued short-term interests, the industry and its friends in government
face potential losses in the billions of dollars from banned exports and
falling prices.  Whether the cow in question came from Canada or the United
States will scarcely matter in an era of free trade and agricultural
globalization. What matters to the countries that have already banned
American beef imports -- and what should matter to American consumers as
well -- is how government responds to the crisis."

[Very edited from:
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=16215


03/12/30: "U.S. BANS SICK 'DOWNER' CATTLE FOR MEAT: The Agriculture
Department dramatically upgraded the country's defenses against mad cow
disease Tuesday, banning meat from all so-called downer cows and promising
to create a nationwide animal tracking system, steps long advocated by
critics.   These are "very aggressive actions," Agriculture Secretary Ann
Veneman said Tuesday, one week after the first case of mad cow disease
surfaced on U.S. soil in a Washington state Holstein slaughtered on Dec. 9.
The changes will produce more rapid testing of cattle for the presence of
mad cow disease, and meat will not be processed until test results are
back."

[Very edited from:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=514&u=/ap/20031230/ap_on_re_us/mad_co
w_155&printer=1


03/12/30: "MAD COW USA: THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS: In March, 1996, when the
British government reversed itself after ten years of denial and announced
that young people were dying from the fatal dementia called variant CJD -
mad cow disease in humans - the United States media dutifully echoed
reassurances from government and livestock industry officials that all
necessary precautions had been take long ago to guard against the disease.
Those who did read "Mad Cow USA" when it was published in November, 1997,
however, realized that the United States assurances of safety were based on
public relations and public deception, not science or adequate regulatory
safeguards. We revealed that the United States Department of Agriculture
knew more than a decade ago that to prevent mad cow disease in America
would require a strict ban on "animal cannibalism," the feeding of rendered
slaughterhouse waste from cattle to cattle as protein and fat supplements,
but refused to support the ban because it would cost the meat industry
money.

It was the livestock feed industry that led the effort in the early 1990s
to lobby into law the Texas food disparagement act, and when an uppity
Oprah hosted an April 1996, program featuring rancher-turned vegan activist
Howard Lyman, she and her guest became the first people sued for the crime
of sullying the good name of beef. Oprah eventually won her lawsuit, but it
cost her years of legal battling and millions of dollars. In reality, the
public lost, because mainstream media stopped covering the issue of mad cow
disease. As one TV network producer told me at the time, his orders were to
keep his network from being sued the way Oprah had been.""

[Very edited from the superb & comprehensive article at:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17466

[Download a copy of "Mad Cow USA:"
http://www.prwatch.org/books/mcusa.pdf


03/12/29: "MAD COW: USDA URGED TO DEPLOY RAPID TEST: Critics charge the
USDA's system, because it tests so few animals, makes it unlikely more mad
cow cases will be detected.   Concerns about the possible financial impact
on the U.S. beef industry is driving the USDA's reluctance to implement the
rapid test, said Howard Lyman, a former rancher turned vegetarian.  "I
would bet everything I hold sacred if we went out and tested 5 million
mature and downer cattle (in the United States) we would find (more)
animals infected with (mad cow disease)," he told UPI.  Both a former USDA
veterinarian and a current USDA veterinarian echoed Lyman's comments."

[Very edited from an excellent, detailed article at:
http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/hb/news/article/0,,comtex_2003_12
_29_up_0000-3398-~dsthealthcare_01~ew~xml,00.html


03/12/27:  "PUBLIC LIKELY ATE SUSPECT COW MEAT: Northwest residents
probably have eaten meat from a Holstein with mad cow disease, agriculture
officials said Friday, as several grocery chains recalled specific kinds of
beef that could contain the cow's meat. Also Friday, a U.S. Department of
Agriculture spokesman said the sick cow's discovery was partly luck:
Another of the 20 cows being slaughtered at Vern's Moses Lake Meats on Dec.
9 was acting strangely, so inspectors sent tissue from all 20 cows for
testing, Daniel Puzo said. Those tests showed the disease instead affected
the Holstein, whose only notable injury came while giving birth. "It's very
ironic, actually," Puzo said."

[Edited from:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/107253027911
210.xml


03/12/27: "COW PARTS USED IN CANDLES, SOAPS RECALLED: Cow parts --
including hooves, bones, fat and innards -- are used in everything from
hand cream and antifreeze, to poultry feed and gardening soils.  ...federal
inspectors are concentrating on byproducts from the tainted Holstein, which
might have gone to a half-dozen distributors in the Northwest, said Dalton
Hobbs, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. ..."renderers,"
[take] what is left of the cow after it is slaughtered and boils it down
into tallow, used for candles, lubricants and soaps, and bone meal used in
fertilizer and animal feed."

[Very edited from:
http://www.local6.com/news/2727658/detail.html


03/12/26: "FIRST CASE SHAKES THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BEEF PRODUCER: Rocked by
the discovery of its first case of BSE and facing the collapse of its beef
markets, the United States government came under further fire from
scientists and agricultural experts yesterday. They said the lax oversight
of the powerful cattle industry had made the arrival of BSE a virtual
inevitability in the land of burgers and rib-eye steaks.  A shaken country
reacted alternately with alarm, fear and defiance to the arrival of a
disease many had assumed was a strictly foreign phenomenon. In industry
circles, the Washington Holstein was quickly dubbed "the cow that stole
Christmas".

Stanley Prusiner, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work on
prions, the rogue proteins believed to be at the root of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, said he had warned the Bush administration six weeks ago
that an outbreak of BSE in the world's biggest beef producer was "just a
matter of time". He told the New York Times that the administration had
been "wilfully blind" to the threat, and that there was no way of knowing
how widespread the problem was because so few animals were being tested."

[Very edited from:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=476091


03/12/26: "USDA WEIGHS MORE, FASTER MAD-COW TESTS: [USDA] officials
declined to say exactly what they would recommend, but they acknowledged
that European and Japanese regulators screen millions of animals using
tests that take only three hours -- fast enough to stop diseased carcasses
from being cut up for food.  American inspectors have tested fewer than
30,000 of the roughly 300 million animals slaughtered in the last nine
years, and they get results days or weeks later.   But the American system
was never intended to keep sick animals from reaching the public's
refrigerators, said Dr. Ron DeHaven, the Agriculture Department's chief
veterinarian.   It is "a surveillance system, not a food-safety test," he
said.

[Very edited from:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/12/26/MNGRB3UMTV1.DTL


03/12/24: "LABORATORY BACKLOG DELAYED USDA TEST FOR MAD COW:  A tissue
sample from a Washington state dairy cow sat in a federal laboratory for a
week before it was tested and diagnosed as mad cow disease because of a
backlog of samples, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday. The
USDA defended the length of time it took to diagnose the disease. Despite
the existence of mad cow tests that take only a few hours, the USDA uses a
diagnostic test that can take as long as five days to complete."

[Very edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20031224/
sc_nm/madcow_usda_tests_dc


CANADA:----------------------------------------------------------------

04/01/06:  "MAD COW IN CANADA & USA TIMELINE"
[Superb chronology summarizing 1992 to Jan. 6, 2004:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/madcow/timeline.html


03/12/29: "CANADA, THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN: WHAT'S THE BEEF? It was on
September 10, 2001, that mad cow disease began a crisis in the North
American beef industry. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture said it
suspected that the Holstein cow had been eating contaminated feed imported
from Europe. Japan had banned feed from Europe earlier that year but by
then it was too late. "People in Japan stopped eating beef," Ernie Davis,
an economist and livestock marketing expert at Texas A&M University told
CBC.ca. "That's when U.S. exports crashed," dropping by about $400 million
US in less than a year."

[Edit from the fact-figure-filled article at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/madcow/canada_us_japan.html


JAPAN:-----------------------------------------------------------------

03/11/04:  "JAPAN KILLS BULL SUSPECTED OF MAD COW: Japan confirmed Tuesday
that a bull it killed last month did have mad cow disease.  The
21-month-old Holstein tested positive on Oct. 29.  This is the ninth mad
cow case for Japan since the illness was discovered in the country two
years ago and its second in less than a month.  Japan was the first country
to find an infected cow outside of Europe."

[Edited from:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2319032


03/10/07: "JAPAN FINDS POSSIBLE NEW TYPE OF MAD COW DISEASE: A Holstein
bull slaughtered was confirmed Monday to have been infected with mad cow
disease.  The 23-month-old bull is the eighth case of the brain-wasting
illness found in Japan and is believed to be the world's youngest carrier
of the disease also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, according to
the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.  It also said the abnormal prions
found in the bull were of a different type from those of any of the mad cow
infection cases reported worldwide so far.  Cows examined in Europe for the
disease are generally older than 24 months.  The fact that the bull, which
was born after the first domestic case came to light, was confirmed as
having the disease indicates that there may be another route of
contamination, experts said.

[Very edited from:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20031007a3.htm


EURO:-----------------------------------------------------------------

03/12/29:  "A CRISIS FOR BRITAIN"
[Great summary of BSE in Britain and Europe:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/madcow/britain.html


90/05/16:  "GUMMER ENLISTS DAUGHTER IN BSE FIGHT: (retro-article): The
government has again attempted to reassure the public that British beef is
safe, despite growing fears over the cattle disease, Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE).  The Minister of Agriculture, John Gummer, even
invited newspapers and camera crews to photograph him trying to feed a
beefburger to his four-year-old daughter, Cordelia, at an event in his
Suffolk constituency.  Although his daughter refused the burger, he took a
large bite himself, saying it was "absolutely delicious".

2003 UPDATE:  John Gummer's attention-grabbing photocall rebounded
dramatically when in 1996. The government was finally forced to admit there
was a link between BSE and the human form of the disease, new varient CJD.
The EU banned the export of British beef, and the cattle market collapsed
as selective culls were carried out of cattle at most risk.  The photocall
became the single thing that is most remembered about John Gummer's
political career, and "doing a Gummer" has now passed into parliamentary
slang."

[Edited from (see the classic photo):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/16/newsid_2913000/2913807.s
tm


MAD COW CHRONOLOGY:
[Key Dates in the History of BSE:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2319032


MC SCIENCE:-----------------------------------------------------------------

04/01/12: "STUDIES QUIETLY RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT THREAT TO HUMANS: Below
the drumbeat of reassurances from government and the cattle industry that
mad cow disease poses no threat to public health, a small universe of
scientists working on a family of related illnesses are finding disturbing
evidence to the contrary....  Just last week, for example, the National
Cattlemen's Beef Association described mad cow disease solely as an animal
and economic problem - not a human health problem. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture and Colorado's own commissioner of agriculture have made
similar pronouncements.  Such statements, offered frequently since the
December discovery of a Holstein with mad cow in Washington state, spark
criticism from scientists and consumer advocates who say that the
government and industry are injecting certainty into a field where
uncertainty remains the dominant theme."

[Very edited from the comprehensive/information article at:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2569718,00.ht
ml


04/01/06: "MAD COW IS ONE OF MANY MYSTIFYING DISEASES: ...it's just one in
a family of 10 diseases discovered so far - five in animals, five in humans
- that are arguably medicine's most mystifying maladies. Most so-called
prion diseases are incredibly rare in this country, although one has spread
into deer and elk herds in at least 12 states, sparking concern about
contaminated game meat.  The United States spends about a penny per person
on surveillance for human versions including the classic CJD that hits 250
Americans a year and the "variant CJD" linked to mad cow-tainted beef, so
far not found here.  Britain, where variant CJD first appeared, spends
about a nickel per person on surveillance."

[Very edited from the detailed article at:
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-06/s_11748.asp


04/01/00: "NURSING NEW CASES OF MAD COW?: Last week, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) made several regulatory changes to safeguard the country
from mad cow disease following the discovery of a single diseased cow in
Washington state.  But the terrible irony of the USDA's ruling is that,
while people can't consume downers, calves in Wisconsin can -- in the form
of blood from downer cows.  In Wisconsin and throughout the United States,
many dairy farms feed newborn calves a milk replacer for several weeks
after birth.  As the name implies, milk replacer is used in lieu of
mother's milk. It contains a variety of ingredients, including whey (a
dairy byproduct of cheese making), vitamins, minerals, medications, animal
fats, and, in many replacers, cow and pig blood."

[Edited from:
http://www.thedailypage.com/features/docfeed/2902madcow.php


03/12/29: "SCIENTIFIC DATA OFFER NO PROOF OF BEEF SAFETY: ... while federal
officials' safety message was emphatic, the scientific evidence behind
those claims isn't as certain. Steaks and hamburgers made from beef muscle
haven't been shown to be dangerous, but some leading experts in Europe and
the U.S. say the risks of meat from sick cattle remain unknown, and new
studies have implicated muscles in other species.

"They are making these sweeping statements for which they don't have the
data," said Stanley Prusiner, the University of California, San Francisco,
researcher who won a Nobel Prize in 1997 for his work on the malformed
prion proteins linked to mad-cow and related ailments in humans, sheep and
many other species. Scientists have focused mostly on the dangers of cow
brains and nervous system tissue.  Today, scientists in Dr. Prusiner's
laboratory say they think it's inevitable that beef cuts also will be shown
to harbor mad-cow prions. Those tests are now under way."

[Very edited from the involved article at:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/noproof122903.cfm


03/12/24: "ROGUE PROTEIN LURKS BEHIND MAD COW: Scientists believe
spongiform diseases are the work of twisted proteins called prions. For
unknown reasons, when these proteins in brain and nerve cells misfold, they
induce proteins in adjacent cells to misfold and clump, too.  But unlike
viruses and other infectious agents, prions withstand ultraviolet light,
ionizing radiation, sterilizing temperatures and chemical disinfectants.
They don't contain genetic material, which means prions don't have a
biological target that can be easily attacked by drugs or vaccines.

Health questions range beyond meat, however... the FDA has stopped the
importation of cosmetic and dietary supplement ingredients containing
gelatin and other bovine materials from countries where BSE is a risk.
Blood safety is another concern. Last week, a Briton died of vCJD more than
six years after he received a blood transfusion from an infected donor.
Since 1997, all blood products for use in surgeries in Britain have been
imported from the United States. How the first BSE case in the U.S. will
affect those exports is unclear."

[Very edited from:
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20031224_1643.html


03/07/22: "CJD SCREENING MAY MISS THOUSANDS OF CASES: "Now people are
beginning to realize that because something looks like sporadic CJD they
can't necessarily conclude that it's not linked to (mad cow disease)," said
Laura Manuelidis, section chief of surgery in the neuropathology department
at Yale University, who conducted a 1989 study that found 13 percent of
Alzheimer's patients actually had CJD.  Those numbers might sound low, but
there are 4 million Alzheimer's cases and hundreds of thousands of dementia
cases in the United States. A small percentage of those cases could add up
to 120,000 or more CJD victims going undetected and not included in
official statistics.

The CDC says the annual rate of CJD in the United States is one case per
million people, but the above studies suggest the true prevalence of CJD is
not known, Manuelidis told UPI.  Diagnosing CJD or Alzheimer's is difficult
because no test exists that can identify either disease in a living patient
with certainty. The only way to determine the disease conclusively is to
perform an autopsy on the brain after death.  Unfortunately, although
autopsies once were performed on approximately half of all corpses, the
frequency has dropped to 15 percent or less in the United States. The
National Center for Health Statistics -- a branch of the CDC -- stopped
collecting autopsy data in 1995."

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/print.cfm?StoryID=20030721-102924-4786r


02/01/14: "USDA: STUDY SHOWS MAD COW PREVENTION IS WORKING IN THE U.S.: The
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released the findings of a
landmark study by Harvard University that shows the risk of mad cow disease
(bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE) is very low in the United
States. The report indicates that current protection systems have kept BSE
out of the country and would prevent it from spreading if it did enter.
"The study�clearly shows that the years of early actions taken by the
federal government to safeguard consumers have helped keep BSE from
entering the United States," said Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman."

[Edited from:
http://12.31.13.48/HealthNews/HealthNewsFeature/hnf011402.htm


MC ECONOMICS:-----------------------------------------------------------------

04/01/13: "U.S. SEES 90% DROP IN BEEF EXPORTS: The loss of export markets
for U.S. beef following the discovery last month of the first case of mad
cow disease in the United States will significantly lower cattle prices in
2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday.  In its monthly crop
report, the USDA said U.S. beef exports would fall by 90 percent this year
after virtually all foreign countries, except Canada, banned U.S. beef."

[Edited from:
http://www.iht.com/articles/124685.htm


04/01/05: "MEAT INDUSTRY SCRAMBLES TO RESPOND TO MAD COW FRENZY:
Meat-industry trade groups were scurrying during the recent holiday season
to coordinate key messages and media lists as they responded to reports of
mad cow disease rearing its head in the Western US.  "We're having to use a
triage approach" to answering media calls, said Janet Riley, SVP of public
affairs with the American Meat Institute (AMI), a processor group. Riley
said she has been returning calls to media outlets with the largest reach
first, and acknowledged that she couldn't have returned all the calls she
received. The volume of calls "was like nothing I have ever seen," she
admitted.  Key message points the industry was stressing revolved around
the safety of the US beef supply and the extent of efforts underway to
track down how the disease reached US shores, Goodwin said."

[Edited from:
http://www.prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=198740&site=3


04/01/01: "FROZEN FRENCH FRIES PREFRIED IN BEEF TALLOW SIT IN LIMBO:
Fallout from the mad cow scare in Washington state has hit the potato
industry, with more than $500,000 worth of frozen French fries -- prefried
in beef tallow -- held in limbo at ports.  French fries and other potato
products are prefried in beef tallow or vegetable oil by the manufacturer
before they are frozen and shipped. They are then fried again before being
served. Most products fried in beef tallow are exported, while vegetable
oil is used domestically, said Pat Boss, executive director of the
Washington State Potato Commission.

Potato processors and growers in the Northwest depend especially on Japan's
large export market. About 500,000 tons of fries or $100 million worth went
to Japan last year, Boss said. The other largest export markets for fries
include Mexico, China, Korea and Taiwan, all of which have acted to ban
U.S. beef.""

[Edited from:
http://www.local6.com/news/2737117/detail.html


03/12/29: "LAX RULES AND TESTING PUT PUBLIC, CATTLE INDUSTRY AT RISK:
Cattlemen and meat packers have fought calls for more frequent inspections,
and tighter feeding and slaughtering rules. Such measures have long been
identified as necessary to fully protect U.S. beef.  The laissez-faire
approach to inspections and opposition to regulations might help cattlemen
save money in the short run, but it exposes them to far greater losses over
time through damage to the reputation of U.S. beef. Already, U.S. beef bans
by 28 countries risk shutting off as much as $6 billion in annual exports.

The Agriculture Department tests only about 20,000 to 30,000 cows per year
out of a total of 104 million, or two to three per 10,000. Once an animal
is determined to be sick, tracking where it came from is much more
difficult in the USA than in other countries, due to the lack of a national
cattle identification system. Fearing that an outbreak could be traced to a
single rancher or feedlot owner, the industry has resisted efforts to
easily track cattle as they journey through multiple owners from birth to
slaughter."

[Very edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=679&ncid=742&e=1&u=/usatoday/200
31229/cm_usatoday/laxrulesandtestingputpubliccattleindustryatrisk


03/12/24: "MAJOR MARKETS BAN U.S. BEEF: The three largest importers of U.S.
beef were among more than a dozen countries that halted imports - the
source of billions of dollars of sales for U.S. cattlemen. Early Thursday,
China became the latest country to ban U.S. beef imports. Some countries
stressed their bans were temporary, until the extent and scope of any
infection is confirmed.  Others, like Taiwan and Singapore, emphasized if
the outbreak is confirmed, they will ban U.S. beef for six to seven years,
given the long incubation period for the disease, also known as bovine
spongiform encephalopathy or BSE.   Canada announced a limited ban, halting
imports of some processed beef products but allowing dairy products, live
cattle and boneless beef from cattle 30 months of age or younger at
slaughter."

Since BSE was first identified in 1986 in Britain, cases of the disease
have been reported from Europe to Asia, prompting massive destruction of
herds and devastating the European beef industry.  Countries declaring
temporary bans on U.S. beef this week also included Thailand, Malaysia,
Russia, South Africa, Jamaica, Chile and Hong Kong - as well as Brazil and
Australia, beef-producing-countries that st and to gain economically from
the ban."

[Very edited, with many financials and useful stats/history from:
http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/12/24/296700-ap.html


03/12/24: "MAD COW TO WEIGH ON GRAIN FUTURES: Corn and soy complex futures
at the Chicago Board of Trade are expected to open sharply lower Wednesday
following the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in Washington state,
analysts say.  The expected weakness in both the markets is likely to drag
down wheat futures, the analysts said.  "They are going to open
significantly lower," said grains analyst Joe Victor of brokerage Allendale
Inc., adding that detection of the disease would hit hard livestock futures
at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. "Cattle is the number one consumer of
corn, and the number three consumer of soymeal," Victor added.  "Meat and
bone meal is banned in the European Union, but in this country we use 3
million tonnes each year to feed poultry and pork," [grain analyst] Basse
said, adding that a similar ban in the United States would boost demand for
soymeal animal feed."

[Edited from:
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/12/23/chicago.botfutures.reut/index.html


03/02/06: "MEAT GROUPS PROTEST PROPOSED FDA RESTRICTIONS ON ANIMAL FEED: A
coalition of agricultural organizations led by the American Meat Institute
(AMI) is arguing that no scientific reason exists for FDA's recent proposed
changes to animal feed regulations. In comments filed with FDA recently,
the groups said safeguards are already in place to protect the US livestock
industry from the threat of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad
cow disease).  In its comments, AMI said brains and spinal cords produced
in the US pose no BSE risk, and any regulations beyond those are already in
place would be redundant to existing animal feed regulations and could send
the wrong message to other countries.

AMI is a national association that represents meat and poultry slaughterers
and processors. Its members slaughter more than 90% of the cattle raised in
the US and process most of the rendered products produced in the US.
American Farm Bureau Federation, American Meat Institute, National
Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council were among
the 15 groups that signed the letter.""

[Edited from:
http://www.agriculture.com/default.sph/AgNews.class?FNC=sideBarMore__ANewsindex_
html___49333


01/06/00: "THE RENDERING INDUSTRY: ECONOMIC IMPACT OF FUTURE FEEDING
REGULATIONS: The rendering industry performs functions vitally important to
the livestock and poultry sectors: it provides an outlet for over 47
billion pounds of byproducts from meat packers, poultry processors,
restaurants, retail meat stores, and other entities. Visualize a 4-lane
truck convoy, placed bumper to bumper from Los Angeles, California to New
York City, New York, and that's the amount of raw material processed by the
rendering industry each year. From this waste, the rendering industry
produces nearly 10 billion pounds of protein ingredients, highly valued by
the feed industry. Also produced is a wide range of other lipid materials
used in various feed and industrial applications, which amounts to over 9
billion pounds."

[Very edited from the interesting study at:
http://www.renderers.org/economic_impact/sparks.pdf

[National Renderer's Association:
http://www.renderers.org/economic_impact/index.htm


MC POLITICS:-----------------------------------------------------------------

04/01/12: "SEN. BOXER CALLS FOR GAO STUDY OF MAD COW TESTING PROGRAMS: U.S.
Senator Barbara Boxer today called on the General Accounting Office to
study mad cow inspection and testing programs around the world and
determine which would be the most effective in the United States."

[Edited from:
http://www.senate.gov/~boxer/news/record.cfm?id=217069


04/01/10: "SEN. BOXER CALLS FOR COMPREHENSIVE MAD COW TESTING: Sen. Barbara
Boxer has urged Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to use her executive
authority to immediately order that all 35 million to 40 million cattle and
dairy cows slaughtered annually in the United States be tested for mad cow
disease. The Agriculture Department and the cattle and dairy industries say
that such testing, which could cost a minimum of $1 billion a year, isn't
needed, at least not after only one case of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy has been found in the United States. But Boxer said the
drastic step would assure the public that the nation's beef supply is safe
and get vital export markets for U.S. beef reopened."

[Edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/boxer011204.cfm

[Press Release:
http://www.senate.gov/~boxer/news/record.cfm?id=217011


04/01/06: "REP. MILLER PROPOSES TESTING ALL COWS: To protect Americans'
health and prevent further damage to U.S. cattle markets, Congressman
George Miller (D-CA) today announced he will soon introduce a bill to
require that all cows bound for human consumption be tested for bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as Mad Cow disease."

[Edited from:
http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/press/rel1604.html


04/01/06: "GOVERNORS PROCLAIM BEEF WEEK: Gov. Kathleen Sebelius had a
suggestion Monday for dinner: "Go buy a burger. Eat a steak." Sebelius'
lighthearted message was a serious suggestion that consumers continue to
eat beef despite the discovery last month of a cow infected with mad cow
disease in Washington state. The governor made the remark as she signed a
proclamation marking "American Beef Week." Sebelius said governors of
Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas all
signed similar proclamations to reassure consumers that the nation's beef
supply remains safe. Those states are among 10 that are responsible for
about 75 percent of the beef market in the United States."

[Edited from:
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/010604/leg_beefweek.shtml


04/01/06: "BEEF RECALL PROCESS DRAWS CRITICISM: Federal agencies have more
power to recall defective toys and auto parts than they do tainted beef,
according to consumer groups opposed to a federal rule that forbids state
health departments from disclosing where beef products from the Washington
state mad cow case were sold.  A 10,000 pound batch of beef that included
cuts and bones from a single infected dairy cow was distributed last month
in six states, including California.   Officials with the federal
Department of Agriculture said Monday they knew where nearly all the
recalled meat and bones had been sold but maintained that information was
considered proprietary and not available to the public.  Consumer groups
said that the argument was both familiar and outrageous."

[Very edited from the comprehensive article at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/01/06/BAG
JO443IA1.DTL


04/01/02: "THE COW JUMPED OVER THE U.S.D.A.: Right now you'd have a hard
time finding a federal agency more completely dominated by the industry it
was created to regulate. Dale Moore, Ms. Veneman's chief of staff, was
previously the chief lobbyist for the cattlemen's association. Other
veterans of that group have high-ranking jobs at the department, as do
former meat-packing executives and a former president of the National Pork
Producers Council.

The Agriculture Department has a dual, often contradictory mandate: to
promote the sale of meat on behalf of American producers and to guarantee
that American meat is safe on behalf of consumers. For too long the
emphasis has been on commerce, at the expense of safety. The safeguards
against mad cow that Ms. Veneman announced on Tuesday - including the
elimination of "downer cattle" (cows that cannot walk) from the food chain,
the removal of high-risk material like spinal cords from meat processing,
the promise to introduce a system to trace cattle back to the ranch - have
long been demanded by consumer groups. Their belated introduction seems to
have been largely motivated by the desire to have foreign countries lift
restrictions on American beef imports.

Worse, on Wednesday Ms. Veneman ruled out the the most important step to
protect Americans from mad cow disease: a large-scale program to test the
nation's cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy."

[Very edited from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/opinion/02SCHL.html

["Dale Moore Named Veneman Chief of Staff:"
http://www.reeusda.gov/nre/anr/spec20.htm

['Alisa Harrison Named USDA Press Secretary:"
http://www.usda.gov/aboutusda/biography/harrison.html

["Veneman Announces Key Management Positions At USDA:"
http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2003/02/0064.htm

["Veneman Press Secretary Butts Heads With Reporters:"
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/agweek/5893040.htm


04/01/02: "MAD COW MEETS BAD BUREAUCRATS: The good news last week was that
the mad cow discovered in Washington State appears to have been born in
Canada before the U.S. in 1997 imposed a ban on feeding cattle with meal
made from cattle parts-the means by which mad cow disease spreads. The bad
news is the Food and Drug Administration enforced this ban about as well
as-well, about as well as the Department of Homeland Security enforces the
immigration laws.

On Jan. 25, 2002, the General Accounting Office published a prophetic and
scathing report on the FDA's mad-cow performance record. [excerpt]:  "While
BSE [Mad Cow Disease] has not been found in the United States, federal
actions do not sufficiently ensure that all BSE-infected animals or
products are kept out or that if BSE were found, it would be detected
promptly and not spread to other cattle through animal feed or enter the
human food supply. . . . "

[Very edited from:
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=2725

[GAO study discussed:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02183.pdf


04/01/00: "REP. DENNIS KUCINICH ON MAD COW DISEASE: When Congress returns I
intend to introduce legislation that will: (1) Prohibit meat from downer
cattle from entering the human food supply;  (2) Test all downer cattle
using modern rapid quick tests (estimates range from 190,000 to 970,000
cattle);  (3) Establish a mandatory trace back system for all bovines;  (4)
Require mandatory recall of food products infected;  (5) Prohibit the
feeding of the remains of any mammal to any animals that humans eat;  (6)
Tighten the law on dietary supplements, which currently allow supplements
to contain CNS tissue;  (7) Require doctors and hospitals to report all
cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention."

[Edited from:
http://www.kucinich.us/issues/madcow.php


03/12/31: "SLAUGHTERHOUSE POLITICS: The simple fact is the meat inspection
system isn't any good and anybody who even attempts to stand up to the Big
Boy ranchers does so at his or her peril. Look what happened to Bill
Lehman, who throughout the early 1990s worked as a meat inspector at
Sweetgrass, Montana, a busy port of entry for Canadian beef. By his own
count, Lehman himself rejected "up to 2.3 million pounds of contaminated or
mislabeled imports annually." The reasons, according to Lehman, included
"pus-filled abscesses, sticky layers of bacteria leaving a stench, obvious
fecal contamination, stains, metal shavings, blood, bruises, hair, hide,
chemical residues, salmonella, added substances, and advanced disease
symptoms."

The revelations by Lehman, who died in 1998, drove the ranchers and their
USDA buddies nuts. They said he was a troublemaker and, because he thought
free-trade laws made matters worse, a protectionist. He was ordered to
retire, face being fired or transfer to another location. He retired,
saying he was "just tired of the whole thing." But he fought the USDA until
he died."

[Very edited from a "must-read" article re: politics at:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0353/mondo1.php


03/12/31: "IT'S THE COW FEED, STUPID!"  The USDA's much ballyhooed new
measures to address the emergence of mad cow disease in the US are wholly
inadequate. Until there is a complete and total ban on all feeding of
slaughterhouse waste to livestock, coupled with the testing of millions of
animals, mad cow disease will continue to amplifying and spread in US
animal feed and among livestock. Eventually we will see cases of human mad
cow disease emerging. It was a decade after the recognition of the first
mad cow in Britain that the human deaths, continuing today, began
appearing.

The USDA knew way back in 1991, more than a decade ago, that a feed ban was
necessary to protect human and animal health, but sided with the livestock
industry. In a 1991 report I obtained under the Freedom of Information Act
USDA said, "the advantage of this option is that it minimizes the risk of
BSE. The disadvantage is that the cost to the livestock and rendering
industries would be substantial." (Mad Cow USA, p. 149-150)."

[Very edited from the excellent, comprehensive, and disconcerting article:
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1231-07.htm


03/12/29: "REP. BLUMENAUER CALLS FOR IMPROVED TESTING, TRACKING....:
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) today called on Congress to enact
legislation to improve meat testing and tracking in the United States and
to prohibit the use of downed animals in the nation's food supply."

[Edited from:
http://www.house.gov/blumenauer/press_releases/pr365.html


03/12/26:  "THE POLITICS OF CATTLE SLAUGHTER:
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and beef-industry representatives
blithely assure the public that our food supply is safe. Yet the continuing
boycott of Canadian beef by the U.S. and some 30 other countries that so
far has cost Canada almost $3 billion makes that claim ring hollow.  If we
won't buy Canadian beef, why should other nations buy ours when the mad-cow
scenarios are identical?  [Our] Farmers continue to sell these crippled,
low-value animals for processed meat or hamburger...  The fast-food
industry - led by McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King - considers downer
meat too dangerous for its customers and no longer buys it. Three years
ago, the USDA banned it from the National School Lunch Program."

[Very edited from article by Senior VP of Humane Society at:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2001823293_madcow26.html


03/12/24: "GOP CONGRESS SCUTTLED MEAT PROTECTION MEASURE: Legislation to
keep meat from downed animals off American kitchen tables was scuttled -
for the second time in as many years - as Congress labored unsuccessfully
earlier this month to pass a catchall agency spending bill.  Rep. Maurice
Hinchey, D-N.Y., a negotiator who voted for the measure in the House, said
Democratic negotiators never had a chance to fight for the proposal. "The
Republicans, the leadership, shut off the conference, they closed it down,
and this is one of a number of provisions which were handled in a backroom
deal without the Democrats there and with only the Republican leadership,"
said Hinchey."

[Edited from:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1224-09.htm


03/12/23: "USDA REFUSED TO RELEASE MAD COW RECORDS: The United States
Department of Agriculture insisted the U.S. beef supply is safe Tuesday
after announcing the first documented case of mad cow disease in the United
States, but for six months the agency repeatedly refused to release its
tests for mad cow to United Press International.  The USDA claims to have
tested approximately 20,000 cows for the disease in 2002 and 2003, but has
been unable to provide any documentation in support of this to UPI, which
first requested the information in July. In addition, former USDA
veterinarians tell UPI they have long suspected the disease was in U.S
herds and there are probably additional infected animals."

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031223-103657-3424r


03/10/07: "ASSESSMENT OF THE FDA'S MAD COW PREVENTION INSPECTION RECORDS:
Even if 100 percent of firms in the U.S. were in 100 percent compliance
with the current feed regulations, consumers and cattle in the U.S. would
still not be fully protected from the risks of deadly Mad Cow disease. The
FDA must tighten the regulations to be consistent with those in the
European Union. This would mean removing exemptions that allow for the
following to be fed to cattle:
     * Cattle blood as a milk substitute
     * Poultry manure which can contain unconsumed feed made with cattle parts
     * Plate waste from restaurants
     * Pet food which is often fed to cattle after its retail expiration
date passes.
     * It would also be prudent to prohibit feeding cattle parts to pigs
which some science indicates may be susceptible to Mad Cow disease.

[Very edited from a comprehensive analysis:
http://www.foe.org/factoryfarms/assess.html


03/09/30: "DOWNED ANIMALS POSE THREAT TO FOOD SUPPLY: Mr. Speaker, to make
our communities livable, to make our families safe, healthy and
economically secure, we must deal with the issues of food safety. 76
million Americans are ill every year from unsafe food, 325,000 are
hospitalized, 5,000 die. Despite telling journalism and concerns from
experts in food safety and animal welfare, the cattle industry and some of
their key Congressional allies fight to continue allowing almost 200,000
unhealthy animals a year into our food supply. These animals are called
``downers'' because they are so sick they are unable to stand or walk. They
are dragged to slaughter facilities around the country, and most of these
sick animals end up in our food supply."

[Edited from:
http://www.house.gov/blumenauer/floor_speeches/fl574.html


MC RELATED:-----------------------------------------------------------------

04/01/13: "NONFOOD USE OF COW PARTS FACES REVIEW: ...federal regulators are
reconsidering long-held policies aimed at prohibiting importation of
products or ingredients with bovine tissue or blood from countries with
documented cases of the illness.  The products include vaccines,
nutritional supplements and cosmetics, all of which can contain ingredients
derived from cows.  Bovine ingredients can be found in several nonmeat
products. Many immunizations are grown in blood from calves. Some
supplements contain bovine brain or myelin -- the sheath surrounding a
cow's spinal cord.  And popular products to fight wrinkles contain proteins
from the tissue of cows. Fetal calf blood is used to create the cultures in
which viruses and bacteria are grown for vaccine development."

[Edited from:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/agriculture/story/8092123p-9024490c.html


04/01/12: "WHY ORGANIC BEEF IS SAFER THAN CONVENTIONAL BEEF: The FDA banned
the feeding of cattle brain and spinal tissue to cattle in 1997, but they
still allow the following materials to be fed to non-organic cattle:  Blood
and blood products (from cattle and other species); Gelatin (rendered from
the hooves of cattle and other species; Fats, oils, grease, and tallow
(from cattle and other species); Poultry and poultry by-products; Rendered
pork protein; Rendered horse protein; Poultry manure (which may include
spilled feed containing rendered animal products); and Human food wastes
(which may contain beef scraps)."

[Very edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/beef011204.cfm


04/01/12: "DEMAND RISES FOR ORGANIC AND NATURAL BEEF: What's bad news for
most ranchers may be great news for growers and purveyors of organic and
natural-fed beef.  To earn the organic label, cattle must be fed a strict
vegetarian diet of pesticide-free hay and grain, which means the animals
have no opportunity to consume the tainted slaughterhouse leftovers that
are believed to lead to bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Less than 1
percent of meat and poultry sold in the U.S. is now organic, but that could
change as consumers become more aware and demanding about food safety."

[From the following, with additional related links:
http://www.gristmagazine.com/daily/daily011204.asp?source=newtoday#5


04/01/04: "ONE COW, HUNDREDS OF USES: Gel capsules often are made from
bovine gelatin. Bars of soap probably come from processed cow tallow, which
is solid fat. Asphalt roads may contain bovine fatty acids. Cars and trucks
may ply those roads on rubber tires made with cow oils.  Even wars can
depend on cows. The explosive nitroglycerine is manufactured from
glycerine, which is extracted from cow fat.... cattle parts turn into
chicken feed, mayonnaise and sex hormones -- and the potential that
byproducts from an infected cow might transmit bovine spongiform
encephalopathy to humans.  Federal authorities insist that is not a
significant risk. The diseased Washington cow had enormous reach, it turns
out. The 1,200-pound Holstein was cut, ground and added to 20,000 pounds of
potentially infected meat in eight states, while its nonmeat parts might
have made their way into as much as 1.5 million pounds of animal byproducts
processed by Baker Commodities, one of the nation's largest renderers."

[Edited from from the comprehensive and disturbing article at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/107313519431
2870.xml


03/07/13: "ANIMAL RENDERING PRODUCTS IN MORE PLACES THAN YOU THINK:
Rendering plants take in a wide variety of source materials that include
parts such as brains, eyeballs, spinal cords, intestines, bones, feathers
or hooves as well as restaurant grease, supermarket rejects such as spoiled
steak, road kill and in some areas euthanized cats and dogs from
veterinarians and animal shelters.  Such source materials are processed at
the rendering plant into ingredients used in a number of products that many
people do not associate with animals. Such products include soap,
toothpaste, mouthwash, hair dyes, nail polish, photographic film, crayons,
glue, solvents, shoe polish, toys, anti-freeze, ornaments, pharmaceutical
products and cosmetics (including those not tested on animals).

[Very edited from:
http://www.rense.com/general39/animal.htm


************************************************
*03:  Brain Rewards, High Steaks, Come & Get It!, MC/Mad Cow
************************************************
"BRAIN REWARDS US FOR LAUGHING:  They say laughter is the best medicine,
and a new study may help explain how laughter makes us feel good.
Researchers report that humor seems to activate brain networks that are
involved in rewards.  "Humor has significant ramifications for our
psychological and physical health," he told Reuters Health. Our sense of
humor, he said, "often dictates if, how and with whom we establish
friendships and even long-lasting romantic relationships." Humor is also a
"universal coping mechanism" for dealing with stress, Reiss added.  Despite
the importance of humor, Reiss said that little is known about the brain
mechanisms that underlie humor."

[Edited from:
http://www.wapd.org/bbs/msgs/4004.html

[Original Study: Neuron, December 4, 2003:
http://www.neuron.org/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS0896627303007517


TWO CARTOON REWARDS FROM MARK FIORE:
[High Steaks:
http://www.markfiore.com/animation/cow.html

[Come & Get It!:
http://www.markfiore.com/animation/meat.html


SPECIAL PICTURE:
[Mad Cowboy and Mad Cow:
http://www.madcowboy.com/MCandMC.02.JPG


************************************************
*04:  Toxic Salmon, Keep Walking, Vegan Food Bank, Animal Talk
************************************************
04/01/09: "FARMED SALMON LOADED WITH CHEMICALS, STUDY CONFIRMS: Farmed
salmon contains far more toxic chemicals than wild salmon - high enough to
suggest that fish-eaters limit how much they eat, U.S. researchers said
Thursday. The culprit is "salmon chow" - the feed given to the captive
fish, the researchers report in this week's issue of the journal Science.
Many health experts urge people to eat fish such as salmon because it
contains healthy fats, especially the omega-3 fatty acids that can lower
the risk of heart disease and perhaps have other health benefits, too.  But
the researchers, as well as environmental groups, said the findings in
Science indicate that people should choose their fish carefully. They
should also demand that salmon be clearly labeled to indicate whether it is
farmed or wild so they can make informed choices about which fish to eat."

[Edited from:
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-09/s_11895.asp


04/01/12: "LIMITED EXERCISE CAN HALT WEIGHT GAIN, STUDY SAYS:  Overweight
adults who are not on a diet need only a small amount of exercise -- the
equivalent of a half-hour of brisk walking per day -- to prevent further
weight gain, a study found.  Participants who did not exercise during the
eight-month study gained an average of almost 2.5 pounds. But 73 percent of
those who briskly walked 11 miles a week, or about 30 minutes a day, were
able to maintain their weight or even lose a few pounds."

[Edited from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11676-2004Jan12.html

[Original study at:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/164/1/31


04/01/12: "WHEN ANIMALS SPEAK, LISTEN: "Mother Nature has fostered all
manner of societies, cultures, learning, gaming, altruism, deception,
cooperation, competition, industries, arms races and intelligence. Look
closely at any habitat and you can find daily dramas involving struggles
between predators and prey, elaborate courtships, covert copulations,
sibling rivalries, struggles for dominance, defense of territories and
many, many opportunities to arrive at a premature death. The same dramas
are played out all over the world in every environment, from the deep ocean
vents where microscopic life may have begun to the lawns and shrubs only a
few steps away in the backyard.

Communication between all of the earth's creatures makes these dramas
possible. Indeed, communication is the glue of animal societies. Without a
means of communicating, no life, including the simplest single-celled
organisms, could exist. Communication, like the tango, takes two. And it
requires a signal, which can be anything from the release of chemicals
between colonizing bacteria, to the come-hither flashes between male and
female fireflies in the backyard, to the "let's go" rumble of African
elephants, to the "signature" whistles of dolphins, to a dog barking simply
to be let outside."

- Tim Friend, a veteran science reporter at USA TODAY, attempts to unravel
the mysteries of animal communication in his new book, Animal Talk.

[Very edited from:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-01-12-animals-usat_x.htm


04/01/15: "THE VEGAN FOOD BANK is a non-profit agency that was created to
distribute food for those who are suffering from hunger and at the same
time help to minimize the needless suffering of animals.  We do this by
offering delicious meatless non-animal based products for human beings.
The Vegan Food Bank will be collecting donated non-animal based food from
manufacturers, farmers and suppliers. We then will distribute it to people
in need through care packages, food pantries, soup kitchens, child care
centers, homeless shelters, senior centers and other human service agencies
with meal programs.

Our goal is to distribute food to low-income households for preparation at
home. We also will provide groceries and fresh produce to dozens of food
pantries throughout Cities across America starting with Buffalo, New York
as we continue to open Chapters in other cities and towns as quickly as
possible. The eventual goal of our distribution is worldwide."

[Website:
http://www.veganfoodbank.org/


************************************************
*05:  Over 9000 Veg'n Recipes, +Nutrition & Resources Info
************************************************
NUTRITION:

[Veganism in a Nutshell:
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm

[Guide to Fast Food -- The Vegetarian Resource Group
http://www.vrg.org/catalog/ff.htm

[McDougall Wellness Center, Newsletter, Recipes, Info:
http://www.drmcdougall.com

[Dr. Joel Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" book, website:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/

[Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine:
http://www.pcrm.org

[International Vegetarian Union:
http://www.ivu.org

[Vegetarian Nutrition Resource List:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/pubs/bibs/gen/vegetarian.htm


RECIPES:

[Over 4600 veg'n recipies - searchable database:
http://www.fatfree.com

[Over 1800 vegan recipes - some in different languages:
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/

[Over 800 veg'n recipes:
http://www.vegetarianrecipe.com/default.asp

[Over 600 veg'n recipes:
http://www.recipesource.com/special-diets/vegetarian/

[Hundreds (?) of vegan recipes (well organized):
http://www.vegan-food.net

[Over 400 vegan recipes:
http://www.catteacorner.com/recipes.htm

[147 Tofu Recipes:
http://www.recipesource.com/special-diets/vegetarian/tofu/indexall.html

[Superb collection - links, info,  near 100 recipes, articles:
http://www.veganconnection.com

[Over 80 vegan recipes:
http://www.veganvillage.co.uk/recipes.htm

[Recipes from the Vegetarian Resource Group:
http://www.vrg.org/recipes/

[Bryanna's wonderful "beginner's" vegan recipes disc. board:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/

["Tofu proves perfect for variety of dishes:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=living&story_id=010704online_vegetar
ian


MISC VEG'N RESOURCES:

[Susan's astounding collection of veg'n links -- possibly the largest:
http://myhq.com/public/s/u/susanv/

[VRG To Award $10,000 College Scholarship - 02/20/04 deadline:
http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

[The comprehensive L.A.-based Internet Website:
http://www.vegparadise.com

[American Vegan Society:
http://www.americanvegan.org/

[Vegan Society:
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/

[International Vegetarian Union:
http://www.ivu.org

[Vegetarian Society of the UK:
http://www.vegsoc.org/

[For articles, books, resources:
http://www.vegan.com

[Vegetarian teens:
http://www.vegteen.com/

[Robert Cohen's amazing "Not Milk" website/articles:
http://www.notmilk.com

[John Robbins' influential and informative book:
http://www.foodrevolution.org

[Great Veg'n Discussion Boards, Articles, Recipes:
http://www.vegweb.org

[Famous Vegetarians:
http://www.famousveggie.com/

[Veg'n fun/humor/information:
http://www.vegetus.org/

[Joanne's recipes, vegan lifestyle, essays, discussion boards:
http://www.vegsource.com/joanne/

[100% animal-free products:
http://www.veganessentials.com/


ANIMAL ISSUES:

[Comprehensive links, jobs, info, articles, e-mail lists -- superb:
http://www.animalconcerns.org/

[The Farm Sancutary:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/

[FARMUSA - sign-up for the 2004 "National Meat-Out" campaign
http://www.farmusa.org

[On issues of Factory Farming:
http://www.factoryfarming.com/

[PETA - lotta facts, information, campaigns:
http://www.peta.org


************************************************
*06:  Mad Cow Resources & Quick Bytes
************************************************
MC QUICK BYTES:

["FDA Blasted Over Past Enforcement Of Feed Ban:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/154248_feed27.html

["Study Shows Prions Stick Around In Certain Soils:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/releases/8956.html

["100% All Beef Baloney: Lessons From The Oprah Trial:
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1998Q1/oprah.html

["Mad Cow U.S.A.: Could the Nightmare Happen Here?"
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1997Q3/mcusa.html

["Chicago Cattle Traders Seen Riding Out Mad Cow Storm:"
http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2003/12/26/rtr1191757.html

["Beware the Shape-shifter: The Trouble with Proteins:"
http://www.rgs.uky.edu/ca/odyssey/spring03/troublewithproteins.html

[1999: PBS "The Brain Eater:"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/madcow/

["Researchers Say Wolves Could Help Curb Wasting Disease:"
http://www.timberwolfinformation.org/info/archieve/newspapers/viewnews.cfm?ID=11
40


MC RESOURCES:

[European Union Current BSE Testing Statistics (all countries):
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/bse/testing/bse_results_en.html

["Mad Cow Disease" (excellent summary article about the topic):
http://www.enviroliteracy.org/subcategory.php/153.html

[Mad Cow Disease FAQ (PCRM):
http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed/PCRMHealthMadCowDiseaseFAQ.html

[Mad Cow Disease Fact Sheet (PCRM):
http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed/madcow_facts.html

[PETA'S Mad Cow Website:
http://www.beef.com/

[PETA's Mad Cow USA Website:
http://www.peta.org/feat/madcowus/

[Download a copy of "Mad Cow USA:"
http://www.prwatch.org/books/mcusa.pdf

[BSE Resources on the Net:
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1996Q1/madcowlinks.html

[100's of MC-related articles, culled by Dr. Greger:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm

[Terry S. Singletary's Mad Cow Disease Discussion Board:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/madcow/index.html

************************************************
*07:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Feb 14: Sanibel Island, FL > 2 or 3 pm Place TBA, The Sanibel-Captiva
Vegetarian Society - Contact Joe Walsh: Sancapvegans@...

Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise

Feb 23: North Carolina State University -Time and place TBA - Contact Jared
Milrad: jpmilrad@...

Feb 28: Lincoln Center, NYC > "World Premiere: Peaceable Kingdom" -
Tribe of Heart: http://www.tribeofheart.org

March 11: Milwaukee WI > UW-Milwaukee 7pm - Place TBA - Contact Danielle:
almostharmless@...

March 19: Los Angeles, CA > Peaceable Kingdom - Tribe of Heart:
http://www.tribeofheart.org

April 04: Chicago, Ilinois > Peaceable Kingndom -Tribe of Heart:
http://www.tribeofheart.org

Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*08:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*09:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"THE LATE ED ABBEY HAD IT RIGHT when he declared, "The rancher-with a few
honorable exceptions-is a man who strings barbed wire all over the range;
drills wells and bulldozes stock ponds; drives off elk and antelope and
bighorn sheep; poisons coyotes and prairie dogs; shoots eagles, bears, and
cougars on sight; supplants the native grasses with tumbleweed, snakeweed,
povertyweed, cow shit, anthills, mud, dust, and flies. And then leans back
and grins at the TV cameras and talks about how he loves the American
West.""

[James Ridgeway, "Slaughterhouse Politics:"
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0353/mondo1.php


"LYMAN HAD NOT SAID ANYTHING KNOWINGLY FALSE ABOUT THE MEAT INDUSTRY, the
judge determined. "Every word Howard Lyman said was true," she wrote in her
2002 decision.  The typical person who had spent the past six years in
court might have celebrated his vindication at that point.

Not Lyman.

So when the headlines proclaimed what the industry said was not possible,
that mad cow disease had once again struck, Lyman was circumspect.

In his mind, it was hardly cause for celebration. "That's not my style,"
says Lyman, who has given up not only ranching but also lobbying. He now
lives in Alexandria.

If you ask him, he will suggest that we are looking at the possibility of a
terrible epidemic. "Do the math," he says. "Any scientist will tell you
that one mad cow tells you there are thousands more."

He says this quietly. The facts, he believes, will ultimately speak for
themselves."

[Ex-Cattleman's Warning Was No Bum Steer:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48469-2004Jan1.html


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 32nd Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

What with all that's been going on regarding the discovery of Mad Cow
Disease in the United States,
this issue of the Newsletter is still a bit top heavy, but it's not nearly
as big as the last one!

Herein among many things, you'll find out that the U.S. "downer cow" wasn't
a "downer," see speculations about BSE transmission through blood and milk,
the findings of a recent Japanese delegation regarding the safety of
Canadian and American beef, and a new report from an international
delegation of experts suggesting that further cases of Mad Cow Disease in
the United States are inevitable.  There's also articles on "what you need
to know about Avia Flu," how the Sugar Barons are attempting to thwart the
World Health Organizations efforts to combat obesity, and another reason to
eat more onions.

Reading onward, don't miss the Parrot with the 950 word vocabulary, how
falcons are helping the wine industry in California, adopting a Cyberpet,
some new contests/results for young adults to encourage animal
guardianship, answers to that pesky "Protein" myth, information about the
world's largest and oldest annual grassroots diet education campaign, pix
of Howard being interviewed, and some advice from the 94 yr. old vegan who
coined the term "vegan."

...and as always, a special nod of the hat to our new subscribers.  You can
read past issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Finally, our usual "Quick Bytes" resources/info section will return next
issue, there's now links to over 10,000 veg'n recipes on the Mad Cowboy
website, and if you check out the Home Page, you'll see pix of the "Mad
Cowboy" exhibit:

http://www.madcowboy.com

Stay warm and informed....... Best regards to all, Mark


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  Tokyo Broadcasting, Howard, and Caesar's Lunch
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  New "Mad Cow in the USA" Articles Round-up
04:  Avian Flu Facts, Modern Plagues, Sugar Barons, Obesity Costs
05:  Fool Proof, Trashing the Sun, "Super Size Me!"
06:  Eat Onions, Protein?, Iron/Red Meat/Diabetes, A Veg Diet
07:  Verbose Parrot, Falcon Scarecrows, Adopt Cyberpets, Contests
08:  The 2004 National Meatout Campaign
09:  Howard's Schedule
10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
11:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quotes of Note
************************************************

Lyman said that he had once been three hundred pounds, in very poor health,
and that vegetarians live on average ten years longer than people on
average American diets.

Bridget Chufo, from the "Healthy Performance Weight Loss and Wellness
Center" was also on, admitting that vegetarians live 9-10 years longer but
saying  that its because we have healthier life styles - we don't smoke, we
don't drink. (This news would come as a surprise to the our local wine
merchant who knows me and some vegan friends rather well.) She said that it
was hard for children to get protein from a vegan diet - as if lack of
protein, rather than heart disease, was a common problem in this country.

Lyman replied, "You can feed kids and you can feed them healthy with foods
that are out there, that are not full of saturated fat and cholesterol.
And, you know, you can get all of the protein you need on the vegetable
side of the diet. There is absolutely no reason to go out and eat meat and
dairy products. That protein myth is an absolute red herring."

Asked if he would raise a child vegan, Lyman said, "Absolutely. And I would
talk to them so that they knew why they were eating it. You know, it's not
only about living longer, it's about living healthier."

Then, once again sharing his personal taste for meat and milk, O'Reilly
said, "Yes, but it's also about quality of life. So if I was your kid, I'd
run away from home. I would go over to Mrs. Chofu's house."

To which Lyman, God bless him, smiled and shot back: "Well, If you were my
kid, Bill, I'd let you run away."

O'Reilly smiled and said, "Very good, Mr. Lyman." Then "You see, that vegan
stuff makes your mind sharp."

O'Reilly asked Lyman if he is an animal rights person, saying, "Now Mr.
Lyman, you realize that the whole vegan/vegetarian movement is tied in with
the animal rights movement, and that, you know, that alienates a lot of
people. They say these are fanatics and they put the animals above humans
and all that. Is that in your resume here? Are you an animal rights person?"

Lyman said, "I came from a ranch where I had 7,000 head of cattle. And I
will tell you today that knowing what I know today, the happiest thing I'm
able to say is no animal has to die for me to live."

[Howard on The O'Reilly Factor, February 2002, as quoted at:
http://www.all-creatures.org/aip/nl-11mar2002-lyman.html


************************************************
*01:  Tokyo Broadcasting, Howard, and Caesar's Lunch
************************************************
[On December 19, 2003, Howard was interviewed by the Tokyo Broadcasting
Systems regarding "Mad Cow" in the USA.  Here are some pictures and a
couple of digital videos of that event:

http://www.madcowboy.com/03_12_19_HLtbsPIX/index.html
[Don't miss Vegan Caesar:  ruler of the Lyman household.]


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"People in the UK eat some 200,000 tons of this product every year, via
processed foods.  What is it?"

Congratulations to Erica Stillwell, of Ballwin, MO, who correctly answered
"salt" and won the luck of the draw from those who guessed the same.

"Salt: Experts recommend that daily intake be cut to five grams, but in the
UK we eat 12 grams a day, despite salt's links with high blood pressure,
asthma, stomach cancer and liver cirrhosis. Most of the 200,000 tons eaten
annually is hidden in processed foods."
[From:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=476727


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"What is the single biggest source of refined sugar in the American Diet?"

Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT February 18th.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  New "Mad Cow in the USA" Articles Round-up
************************************************
THE MAD COWS COME HOME:  (01/17/04): "The world's response to arrival of
Mad Cow in the U.S. was basically a replay of what happened earlier to
Canada when BSE was reported there in May. A total of 43 countries have now
imposed bans on U.S. beef imports, including Japan which purchased $854
million worth in 2002. Of the top four beef buyers (Japan, Mexico, South
Korea and Canada account for 92% of U.S. exports) only Canada does not have
a full ban (Canada will accept boneless beef from U.S. cattle under 30
months year old). The final economic impact on the $40 billion U.S. beef
industry won't be known for awhile. Wisconsin alone exported live animals
and meat worth $194 million last year, much of it to Japan and South Korea.
Meanwhile, those U.S. farmers who had already switched to low-input,
organic, grass-fed systems reported unprecedented demand for their BSE-free
meat. Similar booms in natural grass-fed beef prices are being reported in
Brazil and Australia.

The fact that Mad Cow found its way to the U.S. was almost an inevitable
consequence of corporate globalization and industrial agribusiness."

[Very very edited from the SUPERB summary of what happened, what's going
on, and what should be done:
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=04/01/17/6341416


USDA QUIETLY DECLARES EMERGENCY IN WASHINGTON STATE:  (01/15/04): "The U.S.
Department of Agriculture has quietly [retroactively] declared an
"extraordinary emergency" because of the discovery of a Holstein infected
with mad cow disease in Washington state - a move that will give federal
officials additional authority to quarantine herds and destroy cattle. The
declaration was published Monday [01/06/04] in the Federal Register, a
daily publication of all rules, regulations and notices issued by the
federal government. Other than the Federal Register notice, the department
made no public announcement an emergency had been declared.

"It's not a big deal," Jim Rogers, a spokesman for the department, said
Thursday. But others said it appeared the emergency declaration was handled
quietly so as not to alarm the public or raise further concerns with the
dozens of nations that have banned U.S. beef imports since the first-ever
case of mad cow disease in the United States was confirmed two days before
Christmas."

[Very edited from:
http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/1121204p-7799603c.html

[Actual "Declaration of Extraordinary Emergency:"
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/200
4/04-623.htm


UPI EXCLUSIVE: NO MAD COW TESTS IN WASHINGTON:  (01/15/04): UPI EXCLUSIVE:
"No Mad Cow Tests In Wash.: Federal agriculture officials did not test any
commercial cattle for mad cow disease through the first seven months of
2003 in Washington state -- where the first U.S. case of the disease was
detected last month -- according to records obtained by United Press
International. In addition, no mad cow tests were conducted during the
two-year period at any of the six federally registered slaughterhouses in
Washington state. The testing records, obtained by UPI under the Freedom of
Information Act, which the USDA delayed releasing for six months, also show
a number of other gaps in the agency's national surveillance strategy for
mad cow disease....

The records show after May and through July, however, no commercial cows in
Washington state were tested. "It's right near Alberta ... and everybody
knows a lot of cattle cross over the border from Canada into the United
States," Nestor [Government Accountability Project] told UPI. Approximately
1.7 million Canadian cattle entered the United States in 2002. The USDA
withheld the results for the tests conducted in 2003 in the documents it
provided to UPI, but it said all were negative for mad cow.

[Very edited from the disturbing article at:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040114-041124-1470r


HOW SAFE IS BEEF? U.S. KEPT IN DARK:  (01/18/04): "Since the discovery of a
mad-cow infected Holstein in Washington state, our public officials have
been busy telling consumers that there is nothing to worry about. President
Bush and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman even made a point of serving
beef at their holiday tables. But given how little we know about the scope
of the contamination and the nature of the disease, such gestures are
little more than acts of faith, not demonstrations of safety. The evidence
that could demonstrate the safety -- or absence thereof -- of U.S. beef is
in large part not being revealed by U.S. officials, and in some cases isn't
even being collected.  For starters, the Department of Agriculture -- a
conflicted agency charged with simultaneously promoting the consumption of,
and protecting consumers from, U.S. beef -- has yet to give us a
transparent definition of what "safe" means when it comes to transmission
of this brain-wasting disease, also known as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE), to humans.

Does "safe" mean there's no risk of contracting the disease, or merely a
relatively small risk? What information is being used to determine the
difference? Answers to these questions would first require an estimate of
the number of cattle infected. This is not a number the USDA has released.
..... consumers -- and researchers -- would benefit from better information
about exactly how BSE is transmitted from cow to human.

U.S. officials have consistently discounted and downplayed these indirect
[non-beef consumption] avenues. In the Washington Post article on Dec. 23
that first reported the U.S. BSE-infection, Veneman was quoted as saying
that BSE is "not known to be transmitted" through the consumption of these
non-beef products. The secretary's statement is extremely misleading and
gives consumers the mistaken impression that there is no risk associated
with eating these foods. BSE is neither known nor not known to be
transmitted through non-beef products. The truth is we have no idea.

Secretary Veneman and the beef industry have been quick to act on a handful
of long-overdue, common-sense reforms. However, it's an outrage that
there's no such urgency when it comes to collecting and releasing vital
information that will allow the American public to make informed choices
about the foods we eat. The American people deserve hard evidence and
policy changes made in their best interests."

[Very very edited from the excellent essay at:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/8123078p-9055134c.html


"UNFAIR" BANS ON U.S. BEEF MIRROR ACTIONS TAKEN HERE:  (01/17/04):
"Continued high consumer confidence in the USA can't cushion the economic
blow caused by bans that more than 40 countries have imposed on U.S. beef.
While exports make up just 10% of U.S. beef sales, that translates into
well over $3.6 billion a year for the world's biggest beef producer.
Already, beef prices have plummeted by 19% since last month.

In a campaign to lift the bans, the U.S. government says it has taken
adequate steps to ensure that the one mad cow case remains an isolated
incident. However its arguments are undercut by its own history of banning
other countries' beef at the first appearance of the disease, then
retaining the bans even in the face of far tougher steps than the U.S. has
taken so far. Japan's beef, for example, is still banned in spite of the
world's most rigorous testing.

Such actions open the U.S. to charges of hypocrisy and invite a similarly
arbitrary response from trading partners now that the U.S. is suffering its
own mad cow problem.  Yet instead of embracing stringent standards adopted
by other countries as a model for world trade, the U.S. is pushing its own
looser standards as the basis for new global guidelines. "

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=679&ncid=742&e=1&u=/usatoday/200
40115/cm_usatoday/unfairbansonusbeefmirroractionstakenhere


ACTION URGED TO STOP HUMAN 'MAD COW' IN UK BLOOD:  (01/16/04):  "In a
letter published in the British Medical Journal, a senior member of the
UK's Medical Research Council calls for urgent action to prevent the spread
of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) -- the human form of mad cow
disease -- through blood transfusions.  Last month, UK health secretary
John Reid announced the first case of vCJD that is believed to have to have
occurred through blood donation.  In light of this event, Dr. Sheila M.
Bird, a statistician with the MRC, emphasizes that "we now need to take
steps" to spell out the rights and responsibilities of people who have
received blood and blood products that were possibly contaminated with
vCJD, as well as those of the rest of the population.

In her letter, Dr. Bird outlines several steps that can be taken to prevent
further human-to-human spread of vCJD....  Until more is known about
bloodborne transmission, she concludes, "we must hope for the best and
protect against the worst."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4150456

[Their source: BMJ  2004;328:118-119 (17 January)
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7432/118


MAD COW IN MILK?:  "The one dairy cow infected with Mad Cow Disease from a
Washington herd, whose milk was pooled with 3,000 others from that same
herd, had the potential to infect every American thousands of times over.
Her "pooled" milk was distributed on the West Coast. Her infected milk was
made into cheese and butter and ice cream, and shipped from the West Coast
to the East Coast, and to all points"

[From the Robert Cohen essay building on the above BMJ Editorial:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/1530


BEEF ENJOYMENT AD CAMPAIGN REACHES TARGET:  (01/28/04):  "A [$5.5 million]
television and print enjoyment campaign, funded by the $1-per-head beef
checkoff and designed to fuel consumer passion for beef, is reaching the
target audience.  According to recent research conducted by Hall and
Partners of Chicago, 63 percent of consumers who saw the ads not only liked
them, but were more likely to buy more and spend more on beef after seeing
them... 72 percent consider beef the best protein when they have seen the
ads versus 48 percent for those who have not seen them.

"We've always known that consumers are passionate about beef," according to
Jennifer Houston, chair of the beef industry's Joint Advertising Committee.
"These ads have an emotional appeal that has resonated with people far more
than we ever imagined." The attention-grabbing ads feature such headlines
as "No one ever left a cookout wishing there'd been more macaroni salad,"
featuring a beef kabob, as well as "Why aliens steal our cows," accompanied
by a photograph of T-bone steaks.  Both print and television ads will
return in March and May, and the enjoyment campaign will reach 91 percent
of adult consumers ages 25-54 a total of 11 times at less than a penny per
exposure.  Four enjoyment print ads will run in 18 consumer magazines,
including Good Housekeeping, Southern Living, Car and Driver, Family Circle
and Parents."

[Very edited:
http://www.beef.org/dsp/dsp_content.cfm?locationId=45&contentTypeId=2&contentId=
2460


NEW RESEARCH INDICATES HUMAN FORM OF MAD COW MORE COMPLEX THAN FIRST
THOUGHT :  (01/18/04): "New research suggests that the human form of mad
cow disease is a lot more complicated than originally thought, and,
potentially, much scarier.   Scientists have long agreed that eating cattle
tissue infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy - mad cow disease -
can cause the human form of the disease, known as variant Creutzfeld-Jacob
disease.  But recent animal tests indicate that eating infected beef may
also cause another form of the disease, classical CJD, forcing scientists
to re-examine assumptions about the nature of the deadly disease and
raising fears that it may be more widespread than previously thought.

The accepted wisdom has been that classical CJD has nothing to do with mad
cows. It affects older people, those over 55, and generally occurs
spontaneously at the rate of about one person per million per year.  It has
been confused with Alzheimer's disease and there is some concern that
because of misdiagnosis, it may be more widespread than the confirmed
numbers indicate.   The question is, could an epidemic of classical CJD be
lying dormant in the brains of people who have eaten infected cattle
products - specifically products containing brain or spinal cord matter?"

[Edited from:
http://www.canoe.com/CNEWS/Canada/2004/01/18/317283-cp.html


JAPAN: U.S., CANADA BEEF PRONE TO DISEASE :  (01/19/04):  "A Japanese team
that returned Monday from a mission to investigate the United States' first
confirmed case of mad cow disease warned that American and Canadian cows
were still vulnerable to an outbreak of the illness.   Japan, the world's
largest customer for U.S. beef, banned imports from the United States last
month after the mad cow case was discovered. Canadian beef was banned seven
months earlier when a case of the illness was detected there.

Both Washington and Ottawa are pressing Japan to drop the bans, arguing
that their beef products are safe, but the findings of the 11-day Japanese
mission to the United States and Canada advised caution. "It cannot be
guaranteed that there will not be a recurrence of BSE in the United
States,'' the five-member team said in its report.

The report cited the close links between the two North American countries'
beef industries. The United States imposed restrictions on Canadian cattle
and beef after the case was discovered there in May. While acknowledging
the safety measures implemented by the United States and Canada, the team
concluded that the threat of further infections remained, Agriculture
Ministry representative Shukichi Kugita said. "U.S. safety measures
compared to those of Japan are inadequate,'' he said, citing the continued
use of feed containing protein or bone meal.

``The threat of cross-contamination remains because such feed can
inadvertently get mixed up on farms,'' Kugita said. "

[Edited from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3642320,00.html


MAD COW ON PORTUGESE ISLANDS:  (02/04/04):  "Health authorities on
Portugal's mid-Atlantic Azores islands have confirmed a case of mad cow
disease in the offspring of an animal imported from Germany. The Lusa news
agency today reported the disease was discovered during a routine test of
cattle last month on Sao Miguel, the largest and most populated island in
the nine-island archipelago, and confirmed on Friday, local officials told
the agency. The sick cow, a 12-year-old Holstein-Frisian, was immediately
destroyed and all animals that came into contact with it would be
slaughtered, officials added."

[From:
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8580794%255E1702,00.html


COW'S 'DOWNER' STATUS COMES INTO QUESTION :  (01/23/04): "In the days after
the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that mad cow disease had been
discovered in a Holstein in Washington, officials insisted that the cow was
a "downer" -- unable to walk.   The government's most significant
subsequent step to prevent spread of the disease -- a Dec. 30 ban on
processing "downer" cows for food -- stemmed from that finding.

Now, three people have come forward to assert that the cow was not a
downer. While their stories vary on what happened Dec. 9 at Vern's Moses
Lake Meats, their accounts agree on a key point: The cow was able to walk
on its own.   The distinction on whether the cow could stand is
significant. The department's search for mad cow disease has focussed on
downed cattle or those with obvious signs of neurological damage. The
suggestion that the diseased Washington Holstein had neither problem raises
the possibility that detection of that cow's disease may have been a stroke
of luck.

[Very edited from the long and interesting article at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/107486283015
5530.xml


EXPERTS PREDICT MORE U.S. CASES OF MAD COW:  (02/0/040):  "More American
cattle probably are infected with mad-cow disease, and the federal
government needs to expand its testing program and tighten feed rules to
prevent the infection from spreading, a panel of international experts said
yesterday.  It's unlikely the single Holstein discovered in Washington
state is the only sick animal ever imported into the country from Canada,
and possibly Europe, panel members said at a U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) meeting.

Since none of the other animals was detected, their infected tissues were
almost certainly processed into cattle feed years ago, spreading and
amplifying the disease "so that cattle in the U.S.A. have also been
indigenously infected," says a report presented to Agriculture Secretary
Ann Veneman.

Panel chairman Ulrich Kihm, former chief veterinary officer of Switzerland,
estimated that one new U.S. mad-cow case a month might appear, based on the
experience of other European countries.  Though the rate of infection is
low, the government should consider several steps, including a ban on the
use in human and animal food of brains, spinal cords and other high-risk
tissue from animals older than one year, Kihm said. The panel also
recommended a ban on the use of all mammal and bird protein in cattle feed.

Consumer advocates praised the report, which they said validated many of
their criticisms of the U.S. mad-cow safety net.  Industry reacted strongly
against the report, and predicted the proposals, if adopted, would have
substantial impacts on everyone involved in the beef business - from cattle
growers earning less per animal to consumers paying more for less variety
at the meat counter."

[Very edited from - more recommendations and issues at:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001851143_madrecommend05m.html


************************************************
*04:  Avian Flu Facts, Modern Plagues, Sugar Barons, Obesity Costs
************************************************
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AVIAN FLU:  (02/06/04):  "The current avian flu
outbreak in Asia is the fifth since 1997 to infect humans. This has raised
a red flag for infectious disease experts, who fear the strain could mutate
and spark a devastating flu pandemic -- a worldwide epidemic such as the
so-called Spanish flu of 1918 that killed at least 40 million people.  Here
are some of the facts about avian flu and the risk that it poses to humans.

What is killing the birds of Asia? Avian flu is caused by one branch of a
family of microbes called Type A influenza virus. (A different branch
typically causes flu in humans.) Until recently, scientists thought people
couldn't be infected by avian flu viruses, but in 1997 bird-to-human
transmission took place in Hong Kong, infecting a handful of people.  When
one chicken is infected, the virus can spread to an entire flock within
hours -- and soon kill nearly all the birds.

How do humans get avian flu? So far, all known cases of human infection can
be traced directly back to contact with live chickens. Infected birds shed
the virus in their feces; humans then breathe in the fecal dust. The virus
is not passed on in the meat or eggs, so there is no danger from eating
cooked chicken.

How deadly is avian flu to humans? Very. In the 1997 outbreak, also caused
by H5N1, 18 people were infected and six died -- a 33% fatality rate. By
comparison, the SARS outbreak last year infected 8,098 and killed 774, a
death rate of 9.6%."

[Very edited from:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_06/b3869071.htm


A NEW BOOK CLAIMS HUMANS ARE CAUSING PLAGUES:  (01/17/04): "A single case
of Mad Cow disease on a dairy farm in the United States last month has sent
shock waves through the nation's $175 billion beef industry. But as
journalist and veterinarian Mark Jermone Walters claims in his book: "Six
Modern Plagues: and How we Are Causing Them Mad Cow" is just part of a wave
of new global infections.  Walters says old diseases like malaria and
tuberculosis, once thought to be controlled, are re-surging. Others like
Mad Cow, Lyme disease, Salmonella, SARS, Hantavirus and HIV-AIDS the six
epidemics discussed in his new book - are imposing new public health risks.

"One of the points that I wanted to make in my book was to begin to get
past the old human archetype of [that] 'we are in a war against Nature and
if we don't watch out, Nature is going to victimize us,'" he added. "How
often we hear about human beings being victimized by disease as if we had
absolutely nothing to do with it. We have made changes to the environment,
to the ecology, to the natural systems that support us, that has caused the
emergence and spread of these new diseases."

[Very edited from the intriguing and interesting interview/mind-set at:
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=45DA03D2-9536-4860-A2B3432BD68BBC2D


OBESITY FIGHT HITS TAXPAYERS:  (01/22/04): "Obesity in the United States,
which affects nearly one-third of adults -- costs $75 billion a year in
medical expenses, half of it funded by taxpayers through Medicare and
Medicaid, a new study says.  "Obesity has become a crucial health problem
for our nation, and these findings show that the medical costs alone
reflect the significance of the challenge," said Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson. "We must take responsibility both as individuals
and working together to reduce the health toll associated with obesity."
Both Thompson and Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director, have declared obesity
a major health concern.

California spends the most on obesity overall -- $7.7 billion a year -- and
through Medicare -- $1.7 billion. New York tops the list in obesity-related
Medicaid expenses at $3.5 billion. Alaska and the District of Columbia
spend the largest share of medical expenses on obesity -- 6.7 percent.
Wyoming spends the least treating obesity each year, at $87 million.
Arizona spends the smallest share of its health care dollars on obesity, at
4 percent."

[Very edited from:
http://www.ajc.com/health/content/health/0104/22obesity.html


SECRET DOCUMENT SHOWS EFFORT TO STOP GLOBAL ANTI-OBESITY INITIATIVE:
(01/15/04):  "The Bush Administration made a secret effort ten days ago to
head off an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce the
worldwide incidence of obesity, diabetes, cancer and other chronic
diseases.  The effort came in the form of a letter from William R. Steiger,
Special Assistant to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to WHO
Director-General J.W. Lee. The letter recites arguments made often by the
junk food industry, which in turn echo the efforts of the tobacco industry
to deny a connection between smoking and ill health.

"The Bush Administration is putting the interests of the junk food industry
ahead of the health of people - including children - on a global scale,"
said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert, a nonprofit
organization that works to reduce the incidence of marketing-related
diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, alcoholism and diseases
incurred through smoking.  "If the Bush Administration is successful in
halting the WHO initiative, in the long-term it could potentially cost
millions of lives across the planet, in terms of needless deaths due to
obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and other chronic
diseases," Ruskin said.

[Very edited from the Press Release (check out the selected bits from the
letter & responses) at:
http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/category_id/5/subcategory_id/66/article
_id/213

[The letter sent to W.H.O. (1.7 MB PDF) is available at:
http://www.commercialalert.org/bushadmincomment.pdf


US SUGAR BARONS 'BLOCK GLOBAL WAR ON OBESITY':  (01/18/04): "Professor
Kaare Norum, leader of the World Health Organisation's fight to prevent
millions developing diet-related diseases, has sparked an international war
of words with a highly critical letter to US Health Secretary Tommy
Thompson. In it he tells of his grave concern over American opposition to
the WHO's blueprint to combat obesity. He accuses the US of making the
health of millions of young Americans 'a hostage to fortune' because it has
failed to take action over the fat epidemic as a result of its business
interests, particularly the sugar lobby.

The President insists fighting fat is a matter for the individual, not the
state. But today The Observer reveals how he and fellow senators have
received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from 'Big Sugar'. One
of his main fundraisers is sugar baron Jose 'Pepe' Fanjul, head of Florida
Crystals, who has raised at least $100,000 for November's presidential
re-election campaign.  The Bush administration, which receives millions in
funding from the sugar industry, argues there is little robust evidence to
show that drinking sugary drinks or eating too much sugar is a direct cause
of obesity. It particularly opposes a recommendation that just 10 per cent
of people's energy intake should come from added sugar. The US has a 25 per
cent guideline.

Thompson's representative at Tuesday's meeting will be Bill Steiger, godson
of George Bush Sr. He will argue there is no evidence that selling junk
food to children increases overweight.".

[Very edited from:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1125730,00.html


************************************************
*05:  Fool Proof, Trashing the Sun, "Super Size Me!"
************************************************
FOOL PROOF!
http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha012104.asp

NEW YORK DUMPING TRASH ON SUN:  (09/17/04):  "Again breaking new ground in
the field of garbage disposal, the New York City Department of Sanitation
(DSNY) is once more exporting its trash, this time into the heart of the
sun. The first lift-off commenced yesterday at 2:00pm Eastern from
LaGuardia Airport, and will make contact with our primary source of energy
in three months. Two launches a day are expected in the first year, ramping
up to three a day as operations become routine.

However, the new disposal problem has it critics, who point out that trash
off planet is still trash in the solar system.  "Don't turn our yellow star
brown!" chanted members of Save Our Sun (SOS) yesterday at the airport. The
environmental group was founded when plans for the interstellar trash
service were first announced.  "We all need the sun," said Micah Goldstein,
chairman of SOS. "Let's not pollute the sole source of energy we can't do
without."

The commissioner dismissed such comments as negative claptrap.  "Once we
fill up the sun, we'll convert it into a park or something," Doherty said.
"DSNY has a great track record in that regard."

[Edited and sanitized from:
http://www.noapologiespress.com/newnews/nytrash.html


ACTUAL FILM REVIEW OF: "SUPER SIZE ME":  (01/21/04):  "Following in the
footsteps of Michael Moore's work, "Super Size Me" is one of the new
generation of documentaries in which the filmmaker becomes the subject.  In
this case, director Morgan Spurlock had the bright idea that he would eat
three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's and see what happens. The
outcome is not a pretty picture, but thanks to Spurlock's oversized and
buoyant personality and some pretty nifty filmmaking, the results are as
entertaining as they are sobering.

Spurlock starts out the picture of health, a strapping 6-foot-2 and 185
pounds. Three doctors and a nutritionist, who reappear throughout, examine
him and attest to his well-being. But within a few days, he's vomiting out
of the window of his car. And it's downhill from there. Spurlock's body
goes through a general deterioration that surprises even his doctors in its
rapidity. (His girlfriend, a vegan chef, is beside herself.) Gaining weight
is just the outward sign; his liver becomes toxic, his cholesterol
skyrockets, his libido sags, he gets headaches, and he becomes depressed.

In between the daily journal of his gorging, often with supersize portions
of Big Macs, fries and soda, Spurlock interviews people on the street, the
U.S. surgeon general and a lobbyist for the fast-food industry. Not
surprisingly, reps from McDonald's do not return dozens of calls requesting
an interview. One of the most distressing stops along the way is at a
school in Illinois where kids are fed pizza, soda and sweets to their
hearts content."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=reviewsNews&storyID=4173861

[Supersizeme Movie Website:
http://www.supersizeme.com/home.aspx?page=drivethru


************************************************
*06:  Eat Onions, Protein?, Iron/Red Meat/Diabetes, A Veg Diet
************************************************
EAT YOUR ONIONS TO PROTECT AGAINST PROSTATE CANCER:  (12/22/03):  "A new
analysis of prostate cancer rates in different countries suggests that
vegetables, including onions, can help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer mortality rates in the US and Northern Europe are about
five times more than they are in Hong Kong, Iran, Japan and Turkey.
According to Dr Grant, animal products such as dairy and meat are the
strongest risk factors for prostate cancer. And vegetables, especially
onions, cereals and beans were risk reduction factors. The findings
re-emphasise the importance of including plenty of fresh produce in your
daily diet, and going easy on meat and dairy products."

[Edited from:
http://www.healthandage.com/PHome/gm=2!gid1=5333


HOW MUCH PROTEIN  IN YOUR DIET?:  (12/03):  "Widely divergent opinions on
whether more protein or less is best, and on the merits of animal vs.
vegetable sources, have been debated for more than 150 years.  And for all
that time solid scientific research has clearly supported the wisdom of a
diet low in protein - favoring vegetable sources.  So far, however, the
scientific facts have fought a losing battle against popular opinion -
which values high-protein diets based on animal foods."

"As Russell Henry Chittenden explained 100 years ago, "Habit and sentiment
play such a part in our lives that it is too much to expect any sudden
change in custom.  By a proper education commenced early in life it may,
however, be possible to establish new standards, which in time may prevail
and eventually lead to more enlightened methods of living..." The past
century of declining health for people living in developed countries has
proved Chittenden wrong - so far. However, with widespread communication
via the Internet his predictions may soon become reality."

[Very edited from the well-researched and documented article at:
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/031200puprotein.htm


IRON FROM RED MEAT MAY RAISE DIABETES RISK:  (01/20/04):  "There may be
another reason to be wary of eating too much red meat. High intake of iron
from red meat may raise a person's risk of diabetes, new research suggests.
Iron from other sources does not seem to have this effect, however. To
investigate, Dr. Rui Jiang, from the Harvard School of Public Health in
Boston, and colleagues assessed the link between iron intake and type 2
diabetes in 38,394 men who participated in the Health Professionals'
Follow-up Study. The subjects were free of diabetes, heart disease, and
cancer when the study began in 1986.  During the 12-year study period, 1168
men developed type 2 diabetes, the researchers note in the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition.  The risk of type 2 diabetes increased as heme-iron
intake from red meat sources rose. Heme-iron is a type of iron found in red
blood cells."

[Edited from:
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2004/01/20/eline/links/20040120elin023.html

[Original study: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2004:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/79/1/70


VEGETARIAN DIET: A HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE:  (01/16/04):  "Are you considering
a vegetarian diet but not sure where to begin? Adopting a plant-based diet
may be as easy as making a few substitutions. Before you know it, tofu
dogs, black bean burgers and sausage made from textured vegetable protein
may replace old favorites such as hot dogs, hamburgers, roast beef and
bacon.

Some people choose a vegetarian diet for religious, ethical or
environmental reasons. Others switch to a plant-based diet for health
reasons. A vegetarian diet generally contains less total fat, saturated fat
and cholesterol and includes more dietary fiber. And vegetarians have lower
rates of some cancers, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and type
2 diabetes.

Adopting a healthy vegetarian diet isn't as simple as scraping meat off
your plate and eating what's left. Find out what you need to know about a
plant-based diet and how you can meet your daily nutritional needs."

[Edited from nice summary of vegetarian diet issues/ideas/recommendations at:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=89AFCCB3-E1F7-4541-9A90745760BAA89
9


************************************************
*07:  Verbose Parrot, Falcon Scarecrows, Adopt Cyberpets, Contests
************************************************
PARROT'S ORATORY STUNS SCIENTISTS:  (01/26/04):  "The finding of a parrot
with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought
scientists up short.  The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a
vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour.

He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas
with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child
would do.  N'kisi is believed to be one of the most advanced users of human
language in the animal world.  About 100 words are needed for half of all
reading in English, so if N'kisi could read he would be able to cope with a
wide range of material.

He uses words in context, with past, present and future tenses, and is
often inventive.  One N'kisi-ism was "flied" for "flew", and another
"pretty smell medicine" to describe the aromatherapy oils used by his
owner, an artist based in New York.  When he first met Dr Jane Goodall, the
renowned chimpanzee expert, after seeing her in a picture with apes, N'kisi
said: "Got a chimp?"

[Very edited from the amazing article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3430481.stm


A BIRD OF PREY KEEPS VINEYARD SNACKERS AWAY:  (10/29/03):  "It's that time
of year that winegrowers dread: As their grapes approach peak ripeness,
birds show up in droves in their vineyards for a feast.  Recently, some
California vineyard managers have been trying a new method to keep hungry
birds away -- the centuries-old hunting method of falconry. In wine regions
from Napa Valley to the Central Coast, a cottage industry of falconers has
arisen; many already use trained birds of prey to scare birds away from
airports, military installations and other crops. In large vineyards, birds
can cause crop losses of up to 10 percent, millions of dollars worth of
grapes, said Ashby; for smaller vineyards, the percentage can be even
higher.

"We like [falconry] because it's good for the environment, there's no noise
pollution, no danger to personnel that you have with shotguns, and it is
not nearly as expensive as netting," said Ashby. The objective is to scare
off starlings and other birds, not to kill them, said Savory, owner of
Avian Abatement Technology, based in Alturas, Calif. "The very presence of
the falcon in the vineyard is often enough to run off thousands of birds."
One falcon can cover about 500 acres, and Savory has about four falcons
that he uses throughout the day.

[Edited from:
http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Daily/News/0,1145,2236,00.html


VIOLENCE PREVENTION STUDENT ART, FILM, ESSAY CONTEST:  (02/04):  "Guardians
for Life, a Violence Prevention Program offered by In Defense of Animals,
is honoring the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday by releasing a student
art, film, and essay contest on the topic of violence prevention.  Animal
cruelty can range from neglect (failure to provide food, water, shelter or
necessary medical care) to intentional abuse, torture or killing. Violent
acts toward animals, when left unaddressed, have been linked to intensified
violence and neglect and/or expansion to human victims.

The 2004 contest highlights the importance of acting as guardians of
animals by reporting abuse and practicing compassion and respect toward all
living beings. Entrants will be asked to describe how animal cruelty is
directly linked to other forms of violence. Student entries should also
describe the role that guardians play in society and explain how to
properly respond to violence toward animals.  Winners will be announced on
National Animal Guardians Day, April 14th."

[Edited from the Press Release at:
http://www.idausa.org/news/currentnews/mlkday.html

[Contest info:
http://www.gaurdiancampaign.org

[See winning student-designed "graphics for guardianship" billboards at:
http://www.guardiancampaign.org/educatorsStudentContestsandCompetitionsUniversit
y.htm


ADOPT A CYBERPET:  "There are a lot of important things to think about when
deciding whether or not to get a pet. Will you be able to afford food and
vet's bills? Do you have time to play with it?  To help you think about
these things, and of course for a bit of fun, adopt an RSPCA cyberpet.

Build your new pet from scratch - choose its ears, eyes and colour and give
it a name. Or if you would rather adopt an existing cyberpet, visit the
RSPCA cyber-centre where pets go for rehoming. You can have up to three
pets at a time.  Once you get your cyberpet you need to play with it, feed
it, get it vaccinated, groom it - everything you would need to do with a
real pet. The more you care for it, the more chance you have of appearing
in the cyberpet top 10. Neglect your cyberpet and the RSPCA could take it
away!"

[Edited from:
http://www.rspca.org.uk/cyberpetv


************************************************
*08:  THE 2004 NATIONAL MEATOUT CAMPAIGN
************************************************
THE NATIONAL MEATOUT CAMPAIGN:
"On March 20--the first day of spring--thousands of caring people in all 50
US states and a host of other countries will hold informative and
educational Meatout events. Events will include colorful 'lifestivals,'
street theater, lectures, public dinners, cooking demos, food samplings,
leafleting, information tables called 'steakouts,' and a Congressional
Reception in Washington, DC.  The occasion is the 20th annual observance of
the Great American Meatout, the world's largest and oldest annual
grassroots diet education campaign. Every spring, thousands of Meatout
supporters educate their communities and ask their friends, families, and
neighbors to pledge to "kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and
explore a wholesome, nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole
grains."

Is there a Meatout Event in your city?:
http://www.meatout.org/mevents.htm

Join thousands of caring people in all 50 states and around the world on
(or around) March 20th by hosting a Meatout event in your area. Don't miss
this once-a-year opportunity to promote a healthy, compassionate lifestyle
to your neighbors and to save countless innocent animals.  Participating is
easy and events of all sizes are needed. Even one person can do it! We are
here to help with guidance, posters, handouts and display materials.

Please register your interest in Meatout today!"

[Official Meatout website:
http://www.meatout.org


************************************************
*09:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Feb 13: Sanibel Island, FL > 7 pm - Florida Gulf Coast University, The
Sanibel-Captiva Vegetarian Society & FGCU's "Power of One" AR Group -
Contact Joe Walsh

Feb 15 - 21: CHIP Cruise

Feb 23: Raleigh, NC > North Carolina State University - Time and place TBA
- Contact Jared Milrad

Feb 28: Lincoln Center, NYC > "World Premiere: Peaceable Kingdom" -
Tribe of Heart

Mar 11: Milwaukee WI > UW-Milwaukee 7 pm - Place TBA - Contact Danielle

Mar 19: Los Angeles, CA > Peaceable Kingdom - Tribe of Heart

Mar 28: San Francisco, CA > SF Vegetarian Society

Mar 31: Normal, IL > "The Jungle, 100 Years Later: A Critical Conf. on the
Meat Industry in America," Illinois State Univ., 7 pm, Bone Student Center
(Old Main Room), Free and open to the public. Contact: John Wilson

Apr 04: Chicago, Ilinois > Peaceable Kingndom -Tribe of Heart

Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii

Apr 17: Honolulu, Hawaii: Honolulu Vegetarian Society

Apr 23: Ellensburg, WA > Washington State University

BEYOND APR 2004 May 8: Chicago, IL > 6 pm (Conf. starts 930 am) -
Philadelphia Ethical Society

May 15 - 16: Santa Rosa, CA > McDougall Wellness Center

June 26 - 27: Lodi, CA > (26th at 4 pm, 27th at 10:30 am) - "Health and
Healing Crusade"

Jul 8 - 11: WashDC (Viena, VA) > AR2004

Sep 11, 12, 13: Kirtland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04

[More details, contact links at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*10:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*11:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY MESSAGE FOR THE MANY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW VEGAN?
A: Take the broad view of what veganism stands for - something beyond
finding a new alternative to scrambled eggs on toast or a new recipe for
Christmas cake. Realise that you're on to something really big, something
that hadn't been tried until sixty years ago, and something which is
meeting every reasonable criticism that anyone can level against it. And
this doesn't involve weeks or months of studying diet charts or reading
books by socalled experts - it means grasping a few simple facts and
applying them.

Q: IN WHAT DIRECTION DO YOU THINK THE VEGAN SOCIETY SHOULD GO IN THE FUTURE?
A: I hesitate to suggest anything to a movement which seems to be going
well and spreading world wide. The edifice that survived all attacks before
we started our work is now crumbling because of the inherent weakness of
its own structure. We don't know the spiritual advancements that long-term
veganism - over generations - would have for human life. It would be
certainly a different civilisation, and the first one in the whole of our
history that would truly deserve the title of being a civilisation.

---- 94 yr. old vegan, Donald Watson (who formed the word vegan from the
begining and end of "vegetarian" and founded The Vegan Society in November
1944)

[Full interview at:
http://www.worldveganday.org/html/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid
=10&page=1
[Website for the Vegan Society:
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

I accidentally sent the newsletter out twice.  My apologies.  This note is
to also let you know that you are not on the group list twice.

Best to all, Mark

******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@... * msutton@...
Editor, Mad Cowboy e-Newsletter, http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Back issues/info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 33rd Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

Howard's still on the road since our last issue, and is promising some
great photographs of his trips (and the Vegan Cruise!) for the next
installment.  However, for this edition, a Sneak Preview for our
subscribers about the upcoming taping of Howard speaking in 27 fifteen
minute video segments has been provided.  Topics and images.....

Reading further, among other topics, you'll learn about an interesting
thought experiment about the impact of low-carb diets on the Earth (should
a significant number of people follow that regimen).  You'll also read
about whole grains and reduced diabetes risk, more evidence on a vegetarian
diet reducing cancer risk, why you might think twice about drinking a Coke
or Pepsi in India, and a brand-new online vegan children's store.  There's
also some humor with "angry vegetables," a study by the Pentagon on the
impact on Global Warming, and see marvelous microscopic photos of
vegetables, pesticides, and more.

Moving onward, there's a great essay by Bruce Friedrich (PETA) on "10 Signs
of Hope" from the past year, a neat story about "virtual vets" in India,
and how dogs have apparently evolved to be closer to humans than previously
thought.

As always, a tip of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read past
issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Finally, a special thank you to Raw Indulgences, for the photo of Howard in
Florida last week:

http://www.rawindulgence.com

Best wishes to everyone as Spring approaches... you are planning your
vegetable/herb gardens, aren't you?   Mark  Editor/Webmaster


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quote of Note
01:  Sneak Preview!
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge
03:  New "Mad Cow in the USA" Articles Round-up
04:  Low-Carbs/Earth, Veg Diet/Cancer, Vegan Children Store
05:  Angry Vegetables, Plants As Computers, Unique Micrographs
06:  Pentagon/Climate Change, Toxic Cola, EPA Sued
07:  Virtual Vets, Dogs Almost Human, 10 Signs of Hope
08:  Quick Bytes
09:  The Great American MeatOut 2004!
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12:  Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  Quote of Note
************************************************
"In the U. S. we can buy a hamburger for 79 cents," explains
cattle-rancher-turned-vegan, Howard Lyman. "If the American taxpayer was
not involved in subsidizing the beef industry, the same hamburger meat
would cost over $12. Meat in America today would cost $48 a pound if it
were not for the American taxpayers subsidizing the grain, the irrigation
water, the electricity, the grazing on public lands. How many people-even
in America-would go and spend that amount of money on meat if it wasn't
subsidized? We can't afford roads, or schools, or health care, and yet we
are paying $11.21 for every $12 of something that is helping kill one out
of every two Americans today."

[As quoted in the great, fact-filled essay "Go Vegan" at:
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Feb04/Mickeyz0212.htm


************************************************
*01:  Sneak Preview!
************************************************
[In 2002, Howard taped 24 fifteen minute video segments, from broadcast on
3ABN's satellite network (reaching potentially 1/6th the world's
population).  These "Earth Talk" segments have been so popular, work is
under way to produce another 27 segments.

As a sneak preview, the tentative list of topics are:  "GMO, Irradiated
Food, Sugar, Salt, Insects, Organic, Pollution, Sustainability, Trade,
Oceans, Endangered Species, Environmental Justice, Wild Fires, Earthday,
H2O, Greenhouse, Earth Balance, Most Admired, Reading List, Activist,
Gardening, Rendering, Corporations, Lifestyle, Mining, Compost, Prions."

As a special treat for our subscribers, here's a link to the current draft
images that have been sourced/developed to be used at the beginning of each
video segment:

http://www.madcowboy.com/02_24_04_Draft3ABNv02notxt/index.html


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"What is the single biggest source of refined sugar in the American Diet?"

Congratulations to Henry Foster, in Saraburi Province, Thailand, for being
among those who answered correctly!  He won the luck of the random draw.

["In 2001, Americans spent over $61 billion on soft drinks. The industry
produced 15 billion gallons of soft drinks, twice as much as in 1974.  Soda
pop is Americans' single biggest source of refined sugars, providing the
average person with one-third of that sugar. Twelve- to 19-year-old boys
get 44% of their 34 teaspoons of sugar a day from soft drinks. Girls get
40% of their 24 teaspoons of sugar from soda. Because some people drink
little soda pop, the percentages are higher among actual drinkers."

[More stunning numbers at:
http://www.cspinet.org/sodapop/highlights.htm


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"What country recently passed Japan to become the world's 2nd largest
consumer of crude oil (the United States is first)?"

Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT March 5th.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  New "Mad Cow in the USA" Articles Round-up
************************************************
MORE CONFIRMATION MAD COW NOT A 'DOWNER': (02/19/04):  "The owner of the
slaughterhouse that killed the first U.S. cow found with mad cow disease
has come forward to confirm that the cow was able to walk at the time it
was killed.  Tom Ellestad, who with his family runs Vern's Moses Lake
Meats, where the sick cow was slaughtered, says the cow could walk at the
time it was killed and disputed the portrayal of his plant as one that
mostly handled sick and injured cattle.  His claim further throws into
doubt the insistence of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the cow
couldn't walk at the time it was killed, which required that it be tested
for mad cow disease, as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a fatal brain
disease, is commonly known.

Ellestad's assertion also further backs claims made by one of his workers,
Dave Louthan, who said he killed the infected animal and has publicly
insisted it could walk."

[Very very edited from:
http://msnbc.msn.com/ID/4313278/

[One of the worker's website and strong personal statement:
http://www.davelouthan.org/


MAD COW HUNT ENDS WITH SOME CATTLE MISSING:  (02/10/04):  "Spotty U.S.
records make it impossible to find all the cattle linked to the diseased
cow:  After searching through records of 75,000 cattle in seven weeks, the
U.S. government on Monday ended its investigation into Washington's mad cow
case, having identified fewer than half of the 80-plus animals it initially
set out to discover.  The decision... also ends hope that the nation will
know the fate of all the animals that lived with the sick Holstein on a
Canadian farm before coming to the United States, where they may still
graze today."

[Very edited from:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/107641779623
8860.xml


HOUSE PANEL QUESTIONS USDA ON MAD COW:  (02/18/04):  "A House committee is
challenging the Agriculture Department's view that the nation's first cow
sick with deadly mad cow disease was lame.  The issue is significant
because Agriculture Department officials that monitor meat plants target
"downer" cattle animals that are sick, injured or that exhibit symptoms of
disease for testing of mad cow, a brain-wasting illness. Critics have
argued that the agency needs also test healthy animals as a safeguard
against the illness, which can incubate for four or five years.

Committee chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., and Rep. Henry Waxman, the senior
Democrat on the committee, questioned the adequacy of the government's mad
cow testing program. "If the new information is accurate, USDA's
surveillance system may need to be significantly expanded," they said.
"The new information also raises questions about USDA's credibility," wrote
Davis and Waxman, of California. "The American people need to have
confidence in what USDA reports about the safety of the food supply.""

[Edited from:
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040218_156.html


MAD COW HAS HOME ON U.S. RANGES:  (02/05/04):  "Mad cow disease probably
has been established in North America for more than a decade, and Americans
should be prepared for the discovery of more domestic cases as it spreads
through herds.  A panel of international experts released these findings
Wednesday to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, also urging the
Department of Agriculture to toughen protections put into place following
the Dec. 23 discovery of an infected Holstein in Washington state.  Those
protections, while helpful, are not sufficient to keep mad cow disease from
spreading further, or "amplifying," within the North American herd, the
researchers concluded.

The panel's assertion that BSE was indigenous to North American herds was
its most controversial. Although the Washington cow was born in Canada, the
report warned: "The significance of this BSE (mad cow) case cannot be
dismissed by considering it 'an imported case.' "  "We believe that the
infection in North America took place at least 10 years ago," Kihm said.
"You need one cycle before you have a few animals positive, and you don't
see them in the first cycle. You need a second or a third."

The findings were presented to a USDA subcommittee appointed by Veneman.
Some members expressed frustration."

[Very edited from:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/107598594853
210.xml


USDA VETS QUESTION AGENCY'S MAD COW LAB:  (02/09/04):  "The federal
laboratory in Ames, Iowa, that conducts all of the nation's tests for mad
cow disease has a history of producing ambiguous and conflicting results --
to the point where many federal meat inspectors have lost confidence in it,
Department of Agriculture veterinarians and a deer rancher told United
Press International.  The veterinarians also claim the facility -- part of
the USDA and known as the National Veterinary Services Laboratories -- has
refused to release testing results to them and has been so secretive some
suspect it is covering up additional mad cow cases.

The USDA's official stance is that the U.S. beef supply is free of mad cow
disease, or bovine spongiform encephlopathy, but the veterinarian said,
"Most agency veterinarians know mad cow is prevalent and epidemic (in U.S.
herds). We're not talking about one or two cases."  "The USDA has such a
cohesive relationship with industry" that it wants to protect the $70
billion beef industry more than consumers, the veterinarian said, and noted
colleagues with whom he is in close contact think the agency's mad cow
surveillance program "is a laughing matter.""

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040209-061848-3665r


DANGEROUS COW PARTS STILL ENTER FOOD SUPPLY:  (02/16/04):  "Learning that
those parts are most likely to carry the disease only strengthens the
aversion.  But despite new rules adopted in December to keep the riskiest
tissues out of the food chain, some of the unsavory ingredients can still
wind up on the table, hidden behind innocuous labels like "beef flavoring"
or as accidental contamination in taco filling or processed meat.  People
can get a fatal, human version of the disease by eating tissue from
infected animals, though no one knows what dose it takes.

Where do cow brains go?  Uses of brain and spinal-cord material: headcheese
and some processed meats, beef broth, beef flavoring and extract, animal
and pet food, nutritional supplements.  Brains can also be used in
headcheese and some other processed meat products, as long as they're
listed on the label. No label is necessary when brains and spinal cords are
cooked along with other ingredients to make beef broth, beef flavoring and
beef extracts.  It's also still legal to include brains in nutritional
supplements called "glandulars."

The only way consumers can find out if the paste is in the food they're
eating is to ask the producer or restaurant chain. European scientists
estimated where mad-cow infectiousness resides in a sick cow:  brain - 64
percent, spinal cord - 26 percent, other central-nervous-system tissue -
6.4 percent, small intestine - 3 percent, eyes and other parts - less than
1 percent."

[Very edited from from a superb article on these issues at:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001858777_madbrains16m0.html


NEW STRAIN OF MAD COW DISEASE IS CLOSER TO HUMAN FORM:  (02/18/04):
"Italian scientists have found a potential second form of mad cow disease
that more closely resembles the human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease than does
the usual cow form of the illness.  The brain-wasting diseases BSE, known
as mad cow disease, and human CJD are caused by different forms of mutant
proteins called prions. More than 150 people, mainly in Britain, have
contracted variant CJD, a fatal brain disease believed to be acquired by
eating meat from BSE-infected cows.

The Italian researchers report that a study of eight cows with mad cow
disease found two had brain damage resembling that in the human victims of
CJD.  They said the cows were infected with prions that resembled those
involved in the standard form of the human disease, called sporadic CJD,
not the variant caused by eating infected meat.  The human and cattle
diseases cause holes to form in the brain. The Italian researchers found
that, in addition to the holes, two cows had an accumulation of amyloid
plaque in their brains.  Amyloid plaques are an indication of Alzheimer's
disease in humans. They have also been found in people with sporadic CJD
but had not previously been found in cattle, the researchers said.  The
Italians have named the new form of mad cow disease with amyloid plaques
BASE."

[Edited from:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/17/1076779976393.html

[The findings at online edition of Proceedings of the Nat'l Academy of Science:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0305777101v1


JAPAN FINDS TENTH SUSPECTED MAD COW DISEASE CASE:  (02/23/04):  "Japanese
health authorities reported the country's tenth case of mad cow disease as
a suspected dairy cow was confirmed to have the disease after a series of
tests.  A meeting of experts concluded the 95-month-old Holstein had bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
said in a statement.  Japan, the only country in Asia to have confirmed
BSE, uncovered its first case in September 2001 and shortly afterwards
introduced measures to screen every cow slaughtered for consumption. The
cow of the most recent case was born in early 1996, like six of the nine
previous cows that tested positive in Japan.

[From:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/72309/1/.html


FEDS TRY TO LIFT TAINT FROM FOOD EXPORTS:  (02/24/04):  "The Bush
administration on Tuesday struggled to limit damage to U.S. meat and
poultry export markets hit by outbreaks of mad cow disease and bird flu.
Administration officials told Congress they hoped Canada and Mexico would
move within days to ease bans on U.S. beef after wrapping up its probe this
month into the first U.S. outbreak of mad cow disease. The investigation
concluded that any threat to humans had been contained.  But Mexico and the
European Union joined Japan, South Korea and China in banning all American
poultry shipments, a day after the discovery of virulent form of bird flu
on a Texas chicken farm.  The same nations also banned U.S. beef and cattle
after the discovery of mad cow disease in December.

The shunning of U.S. meat on world markets has raised fears of a
price-depressing domestic glut.  Keith Collins, the USDA's chief economist,
told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that reopening world markets
to some $3.8 billion in annual American beef exports is a "top priority" of
the Bush administration.  The discovery of bird flu in chickens in Texas,
Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey this month, and subsequent import
bans by key U.S. customers, has also taken a toll on exports.  The United
States exports about $2 billion worth of poultry products annually, but
markets could still grow this year if the bird flu outbreak is successfully
contained, Collins said."

[Very edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=ASSM5SFS2ZRHGCRBAEKSFFA?type
=topNews&storyID=4428068


************************************************
*04:  Low-Carbs/Earth, Veg Diet/Cancer, Vegan Children Store
************************************************
LOW-CARB DIETS HAVE A HIGH IMPACT ON THE PLANET:  (02/09/04):  "...
whenever we're faced with a fast-growing trend on this shrinking planet,
scientists should look beyond human health to weigh ecological consequences
as well. That's what we decided to do for Atkins-style diets.  We started
with the Worldwatch Institute's estimate that 1 billion of Earth's
inhabitants are overweight and assumed that on average they eat 56 grams of
animal protein a day.

If all of those people went on an Atkins-style diet, their requirement for
animal protein would rise to about 100 grams. A billion dieters each eating
an extra 44 grams could not easily be satisfied by giving them a bigger
share of current animal protein production.  Instead, by our calculations,
the meat, dairy, poultry, and seafood industries would have to increase
output by 25 percent..... the net result of their big switch to animal
protein would require almost 250 million more acres for corn, soybeans, and
other feed grains.

Finding a quarter-billion acres for adequate feed grain harvests would mean
at least a 7 percent increase in cropland worldwide at a time when farmers
are already using most of the better land. Much of the newly plowed acreage
would likely be marginal, prone to greater erosion, and subject to extra
generous applications of fertilizer and pesticides.  Furthermore, feeding
that grain to all those extra animals would lead to greater air and water
pollution from feedlots, poultry and hog confinement operations, and
slaughterhouses.   If new pastures were to be created for, say, half of the
additional animals, a billion more acres would have to be found. Most of
this would probably be obtained by deforestation, which could mean that 10
percent of the Earth's remaining forests would have to go.

It's unlikely that all 1 billion of the world's overweight people will have
the desire or the means to make the move to expensive animal-based food.
Nevertheless, the kind of ecological damage we have described will occur in
direct proportion to the number of people who do adopt the diet."

[Very edited from the fascinating article at:
http://www.gristmagazine.com/soapbox/cox020904.asp?source=daily


WHOLE-GRAIN FOODS MAY LOWER DIABETES RISK:  (02/13/04):  "People who
consume plenty of whole-grain foods, particularly fiber-rich cereals, may
be less likely to develop health conditions that put them at increased risk
of diabetes, new research suggests.  "Individuals who incorporate
whole-grain foods into their diets may prevent or reduce their risk of
developing the metabolic syndrome, a clustering of risk factors that often
precedes type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," Dr. Nicola M. McKeown
of the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research
Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston told Reuters Health.

"In our study, the health benefits of whole grain foods were observed among
people who consumed three or more servings of whole grains per day,"
McKeown said. People who ate this much whole grain had better insulin
sensitivity and were less likely to have the metabolic syndrome, she said.
"Adding whole grain food to our diet does not require dramatic changes in
our eating patterns, and there could be substantial health benefits,"
McKeown said. For instance, people can increase their consumption of whole
grains by switching from white bread to whole-grain bread and by choosing
brown rice instead of white rice, she said.

"Consumers need to carefully examine the food labels in order to identify
whole grain products," McKeown said. Whole grain products should list a
whole grain ingredient, such as "whole wheat," "whole rye," "whole-oats" or
"graham flour," as the first ingredient on the label, she said."

[Edited from the article at:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=AZSKHUDMN5UIICRBAEOCFEY?type
=healthNews&storyID=4356852

[Study cited above:
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/2/538


MORE EVIDENCE VEGETARIAN DIET MAY CUT CANCER RISK:  (02/16/04):  "Eating a
meat-free, vegetarian diet may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, new
research suggests.  After following more than 10,000 people for 17 years,
investigators found that vegetarians were 15 percent less likely to develop
colorectal cancer than meat-eaters.  This study adds to the "increasing
scientific evidence" that a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fiber and
low in meat--especially red and processed meat--can prevent colorectal
cancer, study author Dr. Miguel Sanjoaquin of the University of Oxford, UK,
told Reuters Health.  Along with a decreased risk of cancer from eating
vegetarian, the investigators found that frequent fruit eaters - consuming
more than 5 servings of fruit per week--were over 40 percent less likely to
develop colorectal cancer."

[Edited from:
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2004/02/16/eline/links/20040216elin001.html

[Study cited - British Journal of Cancer (2004) 90, 118-121:
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/bjc/journal/v90/n1/abs/6601441a
.html


FIRST ONLINE VEGAN CHILDREN'S STORE LAUNCHES:  (02/10/04):  "Envegan, Inc.
is pleased to announce the launch of the world's first online vegan
children's store at:

http://www.kidbean.com

Providing a wide array of items--including organic cotton and hemp clothing
and linens, wooden toys, cloth diapers, natural cleaning supplies, and baby
slings--KidBean.com stands alone as the only Internet outlet whose full
selection of children's products are limited to those that meet the highest
standards of being cruelty-free, fair labor, non-toxic, and all-natural.
As a result of such standards, all of the items in the store's selection
are made from 100% natural or recycled materials; free from toxic paints,
dyes, and glues; never tested on animals; void of animal products and
by-products; and produced under humane conditions by companies with fair
labor standards. KidBean.com offers wooden toys, natural cleaning supplies,
cloth diapers, baby slings, organic cotton and hemp clothing, bath soaps,
linens, herbal and homeopathic remedies, and many other related items."

[Edited from:
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/2/emw103725.htm


************************************************
*05:  Angry Vegetables, Plants As Computers, Unique Micrographs
************************************************
ANGRY VEGETABLES - A THREAT TO HEALTH?:  (02/04):  "Scientists at the
Scientific Test Area for Recent Vegetable Eating (S.T.A.R.V.E.) have
confirmed that the vegetarian movement may be causing a significant shift
in the natural order of our food chain.  Dubbing the phenomenon "Angry
Vegetable Syndrome", lead researcher Dr. Michael T. Stowmack is warning of
the possibility of a global outbreak of hostile vegetation.

Vegetable rights advocates from Humans for the Ethic Treatment of
Vegetables were quick to point out that their long-standing crusade against
eating vegetables was finally paying off. "It's like photosynthetic karma
dude... Now maybe all you savages will realize that vegetables have
feelings too!"

[Edited from the satire at:
http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s5i2092


DO PLANTS ACT LIKE COMPUTERS?:  (01/21/04):  "Plants appear to 'think',
according to US researchers, who say that green plants engage in a form of
problem-solving computation.  David Peak and co-workers at Utah State
University in Logan say that plants may regulate their uptake and loss of
gases by 'distributed computation' - a kind of information processing that
involves communication between many interacting units. It's the same form
of maths that is widely thought to regulate how ants forage. The signals
that each ant sends out to other ants, by laying down chemical trails for
example, enable the ant community as a whole to find the most abundant food
sources.

Leaves have openings called stomata that open wide to let CO2 in, but close
up to prevent precious water vapour from escaping. Plants attempt to
regulate their stomata to take in as much CO2 as possible while losing the
least amount of water. But they are limited in how well they can do this:
leaves are often divided into patches where the stomata are either open or
closed, which reduces the efficiency of CO2 uptake.  By studying the
distributions of these patches of open and closed stomata in leaves of the
cocklebur plant, Peak and colleagues found specific patterns reminiscent of
distributed computing. "

[Very edited from the intriguing real article at:
http://www.nature.com/nsu/040119/040119-5.html


UNIQUE PHOTOMICROGRAPH PICTURES:
http://www.molecularexpressions.com/micro/gallery/vegetables/vegetable.html
http://www.molecularexpressions.com/micro/gallery/phytochemicals/phytochemical.h
tml
http://www.molecularexpressions.com/micro/gallery/sugars/sugar.html
http://www.molecularexpressions.com/micro/gallery/pesticides/pesticide.html
http://www.molecularexpressions.com/micro/gallery/cholesterol/cholesterol.html


************************************************
*06:  Pentagon/Climate Change, Toxic Cola, EPA Sued
************************************************
PENTAGON: CLIMATE CHANGE WILL DESTROY US:  (02/22/04):  "Climate change
over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing
millions of lives in wars and natural disasters.  A secret report,
suppressed by US defence chiefs and obtained by The Observer [also
published in FORTUNE ... see link below], warns that major European cities
will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian'
climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread
rioting will erupt across the world.

The document predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to
the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and
secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. The threat to global
stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to
its contents. 'Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life,'
concludes the Pentagon analysis. 'Once again, warfare would define human
life.'

The findings will prove humiliating to the Bush administration, which has
repeatedly denied that climate change even exists. Experts said that they
will also make unsettling reading for a President who has insisted national
defence is a priority."

[Very edited from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1153530,00.html

[A fine summary "Climate Change Alert" at:
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200402030956100.391926

[The FORTUNE-leaked story/report: "The Pentagon's Weather Nightmare" at:
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,582584-1,00.html


NEW DELHI ACCUSES PEPSI AND COKE OF SELLING TOXIC COLA:  (02/06/04):
"Coca-Cola and PepsiCo sold soft drinks containing pesticides harmful to
human health and misled India's one billion people over claims that their
products were safe for human consumption, according to an Indian
parliamentary report.  An estimated seven bottles of cold drinks per person
are sold in India each year. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for more than 80
per cent of the $A2.1 billion market.

A Delhi-based environmental group, the Centre for Science and Environment,
last year claimed that soft drink products manufactured in India contained
toxins far above the levels permitted in the developed world. Tests
conducted by the group showed Pepsi's soft drinks had 36 times the level of
pesticide residues permitted under European Union regulations. Coca-Cola's
soft drinks had 30 times the legal level.  The tests found toxins,
including lindane and DDT, in 12 different soft drinks. If ingested over
long periods, the chemicals could lead to cancer and immune system failure.
Similar tests on colas sold in the US found no such toxins.

The US companies were also attacked over the running of two bottling plants
in the southern state of Kerala. The report said the plants had caused
water pollution, the depletion of ground water, reduced crop yield, skin
disorders and other ailments."

[Edited from:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/05/1075854006793.html


MYSTERIOUS MASS DIE-OFF OF VULTURES SOLVED:  (01/28/04):  "The catastrophic
decline of griffon vultures in south Asia is being caused not by a
mysterious disease, as had been thought, but a common painkiller given to
sick cattle.  If the treated animal dies and is eaten by vultures, a single
meal can be enough to kill the bird. The scientists who made the discovery
now want the drug banned from veterinary use and are holding a meeting next
week with officials from Nepal, India and Pakistan.  Griffon vultures are
huge scavengers and used to be ubiquitous in south Asia. But their
population has declined drastically since the mid-1990s, and one species is
near extinction.  As a result, animal carcasses rot outside villages,
attracting rabies-ridden packs of dogs. The Parsee religious community in
India is also in crisis, as it disposes of its dead by feeding them to
vultures."

[Edited from:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994617

[Much more comprehensive story about the above at:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0128_040128_indiavultures.html

[From an earlier Mad Cowboy Newsletter:
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/09/bodio.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/message/11


EPA SUED FOR ILLEGALLY TAKING DIRECTION FROM CHEMICAL INDUSTRY GROUP:
(01/15/04):
"Conservation and pesticide-watchdog groups today filed a lawsuit to stop
the Environmental Protection Agency from giving illegal special access to a
group of chemical corporations. Documents obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act and other sources reveal that the corporate insider group
has met regularly with EPA officials in secret and has urged EPA to weaken
endangered species protections from pesticides.   The chemical companies
are pushing EPA to weaken pesticide safeguards by cutting expert biologists
in the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries out of consultations
determining the effects of pesticides on wildlife. At the companies'
urging, EPA has starting a rulemaking to reserve authority over such
evaluations to itself.

"EPA is letting the pesticide industry have inside influence over the fate
of endangered species poisoned by toxic pesticides," said Patti Goldman of
Earthjustice, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of the conservation and
watchdog groups.  "EPA has an open door policy to the biggest chemical
companies in America while excluding the rest of us," said Mike Senatore of
Defenders of Wildlife. "That's not right. In America all voices are
supposed to be heard, not just wealthy interests that make campaign
contributions."

[Edited from:
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1364B000000FA16AFD9B206B7
6900

[The complaint and a list of the chemical companies comprising the illegal
advisory committee are available at:
http://www.earthjustice.org


************************************************
*07:  Virtual Vets, Dogs Almost Human, 10 Signs of Hope, No PETA Ads
************************************************
'VIRTUAL VETS' HELP ANIMALS IN INDIA:  (02/15/04):  "Internet kiosks are
being used to link animal owners in remote areas to veterinarians who can
offer them medical advice over the World Wide Web.  Most of India's 600,000
villages are home to farm animals and companion animals; most also lack
trained vets, according to Ashok Jhunjhunwala, founder of n-Logue
Communications, which developed the Internet kiosks. Currently there are
450 "Vet on the Net" kiosks set up in rural villages throughout India, with
plans to add another 9000 units this year.

Each kiosk has a computer with local language software, and features
videoconference capabilities, with a camera allowing veterinarians to view
most animals - such as cats, dogs and chickens - in real time.  If the
animal is too large or too sick to fit inside the booth - a cow or a horse,
for instance - the owner can email pictures to aid in the veterinarian's
diagnosis."

[Edited from:
http://www.anc.org/farm/farm_article.cfm?identifier=2004_0203_vets

[See also:
http://www.nature.com/nsu/040105/040105-1.html
http://www.poultrydeals.com/website/public/staticpages/poultrynews/poultrynews.a
sp


CBS CRIES FOUL ON PETA, MOVEON SUPER BOWL ADS:  (02/13/04):  "U.S. football
fans will not see ads featuring scantily clad vegetarians or a political
attack on President Bush during February's Super Bowl after CBS said on
Thursday that advocacy advertisements were out of bounds on professional
football's biggest day. The network, over the years, has rejected dozens of
advertising proposals by advocacy groups, who argue that the network only
airs controversial messages that it agrees with.

"We just want to be able to present our jiggly women," said Lisa Lange,
spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, asking to join
advertisers like beer brewers who has boosted sales with images of
scantily-clad women.   Liberal group Moveon.org, known for its Internet
funding power, told members this week that it hoped to have the first
political Super Bowl ad.  But its hopes were dashed when CBS said the spot,
which asks "Guess who's going to pay off President Bush's $1 trillion
deficit?" was an issue piece and could not run.

In a letter, CBS told PETA that it would not run advertisements on
"controversial issues of public importance."  The PETA ad shows two
scantily clad women snuggling up to a meat-eating pizza delivery man. "Meat
can cause impotence," the screen reads after the rendezvous fails.  CBS
also said the PETA spot raised "significant taste concerns."

[Edited from:
http://juneauempire.com/stories/021304/sta_google.shtml


TESTS SHOW DOGS ARE ALMOST HUMAN:  (02/16/04):  "If you think your dog can
read your mind, you're right. Because pooches and people have kept company
for hundreds of generations, Canis familiaris is hard-wired to pick up
human social cues, a US anthropologist claims.  According to Brian Hare of
Harvard University, the insight will help trace the evolution of dogs, and
may help explain the origins of autism in people and point towards possible
therapies.  "The first diagnostic test for autism is the inability to use
social cues," he said. "Autists are very poor at reading things like
eye-gaze or pointing, something called joint attention."

Not so your average mutt, he says. "It looks like dogs evolved an unusual
ability to read human gestures and cues, and manipulate and predict human
behaviour.
"They were selected to do that through domestication," Dr Hare told the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, meeting in Seattle -
and he has the evidence to prove it.  In the first two of four studies, Dr
Hare and colleagues in Germany and Hungary found dogs are better at a test
of their ability to interpret social cues than even our primate cousins the
chimpanzees, and the dog's closest relation, the wolf."

[Very edited from:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8692990%255E421,00
.html


TEN SIGNS OF HOPE FOR THE ANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT:  "I'm an upbeat person.
At PETA, I'm often referred to as "Bruce Poppins," because I tend to ignore
the bad and accentuate the good, sometimes a bit quixotically, I will
admit. Basically, I figure that worry and pessimism are a prescription for
burnout, not empowerment. If we lose our sense of humor and optimism, we're
bound to be less effective as activists.  When I look at the world around
me, I am filled with vicarious pain at the level of suffering in the world,
but also with hope at the number of selfless people working to make it a
better place. As I pondered a list of ten, I came up with about 25 things
that give me an amazing amount of hope, and struggled to limit them.

[bunch of great thougts edited out here!]

Look how far the animal rights movement has come in just the past 20 years:
Science has shown that a low fat vegan diet is the healthiest;
environmental researchers have proved that eating meat, dairy products, and
eggs is not sustainable. Even more importantly, the scientific view that
animals don't feel emotion has been replaced by a belated understanding
that, of course they do. In just the past few years, the issue of animal
treatment on factory farms has taken center stage, with the U.S. Congress
decrying slaughterhouse treatment of animals, the fast-food giants
requiring some improvements for animals, and the Washington Post running
front-page stories about some of the abuses.

The 20th century abolished child labor, criminalized child abuse, and gave
women the vote and blacks wider rights. If we all do as much as we can, the
21st century will be the one for animal rights."

[Very very edited from a great read and perspective at:
http://www.satyamag.com/jan04/friedrich.html


************************************************
*08:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ANIMAL ISSUES:

["'Animal Law' Comes Into Its Own:"
http://www.anc.org/pets/pets_article.cfm?identifier=2004_0203_law

["Black Bear Hunts OK'd in Md. For First Time in 50 Years:"
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200402050648320.363984

["The Fund for Animals Action Center:
http://action.fund.org/action/


BIRD FLU:

["Brazil Bans Poultry Imports From Bird-flu Nations:"
http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/01/20/rtr1218133.html

["Pig Fears As Bird Flu Death Toll Hits 18:"
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=453507&
section=news

["Japan Bans U.S. Chicken Imports After Flu Outbreak:"
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1IWPRQEAFL2U0CRBAEZSFFA?type
=scienceNews&storyID=4308420

["China Halts Poultry Imports From U.S.:"
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V9335.AP-China-US-
Bird-F.html

["Bird Flu Found In Flocks In Two More U.S. States:"
http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s5i2092

["Bird Flu Strikes Wild Storks In Thailand:"
http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=1648462


ENVIRONMENT:

["GE Crops Need More, Not Less, Herbicides:"
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/ge_herbicides.cfm

["Organic Food Contaminated With GM:"
http://www.nature.com/nsu/040202/040202-15.html

["Nissan Uses Device To Stop Hail:"
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=1628848&

["Google Bans Ads That Criticize Cruise Ships:"
http://juneauempire.com/stories/021304/sta_google.shtml


MAD COW:

["Wash. State House Passes Mad Cow Bills:"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20XG
R%20Mad%20Cow%20Bills&searchdiff=5&searchpagefrom=1

["US Lawmakers Urge Big Increase In Mad Cow Testing:"
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N17376474.htm

["More Mad Cows Likely; USDA Officials Won't Guess How Many:"
http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/agriculture/story/8235354p-9166238c.html

["Health Supplements Containing Cow Parts In Danger:"
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/supplements20804.cfm

["15 Blood Donors Developed VCJD:"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1142140,00.html


NUTRITION/DIET:

["U.S. Exports Bad Diets:"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-02-04-oppose-usat_x.htm

[Great statistics: "We're Drowning In High Fructose Corn Syrup:"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDG
S24VKMH1.DTL

["Sugary Foods Linked To Colon Cancer Risk In Women:"
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2004/02/04/eline/links/20040204elin014.html

["Seafood With Mercury Affects Brain Development:"
http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/newsmaker_article.asp?idNewsMaker=5074&fSite
=AO545

["Report: Americans Need To Shake Salt Habit:"
http://www4.nas.edu/news.nsf/6a3520dc2dbfc2ad85256ca8005c1381/25778ef9e449bc8385
256e37005168c4?OpenDocument

["Staying A Healthy Vegan:"
http://www.veganhealth.org/shv/

["Less Meat, More Fruit: Doctor Trims Cholesterol:"
http://thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1
&c=Article&cid=1076195408579&call_pageid=968867505381&col=969048872038

[Veg'n Cooking Classes in WashDC/VA/MD area:
http://www.vsdc.org/classes.html


RECIPES:

[OVER 10,000 Veg'n Recipes, plus resources/info:
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Feb04/Mickeyz0212.htm

[Great Low-Fat Vegan "Cheese" Recipes:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/139751.html

[More Low-Fat Vegan "Cheesy" Recipes:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/139752.html


************************************************
*09:  The Great American MeatOut 2004!
************************************************
"On March 20--the first day of spring--thousands of caring people in all 50
US states and a host of other countries will hold informative and
educational Meatout events. Events will include colorful 'lifestivals,'
street theater, lectures, public dinners, cooking demos, food samplings,
leafleting, information tables called 'steakouts,' and a Congressional
Reception in Washington, DC.  The occasion is the 20th annual observance of
the Great American Meatout, the world's largest and oldest annual
grassroots diet education campaign. Every spring, thousands of Meatout
supporters educate their communities and ask their friends, families, and
neighbors to pledge to "kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and
explore a wholesome, nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole
grains."

Is there a Meatout Event in your city?: http://www.meatout.org/mevents.htm

Join thousands of caring people in all 50 states and around the world on
(or around) March 20th by hosting a Meatout event in your area. Don't miss
this once-a-year opportunity to promote a healthy, compassionate lifestyle
to your neighbors and to save countless innocent animals.  Participating is
easy and events of all sizes are needed. Even one person can do it! We are
here to help with guidance, posters, handouts and display materials.

Please register your interest in Meatout today!"

[Official Meatout website:
http://www.meatout.org
1(888)FARMUSA

************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html

Feb 28: Lincoln Center, NYC > "World Premiere: Peaceable Kingdom" -
Tribe of Heart

Mar 7:  Chicago, IL > Healing Earth Resources. 773/EARTHLY or 773/327-8459
Mar 11: Milwaukee WI > UW-Milwaukee 7 pm - Place TBA - Contact Danielle
Mar 19: Los Angeles, CA > Peaceable Kingdom - Tribe of Heart
Mar 28: San Francisco, CA > SF Vegetarian Society - FREE vegan ice cream!
PDF Flyer of event
Mar 31: Normal, IL > "The Jungle, 100 Years Later: A Critical Conf. on the
Meat Industry in America," Illinois State Univ., 7 pm, Bone Student Center
(Old Main Room), Free and open to the public. Contact: John Wilson

Apr 02: Berkley, CA > University of CA at Berkley, CA National Pesticide Forum
Apr 04: Chicago, Ilinois > Peaceable Kingdom -Tribe of Heart
Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii
Apr 17: Honolulu, Hawaii > Honolulu Vegetarian Society
Apr 23 - 26: Ellensburg, WA > Central Washington University

May 8: Philadelphia, PA > 6 pm (Conf. starts 930 am) - Philadelphia Ethical
Society
May 15 - 16: Santa Rosa, CA > McDougall Wellness Center
May 21 - 22: West Jordan, UT > SDA

June 26 - 27: Lodi, CA > (26th at 4 pm, 27th at 10:30 am) - "Health and
Healing Crusade"
Jul 8 - 11: WashDC (Viena, VA) > AR2004

Sep 11, 12, 13: Kirtland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!

************************************************
*12:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"Besides discussing his personal history and the details of the "Meat
Defamation" trial, Lyman discussed people's health and the effect of eating
meat. "I think we have a terrible future ahead of us," he said. "One in two
Americans die of heart disease. One in three will have cancer. Two in three
are overweight or obese and diabetes is growing. I want to talk to you
tonight about common sense."

"We kill 10 billion animals every year for food. We are killing animals,
but the animals are killing us," he said.

Lyman believes if he had not changed his own diet, he would not be alive
today. "I never met a burger that was worthy dying for," he said. Lyman
discussed several studies that have shown that animal protein is associated
with cancer or will accelerate the rate of cancer and cause death.
According to Lyman, the average American consumes 17 percent protein. He
added that the World Health Organization says 5 percent protein is all that
should be consumed.

As evidence, Lyman sited the China Project that shows that people in China,
which has a substantially larger plant-based diet, have less cancer, less
heart disease and less obesity but consume more calories than Americans.

"I became a vegetarian because of my health. I became a vegan because of my
health. But today I am a plant eater because of my animal concerns," he
said.

Lyman shared stories of how animals are being fed the waste of other
animals and the way this spreads disease among animals and perhaps even to
the human population.  Above all else, Lyman's message was a message of
self-education. "Go read the information. Get the books. Go to the library.
Find out about these issues. Educate yourself and make a decision about
what you're going to do," he said."

[From an article about Howard at North Carolina State University recently:
http://technicianonline.com/story.php?id=008980


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 34th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter.

For this issue, Howard's come back from his travels with some 100 or so
photographs (including some shots of the voice-over process for the Mad
Cowboy Documentary).  You'll see pix of his trip to the South, Chicago's
"Vegan Week," the premiere of "Peaceable Kingdom" (Tks, Derek!), and part
one of the Vegan Cruise.

Reading further, you'll learn about Reality Clocks on the web, the
"gladiator diet," where cholesterol comes from (and new research about
keeping it low), that rattlesnakes may not make good pets, and how water
resources are being privitised.  There's also several new articles related
to "mad cow disease" in the United States, a Fufano info animation,
McDonald's reaction to "Super Size Me," why Mastercard won't sponsor
circuses any more, and the little old lady who's saved over 70,000 dogs and
cats (so far) in her amazing career.

In this edition, too, there's recommendations from the world's largest
public health organization regarding Factory Farms, a significant win in
the battle against GMOs, a reminder of the Great American Meatout on March
20th, and access to a large collection of links on gardening, useful
e-mail/newsletter/disc. groups to help keep you networked and informed, and
more.

As always, a hearty nod of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read
past issues at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

A Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone, here's hoping your first day of
Spring is a good one, and don't forget to plant some seeds for the future.

Best regards, Mark


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera+
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  VegNews Upgrade!
04:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
05:  Vegan Gladiators, Super Low Cholesterol, McDonald's On Diet
06:  Pet Rattlesnakes, Illiterate Wildlife, & A Fufano
07:  "Pure" Water, Water Thieves, GMO Outlawed, Oldest Seed Company
08:  Unhealthy Farms, Foie Gras Laws, No to Circus, 70,000 saved
09:  Keep In Touch With World Vegetarianism
10:  The 2004 Great American MeatOut!
11:  Quick Bytes
12:  Howard's Schedule
13:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
14:  Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  Quotes of Note
************************************************
"...let us...begin from one indisputable scientific fact about meat
consumption:   meat kills.  It kills us just as dead as tobacco kills us,
but far more frequently.  It is far and away the number one cause of death
and disease in America.  One out of every two Americans alive today will
die of cardiovascular disease, usually in the form of a heart attack.  And
heart attacks are never caused by corn, broccoli, or cauliflower; they are
not the work of pears, plums, or peaches; they are never brought on by
rice, barley, or lentils.  They can virtually always be attributed to
saturated fat and cholesterol.

Although it's certainly possible to get too much fat from a select few
plant-based foods (oils, margarine, nuts, seeds, and avocados, for
example), most of the saturated fat in the standard American diet and ALL
the cholesterol come from animal products.  Study after study has linked
the consumption of animal products to heart disease.  When I say to you
that the consumption of meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products is the
primary cause of atheroscelrosis in nonsmokers... I am not just giving you
my opinion; I am reporting a medical fact that has been established with as
much scientific unanimity and consistency as the fact that smoking
cigarettes dramatically increases the risk of lung cancer, emphysema, and
heart disease."

--- Howard Lyman (pp. 22-23, "Mad Cowboy")


"A positive injury is done to the system by continuous meat eating. There
is no excuse for it... You may ask, Would you do away entirely with meat
eating? I answer, It will eventually come to this, but we are not prepared
for this step just now. Meat eating will eventually be done away. The flesh
of animals will no longer compose a part of our diet; and we shall look
upon a butcher's shop with disgust. . . . "

--- Ellen G. White (p. 407, "Counsels on Diet and Foods")


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera+
************************************************
[Traveling in the South with wife Willow in December:
http://www.madcowboy.com/1203_HLpix/index.html

[Chicago, Disney Studios, Ft. Lauderdale, and Vegan Cruise:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_0204a_HLpix/index.html

[The Vegan "Wellness" Cruise Part 01:
http://www.madcowboy.com/0204b_HLpix/index.html

[For related info links to above pix:
http://www.tylersterritory.com/travel/namerica/mid-south/miss/antebellum/longwoo
d-01.html
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_trail/natchez.htm
http://vegan.uchicago.edu/tryveg/
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0820/n223/18069386/p1/article.jhtml?term=
http://www.sublimeveg.com/

[Here are photos by Derek Goodwin from the World Premiere of the film
"Peaceable Kingdom" at Lincoln Center NYC with a sell out crowd of 1100
people:
http://www.veganica.com/testdir/category.php?id=111


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
""What country recently passed Japan to become the world's 2nd largest
consumer of crude oil (the United States is first)?"

Congratulations to Geordie Long, of Abbotsford BC, for being amongst those
who correctly guessed "China."  He's won the luck of the draw.

["China's fast-growing economy has overtaken Japan to become the world's
second largest consumer of crude oil after the US,...  The US remains by
far the biggest oil user [4x China]:"
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=Sto
ryFT&cid=1073281160569&p=1012571727088


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"In 1998, what percentage of some 20 million outdated personal computers
were recycled:  0 to 5%, 5% to 10%, 10% to 15%, or 15% to 20%?"

Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT March 29th.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:   VegNews Upgrade!
************************************************
"The bi-monthly publication VegNews recently transformed from a newspaper
into a magazine! The magazine filled with the latest in vegetarian news,
travel stories, recipes, international events, must-read books, the hottest
new veg products and businesses, nutrition information, restaurant reviews,
veg weddings, the annual Veggie Awards, and so much more.

Founded in 2000, the publication has 100,000 readers worldwide and has
become the favorite read of vegetarians everywhere.  In 2003, VegNews
acquired the title, Vegetarian Baby & Child, and in 2004, acquired the
vegetarian food magazine, Nosh.  As the Associated Press said in 2003,
"Those looking for news and events should turn to VegNews, which is filled
with information about anything and everything vegetarian.   And this
magazine's advertising is as useful as its content; it is packed with
restaurant, product and mail-order ads for companies that cater to the
meat-free.""

[Here's a the cover of the new issue:
http://www.madcowboy.com/VNewsNewLookDraft.jpg


************************************************
*04:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
JAPAN FINDS 11TH CASE OF MAD-COW DISEASE:  (03/07/04):  "Japan's Ministry
of Agriculture said a dead 7-year-old Holstein cow on the northern island
of Hokkaido tested positive for mad-cow disease.  Japan banned U.S. imports
of beef after the December discovery of mad cow in Washington. The U.S.
banned Japanese beef imports after Japan reported its first case in Sept.
2001."

[Edited from:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=adpGQvs6RQrI&refer=japan


MAD-COW BEEF 4 TIMES AMOUNT EARLIER SAID:  (03/02/04):  "The amount of beef
potentially contaminated by the nation's first mad-cow case was nearly four
times higher than the federal government initially reported, The U.S.
Department of Agriculture has said.  When the USDA launched the recall of
affected meat Dec. 23, officials put the total at 10,400 pounds, or 5.2
tons, a figure they repeated for nearly two months. But the actual amount
was 38,000 pounds, or 19 tons, the agency now acknowledges.

The total swelled because meat from the infected cow was mingled with meat
from many other animals when it was ground into hamburger.  Officials at
the two Oregon plants that processed and distributed the meat said they
knew within a day exactly how much had been sold and where it had gone.
Consumer advocates say the delay in reporting the true amount shows how
difficult it is for the public to get timely information about contaminated
meat and points up flaws in a recall process they say favors the meat
industry over public health."

[Very edited from:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001869153_madcow02m0.html


HEALTH OFFICIALS PROBING CJD CASES IN N.J.:  (03/09/04):  "Federal and New
Jersey authorities appear to have bowed to pressure from Congress and are
investigating a potential cluster of cases of a fatal brain disorder called
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the southern part of the state, United Press
International has learned.  The investigation was spurred by the
persistence of Janet Skarbek, a private citizen in Cinnaminson, N.J., who
has been collecting information about local CJD cases for nearly a year.
Skarbek has compiled a [statistically shocking] list of at least nine --
and as many as 13 -- CJD cases with ties to the Garden State Race Track in
Cherry Hill.

Skarbek became concerned about the disease after Carol Olive, a woman with
whom her mother had worked at the Race Track, died last May of CJD.  As
Skarbek's research turned up more cases of the rare disease, she began
urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and the
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, to investigate. But
both agencies dismissed her pleas, claiming there was no evidence of
abnormally high occurrences of CJD in the state."

[Quite edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040309-011038-7707r


USDA OBSTRUCTING MAD COW TESTING BY BEEF PRODUCERS IN THE U.S.:
(03/09/04):  "The USDA, which conducts only limited testing on its own,
doesn't allow private testing for the fatal brain-wasting disease in
cattle, in part because officials worry that potential marketing for tested
meat would confuse consumers. Federal officials also say they fear that
private laboratories would report false positives, upsetting overseas
customers and causing cattle prices to crash. By keeping mad-cow testing
within USDA walls, officials argue, the government can confirm test results
before they become public.

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC, a meatpacker that slaughters cattle at a
plant in Arkansas City, Kan., in February said it would build its own
mad-cow testing laboratory -- an announcement that prompted a USDA warning
that anyone testing without its approval could face criminal charges. The
mad-cow discovery spotlights whether shoppers should be able to verify the
safety of their food however they want, particularly if the government
won't do it for them. The dispute pits consumer advocates and some beef
entrepreneurs against the USDA and big-beef interests.

The only laboratory in the nation testing for mad-cow disease is the USDA
facility in Ames, Iowa. Scientists there analyze the samples collected for
a federal mad-cow surveillance program that last year screened one out of
every 1,700 cattle slaughtered in the U.S.  Testing for mad-cow disease is
getting easy enough for many private labs to do. Four testing firms make
rapid diagnostic kits that can tell, in a matter of several hours, whether
a dead cow was infected. They're widely used in Japan and in the European
Union."

[Very edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/testing031104.cfm

[See:  "USDA Threatens Beef Company Planning to Test All Cows for Mad Cow
Disease:"
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/mad-cow-usda.cfm


STATE LOOKS TO TEST BEEF: LAWMAKERS HOPE TO SOFTEN FOREIGN BAN:
(03/12/04):  "Worried that a foreign embargo on U.S. beef will ruin the
state's cattle industry, state lawmakers may soon introduce legislation to
make California the first state to set broader and faster testing for mad
cow disease.  More than 50 countries have banned U.S. beef since a mad cow
case was found in Washington state, lopping $3.86 billion in annual export
sales from the $40 billion U.S. beef industry, according to the U.S. Meat
Export Federation.

The mere whiff of tougher, decentralized mad cow testing is drawing fire
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and some in the beef industry. Both
caution that such a move would be a potentially disastrous overreaction to
the lone U.S. case detected in December.  The USDA has so far refused the
request and cautioned that testing without its approval - or even selling
test kits - is against federal law.

However, officials in Japan, the country's largest beef export market, are
quietly encouraging wider testing. Japan spent $1.4 billion on U.S. beef
last year - 10 percent of foreign beef sales - until it closed its ports to
the meat in December after a Holstein was found with mad cow disease. Japan
wants U.S. beef imports to meet the same standards it has for Japanese
beef: tests of all cattle at slaughter and incineration of all "at-risk
materials" - the brain, spinal cord and intestines that are known to harbor
the agent that triggers the disease."

[Very edited from:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/8491725p-9420617c.html


GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES CRIMINAL PROBE INTO MAD COW CASE:  (03/03/04):  "The
government has begun a criminal investigation into whether records may have
been falsified in the nation's first and only case of mad cow disease, the
Agriculture Department's inspector general said Wednesday.  In a separate
investigation, the General Accounting Office is checking the feed
industry's compliance with a Food and Drug Administration's rule aimed at
keeping the infectious protein blamed for the disease out of cattle feed.

The criminal investigation is moving alongside a non-criminal review of the
Agriculture Department's response to the mad cow case, the department's
inspector general, Phyllis Fong, told a House subcommittee. Fong said the
criminal investigation focuses on whether the infected Holstein cow truly
was a "downer" cattle unable to stand or walk when it was slaughtered Dec.
9 in Moses Lake, Wash.  The department initially said the cow was a downer,
and that was why it was tested for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or
BSE. Downers have a higher risk of the brain-wasting disease. But men who
saw the cow at Vern's Moses Lake Meat Co. just before it was slaughtered
recall it being on its feet."

[Edited from:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/03/03/national
1848EST0860.DTL


MAD COW EFFECTS RIPPLE THROUGH FOOD ECONOMY:  (03/12/04): "It's been three
months since the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in the United
States. But even though that heifer from the Yakima Valley in Washington
State appears to have been an anomaly, the shock wave from the episode
continues to ripple across the country and abroad.  Import bans imposed by
many other nations have cut deeply into the US beef industry. American
consumers remain wary. The US Department of Agriculture is scrambling to
restore confidence by changing the way it polices the raising and slaughter
of cattle.

"The direct and indirect impact of BSE has not only assaulted the beef
sector but the effects have been felt throughout the ag economy,"
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman told a farm forum in Troy, Ohio, last
Saturday.  Some 35 million cows are slaughtered in the US each year. Direct
and indirect economic activity from the industry adds up to $188 billion
annually, making it the largest portion of the nation's food and fiber
industry.

The single cow confirmed with the disease was discovered in Washington
State. But meat from that cow was processed with other beef, then shipped
to distributors in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, and
Montana."

[Edited from:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0312/p02s01-usec.html


KROGER UNIT SUED OVER ALLEGED SALE OF MAD-COW BEEF:  (03/05/04):  "A woman
who says her family ate ground beef linked to the only known case of mad
cow disease in the U.S. has filed a class-action lawsuit against a
supermarket chain.  According to the lawsuit, a recall order for beef
linked to the cow was issued that day [Dec. 23rd BSE announcement], but QFC
didn't begin pulling the meat from about 40 stores until Dec. 24.  The only
notice to QFC customers was the posting of small signs in stores starting
Dec. 27, according to the lawsuit. QFC had "a duty to warn" buyers under
the Washington Product Liability Act and could have done so through
newspaper, radio and television advertising and by notifying individuals
who made purchases using QFC Advantage discount cards, wrote Steve W.
Berman, Crowson's lawyer.

The family is "now burdened with the possibility that they presently carry
(the disease) that may have an incubation period of up to 30 years," the
lawsuit says. Scientists believe people who eat beef from infected cows can
contract variantCreutzfeldt-Jakob, a fatal brain-wasting disease that has
been detected in about 150 people worldwide."

[Edited from:
http://www.cropdecisions.com/show_story.php?id=23944


************************************************
*05:  Vegan Gladiators, Super Low Cholesterol, McDonald's On Diet
************************************************
GLADIATORS WERE BAREFOOT VEGANS:  (03/02/04):   "An anthropological autopsy
of 70 gladiators found the Romans to be overweight vegetarians who fought
barefoot, according to University of Vienna scientists.  Dietary analysis
of the bones of more than 70 gladiators recently found near Ephesus, the
Roman capital of Asia Minor, in modern western Turkey, dispels traditional
Hollywood images of macho, muscular carnivorous fighters, London's
Telegraph reported Tuesday.

The findings, which will air March 10 on Britain's Channel Five on "The
True Gladiators: Revealed," instead indicate a vegetarian diet of beans and
barley which produced a thick layer of fat.  "They got enough of this food
every day to make them very fat and strong," said Karl Grossschmidt, a
forensic anthropologist at Vienna University."

[Edited from:
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040302-104818-6550r.htm

[Caesar's armies were essentially vegan, too:
http://www.uah.edu/student_life/organizations/SAL/misc/romanwarmach.html


SUPER LOW CHOLESTEROL SAVES LIVES:  (03/08/04):  "Low is good, lower is
better, but lowest cholesterol is the real answer to saving lives and
preventing heart attacks, researchers announced Monday.  The latest
findings from cardiologists studying the use of lipid-lowering drugs called
statins show although national guidelines recommend levels of LDL -- the
so-called bad cholesterol -- be reduced to just under 100 milligrams per
deciliter, results from a new trial of more than 4,000 patients
hospitalized for treatment of severe chest pain indicate dramatic
reductions in death require even more dramatic reductions.  This
"aggressive lipid lowering treatment reduced overall mortality by 28
percent," Cannon said."

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040308-030350-2921r


SOURCES OF CHOLESTEROL:  "Dietary cholesterol is present only in foods of
animal origin (not in foods of plant origin).  Foods of plant origin
(vegetables, fruits, grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds) contain no
cholesterol. Fat content is not a good measurement of cholesterol content.
For example, liver and other organ meats are low in fat but very high in
cholesterol."

[From:
http://health.allrefer.com/health/cholesterol-sources.html


OBESITY TO SURPASS SMOKING?:  (03/09/04): "Smoking is the leading cause of
preventable deaths in the United States but it may soon be overtaken by
poor diet coupled with a lack of exercise, a government analysis showed
Tuesday. Nearly half of the 2.4 million U.S. deaths in 2000 could be blamed
on preventable causes that ranged from excessive drinking, to traffic
accidents, to contracting a sexually transmitted disease, the report from
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Among the lifestyle factors, tobacco use -- including deaths from
second-hand smoke and infant mortality from mothers smoking during
pregnancy -- led the list with 435,000 deaths or 18.1 percent of 2.4
million total. Close behind and climbing fast was the combination of
obesity and inactivity, which was blamed for 400,000 deaths or 16.6 percent
of the total."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=O015EPMV1XMIOCRBAEZSFFA?type
=topNews&storyID=4530756

[A really fascinating article about the history of U.S. agriculture from
the 18th century & relationship to Obesity:
http://www.newscoast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031011/ZNYT04/310110724/10
25/FEATURES07


MCDONALD'S MENU TO GO ON DIET IN 2005:  (03/02/04):  "McDonald's is
slimming down its menu. The hamburger giant has started phasing out its
trademark Supersize fries and drinks in its U.S. restaurants as part of an
effort to simplify its menu and give customers choices that support a
balanced lifestyle, a company spokesman said Tuesday.  By the end of 2004,
super size will no longer be available at the nation's 13,000-plus
McDonald's outlets except in certain promotions, McDonald's spokesman Walt
Riker said.  McDonald's added entree salads last year and has been moving
to provide more fruit, vegetable and yogurt options with its Happy Meals.

An award-winning documentary called "Super Size Me" has heaped on more
unwanted publicity for McDonald's. The documentary, which chronicles the
deterioration of filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's health during a monthlong
experiment eating nothing but McDonald's food, won a directing prize at the
Sundance Film Festival and is set for wide release this spring.  Riker said
the phasing out of super-sizing has "nothing to do with that (film)
whatsoever."

[Edited from:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040303/D812IOLO1.html

[See also: "Filmmaker Tests McDonald's Fare with Big Results:"
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4499782

[The "Super Size Me" documentary website:
http://www.supersizeme.com


MCDONALD'S SALAD HAS MORE FAT THAN CHEESEBURGER:  (03/09/04):  "Global
hamburger giant McDonald's latest line in healthy looking salads may
contain more fat than its hamburgers, according to the company's Web Site.
McDonald's, plagued by health critics and flattening sales, has launched
the biggest change to its menu in 30 years with its plans to get into the
multi-million pound prepared salad market...on the new menu to be launched
at the end of this month, a "Caesar salad with Chicken Premiere" contains
18.4 grams of fat compared with 11.5 grams of fat in a standard
cheeseburger."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=BSVZAD4RTJHJOCRBAEZSFFA?type
=healthNews&storyID=4529382


************************************************
*06:  Pet Rattlesnakes, Illiterate Wildlife, & A Fufano
************************************************
THERE'S A FUFANU IN MY COLLAR, TOO!  "Think fur trim is just harmless
scraps? Check out the tale of the Fufanu -- a three-minute operatic
mini-musical that tells the story of Penny, a young woman who has just
purchased a fur-trimmed coat and handbag, only to have a creature called
the Fufanu emerge from her collar."

[A little verbally graphic (but accurate), yet great work on a tough issue:
http://www.fund.org/fur/pop_up_flash.asp


STUDY: RATTLESNAKES MAKE POOR PETS:  "Despite widespread popularity
throughout the southern United States, rattlesnakes may not make very good
pets, suggests research conducted at the University of North Carolina
Greensboro.  The study tracked over 600 families throughout western North
Carolina, a rugged area where venomous snakes are popular companions among
young men. Of the families surveyed, 50% had at least one timber
rattlesnake in the home. The families were tracked over a period of five
years.

According to the study, 95% of families with at least one rattlesnake
suffered a medical emergency over the study period, with a large majority
of those being snake-related.  The study suggests that the rattlesnakes'
low profile and penchant for hiding leads to a high number of incidents in
which the snakes are stepped on or tripped over. In addition, it was noted
that there is no empirical evidence that rattlesnakes can be trained."

[Edited from the satire at:
http://watleyreview.com/2004/022404-3.html


AMERICAN WILDLIFE LESS WELL EDUCATED THAN ASIAN, EUROPEAN WILDLIFE:
"American wildlife has once again scored lower on international
standardized testing than fauna in other nations, say officials at the
Department of Education.  The FIMSS (Fauna International Measurement
Science Study) tests have been conducted since 1994 on wild fauna in 32
countries around the world. Overall, American wildlife ranked 26th out of
the 32 countries competing, down from 25th in 2000 when the tests were last
administered.

The decline in scores among American fauna is widely blamed on a dietary
shift to fast food and the growing use of alcohol, largely brought about by
suburban encroachment into wilderness areas. Also, American animals are
increasingly cited for "attitude" problems, including uncontrolled
predation in mixed-group testing and early departure from testing sites."

[Very edited from the satire at:
http://watleyreview.com/2003/061003-1.html


************************************************
*07:  "Pure" Water, Water Thieves, GMO Outlawed, Oldest Seed Company
************************************************
BRITAIN QUESTIONS COKE ABOUT USING THE WORD "PURE":  (03/03/04):   "The
Coca-Cola Co., world famous for its "real thing" sodas, is being questioned
in Britain about using the word "pure" to advertise its Dasani bottled
water. On Tuesday, British trading standard officials asked the borough
where Coke's headquarters is based to look into the matter. Coke, which
sells a similarly made Dasani water in the United States, said it's
confident it's abiding by the local rules.

A Coke spokesman said on condition of anonymity that the complaint may have
been made by its competitors in Britain's $1.9 billion-a-year bottled water
market.  Coke says its Dasani water is treated in a highly sophisticated
filtration process, perfected by NASA to purify fluids on spacecraft.  But
why, British newspapers such as The Daily Mail asked Tuesday, should
consumers pay up to $1.76 for 17 ounces of Dasani when it's based on London
drinking water that costs 6 cents for the same amount?

The same purification process is used for the Dasani water that Coke has
sold in the United States since 1999. Dasani is the second-best seller in
the bottled water market there, behind a similar purified water product -
Aquafina - made by Pepsi-Cola Co.  "This bottled water does not appear to
follow our labeling guidance on the use of the term 'pure,'" an agency
spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity."

[Very edited from:
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/0304/03cokebritain.html

[See also: "Coke, Rivals Face Price War In US Water Market":
http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/newswire/2004/01/29/rtr1234579.html

[Check this out from MC Newsletter #18:
http://www.waterindustry.org/Water-Facts/bottled-water-2.htm


WATER THIEVES:  (03/2004):  "The privatisation of global water services
means billion-dollar profits for corporations and pollution, disconnection
and soaring prices for consumers. From Boliva to Ghana to the Philippines,
from the UK to the US and Canada, a rapidly consolidating for-profit water
industry has been attempting to capture a household drinking water 'market'
that, until recently, had been viewed in most parts of the world not as a
cash cow for private corporations but as a public service. Multinational
companies now run water systems for 7 per cent of the world's population,
and analysts say that figure could grow to 17 per cent by 2015.  Private
water management is estimated to be a $200 billion business, and the World
Bank, which has encouraged governments to sell off their utilities to
reduce public debt, projects it could be worth $1 trillion by 2021."

Already, a fifth of the world's population - 1 billion people - have no
access to safe drinking water and only inadequate stores of water for
cooking, bathing and basic sanitation.   Yet the questions remain, how and
why can highly regulated monopolies be more economically 'efficient', or do
as much public good, as properly run and regulated public agencies
answerable to democratically elected officials?  Nor is the industry's
record any more encouraging in other parts of the world. Developing world
cities with private water-management companies have been plagued by lapses
in service, soaring costs, corruption and worse. "'

[Very very edited from:
http://www.theecologist.org/article.html?article=449

["The Blue Planet Project is an international effort begun by The Council
of Canadians to protect the world's fresh water from the growing threats of
trade and privatization:"
http://www.blueplanetproject.net/


TURNING POINT IN HALTING GMO CROPS:  (03/03/04):  "Signaling a turning
point in the effort to halt the introduction of GMO crops in the U.S., the
citizens of Mendocino county [California] today dramatically approved a
countywide measure that prohibits the "propagation, cultivation, raising
and growing of genetically modified organisms."  With 98% of the precincts
reporting, the final tally was 56.34% for and 43.66% against.

Measure H, which had wide support from county residents, farmers, wineries,
business owners, and even the County Sheriff, is the first county wide ban
on GE crops in the US. It's is sure to be felt around the nation and world.
CropLife America - a national lobbying group representing agribusiness
giants like Monsanto, DuPont and Dow - pumped an unprecedented $518,000
into the opposition's smear campaign to defeat the initiative and is
expected to attack the measure in court. The proponents of Measure H spent
$79,000, raised mostly from small local contributions.

"This is a great day for local democracy. It's a demonstration of citizens
taking control at the most immediate level-which is at home in the places
where they live," said Doug Mosel, Yes on H's Campaign Coordinator."

[Edited from the long and interesting article at:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18027


PRESIDENTIAL SEEDING & 5TH OLDEST CORPORATION IN AMERICA:  "In 1780, David
Landreth and his family left England for Montreal, Canada where he intended
to establish a seed business. Four years later, the harsh Canadian climate
forced him to relocate to Philadelphia.  Initially, he sold seeds to the
City of Philadelphia and several nearby estates, but his business and his
reputation grew steadily and soon he numbered George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson and Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon's brother) among his customers. In
1798, he introduced the Zinnia into the United States from Mexico. In 1811,
he introduced the first truly white potato.  In 1820, he introduced the
tomato, known then as The Love Apple, and later perfected the first variety
of yellow tomato.

Today, the D. Landreth Seed Company is the fifth oldest corporation in
America. Among its many historic claims is the fact that the company sold
seed to every American president from George Washington to Franklin D.
Roosevelt."

[Very edited from:
http://www.landrethseeds.com/


************************************************
*08:  Unhealthy Farms, Foie Gras Laws, No to Circus, 70,000 saved
************************************************
FACTORY FARMS DEEMED UNHEALTHY:  (02/06/04):  "In a recent resolution, the
American Public Health Association (APHA) has called for help from
government organizations in putting a moratorium on new factory farms.
They also propose funding to encourage research that examines the effect of
factory farms on the environment and its workers.  Factory farms,
technically called Concentrated Animal Food Operations (CAFOs), have been
thought to be responsible for a variety of problems in not only their
surrounding environment but also in the health of livestock and safety of
food production across the country. Approximately 54 percent of U.S.
livestock is currently estimated to be concentrated on only 5 percent of
livestock farms.

The chief problem [among many listed in this article], of course, is that
of contaminated soil and ground water and this is one that must be
controlled by government organizations in order to prevent the spread of
chemicals and pathogens to humans.  The moratorium issued by the APHA will
not immediately have any direct impact on factory farms, but its importance
is that it comes from the world's LARGEST public health organization."

[Very edited from the comprehensive article at:
http://www.jhunewsletter.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/02/06/4022eeb735ddb


MASTERCARD ENDS CIRCUS SPONSORSHIP:  (03/01/04):  "Credit-card giant
MasterCard has ended its highly controversial sponsorship of Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The decision was made after PETA sent
MasterCard's president and board of directors undercover videotape of
standard circus-industry training practices showing screaming, terrified
elephants being viciously attacked with sharp metal bullhooks and electric
prods during behind-the-scenes circus training sessions. MasterCard joins
Visa and Sears, Roebuck & Co. to become the third national sponsor to end
Ringling promotions amid a flood of complaints.

PETA is consequently dropping its "NastyCard" campaign, which encouraged
MasterCard customers to return their cut-up credit cards to the company to
protest Ringling's well-documented abuse of elephants, horses, and other
animals. The campaign also included billboards showing a tiger cub gnawing
on cage bars with the caption, "There Are Some Things Money Shouldn't Buy.
MasterCard Sponsors Ringling Bros. Circus Cruelty."

[Edited from:
http://www.peta.org/news/NewsItem.asp?id=3968

[PETA's circuses website:
http://www.circuses.com


BILL WOULD OUTLAW FOIE GRAS:  (03/01/04):  "... animal activists and a
powerful California lawmaker ... argue that production of foie gras, fatty
liver derived from ducks and geese that are force-fed, amounts to animal
cruelty and want the pricey item to disappear from dinner plates and
grocery shelves in California.  The treatment of birds used in the
production of foie gras, which for thousands of years has been a staple of
European menus, is the latest battleground for animal advocates in
California.  Now activists have the support of a key state lawmaker, Senate
President Pro Tem John Burton, who last month introduced a measure that
would ban foie gras from being produced and consumed in California. The
state would be the first in the nation to ban the product, though it has
been outlawed in several other countries, including Israel and Germany."

[Very edited from:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/8378496p-9308266c.html


OVER 70,000 HOMELESS DOGS AND CATS SAVED:  "In 1972, Gertrude Maxwell was
horrified when she learned that every month over 90,000 animals were
destroyed in the United States. Strays were being scooped up and after five
days or less they were euthanized.  She attended the City of Highland
Park's Council meeting on August 28 and asked for, and was granted,
authorization to save their homeless animals from the Highland Park dog
pound.  As of August 28, 1972, she was a pioneer in founding Save-A-Pet,
inc., Illinois, as a "No-Kill" humane organization in Highland Park. Animal
euthanasia would never be practiced.

Since 1972, Gertrude Maxwell has saved over 70,000 homeless dogs and cats.
She encourages adoptions through radio and TV commercials. "A voice for the
voiceless animals who cannot speak for themselves," Gertrude Maxwell is one
of the most outspoken defenders of unwanted and homeless companion pet
animals. She is a strong opponent of animal euthanasia, insisting that
spaying, neutering and efforts to promote adoption are humane answers to
pet overpopulation problems.  Gertrude Maxwell is recipient of over 150
awards, honors and proclamations."

[Edited from:
http://www.saveapetflorida.org/


************************************************
*09:  Keep In Touch With World Vegetarianism
************************************************
"The International Vegetarian Union, of which Howard Lyman is a past
President, now has an online database which enables news to be sent to
specific categories of people in various parts of the world (and soon in
their chosen language).

If you would like information about World Vegetarian Congresses (next one
in Brazil, November 2004) or just general news about what's happening in
other parts of the world, as well as your own region, then you can be added
to the database completely free of charge. Your details will not be shared
with anyone else and you will not get junk mail from this secure system."

Simply send the following details to John Davis, webmaster@...:

Name:
Approximate location/state/region:
Country:
Email address:
Website (if any):

IVU website:
http://www.ivu.org


************************************************
*10:  The 2004 Great American MeatOut!
************************************************
"On March 20--the first day of spring--thousands of caring people in all 50
US states and a host of other countries will hold informative and
educational Meatout events. Events will include colorful 'lifestivals,'
street theater, lectures, public dinners, cooking demos, food samplings,
leafleting, information tables called 'steakouts,' and a Congressional
Reception in Washington, DC.  The occasion is the 20th annual observance of
the Great American Meatout, the world's largest and oldest annual
grassroots diet education campaign. Every spring, thousands of Meatout
supporters educate their communities and ask their friends, families, and
neighbors to pledge to "kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and
explore a wholesome, nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole
grains."

Is there a Meatout Event in your city?: http://www.meatout.org/mevents.htm

Don't miss this once-a-year opportunity to promote a healthy, compassionate
lifestyle to your neighbors and to save countless innocent animals.
Participating is easy and events of all sizes are needed. Even one person
can do it! We are here to help with guidance, posters, handouts and display
materials.

Please register your interest in Meatout today!"

[Official Meatout website: http://www.meatout.org 1(888)FARMUSA


************************************************
*11:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ANIMAL ISSUES:

[Our group's mission is to connect the community with resources, expertise
and education designed to further understanding of the positive benefits of
the relationships between humans and animals.
http://www.pawsitiveinteraction.org


GARDENING:

[A tremendous site for urban/home gardening information:
http://www.smartgardening.com/

[Guide to Container Gardening:
http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/container.htm

[Container Gardening Interactive Online Forum:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/contain/

[Designing a Container Garden:
http://www.my-container-garden.com/

[Vegetable Gardens in Containers:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/container/container.html

[Gardening on your Apartment Deck or Patio Links:
http://apartments.about.com/cs/gardening/

[Largest Community Garden Program in the USA:
http://www.greenthumbnyc.org/

[American Community Garden Association:
http://www.communitygarden.org/

[Extensive Resource on all types of Gardening:
http://webgarden.osu.edu/

[Minigardening (Growing Vegetables in Containers):
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VH032

[Urban Ecology:
http://www.urbanecology.org/

[Organic Gardening Tips and Plants - How to:
http://www.backyardgardener.com/organic/jan00.htm


REALITY STATISTICS ONLINE:

[Real-time statistics about the environment, disease, and more:
http://www.realityclock.com/


VEG'N-RELATED:

[Additives:  Vegan or Not?
http://vegan-info.com/additives.html

[Information on Fats and Cholesterol:
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/fats.html

[10 Good reasons to be a Veg'n:
http://www.downtoearth.org/home_goodreason.html

[Report:  "The Worst Low-Carb Restaurant Entr�es:"
http://www.pcrm.org/news/health040301_report.html

[Vegan Recipes:
http://www.nikibone.com/recipe/vegan.html

[Links to over 10,000 veg'n recipes:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VegRecipes.html

[Probably the biggest collection of veg'n links anywhere:
http://myhq.com/public/s/u/susanv/


E-LISTS, DISC. GROUPS, NEWSLETTERS, ONLINE PUBS.:

[FARM:  Meatout Mondays Weekly Recipes, Campaign/Conf. Updates:
http://www.farmusa.org  (select:  Campaign Updates)

[GRIST:  Environmental News with Humor:
http://www.gristmagazine.com/signup/subgrist.asp

[Organic Bytes: "Org. News with an Edge:" weekly e-mail newsletter:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htm

[Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine periodic news updates:
http://www.pcrm.org/news/subscribe.html

[PRNews:  Center for Media & Democracy: Weekly Spin e-mail list:
http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html

[Some of the Vegan-related Yahoo Groups of note (there are over 750!):
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/vegan_recipes/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fatfree_vegan/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Christian-Vegan-Cooking/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfood/
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawinspiration/
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/HallelujahDiet/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cat-tea_corner/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Veg-Recipes/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Herbivore/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vrgparents/
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/dairy-freerecipes/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FOODALLERGYKITCHEN/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vegcrockpotcooks/
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SDA-veg-recipes2/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VeganFoods4HealthyLiving/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vegetarian_Jewish_Cuisine/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vegetarian-Kids/

[23 veg'n e-mail lists:
http://www.envirolink.org/topics.html?topic=Vegetarianism&topicsku=2002121141858
&topictype=subtopic&do=catsearch&catid=11

[International Vegetarian Union e-mail lists:
http://www.ivu.org/ivumail/lists.html

[Vegetarians in Paradise: Monthly e-mail website updates/news:
http://www.vegparadise.com


VEGAN CHEFS/PRODUCTS OF NOTE:

[Raw vegan chef school:
http://www.rawfoodchef.com/

[Bryanna Grogan's marvelous Beginning Veg'n Disc. Board & Newsletter:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/

["Karma-Licious Vegetarian Delights make the day of the Mad Cowboy.  Eating
reaches a new level when taste and nutrition are exceeded by compassion. My
animal friends applaud the feast on my plate."  -- Howard F. Lyman
http://www.karmalicious.com/

["Mimi Clark, aka the "Veggie Gourmet," has been doing demos and teaching
vegan cooking classes in the Metropolitan WashDC area for the past 13
years. She has contributed recipes to several vegan cookbooks and natural
food manufacturers' websites. In November, 2003, Mimi was asked to be the
Washington Post's vegan cooking "expert" for the SundaySource. Mimi's vegan
cooking classes have been endorsed by Joanne Stepaniak, Neil Barnard, M.D.,
and others:"
http://www.localdc.com/cooking/


************************************************
*12:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Mar 19: Los Angeles, CA > Peaceable Kingdom - Tribe of Heart
Mar 28: San Francisco, CA > SF Vegetarian Society : 11 am: FREE veggie
burgers, samples, recipes!
Mar 31: Normal, IL > "The Jungle, 100 Years Later: A Critical Conf. on the
Meat Industry in America," Illinois State Univ., 7 pm, Bone Student Center
(Old Main Room), Free and open to the public.

Apr 02: Berkley, CA > University of CA at Berkley, CA National Pesticide Forum
Apr 04: Chicago, Ilinois > Peaceable Kingndom -Tribe of Heart
Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii
Apr 17: Honolulu, Hawaii: Honolulu Vegetarian Society
Apr 23 - 26: Ellensburg, WA > Central Washington University

May 8: Philadelphia, PA > 6 pm (Conf. starts 930 am) - Philadelphia Ethical
Society
May 15 - 16: Santa Rosa, CA > McDougall Wellness Center

June 26 - 27: Lodi, CA > (26th at 4 pm, 27th at 10:30 am) - "Health and
Healing Crusade"

Jul 8 - 11: WashDC (Viena, VA) > AR2004
July 21-25: Johnstown, PA > Summerfest 2004

Aug. 7-8: Watkin Glen, NY > Farm Sanctuary

Sep 11, 12, 13: Kirtland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04

Oct. 6: Bristol, RI > Roger Williams University

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*13:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*14:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"The intellectual, the moral, and the physical powers are depreciated by
the habitual use of flesh meats. Meat eating deranges the system, beclouds
the intellect, and blunts the moral sensibilities." (p. 390)

"Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by
our Creator. These foods prepared for us in as simple and natural a manner
as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing. They impart a strength,
a power of endurance, and a vigour of intellect, that are not afforded by a
more complex and stimulating diet." (p. 310)

--- Ellen G. White (1900 & 1905, respectively, in "Counsels on Diet and Foods")


"There is, simply, a never-ending stream of good news about vegetarian
foods.  In the words of Natalie Angier of the New York Times, "The truth is
that the more researchers understand about the ingredients found in fruits,
vegetables, beans, and herbs, the more impressed they are with the power of
those compounds to retard the bodily breakdown that results in cancer and
other chronic diseases."  But you never hear any good news about meat."
(p. 179)

"Day by day, however, I discovered more and more foods that I could eat,
and the surprising thing was that I enjoyed my vegan meals consistently.  I
could eat Chinese food, Thai food, Mexican food, Indian food, Italian food
--- all had dishes that could be made without animal products.  There was a
variety of grains --- rice and barley and millet and couscous --- around
which I could organize my meals, and all kinds of organic fruits and
vegetables at the produce market where I had begun to shop.  For the first
time in my life, I actually enjoyed shopping in a grocery store."  (p. 176)

--- Howard Lyman (in "Mad Cowboy")


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 35th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

In this issue Howard's provided photos from his camera of the recent Vegan
Cruise (Part II), and across the U.S.A. from two premiere's of the new
documentary "Peaceable Kingdom."  Some of Howard's dialogue from that movie
has been transcribed for this newsletter as a special treat for our readers.

As you read on, you'll learn about Ecological Footprints and how they are
used to gauge national (and local) impact on our environment (and there's a
link on how you can figure out your own Ecological Footprint).  There's
also information about a "first of it's kind" petition to the EPA regarding
air pollution in North Carolina, a lady who's responsible for the planting
of over 30 million trees in Africa, McDonald's latest marketing attempt to
kids, on how eating more vegetables, seeds, and fruits reduces cancer risk
(another in a growing list of studies), how good ecology has been proven to
be good economics, and why Coke has pulled Dasana water from shelves in the
UK.

Further down, you can read about the real potential of "mad cat disease,"
how Buddhist monks are helping deal with the incredible stray dog problems
in Thailand, the top 10 veg-friendly ballparks in the United States, and
the controversy about re-opening a domestic horse slaughterhouse.

Finally, don't miss our special "April Fools" treat:  Mad Cow Faketoids:
2004.  Among them:  Howard meets Dubya, Scientists are concerned about "mad
ant disease," and PETA has an unusual new campaign of note.

As always, a tip of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read past
issues of the Newsletter at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Happy Spring to Everyone, and get those plants started.

Best regards to all, Mark


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
04:  Earth Overuse, Eco Econ, EPA Petitioned, Tree Planter Wins
05:  Mad Cow Faketoids: 2004 (Happy April Fools Day!)
06:  Sleepy Kids, McKids, Insecti-sized Kids, Kid Fish Limits
07:  Vitamin E/Cancer, Fructose/Obesity, Dasana Gone, Cut Calories
08:  Mad Cats, Thai Strays, Veg Ballparks, Horse Slaughterhouse
09:  Quick Bytes
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12:  Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  Quotes of Note
************************************************
"...you have to remember, that I'd just been given the greatest gift in the
world, the gift to walk again.  And I can remember on my farm, shortly
after the operation, I was in the bathroom, and I was looking in the
mirror.  It was one of the first times in my life that I actually got
honest with myself.  My entire lilfe I've always claimed to love animals,
and I asked myself at that time, "if I really loved animals, if I care
about them as much as I profess to, should I be eating them?"  I never saw
an animal clicking its heels and going to the kill floor saying:  "yippy
skippy, I wanna be a burger tomorrow."  I've been in hundreds of
slaughterhouses, I've seen thousands of animals die; I knew looking at
those animals that they knew they were going to die.  They saw what
happened to the animal in front of them, they smelled the death that is
there....  Is there a need for that?  I saw the fear in those animals eyes,
but I never allowed myself to really think about it, until after I walked
out of the hospital.

...and I will tell you, that when I asked myself that question, I almost
tore the sink off of the wall.

I couldn't go and discuss it with my wife.  How was I going to tell my wife
that we had millions of dollars invested in an operation that was designed
around the feeding and killing  of animals?  How was I going to say to her,
ah.... maybe what we outta do is get out of this business?  How was I going
to go and talk to my friends about it, where every one of them was involved
in doing exactly what I was doing?  There was no support mechanism.  Even
if went to my minister, here was a man that was eating animals just like I
was.

It was the most lonely and difficult time in my entire life."

--- Howard Lyman in "Peaceable Kingdom"

[Information about the "Peaceable Kingdom" Documentary:
http://www.tribeofheart.org/pk.htm


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
["The Vegan Cruise (Part II)" and travel in North Carolina State, NYC:
http://www.madcowboy.com/0204c_HLpix/index.html

["Peaceable Kingdom" Premieres in NY & LA, travel in Chicago, 3ABN tapings:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_to_03_03_HLpix/index.html


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"In 1998, what percentage of some 20 million outdated personal computers
were recycled:  0 to 5%, 5% to 10%, 10% to 15%, or 15% to 20%?"

Congratulations to James Miskiewicz, of Phoenixville, PA, for being amongst
those who guessed correctly.  He's won the luck of the draw.

[The answer being sought:  10-15%:
http://www.ems.org/ewaste/facts.html
http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/eCyclingwaste.htm


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"What is the world's most popular fruit?"

Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT April 15th.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
LESS BEEF CONSUMED AS PRICES GO HIGHER:  (03/24/04): "Americans ate less
beef last year but paid handsomely for the steaks and burgers they consumed
as prices reached record highs.  It was a good year for the beef industry,
as higher consumer spending offset a 4 percent decline in consumption,
according to the Centennial-based National Cattlemen's Beef Association and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  The mad-cow case decimated U.S. beef
export markets. About 65 countries shut their borders to American beef
shipments, and most remain closed. But domestic demand, accounting for 90
percent of all U.S. beef production, is strong, especially for pricier
steaks and loins.  Protein-hungry consumers spent a record $67.3 billion on
beef last year, up from $65.2 billion in 2002."

[Edited from:
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/03/24/build/b
usiness/45-beef-consumption.inc


WASH STATE CATTLE INDUSTRY FACES CARCASS DISPOSAL QUANDARY:  (03/15/04):
"A single case of mad cow disease has cast a shadow of toxic uncertainty
over cattle carcasses, creating ground pollution concerns and increasing
disposal costs.  The December discovery of an infected Washington state
Holstein eliminated export markets for beef and caused a pile-up of cattle
byproducts made by renderers. That has decreased renderers' demand and left
dairy farmers looking for new places -- such as landfills and compost piles
-- to send carcasses [estimated at 2 billion pounds of cattle annually].
In some cases, they are choosing to save money by burying cattle on the
farm.

The health consequences are unknown. No one understands the potential risks
of ground water or crop compost contamination from decomposing cattle --
and possibly mad cow's brain-destroying proteins. Until government agencies
set rules to protect public health, compost is piling up, and many
landfills are refusing to accept cattle carcasses.  Research indicates that
incineration at extremely high temperatures is necessary to destroy prions,
and even that may not work."

[Very edited from:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8191544.htm


BILL: MAD COW TESTS FOR ALL STATE'S CATTLE:  (03/28/04): "A week after
federal officials announced plans to increase testing for mad cow disease,
two California legislators introduced a bill to require all cattle in the
state to be tested for the disease.  If passed, SB 1425 could pit
California against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is considering
whether to allow anyone other than its scientists to test for mad cow, also
known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE.

The California Cattlemen's Association on Thursday denounced the bill as
overreacting to the Washington case.  "There is absolutely no scientific
basis for testing each and every animal in this state," said association
president Darrel Sweet. "Any California-specific testing program for BSE is
unnecessary, impractical, would place California's ranchers at a serious
competitive disadvantage to less-regulated regions, and may be in violation
of federal law."  The USDA has maintained that it is the only agency that
can legally purchase or authorize the sale and administration of mad cow
test kits."

[Very edited from:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/8297336.htm


USDA'S TOP OFFICIAL ON MAD COW TESTING RESIGNS:  (03/23/04):  "The U.S.
official responsible for the nation's mad cow testing program is resigning,
the Agriculture Department confirmed Tuesday.  Bobby Acord, administrator
of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), is
stepping down for personal reasons, spokeswoman Courtney Billet told MSNBC.
"He has decided to retire," Billet said. "He has been taking care of his
mom and he also has been responsible for an elderly aunt in West Virginia."

Acord has been a vocal critic of expanded testing for bovine spongiform
encephalopathy ... in early March, several House members were frustrated by
Acord's responses to their questions during panel testimony about testing
for mad cow disease.  "It's really like pulling teeth or worse trying to
get the right kind of information out of these people," Rep. Maurice
Hinchey, D-N.Y., told MSNBC on Tuesday. Of Acord's retirement, Hinchey
said, "It's not shocking, but you wonder why he would select this
particular moment.""

[Very edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/resign032604.cfm


USDA CERTIFIES BIO-RAD TEST FOR MAD COW DISEASE:  (03/18/04): "The U.S.
Agriculture Department on Thursday approved the first rapid tests for
detecting mad cow disease in cattle, allowing officials to determine within
hours if a cow is infected.  Bio-Rad Inc. said its tests will be used by
about 25 state and federal laboratories that are working to determine
whether the animal brain-wasting disease has taken hold in the U.S. cattle
population.

The USDA on Monday announced a one-year program to test as many "high risk"
cattle as possible for mad cow disease, boosting its surveillance after
finding the first and only U.S. case in December. Under the federal
program, the USDA said testing 268,000 cattle per year would allow
inspectors to be 99 percent confident that if there was one case of mad cow
disease among 10 million cattle, it could be identified.

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4601244


GOVERNMENT DECLARES U.S. BEEF SAFE TO EAT:  (03/27/04):  "The United States
has formally notified its trading partners that U.S. beef is safe to eat, a
principal step toward negotiations to lift bans they imposed because of mad
cow disease. The letters to his counterparts abroad from the Agriculture
Department's chief veterinarian, Ron DeHaven, were accompanied by summaries
of what the United States has done to protect beef safety and search for
other cases of mad cow. About 50 countries banned U.S. beef or cattle since
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was identified in December in a
cow in Washington state.

"This information demonstrates that any remaining trade restrictions
against U.S. beef and beef products can be lifted without compromising
safety," DeHaven said in a statement Friday.  The letter and supporting
documents are necessary steps for negotiating with other countries to lift
their bans, said Gary Weber, director of regulatory affairs for the
National Cattlemen's Beef Association, a trade group."

[Edited from:
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%257E10834%257E2045524,00.html


CANADIAN MILLS BLAMED FOR U.S. MAD COW:  (03/20/04):  "The feed that
infected two North American cows with mad cow disease probably came from
two mills in Canada, officials there say. But they may never know for sure
that the feed caused the infection, one official says.  The mills used meat
and bone meal that may have contained infectious protein from cattle
imported from Britain, said Dr. George Luterbach, an official of a mad-cow
working group in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. He said Canadian
privacy law prohibits disclosing the identity of the mills.

Both of the infected cows in North America were born in Alberta in 1997,
just before Canada and the United States implemented a ban on feeding to
grazing animals any meal that contained cattle protein.  The cattle were
raised in separate herds and ate feed from different mills, but feed for
both could have been made from British animals imported before Canada
banned such imports in 1989, Luterbach said. Canadian officials who
searched for the British cattle could not account for 68 of them. It's
possible they were processed into feed, he said.  Reconstructing history
from partial records will leave a lot of issues unresolved, Luterbach said."

[Very edited from:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/8230712.htm


USDA ACCEPTING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON DOWNER BAN UNTIL 04/12/04: "The USDA is
accepting public comments on its downer ban until April 12, 2004. Please
write, and encourage your friends, family and others to write as well. Urge
the USDA to retain their ban on downer cows, and urge the agency to expand
the ban on downers to include other species, such as sheep and pigs. This
public comment period provides a rare opportunity to formally express
concerns about the irresponsible and inhumane marketing and slaughter of
downed animals.

FSIS Docket Clerk Docket 03-025IF Room 102, Cotton Annex 300 12th and C
Street SW. Washington, DC 20250-3700 Fax: 202-690-0486
FSIS.Regulations@...

[More info and sample letter at:
http://www.nodowners.org/pr_mad_cow.htm


************************************************
*04:  Earth Overuse, Eco Econ, EPA Petitioned, Tree Planter Wins
************************************************
EARTH'S RESOURCES OVERUSED BY 15%:  (03/22/04):  "Redefining Progress today
released an update of the world's leading indicator of sustainability, the
Ecological Footprint Accounts. The 2004 Footprint of Nations concludes that
the world's wealthiest nations are mortgaging the future at the expense of
today's children, the poor, and the long-term health of the Earth.  The
national Ecological Footprint Accounts measure the land area required to
support a nation, providing for its needs and absorbing its wastes. The
Accounts are composed of six factors: energy use, grazing land,
pastureland, fisheries, built land and forests.

For the first time the United States has the world's largest Footprint at
9.57 hectares (23.7 acres) per person - a sustainable Footprint would be
1.88 hectares (4.6 acres). At the other end of the scale, developing
countries like Bangladesh and Mozambique have Footprints of 0.53 hectares
(1.3 acres) per capita - just over 1/20th of the US Footprint. Humanity's
combined footprint represents an overuse of the earth's natural resources
by 15%.

Another trend reported in the study is the growing number of sub-national
governments that have taken action by compiling local Ecological Footprint
Accounts to reduce their use of global ecological resources.  "When London,
Paris, and San Francisco calculated their [local] Footprints, they invested
in the future. When they take action to reduce their impact, they see
returns immediately in environmental health, economic vitality, and social
equity," said Jason Venetoulis, co-director of the Sustainability
Indicators Program."

[Edited from:
http://www.rprogress.org/media/releases/040322_foot.html

[For the full report:
http://www.redefiningprogress.org/publications/footprintnations2004.pdf

[Figure out your own personal ecological footprint at:
http://www.myfootprint.org/


ECOLOGY RESTORATION BOOSTS ECONOMY, STUDY FINDS:  (03/17/04):  "Freeman
House was a fed-up commercial salmon fisherman in 1978 when he began
planting willows on the banks of the Mattole River to improve conditions
for wild salmon.  Restoration work House pioneered 25 years ago accounts
for 300 jobs and brought $14.5 million to Humboldt County in 2002,
according to a report released Tuesday by Forest Community Research, a
nonprofit social science organization.  The study found that natural
resources restoration work generated more than $65 million between 1995 and
2002 in the North Coast county - mostly from contracts and grants from
state and federal agencies. It has spawned a complex, well-coordinated
network of groups dedicated to reinvesting in ecosystem health, said Mark
Baker, author of the 60-page report.

The model is especially important with the current national focus on
natural resources and forest restoration brought by recent legislation...
said Chris Larson, executive director of the Mattole Restoration Council.
Local residents planting trees, stabilizing stream banks and restoring
watersheds are creating an economy "based on healing the Earth and
providing living-wage jobs for their communities," Larson said."

[Very edited from:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/environment/story/8548336p-9477002c.html


STATE PETITIONS EPA ON 13 OTHER STATES AND CLEAN AIR:  (03/19/04):  "North
Carolina can't clean up its dirty air by itself, so the federal government
should make 13 upwind states reduce pollution at their coal-burning power
plants, state leaders said Thursday.  With the support of Gov. Mike Easley,
Attorney General Roy Cooper sent a letter Wednesday to Michael Leavitt,
administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, asking his
agency to agree that the 13 states are illegally fouling North Carolina's
air.  The letter asks the EPA to order those states to emit far less of the
soot and airborne chemical compounds that poison people's lungs and spoil
scenic views.

"We've taken steps to cut down on the pollution we produce here in North
Carolina, but dirty air doesn't respect state borders," Cooper said
Thursday in announcing the petition. "Since we can't stop air pollution at
the state line, we want to cut it at the source."  North Carolina is the
first Southern state to petition the EPA under Section 126 of the federal
Clean Air Act to force nearby states to be healthier neighbors, as several
Northeast states did successfully in the late 1990s."

[Very very edited from:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/3432510p-3050926c.html


TREE PLANTER WINS NORWEGIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE:  "The Norwegian Sophie
Prize 2004 will be awarded to the most outspoken and respected
environmental activist in Africa, who for the last 30 years has fought
fearlessly for the protection of the environment, human rights, social
justice, human dignity and the promotion of democratic governance.  Wangari
Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement (GBM) in Kenya, established the
organization in 1977, while leading the National Council of Women of Kenya.
This quickly became the largest community based environmental organization
in the African region with a focus on tree planting and empowerment of
women groups.  To date, GBM has planted over 30 million trees many of which
are now providing rural families with greener and cleaner environments, in
addition to firewood, timber, fodder and fruits.  These trees also prevent
soil erosion, enhance soil fertility & water conservation and promote
biological diversity."

[Edited from:
http://www.sophieprize.org/

[The Green Belt Movement website:
http://www.womenaid.org/press/info/development/greenbeltproject.html


************************************************
*05:  Mad Cow Faketoids: 2004  (Happy April Fools Day!)
************************************************
HOWARD LYMAN MEETS WITH PRESIDENT: (04/01/04): "Ex-2000th Generation Cattle
Rancher, Howard Lyman, met with President Bush today in a special closed
session at the White House.  Although full details of the meeting have not
been made available to the Press, administration sources have indicated
that President Bush was thrilled by finally meeting someone from "the
wonderful country of Vega," and hoped that continued discussions with the
Vegans will "help ease recent tensions between the United States and Vegans
everywhere."  Sources also indicated that Mr. Bush was intrigued by Mr.
Lyman's thoughts on organ farming, Health Care GMOs, active vision, and
helping "mellow out Mad Cows."

[For more info on Vega, check out: "Them Vegans:  What DO They Want?" at:
http://www.wheredoyougetyourprotein.myth


AMERICAN MEAT INSTITUTE CHANGES NAME: (04/01/04): "The American Meat
Institute (AMI) and the People's Council for Really Red Meat (PCRRM),  have
revealed that they will be joining forces as a new industry group.
"Vegetarians Anonymous" (VegAnon) will reflect the growing concern of many
meat corporations and accountants, that too many Americans are addicted to
non-meat products," said Dr. Neil Barnyard, newly appointed Director.
Citing increasing numbers of vegetarians and the need to help these
"V-addicts" deal with their dietary deprivations, Barnyard proudly asserted
that: "VegAnon will be a major force in providing special programs and
school incentives to encourage people to stop eating so many vegetables,
grains, legumes, and fruit, and help them get back to dead animals as their
major source of life-giving food."

[More details not available at:
http://www.veganon.usa


ASE:  A NEW GLOBAL HEALTH THREAT?:  (04/01/04): "Researchers from the
European Union and United States met this week to discuss the growing
concern about ASE.  "Ant Spongiform Encelphalopothy" (sometimes referred to
as "Mad Ant Disease"), is a relatively new discovery, and may explain the
recent rash of dead ants on Ant Farms in several countries from no apparent
cause.  Reports indicate that the "downer ants," as they are referred to,
show erratic motion and unusual behavior before collapsing and dying.  Dr.
Hans R. Durtie, of the Association of Smart Scientists, has urged Ant
Farmers world-wide to cease feeding dead ants to their farmed ones.  In
contrast, though, Ms. May K. Mormuny, Media Rep. for the National Antman's
Association, has ridiculed the notion that feeding dead ants to ants is a
problem, and has assured the public that:  "we are testing at least one ant
out of every trillion domestic ants in this country on a regular basic, and
we've yet to find a single case of ASE."

[Edited, modified, transcribed, changed, and altered from the well-written
article at:
http://www.antsneedlovetoo.info

[Sign the "Test All Ants" petition at:
http://www.nodownerants.org


PETA PUTS NEW BILLBOARD ON THE MOON:  (04/01/04): "The entire world was
stunned today, as word of the latest educational campaign by PETA was made
public.  A 1000 square mile billboard was unveiled on the Moon.  The
billboard, brought to the Moon by a covert team of Greenpeace and members
of PETA via a salvaged Russian Soyuz ("we converted it to run on bio-fuel,"
chuckled Bruce Freechicks, co-director, PETA Space Campaigns, in a radio
broadcast from the Moon).  Visible from everywhere on earth, the billboard
shows a picture of a downed cow with a space helmet, and the caption (in 25
languages): "In Space, there is No Downer. Give Up Meat.  Down with Dairy."

[You can download the free 700 gigabyte PDF graphic of the billboard at:
http://www.solarpeta.spacecom/moonad.01.pdf


USDA ANNOUNCES SCHOOL LUNCH NO-MEAT DAYS:  (04/01/04): "USDA Secretary Anne
Venomm today announced new restrictions on school lunches that will be
implemented immediately.  The "Leave No Child Behind During Weekdays
Initiative" will mandate that American schoolchildren will not be allowed
to eat school-supplied irradiated beef, pork, and poultry, any day of the
week but on Friday.  Chief Scientist Sal Menilla explained that this
mandate will ensure that children getting sick from eating meat will have
at least two non-school days to recover before classes begin again on
Monday."

[Buried in the webpages at:
http://www.usdaisrunbyami.really


MONSANTO SUES WORLD OVER OXYGEN OWNERSHIP:  (04/01/04): "Monsanto filed
suit in World Court yesterday, demanding financial compensation from
everyone in the world who's breathed any oxygen released from Monsanto
genetically engineered crops.  Citing ownership of the patents for the
original seeds, resulting plants, and all materials produced by the plants,
Monsanto Chief Attorney, G. Reed Deebums, said:  "We've spent billions in
the research and development of these untested products for the benefit of
all mankind, and it's only natural and proper that we should reap
appropriate compensation for every molecule connected to our seed and
plants."  "Besides," he added, "you really don't have a choice."

[See the article: "Monsanto: Taking the Future from You Now" at:
http://www.wherewillitend.info

[See also Monsanto's new website at:
http://www.monsanto.gov


QUICKIES:

["Raising a Vegan Mosquito is Easier than You Think:"
http://www.yeahright.sure

["Center for Consumer Idiocy Release New Charter:"
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/

["Discounted Tickets Now Available for AR2025... Avoid the Rush:"
http://www.ar2025andBeyond.org

["Burger King Announces Organic Vegan Tofu Burger on a Wholegrain Bun:"
http://www.that'llbetheday.us

[Man Claiming to be Howard Lyman seen in Tuxedo:
http://www.madcowboy.com/04_01_03/HLyman_Tux.040.JPG


************************************************
*06:  Sleepy Kids, McKids, Insecti-sized Kids, Kid Fish Limits
************************************************
US KIDS IGNORE MR. SANDMAN, PARENTS SLEEP-DEPRIVED:  (03/30/04):  "US
children, charged up with television and caffeine, do not sleep enough,
said a study published, a problem often shared by their sleep-deprived
parents.  Children of all ages, from newborns to 10-year-olds, lack an
average daily one to two hours' sleep, according to sleep experts in a
study of 1,473 homes by the National Sleep Foundation. More than two-thirds
(69 percent) of homes suffered multiple sleep problems each week, with
children having difficulty getting to sleep, refusing to go to bed and
nightmares.

"Many children are not sleeping enough," Richard Gelula, head of the
National Sleep Foundation, said. "What is troublesome is that the problems
start in infancy." Twenty-six percent of children of three to 10 years of
age drank at least one caffeinated beverage per day and slept on average 30
minutes less each night than the rest.  Thirty to 40 percent of children
have a television in their rooms and slept 20 minutes less than those who
did not, the study said."

[Very edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1508&ncid=751&e=9&u=/afp/2004033
1/hl_afp/us_health_sleep

[Get a copy of the study (PDF or Powerpoint) at:
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/2004poll.cfm


NEW TACTIC FOR BRAINWASHING MCKIDS--A CLOTHING LINE:  (03/25/04):  "Burger
giant plans clothing range US fast food giant McDonald's is to launch a
range of children's clothing in North America and western Europe.  The
McKids range will be designed, made and distributed by Chinese firm
Shanghai Longhurst. The products will initially go on sale in China, Hong
Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea, before reaching Europe, Japan and
North America next year.  The McKids line of products will also include
toys, videos, DVDs and books.  In a statement McDonald's said the clothing
is intended to offer quality fabrics in styles that will endure "season
after season".  Larry Light, McDonald's global chief marketing officer,
said the move exemplified "a new thinking"."

[Edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/mckids032604.cfm

[Original story at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/3567529.stm


STUDY: INSECTICIDES AFFECT INFANT SIZE:  (03/22/04):  "Insecticides may
adversely affect the size of babies born in upper Manhattan, but new
restrictions on the substances have coincided with a rebound in baby sizes
in the area, according to a study to be released Monday.  Mothers with the
highest amounts of chlorpyrifos and diazinon in their umbilical-cord blood
gave birth to babies an average half pound lighter and one-third of an inch
shorter than those born to mothers with no discernible level of the
substances, the study by researchers from Columbia University found.  But
sizes of newborns appeared to rebound as the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency gradually imposed a ban on indoor use of the two pesticides _ once
widely used by exterminators _ between 2000 and 2002, the study found. (The
substances are still allowed on farms.)"

[Edited from:
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/health/ny-bc-ny--insecticides-baby0322mar22,0,6475
21.story?coll=nyc-healthhome-headlines

[Original study abstract:
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2004/6641/abstract.html


FEDS RECOMMEND KIDS, SOME WOMEN LIMIT THEIR FISH INTAKE:  (03/19/04):
"Worried that mercury in fish poses a hazard to youngsters - while still
trying to stress the health benefits of seafood - the government issued new
guidelines Friday for eating fish.  Women who are pregnant, nursing or may
become pregnant, and young children should not eat certain kinds of fish
that tend to be high in mercury, said Lester Crawford, deputy commissioner
of the Food and Drug Administration.  While mercury can affect almost any
organ in the body, "the most sensitive organ is the brain," said Crawford.
"The concern is there could be a mental effect on a young child."

[Edited from:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-03-19-fish-mercury_x.htm

[The actual "Joint Federal Advisory for Mercury in Fish:"
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishadvice/advice.html


************************************************
*07:  Vitamin E/Cancer, Fructose/Obesity, Dasana Gone, Cut Calories
************************************************
VITAMIN E CAN HELP PREVENT CANCER, STUDY FINDS:  (03/29/04): "Vitamin E
protects against at least two common forms of cancer - prostate and
bladder, but popping supplements is probably not the best way to get the
vital nutrient, researchers said.  Two studies found that people who either
ate the most vitamin E containing food or who had the highest levels in the
blood were the least likely to have cancer. But the researchers also noted
that there are several different forms of vitamin E and the kind you eat,
in this case alpha tocopherol, is key.  They looked at data from 29,133
Finnish men aged between 50 and 69 taking part in a smoker's study.

"Nuts and seeds, whole grain products, vegetable oils, salad dressings,
margarine, beans, peas and other vegetables are good dietary sources of
vitamin E," Ms Weinstein said.  "It would not be reckless to encourage
people to try and meet the dietary allowance of vitamin E, which is about
50 milligrams a day," Mr Radcliffe said.  Mr Radcliffe said one of the best
sources is a handful of sunflower seeds. Almonds, spinach, mustard greens
and green and red peppers are also good sources of alpha tocopherol.

[Very edited from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1075918.htm

[See also:  "Fruits, Veggies, & WholeGrains Halve Cancer Risk:"
http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=34748&cat=Health


RESTRICTING CALORIE INTAKE IN MIDDLE AGE MAY LENGTHEN LIFE:  (03/23/04):
"Cutting down is recommended Restricting calorie intake in middle age may
lengthen life, researchers have found.  It had previously been suggested
keeping your calorie intake to a minimum had to begin earlier to have an
impact.  Proponents of the theory of Caloric restriction (CR) claim that a
diet which keeps the number of calories to a bare minimum while ensuring
the required amount of nutrition is taken on board lengthens life."

[Edited from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3557899.stm
[Original study published online before print March 25, 2004 Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0305300101]


FRUCTOSE SWEETENER LINKED TO OBESITY RISE:  (03/25/04): "Researchers say
they've found more evidence of a link between a rapid rise in obesity and a
corn product used to sweeten soft drinks and food since the 1970s.  The
researchers examined consumption records from the USDA for 1967-2000 and
combined it with previous research and their own analyses.  The data showed
an increase in the use of high-fructose corn sweeteners in the late 1970s
and 1980s "coincidental with the epidemic of obesity," said one of the
researchers. He noted the research didn't prove a definitive link.

But spokesmen with the food and beverage industry and a leading critic of
fast food both said weight gain would be a problem even if the sweetener
didn't exist.  Barry M. Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who worked on the study, said he believes
a third to half of the increase in calorie intake since the 1970s comes
from soft drinks and fruit drinks."

[Very edited from:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=541&u=/ap/20040325/ap_on_he_me/fit_fr
uctose_obesity&printer=1


COKE'S DASANI WATER OFF THE SHELVES IN THE UK:  (03/20/04): "Coca-Cola,
which just five years ago was rocked by a contamination scare in Europe,
was forced to withdraw its controversial Dasani brand of bottled water from
the UK Friday after discovering that it contained illegal levels of
bromate, a potentially carcinogenic chemical. The embarrassing voluntary
recall came just weeks after Dasani's turbulent UK launch, in which
Coca-Cola was pilloried for using tap water instead of a natural spring as
its source.  Dasani, sold in the US since 1999, is essentially tap water
treated and bottled. Coca-Cola had claimed to be able to improve the
water's purity through a process perfected by Nasa, the US space agency,
before adding "a perfect balance of minerals''."

[Edited from:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/international/8231708.htm


************************************************
*08:  Mad Cats, Thai Strays, Veg Ballparks, Horse Slaughterhouse
************************************************
CATS CAN DIE FROM `MAD COW'-TAINTED MEALS:  (03/20/04): "When the nation's
first case of "mad cow'' disease was confirmed late last year, federal
officials moved swiftly to protect people from being exposed. But what
about pets?  All of the things that were banned from the human food chain
because they are more likely to carry the infectious agent that causes the
disease -- the meat of animals that are sick or injured as well as the
brains, spinal cords and intestines from older cows -- are still allowed in
pet food. That's not counting all of the road kill, chicken waste and
feathers -- possibly even dead cats and dogs -- that also goes into pet
food.  And that's a concern because when mad-cow disease became all the
scare in Europe, killing about 150 people, it also was determined that more
than 100 cats had died -- from feline spongiform encephalopathy.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Pet Food Institute, a trade group,
insist that pet food purchased in the United States is safe, but the
Association of American Feed Control Officials for years has urged tighter
pet-food regulations. And Canada has banned imports of pet food from the
United States that contain beef byproducts, not only out of fear for cats
-- dogs are not susceptible to the disease -- but also with the realization
that some people eat pet food."

[Very edited from:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/8006016.htm

[Vegan pet food resources:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VeganPets.html


SLAUGHTER OF HORSES DECRIED IN DEKALB:  (03/28/04):  "The imminent
reopening of a horse-slaughtering plant here is stirring up controversy and
potential legislative action.  Critics denounce the facility as cruel.
Defenders argue it and other such plants help prevent equine abuse and fill
the demand for horse meat overseas.  Human consumption of horse meat is
virtually unknown in the United States but is common in Europe, where the
plant's operator, Cavel International Inc., sends its product. The
Italians, French, Dutch and Belgians are especially fond of the meat's
reportedly excellent flavor, texture and leanness.

Some 43,000 horses died in U.S. slaughterhouses in 2002, according to Matt
Baun, a spokesman for the federal Department of Agriculture's Food Safety
and Inspection Service. That's down from more than 240,000 in 1990, thanks
in part to public opposition.  The United States has no ban on eating horse
meat, Baun said. Nevertheless, some states have taken action against
slaughterhouses. California voters in 1998 approved a ballot measure that
outlawed the slaughter of horses for human consumption as well as the sale
of horse meat for human consumption."

[Very very edited from the disturbing article at:
http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/horsemeat/SuburbanChicago02282004.htm

[The campaign: "Just Say Whoa!! To Horse Slaughter:"
http://www.justsaywhoa.org/news/dekalb.asp


STRAYS SHOWN COMPASSION BY THAILAND'S BUDDHISTS:  (03/27/04):  "A dozen
monks dressed in saffron robes snapped on surgical gloves, armed themselves
with giant nets and fanned out over the grounds. They pulled dogs out from
under benches and cars, and plucked them from the shade thrown by statues
of the Buddha. The dogs were stuffed into a cage, and sprayed for ticks and
fleas. Later, a veterinarian neutered some of the mutts, before setting
them free to again roam Bangkok's gutters, back alleys -- and anywhere else
they choose.

About 30,000 unwanted dogs are dumped each year in Bangkok's back alleys.
Many Thais see the city's 150,000 homeless hounds as a benign urban
presence akin to squirrels.  Municipal authorities used to quietly
euthanize more than 200 dogs a day. But six years ago, the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals set up shop in Bangkok and ran a campaign
that argued the practice violated Buddhist principles. The city's governor
adopted a pro-life dog policy to quell the public outcry.  "Buddhism
teaches us to have mercy," Payom Kalayano [monk] says. "We need to take
care of all living creatures."

[Very edited from the long and interesting article at:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/2469844


PETA NAMES TOP 10 VEGETARIAN-FRIENDLY BALLPARKS OF 2004:  (03/29/04): "PETA
has been busy compiling its annual list of the most vegetarian-friendly
parks in major-league baseball, and the results are in. The 2004 season
veggie MVP Award and veggie Rookie of the Year Award go to the Cleveland
Indians' Jacobs Field-quite a feat for the Tribe and the Jake, who never
even made PETA's starting lineup until this year. Cleveland's winning
meatless crowd-pleasers include veggie wraps, perogies, bean burritos,
knishes, vegetarian sushi, Johnny's Apple Sticks (a local favorite), veggie
burgers, fruit cups, salads, and more.  "Baseball's winning percentage for
providing fans with the vegetarian options that they are demanding
continues to improve every season," says PETA's Vegan Campaign Director
Bruce Friedrich. "Taking in a game while enjoying great food that didn't
cost an animal an arm and a leg is a hit every time."

[Edited from:
http://www.peta.org/news/NewsItem.asp?id=4134

[Credit Johanna McCloy and Soy Happy for much of the veg-friendly
ballparks. "Soy Happy is a consumer advocacy service and a primary resource
for the introduction of vegetarian alternatives in mainstream outlets and
public venues all over the country:"
http://www.SoyHappy.org)


************************************************
*09:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ACTIVISM:

["Center for A New American Dream:"
http://www.newdream.org/

[The campaign: "Just Say Whoa!! To Horse Slaughter:"
http://www.justsaywhoa.org/news/dekalb.asp

["Excellent collection of info on bills, resolutions, active issues:"
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/campaign/legislation.htm

E-NEWSLETTERS:

[European Veg'n Unioin: Ton of useful info, free electronic newsletter:
http://www.european-vegetarian.org/index.php

[The free well-researched & comprehensive Farmed Animal Newsletter:"
http://www.farmedanimal.net/Newsletters.htm

ENVIRONMENT:

["Good Call: ReCellular Accelerates Recycling of Used Cell Phones:"
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=26585

["Satellite Image of Nutrient Rich Waters Off California Coast:"
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16487

["Resistance In Canada To GM Wheat Heats Up:"
http://www.terradaily.com/2004/040325040148.zo2gcgci.html

["Europe At Forefront In Research On Solar, Wave & Geothermal Energies:"
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/energy_engineering/report-27073.h
tml

["Disappearing Butterflies May Victims Of The Sixth Mass Extinction:"
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=502762

DIET/NUTRITION/HEALTH:

["Acupuncture Best Cure for Headache:"
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8981135%255E23289,
00.html

[Atkins Diet Alert: A PCRM website:
http://www.atkinsdietalert.org/consumer.html

[Diet fads back to the year 1087:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0316diethistory1
6timeline.html

["Fruits and Vegetables May Strengthen Girls' Bones:"
[Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2004
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4579984

RECIPES:

[Cookin' with Google:  enter couple of ingredients, select "veg'n":
http://www.researchbuzz.org/archives/001404.shtml

[60 Vegan Chinese Recipes:
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/chinese/

[Links to over 10,000 veg'n recipes:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VegRecipes.html

[Many lunch ideas, from the great Bryanna's Beginning Veggie's Board:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/99918156.html

[Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP) 101 - from Bryanna:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/140440.html

RESOURCES OF NOTE:

["Make Your Pet's Home Poison Safe: List of Toxic Plants:"
http://www.aspca.org/toxicplants


************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Apr 02: Berkley, CA > University of CA at Berkley, CA National Pesticide Forum
Apr 04: Chicago, Ilinois > Peaceable Kingndom -Tribe of Heart
Apr 07 - 14: Maui, Hawaii
Apr 17: Honolulu, Hawaii: Honolulu Vegetarian Society
Apr 23 - 26: Ellensburg, WA > Central Washington University

May 8: Philadelphia, PA > 6 pm (Conf. starts 930 am) - Philadelphia Ethical
Society
May 15 - 16: Santa Rosa, CA > McDougall Wellness Center

June 26 - 27: Lodi, CA > (26th at 4 pm, 27th at 10:30 am) - "Health and
Healing Crusade"

Jul 8 - 11: WashDC (Viena, VA) > AR2004
July 21-25: Johnstown, PA > Summerfest 2004

Aug. 7-8: Watkin Glen, NY > Farm Sanctuary

Sep 11, 12, 13: Kirtland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04

Oct. 6: Bristol, RI > Roger Williams University
Oct. 26: San Francisco, CA > SF Veg Society

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*12:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************

[John Newton, composer, "Amazing Grace," and his background:
http://www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/music/amaz.htm

[Listen to "Amazing Grace" and read lyrics (fine with low-bandwidth):
http://www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/music/amazing_grace.htm


"I've always loved the song ["Amazing Grace"]... but I didn't know the
story for a long time...  and I think about the fact, that if the Captain
of a Slave Ship could change, could write that song, which has touched
millions and millions of people, can we not change?  Is there any one of us
that can not make that journey?

--- Howard Lyman in "Peaceable Kingdom"


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 36th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

Howard's come back from his travels to Chicago ("Peaceable Kingdom
Premiere"), the San Francisco Vegetarian Society, the Beyond Pesticides
Conference, and other activities, with over 60 new images from his digital
camera for us to see.

In this special issue of the Newsletter, in honor of Earth Day, you'll find
a special "Online Earth Resources of Note" section (don't miss the
"Minature Earth" animation, that shows what it would be like if the Earth
were just a village of 100 people, and the Earth Observatory).  You'll also
get a link to the just-announced new FARM website "veggiesforecology"
containing great info and resources. There's also a surprise section today
for "Online Humor Resources" (check out the Bizarro cartoonist's great
cartoons, products, and writings, as well as the unique "grinningearth"
website!).

Even though we don't have the "Quick Bytes" references section this edition
(usually with extra links on activism, diet, nutrition, veg'nism, etc.),
there are extra articles on the environment (including how "junking oil"
makes economic sense, drugs grown in rice approved, and how Farming is
devastating to the global envirionment).  Reading further, you'll find a
landmark study on strict diets and overall health, 8 Rules for living
longer (by a Cancer Expert), how "cow burps" are being studied (and why),
and know that a clever vegan avoided dissecting a pig through an approved
"virtual pig" online.

Finally, don't miss the announcement/links for the 1st Interactive Vegan
Television Cooking Show, how McDonald's isn't defining vegetarianism, news
about the upcoming AR2004 Conference, and our own Mad Cow Info Round-up (a
battle on testing is a'brewin', and a new book "Dying for a Hamburger").

As always special nod of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read
past issues of the newsletter at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Special best wishes for everyone for a Great Earth Day... and has Howard
puts it, "every day is Earth Day."  Let's make it so......  Regards, Mark


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
04:  Online Earth Resources of Note
05:  Killing Seas, Farming Global Threat, Junk Oil, Drugs in Rice
06:  Online Humor Resources of Note
07:  Obesity/Diet Studies Breakthru, McDonald's Change, Life Rules
08:  Cow Burps, "Virtual Pig," Tiger Epidemic, AR2004 Conference
09:  Green Tea/Cancer, Szechuan'd Pests, Veg TV!, Food for Thought
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quotes of Note
************************************************
"Do you realize that the United States of America, we are putting more
pesticides and fertilizer on our lawns than all of the fertilizer that is
used to grow crops in India?  You know the percent of weed killer in urban
areas is astronomically higher than that rate that is used in agriculture.
These are the things that we need to think about.  Lets start making some
good decisions, lets start talking about public transportation.  Lets talk
about not putting chemicals on our parks where our children are playing.
Lets talk about buying our products that are not being in the need of going
to waste.  These are things that we can do.  Each and every one of us can
do something so that we have a more viable future for our children and
grandchildren.

I will say to you today that every time we bring out our wallet, every time
we spend a dollar, we're voting on our future.  The fork is the most
dangerous weapon in the arsenal of the Homo sapiens. We are not only eating
our planet; we are killing ourselves with what we are purchasing today.  I
say to you today, when you go and you shop, take a look at the teachings of
the bible that say my people will eat from the garden.  Only some fast food
restaurants believe that we have things called hamburger trees.  Join with
me, let's go buy better, let's think more, let's save the world.  Let's do
it today."

- Howard Lyman (excerpted from 3ABN 2002 "Earth Talk" video segments)


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
[Howard's travels in late March/early April:
http://www.madcowboy.com/04_22_04_HL_Pix/index.html

[Info related to Howard's Pix:
SF Veg Society:  http://www.sfvs.org/
Hulu House:  http://www.vegdining.com/GetRest.cfm?rk=US-CA-SF-HULUH
Michelle Simon: Center for Informed Food Choices:
http://www.informedeating.org/
Beyond Pesticides:  http://www.beyondpesticides.org/main.html
Maggie Mudd's Vegan Ice Cream:  http://www.maggiemudd.com/index.asp
Peaceable Kingdom:  http://www.tribeofheart.org/pk.htm
George Eisman:  http://people2.clarityconnect.com/webpages5/g.eisman/
Chicago Diner:  http://www.veggiediner.com/


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"What is the world's most popular fruit?"

Congratulations to Dale Stevenson, of La Porte, Indiana, who correctly
guessed "tomatoes."  He won the luck of the random draw among the those who
got it right.

["The tomato is the world's most popular fruit. And yes, just like the
brinjal and the pumpkin, botanically speaking it is a fruit, not a
vegetable. More than 60 million tons of tomatoes are produced per year, 16
million tons more than the second most popular fruit, the banana. Apples
are the third most popular (36 million tons), then oranges (34 million
tons) and watermelons (22 million tons)."
http://www.didyouknow.cd/tomatoes.htm


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"Only four animals step with both legs on either side when walking or
running.  Two of them are the camel and the maned wolf.  Name one of the
other two."

Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT May 6th.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]

************************************************
*03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
DYING FOR A HAMBURGER HOW MODERN MEAT-PACKING LED TO AN EPIDEMIC OF
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE:  "Dr. Murray Waldman, in collaboration with writer
Marjorie Lamb, sets out to show that Alzheimer's is, indeed, a deadly
modern plague. They present startling evidence that Alzheimer's is one of a
family of diseases caused by a malformed protein - or prion - that also
causes mad cow disease and its human variant, Cruetzfeld-Jakob disease
(CJD). Could Alzheimer's, like CJD, be caused by tainted beef? In this
compelling exposition, the authors come to a frightening conclusion about
our seemingly insatiable hunger for hamburger.

"Before about 1900 Alzheimer's disease did not exist, or if it did, was so
rare as not to be noticed.  But just over a hundred years ago, Alzheimer's
disease was unknown, and most people did not know anyone who exhibited the
symptoms of dementia that are now all too familiar to the families and
friends of victims. Alzheimer's disease (AD) now afflicts 15 million people
around the world, including 250,000 Canadians and 4.5 million Americans.
One in 10 persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have the
disease.  More significantly, the number of people with dementia is
expected to increase steadily over the next 25 years: in Canada, 10,000 new
cases of AD are diagnosed each year - 27 cases per day."

[Edited from the book summaries and the excerpt below:
http://www.mcclelland.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0771087659
http://www.thebukowskiagency.com/DyingForAHamburger.htm


FIVE CJD DEATHS IN NORTH N.J. IN 15 MONTHS:  (03/24/04):  "A 62-year old
man in Northern New Jersey has died from a brain disorder that appears to
be Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which, if confirmed, would be the fifth case
of the rare disease in a little over a year in a two-county area, United
Press International has learned.  The possible CJD cluster is associated
with the Garden State Race Track in Cherry Hill, where as many as 13 CJD
deaths might have occurred among employees and patrons who ate at the now
defunct track. Both variant CJD and the spontaneously occurring form of the
disease -- called sporadic CJD or simply CJD -- are incurable conditions
that degenerate the brain and ultimately cause death.

This would be an unusually high number for a uncommon disorder that is
thought to occur at the rate of only one case per 1 million population per
year.  The combined population of the two counties is approximately
789,000, so they would expect to see no more than one case of sporadic CJD
in that time frame. According to DHSS figures, which go back to 1979, the
two counties have never experienced two CJD cases in the same year -- let
alone five."

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040323-051052-3359r


USDA IMMEDIATELY STOPPED MAD COW TESTS AT SLAUGHTERHOUSE WHERE DISEASE WAS
FOUND :  (02/24/04):  "The federal government fell short of its goal for
mad-cow tests last year in the Northwest, where the nation's first case of
the brain-wasting disease was found just before Christmas.  The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's surveillance plan said it would take at least
1,205 tests to adequately monitor the five-state area, which includes
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah. But the agency collected only
781 samples, less than two-thirds of the target.

... At Vern's Moses Lake Meats, the slaughterhouse where the infected cow
was killed, no animals have been tested since Dec. 24, co-owner Tom
Ellestad said.  "USDA requested us to stop taking samples," he said.
Ellestad didn't know why USDA made the request."

[Very edited from:
http://www.unknownnews.net/040225madcowb.html


USDA ESTIMATES MAD COW TEST COSTS:  (04/07/04):  "The U.S. government's
plans to make beef safe from mad cow disease could cost the industry up to
$150 million a year, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday and
indicated it was open to amending the proposed rules.  After finding the
first and only U.S. case of mad cow disease in December, the USDA issued a
series of interim rules to further protect food from the brain-wasting
disease. Among the rules imposed in January to prevent the spread of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was a ban on the use of so-called downer
cattle in food. These are animals either too sick or too injured to walk.

The USDA also issued stricter measures to ensure tissue from the nervous
system, like the spinal cord, do not contaminate meat produced by hydraulic
pressure equipment, also known as advanced meat recovery systems.

In a report published on Wednesday, the USDA estimated these two
regulations would cost the industry up to $150 million annually. "Price
impacts are expected to be limited to beef by-products and variety meats
which constitute a small share of domestic beef consumption," USDA said.
The USDA estimated about 213 million pounds of beef will be affected by the
rules annually. Total U.S. beef output this year was pegged at 25.28
billion pounds."

[Edited from the article also containing countries' testing statistics at:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4687099/


MAD COW DISEASE MAY HAVE SPREAD INTO SHEEP:  (04/08/04):  "Scientists have
detected the first signs that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) may
have crossed into sheep in a study that is likely to rekindle anxieties
over the safety of lamb and mutton.  One of three tests used to determine
whether sheep that had seemingly died from scrapie were in fact infected
with BSE (also known as "mad cow" disease) has produced positive results.
The four-year-old animal was thought to have developed scrapie, a brain
disorder that affects sheep and is believed to be harmless to humans.

It was always theoretically possible for sheep to be infected with BSE
because they were once fed the same infected material that had spread the
brain disease in cattle during the 1980s and early 1990s. But there is no
simple test to distinguish BSE from sheep scrapie, and sheep experimentally
infected with BSE show the same symptoms as scrapie, which means that
scrapie in the field could be masking a hidden BSE epidemic in sheep.
Experiments suggest that BSE could be easily transmitted to sheep, and it
could, like scrapie, be passed down the generations. This would mean that
BSE could still be infecting the national flock today, more than a decade
after meat and bonemeal was banned."

[Edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/sheep040804.cfm


USDA REJECTS INDEPENDENT MAD COW TESTING:  (04/09/04):  "The U.S.
Agriculture Department will not allow American beef companies to
independently test their cattle for mad cow disease to appease Japanese
concerns, an agency official said on Friday.  The USDA rejected a request
by Creekstone Farms Premium Beef to allow 100 percent testing for the
brain-wasting disease, a step the privately owned company deemed necessary
to resume trade with Japan.

"The use of the test as proposed by Creekstone would have implied a
consumer safety aspect that is not scientifically warranted," said USDA
Undersecretary Bill Hawks in a statement.  The USDA has repeatedly said
Japan's demand for 100 percent testing was not scientifically justified.
U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney was expected to raise the issue when he
visits Japan next week.

Creekstone, which sells 20 percent of its beef to Japan, said it was
considering taking legal action against USDA and would make a decision
early next week. "We firmly disagree with USDA," said John Stewart,
Creekstone's chief executive. The company had already spent hundreds of
thousands of dollars building a private laboratory at its Arkansas City,
Kansas, beef plant in anticipation of winning government approval.  Japan's
three-month ban costs Creekstone up to $100,000 daily in lost sales, the
company said. About 50 workers have been laid off."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4795187


U.S. WON'T LET COMPANY TEST ALL ITS CATTLE FOR MAD COW:  (04/10/04):  "The
Department of Agriculture refused yesterday to allow a Kansas beef producer
to test all of its cattle for mad cow disease, saying such sweeping tests
were not scientifically warranted. Lobbying groups for cattle ranchers and
slaughterhouses applauded the decision, but consumer advocates denounced
it, saying the department was preventing Creekstone from taking extra steps
to prove its product was safe. Under the Virus Serum Toxin Act of 1913, the
department decides where cattle can be tested and for what.

Consumer groups accused the department of bending to the will of the beef
lobby, saying producers do not want the expense of proving that all cattle
are safe or the damage to meat sales that would result if more cases of mad
cow are found. "It is ironic in the extreme that an administration that's
so interested in letting industry come up with its own solutions would come
down with a heavy government hand on a company that's being creative," said
Dr. Peter Lurie, deputy director of the health research group at Public
Citizen, a frequent food industry critic.

The president of the American Meat Institute, which represents
slaughterhouses, and the director of regulatory affairs at the National
Cattlemen's Beef Association, which represents ranchers, praised the
decision. Gary Weber of the cattlemen's association called 100 percent
testing misleading to consumers because it would create a false impression
that untested beef was not safe. He compared it to demanding that all cars
be crash tested to prove they are safe.  Asked if beef producers did not
want to be pressured to imitate Creekstone and pay for more tests, Mr.
Weber said it was "absolutely not about the money."

[Very edited from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/10/national/nationalspecial2/10COW.html


BEEF PACKER TO FIGHT USDA ON BSE TESTING:  (4/12/04):  "Creekstone Farms
Premium Beef LLC said it will "aggressively challenge USDA's decision" late
last week not to allow Creekstone to voluntarily test all the cattle it
processes for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.  The company said that
since it asked USDA Feb. 19 for permission to privately test beef at the
company's Arkansas City, Kans., plant, company officials have held "ongoing
meetings" with USDA officials but the USDA announcement "came as a surprise
to the company."

"We are extremely disappointed but nonetheless relieved to finally have a
response from the USDA," said John Stewart, Creekstone chief executive
officer, in a company news release. "We now know where USDA stands but are
surprised it took them six weeks to respond with a 'no' to our request."
Stewart said his company hasn't ruled out legal action as it considers
options to challenge USDA's authority. "We have a back-up strategy in place
and over the weekend we will be finalizing our plans, which we will unveil
early next week," Stewart said in the release.

Creekstone said it has built "one of the best laboratories in the country
inside of our processing plant to perform BSE testing," said Steward. "We
have the equipment in place and staff trained to perform these tests. The
company plans to use a test made by BioRad, a company based in Hercules,
Calif., to test the animals; that's the same test the French and Japanese
use to test all their animals, said the company."

[Edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/fight041404.cfm


RECORDS CONTRADICT USDA'S MAD COW DECISION:  (04/21/04):  "A recent U.S.
Department of Agriculture decision to block a private company from testing
all its cattle under 30 months of age for mad cow disease runs contrary to
its own records that show it has tested more than 2,000 animals in that age
range, United Press International has learned.  In announcing the decision
to reject Creekstone's proposal, Bill Hawks, USDA's undersecretary for
marketing and regulatory programs, said, "There is no scientific
justification for 100 percent testing because the disease does not appear
in younger animals" under the age of 30 months.

The department's mad cow testing records, however, which were obtained by
UPI via the Freedom of Information Act, show over the past two years the
agency tested 2,051 animals -- and possibly more -- that were under the age
of 30 months.  "That's so hypocritical," said Michael Hansen, senior
research associate with Consumers Union, the advocacy group in Yonkers,
N.Y. "It makes it difficult for the USDA to argue to Creekstone, 'We only
test animals above 30 months,' when USDA itself tests animals as young as 3
months old."

Consumers Union, along with 12 other advocacy groups -- including Public
Citizen and the Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease Foundation -- sent USDA a letter
Monday urging it to reverse its position on the Creekstone proposal, as
well as to expand its surveillance program to include animals under 30
months old.  Hansen said he would like to see the testing program amended
to include animals as young as 20 months because infected animals of that
age have been detected in Japan and two animals under the age of 30 months
have tested positive for mad cow in Europe."

[Very edited from the long article at:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040420-052613-8197r


************************************************
*04:  Online Earth Resources of Note
************************************************
[A fascinating animation (text-based version, too): "If the Earth were 100
people:"
http://www.thesustainablevillage.com/miniature_earth/miniature_earth.htm

[The BEST Earth data images on the 'net:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

[Near-real time satellite views of over 80% of the Earth:
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/sat-bin/global.cgi

[The Sustainable Village (over 10,000 products):
http://www.thesustainablevillage.com/

[Earth Day Activities all week:
http://earthday.envirolink.org/

[Various activities, info sources, & campaigns:
http://www.earthday.net

[Greenpeace International:
http://www.greenpeace.org/

["Friends of the Earth is the US voice of an influential, international
network of grassroots groups in 70 countries:"
http://www.foe.org/

["Earthwatch Institute engages people worldwide in scientific field
research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary
for a sustainable environment:"
http://www.earthwatch.org/

["Earth911: recycling centers, water pollution, and conservation:"
http://www.earth911.org/

["EarthJustice:  Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer:"
http://www.earthjustice.org/

["Youth for a Change:"
http://www.earthforce.org/

["Earth Share is a nationwide network of responsible non-profit
environmental and conservation organizations:"
http://www.earthshare.org/

["EARTHscope: interactive geo-stories about the state of the Earth, our
communities, and possible futures:"
http://www.earthscope.com/

["The Earth Day Groceries Project, one of the oldest/largest educational
projects on the Internet. "
http://www.earthdaybags.org/

["Tips on Greener Computing:"
http://www.gristmagazine.com/possessions/possessions040604.asp

[Ideas for environmentally-sound lifestyle choices:
http://www.southjerseynews.com/issues/april/f040204a.htm

["Interviews with the 2004 winners of environmentalism's top prize:"
http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/goldman041904.asp

[FARM's new website about the adverse impacts of animal agriculture on
forests and other wildlife habitats, wildlife, water supplies, water
quality, air quality, and food supplies:
http://www.veggiesforecology.org/

["Support the Climate Stewardship Act"- Petition by May 1st:
http://iw.rtm.com/ed/undoit_petition_1.asp?sitecode=ugrist


************************************************
*05:  Killing Seas, Farming Global Threat, Junk Oil, Drugs in Rice
************************************************
NEW BOOK SAYS FARMING IS BIGGEST GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT:  (04/08/04):
"Inefficient farming practices are helping to drive deforestation,
pollution, ocean degradation and species loss, and constitute the most
serious environmental threat in the world today, according to a new global
survey by Dr. Jason Clay, head of the Center for Conservation Innovation at
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and noted expert on the economics of
agriculture.... Clay finds that agriculture uses more than 50 percent of
the habitable area of the planet, including land that should not be farmed,
and destroys some 100,000 square miles of forests and other critical
species habitat annually.

Among the findings: Agriculture wastes 60 per cent, or 1,500 trillion
liters, of the 2.5 trillion liters of water that it uses each year. Water
resources are already being used close to or beyond their limit,
particularly in the Americas, North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, China,
and India. The impacts of global warming are likely to further disrupt
water supplies.  "Agriculture has had a larger environmental impact than
any other human activity and today it threatens the very systems we need to
meet our food and fiber needs," said Clay. "New kinds of agriculture can
produce the food needed to feed an increasing population and still
accommodate all other life forms on the planet."

The book warns that government subsidies encourage intensive monoculture
farming practices that use chemicals and heavy machinery that harm the
environment. "U.S. farmers are on a treadmill: the more subsidies they
receive, the more they need them to remain competitive globally," said
Clay.  The book recommends that governments work with farmers and the food
industry to develop better management practices in order to increase
efficiency and reduce damage to the environment."

[Very edited from:
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1366D000000FBCB4B414E66DC
B4F2

[World Wildlife Fund:
http://www.worldwildlife.org/


SEWERAGE AND FERTILISERS 'ARE KILLING THE SEAS':  (03/30/04): "Last summer
every sea creature across an area twice the size of Wales was asphyxiated
by severely depleted oxygen levels in the Gulf of Mexico. The same
phenomenon, the marine equivalent of the ozone hole, happened off South
America, China, Japan, south-east Australia, New Zealand, and up to 150
other places.  A United Nations agency warned yesterday that the number of
these "dead zones", caused mainly by the run-off of nitrogen fertilisers
from intensive farming and sewerage from large cities, had doubled in the
past 15 years and was increasing all over the world.

"Humankind is engaged in a gigantic, global, experiment as a result of the
inefficient and often over-use of fertilisers, the discharge of untreated
sewage and the ever rising emissions from vehicles and factories," said
Klaus Toepfer, the UN environment programme (UNEP) director. "The nitrogen
and phosphorous from these sources are being discharged into rivers and the
coastal environment or being deposited from the atmosphere, triggering
these alarming and sometimes irreversible effects."

"What is clear is that unless urgent action is taken to tackle the sources
of the problem, it is likely to escalate rapidly," he said."

[Edited from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/story/0,12188,1180697,00.html


DEMAND FOR BEEF SPEEDS DESTRUCTION OF AMAZON FOREST:  (04/02/04):
"Europe's demand for beef made last year one of the worst ever for
Amazonian deforestation, according to an international research report
which quotes Brazilian government figures due to be released soon.  Last
year satellite pictures showed that almost 10,000 square miles of the
world's largest continuous forest was lost, 40% more than in the previous
year.

The destruction is being driven by a growing demand for Brazilian beef in
Europe because of the fear of mad cow disease and foot and mouth in
European herds, yesterday's Cifor report says. "The deforestation is being
fuelled by beef exports, with cattle ranchers making mincemeat out of the
rainforests," said David Kaimowitz, director general of Cifor and one of
the report's authors. He said that logging contributed only indirectly to
deforestation."

[Very edited from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1184164,00.html


WAITER, THERE'S A DRUG IN MY RICE:  (03/30/04):  "The California Rice
Commission on Monday approved a biotech company's request to grow the
state's first crop genetically modified to contain a drug.  The rice is
genetically modified to produce two human proteins that fight infection:
lactoferrin and lysozyme. Some rice growers and environmental groups oppose
the project, saying the rice could contaminate regular crops and damage the
export market.

.... Ventria's proteins could be a big step forward in preventing
infections in infants. Lactoferrin and lysozyme are present in breast milk,
and protect babies from ear infections, diarrhea, respiratory tract
infections, meningitis and other infections. But these protective proteins
disappear when a baby stops breast feeding or doesn't receive breast milk
at all. Researchers at Ventria were first to develop a human form of these
proteins that could become therapies.

Opponents say growing the crops in open fields endangers organic and
conventional crops, as well as human health.  "Even food-processing
corporations are very upset about this as well, because they know all you
need is one shipment of corn flakes that has a contraceptive in it and
there's a real problem, obviously," Achitoff [Earthjustice, Hawaii] said.
In 2002, federal officials ordered ProdiGene, of College Station, Texas, to
burn 155 acres of corn and 500,000 bushels of soybeans because the crops
had been contaminated by the company's pharmaceutical corn, which had been
genetically engineered to produce an experimental diarrhea vaccine for pigs.

[Very edited from:
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,62860,00.html


PLAN TO JUNK OIL, ADD JOBS:  (04/14/04): "Using renewable sources to meet
new energy needs would create three times as many jobs as relying on fossil
fuels, UC Berkeley researchers said in a study issued Tuesday.  The report
from Berkeley's Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory fans a growing
national debate over how to reduce America's dependence on imported oil.
While the Bush administration wants Congress to approve an energy program
that would, among other things, expand oil exploration in the United
States, a coalition of environmental and labor groups, calling itself the
Apollo Alliance, is pushing for federal incentives to promote wind, solar
or biomass power plants.

At a conference in Seattle on Tuesday that called for a federal push
similar to the Apollo space program, UC Berkeley Professor Daniel Kammen,
director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, said up to
240, 000 jobs could be created by 2020 if federal policies favor renewable
sources. Building new coal and gas-fired plants would produce about 80,000
jobs, he said.

"Renewable energy is not only good for our economic security and the
environment, it creates new jobs,'' Kammen said.

[Very edited from:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/04/14/BUGNG64K1E1.DTL

[Read about the Apollo Alliance at:
http://www.apolloalliance.org/
http://www.apolloalliance.org/for_the_press/_for_the_press_index.cfm


EUROPE LEADING WORLD INTO AGE OF WIND ENERGY:  (04/08/04): "Wind-generating
capacity worldwide, growing at over 30 percent per year, has jumped from
less than 5,000 megawatts in 1995 to 39,000 megawatts in 2003, an increase
of nearly eight fold. Among fossil fuels, natural gas leads with an annual
growth rate of just over 2 percent during the same period, followed by oil
at less than 2 percent, and coal at less than 1 percent. Nuclear generating
capacity expanded by 2 percent.

The modern wind-generating industry was born in California during the early
1980s, but the United States, which now has 6,300 megawatts of generating
capacity, has fallen behind Europe in adopting this promising new
technology. Germany overtook the United States in 1997; within Europe, it
leads the way with 14,600 megawatts of generating capacity. Spain, a rising
wind power in southern Europe, may overtake the United States in 2004. Tiny
Denmark, which led Europe into the wind era with the development of its own
wind resources, now gets an impressive 20 percent of its electricity from
wind. It is also the world's leading manufacturer and exporter of wind
turbines.

The United States is lagging in developing wind energy not because it
cannot compete technologically with Europe in manufacturing wind turbines
but because of a lack of leadership in Washington."

[Very edited from the statistic-filled article at:
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update37.htm


************************************************
*06:  Online Humor Resources of Note
************************************************
"FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MCDONALD'S FOOD & NUTRITION:
Q: Are any of McDonald's foods considered vegetarian?
A: McDonald's does not represent any of their foods as being vegetarian."

[The above is verbatim from:
http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat/nutrition_faq/vegetarian.html

[U.S. Global Warming Fashion Guide:
http://www.markfiore.com/animation/climate.html

["Saving the Earth One Joke at a Time" (info & humor):
http://www.grinningplanet.com/

["Energy & Environment: Cartoons, Jokes, & Political Satire:
http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/environment/

[Wonderful Funny AR & Vegan Cartoons, Essays, & Products:
http://www.bizarro.com/vegan/index.htm


************************************************
*07:  Obesity/Diet Studies Breakthru, McDonald's Change, Life Rules
************************************************
DIET, EXERCISE IMPROVE BLOOD VESSELS IN OBESE KIDS:  (04/05/04):  "The
blood vessels of children who are obese show changes that can lead to heart
disease later in life. Now, new research shows that these changes can
largely be reversed with diet and exercise. We were surprised that the
children had developed (blood vessel) abnormalities at such a young
age--and by how readily these could be reversed with simple lifestyle
measures," researcher Dr. Kam S. Woo, from The Chinese University of Hong
Kong, said in a statement.

The findings are based on a study of 82 overweight children who were put on
a low-fat diet alone or in combination with a structured exercise program
for six weeks. After this period, all 41 kids in the diet-only group and 22
of 41 in the diet-plus-exercise group continued their assigned regimens for
1 year.  At 1-year follow-up, further improvements in blood vessel function
were seen in kids who continued the exercise program. Moreover, continued
exercise had beneficial effects on blood vessel wall thickening and body
fat content. Less dramatic benefits were seen in children who remained on
the diet only."

SOURCE: Circulation, April 6th online issue, 2004.

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&ncid=751&e=6&u=/nm/20040405/
hl_nm/obesity_children_dc

[For abstract:
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/mjgca?allch=&SEARCHID=1082406701829_18530&AUTHOR
1=woo&JOURNALCODE=&search_url=http%3A%2F%2Fcirc.ahajournals.org%2Fcgi%2Fsearch&F
IRSTINDEX=0&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=1&gca=circulationaha%3B01.CIR.0000126599.47470.
BEv1


STRICT DIETS 'CUT HEART DISEASE':  (04/19/04):  "Nutritious food improves
health Stringent dieting can dramatically reduce the risk of heart disease,
a study shows.  Researchers at Washington University examined people who
had curbed their calorie intake and avoided processed foods for a number of
years.  They were found to have the health of people decades younger, the
study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said.  UK
experts said even small adjustments to diet can improve people's health.
The research suggests that long-term dieting can provide powerful
protection against both heart disease and diabetes. Levels of "bad"
cholesterol and triglyceride blood fats were very low in the people studied.

And the group, whose average age was 50, had blood pressure readings
similar to that of the average 10-year-old.  They ate a wide variety of
vegetables, fruits, nuts, dairy products, egg whites, wheat and soy
proteins, and meat.  They avoided all processed foods containing
trans-fatty acids, as well as refined carbohydrates, desserts, snacks and
soft drinks.  Insulin concentrations - one of the markers of diabetes risk
- were also as much as 65% lower than they were for people with a normal
diet.

Dr Luigi Fontana, who also took part in the research, said: "These effects
are all pretty dramatic.  "For the first time, we've shown that calorie
restriction is feasible and has a tremendous effect on the risk of
atherosclerosis and diabetes."

[Edited from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3640153.stm

[Original & detailed press release about the above study:
http://mednews.wustl.edu/medadmin/PAnews.nsf/0/F76B2638BDB6CAE786256E76005D51F6


MCDONALD'S LAUNCHES HEALTHIER MENU:  (04/15/04): "Coming soon to a
McDonald's near you: flab-fighting Adult Happy Meals, featuring salad,
bottled water, a pedometer and a little advice to walk more.  The hamburger
giant outlined plans Thursday for its "Go Active!" meals for grown-ups at
all 13,500 of its U.S. restaurants May 6 along with other steps designed to
make its fare - and its image - more healthy.  A target of obesity lawsuits
and a magnet for criticism that fast food is unhealthy, McDonald's Corp.
also launched a marketing blitz to address health issues head-on and tout
new diet-conscious options at its outlets.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the
Public Interest, credited McDonald's with taking "some small steps in the
right direction" Thursday but said they don't go nearly far enough.  "If
McDonald's wanted to improve the public's health, in addition to providing
the salads and bottled water, it could stop using partially hydrogenated
oils in its fries, which contain trans fats and are a powerful promoter of
heart disease," he said. "They also could lower the fat content of their
burgers, use lowfat cheese, provide more baked food instead of fried food
and lower the sodium content of their foods."

[Edited from:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040415/D81VB0LO0.html


DOCTOR PRESCRIBES 8 RULES FOR LIVING WELL:  (04/08/04):  "Getting a pet and
feeling a bond with that other living thing is just one of the eight
commandments a Mayo Clinic cancer specialist outlines for living long and
living well.  In his search to discover which lifestyle practices keep
patients out of his exam room, Dr. Edward Creagan believes he has found
some answers, and he enumerates them in his book, "How NOT to Be My
Patient: A Physician's Secrets for Staying Healthy and Surviving Any
Diagnosis."

"The Fountain of Youth is not rocket science. It's more complicated than
that," Creagan says. "It's on the sidewalks and bikeways of our country. It
consists of physical activity, trying to maintain an ideal body weight,
having positive and nurturing relationships, challenges to your sense of
inner being and a sense of humor. "You need someone to love (even a pet),
something to get you up in the morning, in other words, something to do
that gives your life meaning, and something to look forward to."

Seems simple enough, but most Americans follow few if any of his eight
commandments. Here they are [very summarized]: Form stable long-term
relationships, Maintain ideal body weight, Eat a plant-based diet, Engage
in regular physical activity, Longevity does not allow for smoking, Use
alcohol in moderation, Foster a sense of spirituality, [and] Find meaning
and purpose in life.

[Edited from:
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/living/8380970.htm


************************************************
*08:  Cow Burps, "Virtual Pig," Tiger Epidemic, AR2004 Conference
************************************************
STUDY PROBES IMPACT OF COW BURPS ON CLIMATE CHANGE:  "The federal
government wants to get a better handle on whether cattle burps are having
an impact on climate change. Environment Canada is launching a $50,000
study to measure the amount of methane gas produced by cattle as they
digest their food. The current belief is that cattle produce 19 megatonnes
of greenhouse gas emissions per year in Canada, or about 3% of the
country's total. But data from other countries has been used to make that
estimate and Environment Canada officials suggest cattle in Canada could
lead very different lives. To learn how much methane an animal emits,
studies have used a variety of techniques. Some have measured methane gas
emitted from dairy barn vents. Others have put a measuring device on
animals' snouts. Some studies suggest the average cow produces as much
greenhouse gas in a day as a car that is driven 3.2 kilometres."

[Edited from:
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=05cba277-3c1a-48d
9-ad8b-59fea68880f7


PROTESTING VEGAN GETS TO DISSECT 'VIRTUAL' PIG:  (04/15/04):  "A teenager
did more than let out a groan when she learned she had to dissect a fetal
pig in her freshman biology class. She and her parents objected to school
officials.  Morgan Merrick, a vegan who eats no meat, dairy products or
eggs, believes it is wrong to dissect frogs and fetal pigs in the name of
science.  She and her parents talked with a counselor on the day she was
scheduled to start the dissection.

By midday, Morgan and the school had worked out a compromise. She could
perform a virtual fetal pig dissection, on the Internet.  Morgan spent the
next four days working independently in the library to complete her virtual
dissection. She received a score of 85."

[From:
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0415dissectingpig-objection-ON.html


BUFFALO NATIVE FIGHTS 'NATIONAL EPIDEMIC':  (04/12/04): "There are an
estimated 10,000 tigers in private hands in the United States alone - more
than double the number remaining in the Asian wild.  "People are breeding
them illegally, selling them on the Internet, trading them at auctions,"
Markarian said. Of course, few private owners have the training or
facilities to handle these cats once they reach adulthood.  "It's a
difficult situation - a national epidemic," he said.  The problem must be
tamed by changing federal and state laws - and soon, said Markarian, who
prepared for his life's work under the tutelage of Cleveland Amory, the
author and animal advocate who founded the Fund for Animals in 1967.

After Amory died in 1998, trustees of the not-for-profit organization named
Markarian executive vice president. He became president in 2002.  The fund
is pushing for speedy enforcement of a new federal law banning interstate
and foreign commerce in tigers, leopards, lions, cheetahs and other exotic
animals and is urging states to stop such trading within their borders. A
bill that would ban private ownership of exotic wildlife is pending in the
State Legislature.  "This is not only an animal welfare issue, but a public
safety issue. If your neighbor has a tiger, that situation is a threat to
the community," Markarian said.

Today the Fund for Animals has 200,000 members and operates four refuges.
The best known is Black Beauty Ranch outside Dallas, home to 1,300 rescued
animals ranging from an abused circus elephant to primates rescued from
medical labs to game animals discarded by trophy-hunting ranches."

[Edited from the long article at:
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040412/1021361.asp


AR2004 CONFERENCE:  JULY 8-12, 2004:  "Animal Rights 2004 is the animal
rights movement's annual national conference. It provides a forum for
sharing knowledge, discussing strategies and tactics, networking, and
"recharging our batteries." It is dedicated to exposing and challenging the
terror perpetrated every day by our society against billions of innocent,
sentient nonhuman animals.  More than 80 animal rights leaders have been
already signed. They  include Steve Best, Lawrence Carter-Long, Karen
Davis, Karen Dawn, Joan Dunayer, Caryn Ginsberg, Michael Greger, Tippi
Hedren, Alex Hershaft, Steve Hindi, Kevin Jonas, Pattrice Jones, Elliot
Katz, Greg Lawson, Howard Lyman, Jim Mason, Jack Norris, Lauren Ornelas,
Dan Piraro, Sherry Schlueter, Paul Shapiro, Jerry Vlasak, Paul Watson, and
Zoe Weil. Musical entertainment will be provided by Will Tuttle and Heidi
Howe.

The conference will be held on July 8-12 at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel in
Vienna, VA, just outside the Washington Beltway. This facility is larger
than previous ones and offers reduced room rates and more amenities,
including free dog beds.  Several new videos will be screened in the video
theater.  The program structure will be tighter than in past years,
allowing more time for socializing and networking."

[Take advantage of discounted rates by registering before April 30th at:
http://www.animalrights2004.org

[FARM Newsletter:
http://farmusa.org/campaignupdates/apr19_2004.htm


************************************************
*09:  Green Tea/Cancer, Szechuan'd Pests, Veg TV!, Food for Thought
************************************************
GREEN TEA COMPONENT KILLS LEUKEMIA CELLS:  (04/08/04):  "A component of
green tea helps kill cells of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL),
the second most common leukemia in American adults, according to new
research. Mayo Clinic researchers found that the component, called
epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), destroys leukemia cells by interrupting
the communication signals they need to survive. CLL is most often diagnosed
in people in their mid-to-late 60s. Chemotherapy is used to treat the most
severe cases, but there is no cure for CLL."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&ncid=97&e=3&u=/hsn/20040408/h
l_hsn/greenteacomponentkillsleukemiacells

[Original study in Blood magazine online: 03/02/04:
http://www.bloodjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/2003-08-2763v1?maxtoshow=&HITS=
10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=kay&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=10824086071
36_8488&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=1&journalcod
e=bloodjournal


SZECHUAN PEPPER REPELS PESTS:  (04/08/04):  "Farmers could stop prairie
voles from eating their crops by spraying extracts from Szechuan pepper
around the plants. The hot sauce could deter animals that seem immune to
other fiery chemicals, such as the capsaicin in chillies.  Chemicals in the
peppercorn-like plant sting the rodents' mouths and noses and send them
looking for less painful foods, scientists report in the journal Pest
Management Science.

Capsaicin from chilli peppers is sometimes used to keep herbivores at bay.
"People use hot sauce to protect ornamental shrubs or fruit trees from deer
and elk, and it seems to work real well," says wildlife biologist Bill
Andelt of Colorado State University, Fort Collins. The spicy brew is safe
for plants and animals, he adds.  But capsaicin has no effect on some
hardier animals, such as mountain beavers that chomp up tree seedlings."

[Edited from:
http://www.nature.com/nsu/040405/040405-6.html


NEW TV SERIES ABOUT  KICKING JUNK AND FAST FOOD!:  (04/14/04):  "America's
First Interactive Vegan TV Series premieres Wednesday, April 21st at 11
a.m. Eastern/ 8 a.m. Pacific on the Healthy Living Channel.  VegTV is the
first TV series specifically designed to help Americans switch to a
healthier diet, to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and a
host of obesity related illnesses.  On VegTV, award winning TV news
journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell teams with best-selling cookbook author and
nutrition expert Marie Oser to whip up delicious meals that are very low in
fat, rich in fiber, and completely cholesterol-free. TV and movie stars,
from Alicia Silverstone to James Cromwell, tell viewers why they have
already made the switch to the vegetable based diet.

VegTV uses only fruits, veggies, nuts, grains and legumes, with a special
emphasis on soy, in the kitchen. Our recipes are totally free of meat,
fish, eggs, dairy, and processed sugar. Viewers can download recipes, watch
streaming videos, participate in on-line discussions and find all the
products needed to switch to a healthier lifestyle on VegTv.com.  VegTv
airs every Wednesday at 11am Eastern/10am Central/9am Mountain and 8am
Pacific on Healthy Living Channel available on Echostar's Dish Network
Channel 223 and cable systems around the country. The hosts of this show
are also its executive producers and are available for interviews."

[Very edited from the Press Release at:
http://www.vegtv.com/showinfo.htm


FOOD FOR THOUGHT:  (04/18/04): "If you pass up a fast food hamburger, the
processing energy you save would equal about 20 miles worth of fuel for a
car and water for 17 showers, environmentalists say. Raising animals for
food requires more than one-third of all raw materials and fossil fuels
used in the United States, say animal rights activists. [Stats from PETA]

That's one of the reasons Meriam Corcoran has been a vegan, a vegetarian
who uses no products derived from animals, for 13 years. Corcoran is a
founding member of Veggies In Motion, a metro Detroit group seeking to
spread news about the benefits of plant-based nutrition.  Veggies in Motion
was one of the many environmental groups that came out Saturday to help
celebrate Earth Day at Mott Community College.  Corcoran said if people
want to be environmentally minded, they should consider their diets and the
adverse affects of pollution caused from processing animals for food.

"At one time people would come to our table and be nervous and
confrontational," Corcoran said. "Now they are more open and curious."

[Edited from:
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-20/108229262155350.xml

[More about "Veggie in Motion"and buncha neat vegan resources/activities at:
http://www.all4vegan.net


************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Apr 23 - 26: Ellensburg, WA > Central Washington University

May 8: Philadelphia, PA > 6 pm (Conf. starts 930 am) - Philadelphia Ethical
Society
May 15 - 16: Santa Rosa, CA > McDougall Wellness Center

June 26 - 27: Lodi, CA > (26th at 4 pm, 27th at 10:30 am) - "Health and
Healing Crusade"

Jul 8 - 11: WashDC (Viena, VA) > AR2004
July 21-25: Johnstown, PA > Summerfest 2004

Aug. 7-8: Watkin Glen, NY > Farm Sanctuary

Sep 11, 12, 13: Kirtland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04

Oct. 6: Bristol, RI > Roger Williams University

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html

************************************************
*11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!

************************************************
*12:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"Luck is the least of it.  I think of the Earth as a living organism.  The
rocks, the air, the oceans, and all life are an inseparable system that
functions to keep the planet livable.  In fact, I now believe that life can
exist only on a planetary scale.  Can't have a planet with sparse life any
more than you can have half a cat."

- James Locklock (as quoted by Lawrence E. Joseph, "GAIA:  The Growth of an
Idea," p. 3.  ISBN:  0-312-05866-7)


"'Tis said that the views of nature held by any people determine all their
institutions."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, English Traits


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

My apologies for this additional sending.  There were some unforeseen
errors in the original 37th issue sent this past Friday due to a new
process of composition, and they've all been corrected.

This is the edition as was intended.  Thanks for your patience.  Best
regards, Mark

--------
Howdy!  Welcome to the 37th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

Howard's returned to the U.S. mainland, and has brought back near 100
pictures from his recent trips to Hawaii and Central Washington.  There's
also links below to some of the people he met with, and places he visited.

In this issue, we have a large "Mad Cow Info Round-up" covering the many
issues surrounding the USDA and a dead cow in Texas.  As you read on,
you'll learn about how the "low-carb" fad diet can injure your immune
system, a study about your brain on BBQ, and why people should eat more
walnuts.  There's also information about a Vegetarian Iron Chef contest,
PETA's new "Veg Eye for the Fat Guys" campaging, and a who's who of
"meatless" celebreties.

Down further, you'll learn about China approving GMO soy, that Monsanto has
given up on GM wheat , how an Air Force Base is going green, and see
several fun cartoons.  We've also got stories about a judge demanding proof
that an elephant is "happy," a battle for domain names with Neiman-Marcus,
and the global impact of heart disease.

...and don't miss the American sign-language savvy chimpanzee live "web-cam!"

As always, a tip of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read back
issues of the Newsletter at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Best wishes to everyone for a superb mid-Spring!  Keep those plants hydrated.

Regards, Mark  (cicadas anyone?)


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
04:  Low Carb Risks, Your Brain On BBQ, Global Coronaries, Walnuts
05:  Moby Expands, Veg'n Iron Chef, Veg Eyes, Meatless Celebs
06:  Cartoons!
07:  China Goes GMO, Monsanto Quits, Eco Air Force, Lead-free Law
08:  Happy Elephant?, Fur Flies, Film Gala, Chimps Sign Online
09:  Upcoming Events of Note
10:  Quick Bytes
11:  Howard's Schedule
12:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
13:  Closing Thought(s)

************************************************
*00:  Quote(s) of Note
************************************************
"It is time for us as the consumer to realize that what is happening in the
United States Department of Agriculture, what is happening with the
inspection of our food has more to do with the political power that is
there than what science says.  Remember one hamburger today will contain
the remains from over 1,000 animals.

The USDA actually had a plant that they wanted to shut down because of the
contamination.  So they put out an order that said cease and desist.  Close
the door.  Which when I was a kid, any inspector could have done that, but
this slaughter facility actually went to court and beat USDA in court.  The
United States Department of Agriculture, the group that is overseeing our
safety, does not today have the power to shut down someone that is putting
out contaminated food.

Back when President Lincoln came up with the Department of Agriculture, he
gave them 2 messages.  One of 'em was to promote agriculture.  The second
one was to end up making sure the food was safe.  Today this mixed message
has tremendous ramifications for us.

We have 4 corporations today that control over 80% of the beef, pork, &
chicken slaughter.  The USDA's top brass comes from the industry that they
are overseeing.  Their goal is: don't rock the boat."

- Howard Lyman (in 3ABN's "Earth Talk" Series, Sept. 2002)


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
[Howard travels to Hawaii and Central Washington:
http://www.madcowboy.com/0409to041804_HL_Pix/index.html
http://www.madcowboy.com/0418to042504_HL_Pix/index.html

ONLINE REFERENCES related to Howard's trip pix:

[Charles Lindbergh's Gravesite:
http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/index.asp

[Vegan Dr. Michael Klaper:
http://www.vegsource.com/klaper/

[Sugar Factory and Equipment:
http://www.hcsugar.com/index.html

[Iao Valley &  the Needle (famour war site):
http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/html/sites/iao_valley_state_park.html

[Sponsors of Howard's trip:
http://www.downtoearth.org/

[Koko Crater:
http://www.hawaii-guide.net/Oahu_Guide/Pages/POI/PLACES/South%20Shore/Koko%20Cra
ter%20Botanical%20Gardens.htm

[Vegan Dr. Pinckney's Healing Heart Foundation Website:
http://heart.kumu.org/

[Vegan Dr. Bill Harris's website:
http://www.vegsource.com/harris/

[The New Strawbale Home:
http://oikos.com/catalog/detail.lasso?ID=8015

[Renewable Energy Project Policy disc. groups/info:
http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/

[The Peace Cafe in Central Wash. info/articles:
http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"Only four animals step with both legs on either side when walking or
running.  Two of them are the camel and the maned wolf.  Name one of the
other two."

Congratulations to Ruth O'Donnell, El Cajon, CA., for correctly guessing
and winning the luck of the draw!

["Cats step with both left legs, then both right legs when they walk or
run. The only other animals to do this are the giraffe, camel and the maned
wolf."
http://www.didyouknow.cd/animals/cats.htm
http://www.harnessnet.com.au/trotinfo.htm


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"What percentage of the world's children (ages 5 - 17) are overweight?"

Pick one:  a) 5%  b) 10%  c) 15%  d) 20% e) 25%

Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT May 26th.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
USDA VETS: DOCUMENTS FALSIFIED FOR YEARS:  (04/23/04): "The U.S. Department
of Agriculture has pressured its veterinarians into falsifying official
documents for as long as 20 years, former agency veterinarians told United
Press International.  The allegations come as a current USDA veterinarian
and an attorney representing federal veterinarians have made similar
charges about existing internal practices at the agency's Food Safety and
Inspection Service.

The veterinarian -- who requested anonymity because of feared repercussions
from the agency -- and the attorney, Bill Hughes of the National
Association of Federal Veterinarians, allege the present FSIS management
takes retaliatory actions against veterinarian inspectors who do not obey
orders from superiors to sign certificates that falsely assert certain food
items are safe for export.  In some cases, Hughes and the veterinarian
charge, even though food items may violate those export requirements,
veterinarian inspectors still are expected to sign the documents.

Former veterinarians said the practice has been condoned in the agency for
up to 20 years."

[Edited from:
http://upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040423-123525-7382r

[For another excellent, disturbing, and detailed account, see:
http://upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040422-073850-8113r


JAPAN DEMANDS US TESTS ALL SLAUGHTERED COWS:  (04/26/04): "Japanese
Agriculture Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei said last week that Japan was sticking
to its demand that the United States check all slaughtered cattle for mad
cow disease as a prelude to resuming imports of U.S. beef.  "It is
important not to harm the confidence of consumers," Kamei told reporters
after a Cabinet meeting.  So far, Washington has refused Tokyo's demand
that all cattle be tested, saying there is no scientific justification for
such a costly measure.  Japan is normally the top buyer of U.S. beef and
the four-month ban has halted purchases that last year amounted to nearly
$1.4 billion.

The USDA reiterated this week that it would stand by its decision to
prohibit Kansas-based meat packer Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from
independently testing for mad cow disease so it could resume sales to
Japan."

[Edited from:
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/24876/story.htm


U.S. CREATE EXPERT PANEL TO DISCUSS TESTING METHODS:  (04/26/04): "A former
senator is pressing Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to reconsider her
department's refusal to let U.S. beef producers do their own testing for
mad cow disease.  Nancy Kassebaum Baker, the wife of U.S. ambassador to
Japan Howard Baker, said such testing could promote confidence in U.S. beef
and help re-establish exports to countries that ban it now.  Baker put her
viewpoint in a letter to Veneman earlier this month.  The Kansas Republican
said she was stating her opinion as a private beef producer.

A series of visiting U.S. delegations have failed to persuade Japan's
government to lift a ban imposed on American beef imports after a single
case of mad cow disease was detected in Washington state in late December.
But the two countries agreed to try to narrow their differences by
establishing a working group of experts. A Japanese foreign ministry
official said the experts will try to establish "common ground" on
technical issues.  The panel will report by the end of the summer in hopes
of resuming trade."

[Edited from:
http://www.wftv.com/health/3220588/detail.html


BUSH WANTS TO OPEN BORDER TO CANADIAN BEEF:  (04/30/04): "The U.S. border
should be opened to Canadian live beef imports "as soon as possible,"
President George W. Bush said Friday after talks with Prime Minister Paul
Martin.  Restrictions on the movement of beef were high on the list of
trade issues Mr. Martin took to Washington for his first bilateral meeting
with the U.S. President. Asked about beef imports by a Canadian reporter,
Mr. Bush said that he wanted to treat the issue on a scientific, not
political basis.  "My administration is committed to a policy of free trade
when it comes to beef," Mr. Bush said. "It's in our nation's interest that
live beef be moving back and forth."

Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Agriculture lifted an 11-month
ban on certain Canadian beef products. They ruled that import permits would
now cover all edible beef products from cattle under 30 months old."

[Edited from:
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040430.wbeef0430/BNStory/Natio
nal/


U.S. REINSTATES BAN ON CANADIAN BEEF PRODUCT:  (05/06/04): "The USDA
Wednesday abruptly rescinded an unannounced policy shift that allowed the
widespread sale of hamburger and other beef products from Canada.  The
turnaround came 10 days after a federal judge in Montana upbraided the
agency for disregarding basic regulatory procedures and possibly
jeopardizing public health.  Under its April 19 policy shift, which was
posted on the USDA Web site without comment, the agency had expanded the
list of allowed beef products from Canada to include ground beef, beef with
bones, tongue, and liver. Those parts of the animal had been banned or
restricted out of concern they could spread the infection that causes mad
cow disease, which was detected in Canada last year.

"It is troubling to the Court how USDA could believe it is appropriate
procedure to authorize all imports of bovine meat products from Canada,
through the April 19, 2004 memorandum, at the very same time when USDA is
in the middle of a rulemaking to determine whether to take such a step,"
Cebull [U.S. District Court Judge Richard Cebull in Billings, Montana]
wrote.  The lawsuit against the USDA was brought by the Ranchers Cattlemen
Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), a nonprofit group representing cattle ranchers.
CEO Bill Bullard said that his group filed suit because it was concerned
that health and safety rules to protect against mad cow disease were being
ignored.  "The USDA jumped outside the rulemaking process and made
decisions that were not based on science.""

[Very edited from (free registration required):
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/health/8602146.htm


USDA INVESTIGATING CONDEMNED TEXAS COW:  (05/01/04): "The U.S. Department
of Agriculture did not test a head of cattle in Texas that displayed
central nervous symptoms even though such symptoms could be associated with
mad cow disease, USDA officials said on Friday.  The department is
collecting information on the Texas animal, USDA spokeswoman Alisa Harrison
said on Friday, emphasizing there is no evidence yet that the animal may
have had mad cow disease.

"We do know that the animal was condemned and it didn't go into the meat
supply," Harrison said.  Harrison added that early indications were that
there "were not any samples taken" from the animal. Asked whether any
tissue samples, such as from the animal's brain, were still available for
testing, Harrison said, "I do not know." Harrison said federal inspectors
in Texas were being interviewed about the condemned animal.  "We have to go
back and figure out exactly what happened and what the real situation is or
isn't," she said.

Beverly Boyd, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Agriculture, said the
condemned carcass in San Angelo was not held back for testing. "There were
no tissue samples taken. It was not tested at all," she told Reuters.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in
the Public Interest, questioned why USDA may have failed to test the
condemned animal.  "If they're not testing the cattle most highly
recommended for testing, it would appear USDA is not really looking to find
the problem where it may exist," DeWaal said."

[Very edited from:
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=500594
6§ion=news


USDA: MAD COW TESTING PROCEDURE VIOLATED IN TEXAS:  (05/03/04): "The
federal government's mad cow testing procedure was violated when a
condemned cow in Texas was sent to a rendering plant before tissue samples
could be collected for testing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on
Monday.  A USDA veterinarian at a Lone Star Beef plant in San Angelo, Texas
condemned the animal "after observing the cow stagger and fall, indicating
either an injury or potentially a central nervous system disorder or other
health condition," USDA said.

USDA said no part of the animal, killed on April 27, entered the human food
chain. "Standard procedures call for animals condemned due to possible CNS
(central nervous system) disorder to be kept" until federal officials
collect samples for testing, the USDA said. "However, this did not occur in
this case," according to a USDA statement.  The statement did not explain
why standard procedures were not followed and USDA officials were not
immediately available for comment."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5019214§i
on=news


FEDERAL OFFICIALS OK TEXAS COW MATERIAL FOR SWINE FEED:  (05/04/04): "The
byproducts of a Texas cow that was destroyed after it showed potential
signs of a central nervous disorder must be made into pig feed or be
destroyed, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.  The FDA said it
tracked down all the material from the cow that was sent to a processor for
rendering into animal feed and other products. All the material is being
held by a business that the agency did not name. The government has said
that none of it got into the human food supply.

The FDA planned to send a letter to the business saying it "will not object
to use of this material in swine feed only" because pigs are not considered
susceptible to mad cow disease, one in a family of illnesses known to
infect grass-eating animals. If the business agrees to only using the
material in swine feed, FDA said it will then track the material through
the supply chain from the processor to the farm to ensure that the feed is
monitored and fed only to pigs."

[Edited from:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20040504-1452-cowdeath.html

[See also:  "The Case of Mad Pigs in the U.S." at:
http://www.cyber-dyne.com/~tom/mad_pigs.html


TEXAS MAD COW BREACH NOT UNIQUE:  (05/05/04): "The recent case of a Texas
cow that displayed symptoms consistent with mad cow disease but slipped
through the cracks of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's surveillance
plan is not an isolated incident, an agency veterinarian and a consumer
advocate told United Press International.  The revelation that the cow was
not tested has generated alarm among the public and Congress, and a USDA
veterinarian said cows displaying central nervous system disorders, such as
the one in Texas, often are not tested for mad cow -- even though the
department considers these animals the most likely to be infected with the
disease.

"Sometimes Veterinary Services (the USDA branch responsible for picking up
brains for mad cow testing) won't even show up," the veterinarian, who
requested anonymity, told UPI. "If you tell them the cow is under 30 months
(old), they won't bother with it."  The USDA recently announced an expanded
mad cow surveillance plan aimed at testing an unspecified number of cows
over 30 months old. The agency's position is cows under 30 months are
unlikely to test positive, even if infected, because the disease can take
several years to incubate. Yet, more than 20 cows under this age have
tested positive worldwide, including one as young as 20 months in the
United Kingdom.

Felicia Nestor, senior policy adviser to the Government Accountability
Project in Washington, a group that works with federal whistleblowers, told
UPI she is looking into claims from USDA inspectors there may be other
suspicious animals that have gone unreported.  "From the evidence we have
so far, we know (the Texas case) is not an isolated incident," Nestor said."

[Very edited from long and disturbing article at:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0505-04.htm


USDA'S VETS & TECHS ORDERED NOT TO TEST SUSPECT COW:  (05/05/04): "It was a
trio of Agriculture Department staff - two veterinarians and one technician
- who were supposed to follow agency protocol by testing what they
determined was an older cow that likely had a central nervous system
disorder when it arrived April 27 at the Lone Star Beef plant in San
Angelo, Texas.  One government source and another within the industry, both
of whom say they have firsthand knowledge of events that day, said the
final call on not to test the animal was made by an APHIS supervisor in
Austin, Texas, after an APHIS technician at the plant advised her
supervisor she was preparing to take a tissue sample from the culled animal
for BSE testing. Both sources spoke to Meatingplace.com on condition of
anonymity, and USDA officials did not return telephone calls Tuesday
seeking comment and confirmation of the allegations.

What USDA has confirmed is that the agency's standard operating procedures
call for animals condemned due to a possible CNS disorder be kept until
APHIS officials can collect samples for testing. That clearly was done in
this case. The animal sat for more than 90 minutes and less than two hours
after it was condemned, stunned and killed before the APHIS tech told Lone
Star Beef management to dispose of the animal "in a routine manner."  As a
condemned cow, there was never any chance that the meat from the animal
would enter the food chain. What is less clear is what went wrong at USDA
and why."

[Edited from:
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/pop.asp?ID=12310


USDA AIMS TO COMPLETE TEXAS COW PROBE THIS WEEK:  (05/05/04): "The U.S.
Department of Agriculture hopes to find out by the end of this week why the
government failed to conduct a mad cow test on a condemned animal in Texas,
a senior official told Reuters on Wednesday.  On Monday, the USDA said it
had not followed standard procedures when it did not test a condemned cow
at the Lone Star Beef plant in San Angelo, Texas.

Ron Hicks, a senior official at the USDA agency conducting the
investigation, said regarding a report that an Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service supervisor may have decided to not perform the test:
"That's one of the points we're trying to do a follow up on and find out."
Barbara Masters, acting administrator of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection
Service, said, "We are working as quickly as we can to interview
individuals. We hope to finalize that remaining work in the next couple of
days."  Masters and two other USDA officials, in a telephone interview with
Reuters, did not respond directly when asked whether the agency has
broadened its probe to include the farm where the condemned cow came from."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5052448


USDA ORDERS SILENCE ON MAD COW IN TEXAS:  (05/11/04): "The U.S. Department
of Agriculture has ordered its inspectors in Texas not to talk about mad
cow disease with outside parties.  United Press International has learned
that the gag order was sent May 6 by e-mail from the USDA's Dallas district
office. It was issued in the wake of the April 27 case at Lone Star Beef in
San Angelo, in which a cow displaying signs of a brain disorder was not
tested for mad cow disease despite a federal policy to screen all such
animals for the deadly disease, otherwise known as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy.

The order reads: "All BSE inquiries MUST be directed to Congressional
Public Affairs Phone #202-720-9113 attention Rob Larew OR Steve Khon. This
is an urgent message."  Representatives from the National Joint Council of
Food Inspection Locals -- the national inspectors union -- alleged the
order suggests the agency is concerned about its personnel leaking damaging
information about the Texas case."

[Edited from:
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040511-043831-5225r.htm


VENEMAN "WON'T BE SURPRISED" IF MAD COW TURNS UP IN U.S.:  (05/12/04): "As
the federal government prepares to expand testing for mad cow disease, U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Friday she won't be surprised if it
turns up additional infected animals.  Still, Veneman and other Agriculture
Department and industry officials insisted the nation's meat supply is
safe, despite critics who say the government isn't doing enough to protect
consumers.

"There is certainly a likelihood we will find more (diseased) cows,"
Veneman said Friday during a conference on food safety sponsored by the
Consumers Federation of America.  "We are committed to an effective BSE
program and we use science to guide us," Veneman said. "These are not food
safety tests," she said. "They are animal surveillance tests for animal
diseases."

But the chief executive officer of a major Kansas cattle operation said
Veneman and the administration were under pressure from the industry and
have used science as a "cover" to hold down costs.  Stewart [Creekstone
Farms Premium Beef ] said the real issue was that a handful of packers who
control 80 percent of the nation's meat supply fear that a broader testing
program would cut into their profit margins. But Stewart said the tests
would cost only $20 per animal and add only 4 cents to the price of a pound
of hamburger."

[Edited from:
http://www.tribnet.com/business/story/5049927p-4977567c.html


************************************************
*04:  Low Carb Risk, Your Brain On BBQ, Global Heart Disease
************************************************
HEART DISEASE NOW MAJOR GLOBAL THREAT:  (04/23/04): "Cheap food, cigarettes
and city life are causing millions of early deaths in the developing world,
according to a report to be released on MondayHeart disease, once an
illness of the rich, is killing more and more people in poor countries,
according to the report.  "The risk of cardiovascular disease is growing as
populations increase in cities," reads the report, issued by Columbia
University's Earth Institute in New York.

"There, food is steadily becoming cheaper and exercise is scarce. The
prevalence of obesity and of diabetes and of its precursor conditions, are
rising faster in urban than in rural areas," the report adds. " The tobacco
scourge, now at epidemic levels in less-developed countries, exacts its
toll in many ways, but cardiovascular deaths are its principal mode of
mortality."  The result is that people are dying young -- in their most
productive economic years. The loss of middle-aged workers will affect
entire economies, the report cautions."

[Very edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=594&e=5&u=/nm/20040424/hl_nm/hea
lth_heart_world_dc

[The Columbia University Study:
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/2004/images/raceagainsttime_FINAL_04
10404.pdf


WALNUTS MAY PROTECT THE HEART:  (05/06/04): "Eating certain plant-based
foods, such as walnuts, opens the arteries and may help lower cholesterol,
a small study finds.  People in the study had a 33 percent improvement in
vascular function -- blood flow -- after eating a plant-based diet rich in
alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), compared to eating a typical American diet.
Walnuts and walnut oil were the prime source of ALA in the study.

"It looks like a good study," said Dr. David Jenkins, a professor in the
department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto. He cited
several studies suggesting the type of omega-3 fatty acid found in plants
like walnuts may be as beneficial to the heart as eating fatty, cold-water
fish, such as mackerel, salmon and herring."

[Very edited from:
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/news/hs518796.html


LOW CARBERS AT RISK FOR IMMUNE SYSTEM DISORDERS:  (05/09/04): "Doctor finds
low carbers at risk for immune system disorders by eating only foods
labeled low carb. He labels this affliction LCTS.  A 2003 Gallup poll
disclosed that 47 percent of the U.S. population is now monitoring
carbohydrate intake. It is estimated that the "low-carb" diet is followed
by over 50 percent of weight-conscious Americans. The sales of low-carb
products and services have been estimated at $15 billion in 2003.

As Dr. Howard Peiper mentions in the book, Low Carb and Beyond, that
lifestyle may not keep you healthy. You may become a victim of the Low Carb
Tunnel Syndrome (LCTS) where you fail to look a your body's needs. Instead
you may become focused on eating anything that claims to be low carb
without consideration to ingredients. In Low Carb and Beyond, we are told
that the body needs to absorb nutrients or we will eventually die. Carb
blockers found in many low-carb foods prevent absorption and may prevent
the body from gleaning nutrients from those foods. Dr. Peiper says, "Eating
is supposed to be a ritual that is necessary to sustain life. If what you
eat doesn't get absorbed, how can you stay alive?" "

[Very edited from:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/5/prwebxml124561.php


THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON BARBECUE:  (04/24/04): "Researchers reported this
week that barbecue may, in fact, be addictive. The study, conducted at the
Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., and published in the medical
journal NeuroImage, found that people crave certain foods as much as
addicts crave drugs. Researchers basically starved a group of 12 people for
a whole day, then asked them to describe their favorite foods. Test
subjects identified chocolate, bacon cheeseburgers, pizza, cinnamon rolls,
brownies, lasagna and, you guessed it, barbecue ribs, as their faves.

"These results could explain the deleterious effects of constant exposure
to food stimuli, such as advertising, candy machines, food channels and
food displays in stores," he [Wang] says. "The high sensitivity of this
brain region to food stimuli, coupled with the huge number and variety of
these stimuli in the environment, likely contributes to the epidemic of
obesity in this country."  "You get that smell of barbecue in your brain
and you go crazy!" he says. "You go and grab it and don't think about it.
It's subconscious. You don't even know that you're behaving like a cocaine
addict.""

[Very edited from the sometimes funny article at:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/8504224.htm?1c

[Study astract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstra
ct&list_uids=15050599


************************************************
*05:  Moby Expands, Veg'n Iron Chef, Veg Eye, Meatless Celebs
************************************************
MOBY ANNOUNCES BEVERAGE LINE, COOKBOOK:  (05/03/04): "Two years after
[vegan] Moby opened Teany, his vegan-friendly tearoom/caf� in New York, the
musician has announced plans to supersize the enterprise with a cookbook
and a beverage line. Calling it a "natural outgrowth of [the] venture,"
Moby has proposed a book that would be "part cookbook, part autobiography,
part fun-fact history." That history, however, would be fictional, as if
Teany had been on the Lower East Side for generations, according to David
Vigliano, Moby's book agent.

The caf� actually opened in May 2002 and quickly became a hotspot for
celebs seeking a cuppa, attracting Gywneth Paltrow, Alicia Silverstone,
Susan Sarandon, Andy Dick, Jason Schwartzman and others. Despite its
fabulous clientele, Teany is a quiet spot, a small storefront with a
pocket-size terrace where tea aficionados gather to relax and read. While
the selection of 100 teas is the menu's main attraction, it also includes
sandwiches and unusual soups, such as squash-and-pear and
nectarine-and-cantaloupe."

[Edited from:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1486775/20040503/moby.jhtml?headlines=true

[Teany's Website:
http://www.teany.com/

[Moby's Website:
http://www.moby.com/

[Moby's Essay: "Why Vegan?" cited in MC Newsletter #12:
http://www.moby.com/Essays/html/vegan.html


IRON CHEF COOKS UP VEGETARIAN CUISINE:  (04/29/04): "... the second
Vegetarian Iron Chef competition [was] held Tuesday night in the Bevier
Hall cafeteria. The event, based on a popular television program, featured
two teams of eight student and community chefs. The teams, representing
Campus Vegetarian Society (CVS) and the Common Ground Food Co-op, competed
to create dishes revolving around a secret ingredient.  "The show itself
has a cult following," said graduate student and event organizer Matt
Cheney. "When we proposed the idea, people really wanted to participate."

Vegetarian Iron Chef was sponsored by Campus Vegetarian Society (CVS) and
was co-sponsored by Students Improving the Lives of Animals and the Student
Dietetic Association. Featuring strictly vegetarian ingredients, the event
drew an audience interested in learning about new dishes prepared with no
meat products."

[Very edited from:
http://www.dailyillini.com/news/1921

[NOTE:  Howard Lyman teams with Dr. Michael Greger for a "Vegan Iron Chef"
competition in July at Summerfest 2004:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


VEG EYE FOR THE FAT GUY:  (05/00/04): "Fearing that some of today's biggest
celebrities are in danger of cutting their careers short with their
unhealthy lifestyles, PETA wants to help them slim down before they become
too much of a good thing. Bravo has its "Fab Five," but PETA wants to offer
its advice to the "Flab Five" with "Veg Eye for the Fat Guy" - an effort to
give these five larger-than-life stars a meat-free makeover that will help
them look and feel like new men. These lucky stars will be receiving PETA's
"Veg Eye" makeover kit, including copies of PETA's vegetarian starter kit,
which is chock-full of easy tips on how to switch from meaty to meatless;
The PETA Celebrity Cookbook, which makes vegetarian cooking super simple;
and samples of delicious, low-fat vegetarian food, including "fib ribs,"
"fakin' bacon," and Tofurky.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cured ham," says PETA's Veg Eye
guy, Bruce Friedrich. "It takes a big man to admit that he needs to be a
thinner man, and going vegetarian is one of the easiest, most healthful
ways to stay slim."  Enroll a Flabby Friend in the Veg Eye Invitational:
Do you have a chubby chum in need of a refrigerator redux? Click here and
we'll rush your big-boned buddy a free Veg Pledge pack chock full of
recipes and coupons."

[Edited from:
http://goveg.com/feat/vegeye2/


MEET THE MEATLESS - SOME VEGETARIAN CELEBRITIES:  (04/00/04): "Some of my
particular heroes growing up were celebrities who used their noteriety to
advance the cause of animals and a vegetarian lifestyle. In my teenage
years, these included such women as Brigitte Bardot, Joanna Lumley (the New
Avengers, Absolutely Fabulous), Chrissie Hynde (the Pretenders) and the
late and much-lamented Linda McCartney.  Of course there have been a lot of
famous vegetarians throughout history, including Einstein, Charles Darwin,
Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha, Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates and many
more. A lot of stars today are continuing in that tradition. Here's a list
of some well-known vegetarian celebrities:"

[You can see the lists [Brad Pitt! Orlando Bloom!] at:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art19387.asp


************************************************
*06:  Cartoons!
************************************************
["Beef Chart:"
http://www.reuben.org/greenberg/.Toons/.Toons,%20Environ/Beefchart.html

["Cows with Tanks:"
http://cagle.slate.msn.com/search/showimage.asp?recordid=sea0203

["U.S. Dept. of Agriculture:"
http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/health2.htm

["Early AR Activists:"
http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/ar3.htm

["Farm Fresh:"
http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/chick13.htm

["Now They Can Call it a Sport:"
http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/fish8.htm

["The Powerful Vegetarian Lobby:"
http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/veg7.htm

["Food Liberals:"
http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/veg.htm

["A Healthy Industry:"
http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/veg8.htm


************************************************
*07:  China Goes GMO, Monsanto Quits, Eco Air Force, Lead-free Law
************************************************
WHY CHINA GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO US GMOs:  (05/03/04): "China has issued
final safety certificates for the importation of five varieties of American
genetically modified (GM) products last February, which has aroused some
organizations' concern over why China gives a green light to the US GM
organisms (GMOs).  According to China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), all
the five varieties, one soybean, two corn and two cotton, are from
Monsanto, an American GM seed giant.

The American Soybean Association President Ron Heck on Feb. 23 said that
China's decision "will help ensure a steady market for US soybeans, while
helping stabilize meat, fish, egg, and cooking oil prices for Chinese
consumers."  This, however, may not be the case, says Sze Pang Cheung,
campaign manager of environmental group Greenpeace China, who had tried to
persuade the Chinese government to restrict the use of GMOs in the world's
largest market for soybeans.  Some domestic media perceive there must be
"pressures from the US government on the Chinese" to balance China's trade
surplus with the US in 2003.""

[Very edited from:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/03/content_1451960.htm

[See also: "Chinese Public Wants Labelling Of GM Food:"
http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=1362&language=1


ANTI-GM'RS CELEBRATE AFTER MONSANTO CLIMBDOWN:  (05/11/04): "Green
activists on Tuesday claimed their biggest victory over biotech foods after
US giant Monsanto announced it would shelve plans to sell the world's first
genetically-modified wheat.  "This is a worldwide victory for consumers and
farmers," said Friends of the Earth International in a press release.
"Virtually every major wheat-user in the world had already rejected this
product before it even was allowed on the market. This must be one of the
most rejected products ever developed."

Sue Mayer, a campaigner with British group Genewatch UK, said Monsanto's
announcement had come as a surprise.  The pullback was "hugely
significant", she told AFP.  "Wheat is a very, very important market for
them, offering vast potential for profits, so it can't have been an easy
decision for them."  Monsanto discreetly announced on Monday it was
"realigning research and development investments" and would defer all
further efforts to introduce its Roundup Ready wheat.  Monsanto had spent
six years on the product and lavished a sum reported to be in the hundreds
of millions of dollars.  Monsanto has already backed away from marketing GM
potatoes after running into flak from fast-food companies."

[Edited from:
http://www.terradaily.com/2004/040511105753.qn2rgxgp.html

[See also: "Environmentalists Rejoice At Monsanto GM Decision:"
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/25082/story.htm


AIR FORCE BASE BUYS ALL RENEWABLE ENERGY:  (05/04/04): "Fairchild Air Force
Base is making the largest single purchase of "green" power in the
Northwest, buying enough energy from renewable sources to meet all of its
electrical load.  Most of the base's annual power requirements will come
from electricity generated by wind turbines -- at least in theory,
Bonneville Power Administration spokeswoman Debra Malin said Monday.

The air base, home of KC-135 tankers that refuel military planes in flight,
requires about 7.5 average megawatts of power, the amount used by a
community of about 5,000 homes.  The announcement is significant because it
signals that even government agencies are willing to pay more for energy to
avoid consuming power made from fossil fuels, Malin said.  The military is
usually viewed as being very conservative, so when it steps out and does
something `green', that tells regional leaders it's not so far out," she
said. "It sends a huge market signal.""

[Very edited from:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/05/04/state1821ED
T7186.DTL


SENATOR JEFFORDS INTRODUCES LEAD FREE DRINKING WATER ACT:  (05/04/04): "In
response to high lead levels in the drinking water systems of Washington,
D.C. and Boston U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, I - Vt., today introduced
legislation to overhaul and strengthen the federal rules governing lead
testing and standards in the nation's public water systems.  Jeffords said,
"It is time to get the lead out of our pipes, out of our water, out of our
families and out of our lives. Safe drinking water is not a privilege; it
is a right - whether you live in Washington, D.C., or Washington State or
Washington County, Vermont." The bill would place new responsibilities on
the Environmental Protection Agency and public water systems nationwide to
ensure that our nation's public health is not compromised by lead in our
drinking water.

The EPA estimates that about 20% of lead exposure comes from lead in
drinking water. Lead exposure is particularly dangerous for children who
retain about 68% of the lead that enters their bodies while adults retain
about 1%. Children exposed to lead may experience low birth weight, growth
retardation, mental retardation, learning disabilities, muscle cramps,
stomach cramps, anemia, and kidney and brain damage. Lead can also be
particularly harmful during pregnancy, affecting the unborn child or
causing complications in pregnancy."

[Very edited from:
http://www.senate.gov/~jeffords/press/04/05/050404lead.html


************************************************
*08:  Happy Elephant?, Fur Flies, Film Gala, Chimps Sign Online
************************************************
PROVE TO THE JUDGE THE ELEPHANT IS HAPPY:  (04/30/04): "A judge gave a
Tennessee zoo six months to convince him that an African elephant named
Ruby is adapting well to her new home after being separated from a
pachyderm friend in Los Angeles last year.  Judge George Wu ordered the
report from the Knoxville Zoo on Thursday during a hearing in a lawsuit
that seeks to return Ruby to the Los Angeles Zoo.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's the first time in America that we've had a
Superior Court judge bend over backwards to see if an elephant is happy,"
said Gretchen Wyler, vice president of the U.S. Humane Society's Hollywood
office. Attorneys for the city of Knoxville say Ruby has not suffered since
being separated from a companion named Gita nearly a year ago, when she was
sent to Tennessee for a breeding program.  The lawsuit claims Ruby is
lonely, spends most of her time by herself on a concrete floor and does not
breed."

[Edited from:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040430/D8296JMG0.html


THE FUR'S FLYING ON THREE WEB SITES:  (04/26/04): "It's animal lovers vs.
Neiman Marcus.... this year, at least in the online world, spring has
raised a wintry matter, fur - and a flap over three other little letters:
c, a, s. Those three letters have led Neiman Marcus Group Inc., one of the
country's most conspicuous high-end retailers, to try to shut down three
Web sites for the Fund for Animals, a national organization founded in 1967
by former author and humanitarian Cleveland Amory.

Why Neiman Marcus? Because Silver Spring-based Fund for Animals, seeking to
use parody as a weapon in its fight against fur sales, dropped two letters
- "m" and "u" - from the retailer's name, and replaced them with c, a and s
to create a new name for its anti-fur Web sites: NeimanCarcass.  As a
result, the unhappy company has filed a complaint against the animal-rights
group's Web-hosting company, Carol/Trevelyan Strategy Group, or CTSG, with
the National Arbitration Forum, an agency that resolves disputes over
Internet domain names."

[Very edited from:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.fur26apr26,0,3519349.story?coll=bal-
features-headlines


FILM GALA UNITES RARE ART AND ACTIVISTS:  (04/27/04): "The 2004 Artivist
Awards will be held at the famous Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California
on Tuesday April 27th. The sparkling red carpet gala event crowns the
six-day Artivist Film Festival, which officially started on Earth Day and
represents a conscious coalition between filmmakers, artists and activists
to raise funds and awareness toward constructive causes.

Funds raised by the festival will go to Witness, Child Welfare League of
America, The Humane Society of the United States and Greenpeace. Artivist
will present awards to the festival's top films and to prominent actors,
artists and activists for outstanding achievement in service of the key
festival issues: children's advocacy, international human rights, animal
rights and environmental preservation.""

[Very edited from:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/4/prwebxml121835.php

[The Artivist Film Festival Official Site:
http://www.artivistfilmfestival.org/


CHIMPS USING AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: (05/00/04): "[The Chimpanzee Human
Communicatioin Institute] is a sanctuary for four adult chimpanzees who
communicate with humans and each other using American Sign Language (ASL).
The mission of CHCI is to protect and care for these Chimpanzees, educate
the public on the endangered status of free-living chimpanzees, help
improve the lives of all captive chimpanzees through ongoing research, and
serve as a humane research facility for students. CHCI is home for these
chimpanzees and is not open on a daily basis for entertainment purposes.
CHCI believes that education is one of the most effective ways to save the
chimpanzees and therefore offers one hour workshops (Chimposiums) to the
public on weekends, as well as other, more formal educational programs."

[CHCI website:
http://www.cwu.edu/~cwuchci/

[Check out the LIVE online Chimpanzee Cam!
http://www.cwu.edu/~cwuchci/chimpcams/main_cam.htm


************************************************
*09:  Upcoming Events of Note
************************************************
AR004 CONFERENCE:
July 8-12, 2004:  "Animal Rights 2004 is the animal
rights movement's annual national conference. It provides a forum for
sharing knowledge, discussing strategies and tactics, networking, and
"recharging our batteries." It is dedicated to exposing and challenging the
terror perpetrated every day by our society against billions of innocent,
sentient nonhuman animals.  More than 80 animal rights leaders have been
already signed.  The conference will be held on July 8-12 at the Sheraton
Premiere Hotel in
Vienna, VA, just outside the Washington Beltway."

[Take advantage of discounted rates by registering before April 30th at:
http://www.animalrights2004.org


VEGETARIAN SUMMERFEST 2004:
http://vegetariansummerfest.org/


************************************************
*10:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ANIMAL ISSUES:

["Hugs for Puppies:"
http://www.phillyar.net/news.html

[Farm Sanctuary's "No Veal" Campaign:
http://www.noveal.org/

[A great (not too graphic) Flash Animation at:
http://www.noveal.org/forgetaboutit/index.htm

[Animal rights leaders condemn U.S. chimp labs:
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=3740

[World's Great Apes Running Out of Time, Leakey Says
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-05-06/s_23513.asp


DIET/NUTRITION:

["NY Legislature Encourages Vegan School Lunch Options:"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ivu-veg-news/message/5850

["School programs discouraging carbonated drinks appear to be effective:"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-04-22-soft-drinks_x.htm

[USDA's Nutrient Database for Standard Reference:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl


ENVIRONMENT:

["Plant-based Hunger Solutions Website:"
http://www.plantsforhunger.org/

["Insecticides' Toll on Aquatic Life:"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13203-2004May9.html

["Toxic Pesticides Above "Safe" Levels in Many U.S. Residents"
http://www.panna.org/resources/panups/panup_20040511.dv.html

["Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)"
http://www.panna.org/

["EarthTalk: Are there any safe, nontoxic garden herbicides?"
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-05-04/s_22951.asp

["Volunteers Collect 4 Tons of Trash During Lake Cleanup"
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/5/prwebxml122765.php

["Celebrate Earth Day Everyday: Ten Simple Steps:"
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/4/prwebxml119563.php


MAD-COW RELATED:

[More than cats: "You and Your Cat and Mad Cow Disease:"
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/medical/a/aamadfuss1.htm

["Woman dies from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease:"
http://news10now.com/content/all_news/?ArID=18619&SecID=83

["Mad Cow Disease in New Jersey?"
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/28/earlyshow/contributors/melindamurphy/m
ain614154.shtml

["Tainted beef recalled in Illinois:"
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=12317


VEG'NISM:

["Staying a Vegan:"
http://www.veganhealth.org/shv/

[PETA's Online Guide to Vegetarian Living
http://www.petaeats.com/index.asp

[Over 10,000 veg'n recipes online:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VegRecipes.html

[Recipes from Dallas/Ft. Worth Vegetarians:
http://www.dfwnetmall.com/veg/snack/tofuglazes.htm

[Book:  "Animal Ingredients:  A-Z"
http://www.nypress.com/17/16/books/mickey.cfm

[Probably the largest collection of veg'n links anywhere:
http://myhq.com/public/s/u/susanv/


************************************************
*11:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
May 15 - 16: Santa Rosa, CA > McDougall Wellness Center

Jun 19:  NY, NY > Animal Sanctuary
Jun 26 - 27: Lodi, CA > 26th at 4 pm, 27th at 10:30 am - "Health and
Healing Crusade"

Jul 08 - 11: WashDC > AR2004
Jul 21 - 25: Johnstown, PA > Summerfest 2004
Jul 29 - 30:  Wichita, Kansas > TBA

Aug. 7-8: Watkin Glen, NY > Farm Sanctuary

Sep 11, 12, 13: Cleveland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04
Sep 26:  San Francisco, CA > SF Vegetarian Society
Sep 27:  Portland, Oregon > "AM Northwest TV," and KBOO radio (both tentative)
Sep 28:  Portland, Oregon > TBA

Oct 12:  Harrisburg, PA > 6:30 pm - Vegetarian Society and SDA Church

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*12:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*13:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"Despite knowing the dangers of animal cannibalism since 1988, the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration had waited almost a decade to begin banning
such practices, and its regulations contained gaping loopholes clearly
designed to protect the interests of industry, not consumers.  The USDA,
charged with the contradictory challenge of both regulating meat and
simultaneously promoting increased sales, had turned a blind eye to the
evidence of its own investigators that a TSE agent could be spreading in
U.S. pigs, which under the new regulations can still be fed back to other
pigs, cows, chickens and pets."  (p. 217)

"What the precautionary principle requires, is that when risks become known
--- even hypothetical, unproven risks ---- action should be taken to avoid
them.  This is especially true in a high-tech society characterized by
systems of global mass production, where even a single mistake carries
potentially disastrous consequences."  (p. 219)

"If we let industry set the rules, however, there will literallly be no
limit to what we'll swallow, and the nightmare of mad cow disease --- or
something just as bad, or worse --- not only can happen here, but almost
certainly will."  (p. 220)

- Sheldon Rampton & John Stauber in "Mad Cow USA,"  (1997)

[download a copy of the above book in PDF at:
http://www.prwatch.org/books/madcow.html

[Stauber interviewed: "Don't Read This Over A Burger:"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/05/DDGFL6EUPN1.DTL


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 38th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

In this issue the environmental focus is upon the historic Canadian Supreme
Court ruling regarding Monsanto, a local farmer, and "who owns the seed?"
There's also a special letter writing campaign you can join to help
Monsanto get the message, and a disturbing article about Biotechs
squelching research findings.  We also have an expanded "Mad Cow Info"
section (note Howard's being quoted by the press again, as well as the
"prions in sheep muscles" article), and news of an important study solidly
linking food additives to hyperactivity in children.

Reading further, you can learn about Transfats (and new campaign to get rid
of them from all food products), some fascinating statistics on diet,
obesity, and cancer, the World's Richest Pets, and some excerpts from the
incredible book, "Dying for a Hamburger" (speculating on the relationship
between prions, eating meat, and Alzheimer's Disease).  There's also
information about a landmark decision to free elephants from a zoo for
ethical reasons, the passing of perhaps the toughest animal rights laws in
the world, and a new US GAO study indicating some serious potential
problems in the overuse of antibiotics in factory farmed animals and
antibiotic resistance in humans.

Finally, from the activist world, don't miss the new CEO of the Humane
Society of America (Wayne Pacelle) and his statement of beliefs to his
team, as well as reading about vegan PETA activist, Bruce Friedrich, being
one of a few selected from 1,500 applicants for a new reality TV show
involving "running for President" (in our "Quick Bytes" section below).

...and of course, a special nod of the hat to our new subscribers... y'all
can read past issues of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Stay cool everybody, and a Happy Summer Solstice to all!   Best, Mark


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
02:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
03:  Additives/Hyperactivity, Ban Transfats, Diet/Cancer Stats
04:  GM Seeds/Farmer Ruling, Tell Monsanto, Biotechs Silence Science
05:  Hamburger Actor, Gigabites, World's Richest Pets
06:  Excerpts from: "Dying for a Hamburger:  How Modern Meat-Packing Led to
an Epidemic of Alzheimer's Disease."
07:  Elephants Freed, Tough AR Laws, HSUS CEO, Antibiotic Resistance
08:  Upcoming Events of Special Note
09:  Quick Bytes
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quotes of Note
************************************************
"Half of all of the endangered species in the U.S. today are threatened by
cattle ranching.  We paid 105 million dollars to support public lands and
received less than 29 million dollars in grazing fees.  94% of Arizona is
public land; being grazed at less that 26 cents an acre. 99% of New Mexico
is grazed and it only receives about 4% of the trust income that is coming
from the ranchers that are out there.  We are seeing today in cattle
ranching a loss of topsoil which is an astronomical amount for the amount
of each pound of beef that is being raised.  You know, it takes 500 years
to produce one inch of topsoil. We haven't been here long enough to produce
an inch and we've already lost over three-quarters of the topsoil that we
had, much of it from the grazing of animals. "

"In North Carolina there is four times more waste from hogs than from all
of the people in the state of North Carolina.  In the state of Utah there
is one hog farm that is producing more waste than all the people in the
city of Los Angeles, California. Look at the hundreds of millions of
dollars that are being spent on processing the human waste in the city of
Los Angeles and then look at a hog farm in Utah that is producing more
waste that is not spending anything on it.  Hog waste today is 10 to 100
times more concentrated than anything that we ever saw in human waste."

"In the Gulf of Mexico today there is a dead zone that is larger than the
state of New Jersey that is absolutely totally dead because of the
herbicides, pesticides and the wastes that are washing off the central part
of the country. "

--- Howard Lyman (from Vol. 01 of 3ABN's "Earth Talk 2003" segments)


************************************************
*01:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"What percentage of the world's children (ages 5 - 17) are overweight?"

Pick one:  a) 5%  b) 10%  c) 15%  d) 20%  e) 25%

Congratulations to David L. Hanson, of Greer, SC... he correctly picked
"10%."  (note:  for the U.S. alone, it would have been 15%).

["The International Obesity Task Force study found that one in 10 of the
world's schoolchildren is overweight, for a total of about 155 million kids
between the ages of 5 and 17."
http://www.nbc10.com/health/3296810/detail.html


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"The United State's annual oil imports have increased by roughly what
percentage from 1973 to 2002?"

a) 10%  b) 30%  c) 50%  d) 70%  e) 90%

Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT June 23rd.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*02:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
TONSIL TESTS SUGGEST THOUSANDS HARBOUR VCJD:  (05/04/04): "Almost 4000
Britons aged between 10 and 30 may be harbouring the prion proteins that
cause the human form of mad cow disease. The new estimate comes from direct
analyses of human biopsies, rather than epidemiological projections based
on variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) deaths.  The investigators
discovered three infected tonsil or appendix samples from a total of 12,674
stored between 1995 and 1999. However, because so few positive samples were
found, the projected total of 3808 can only be speculative. Furthermore,
harbouring the prions may not necessarily lead to vCJD.  The Department of
Health says that the uncertainties in Hilton's studies justify its measures
to protect patients. These include filtering potentially infective white
blood cells from blood donations, and upgrading sterilisation equipment to
stop prions spreading on surgical instruments."

[Very edited from:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns99995021

["Prevalence Of Lymphoreticular Prion Protein Accumulation In Uk Tissue
Sample:"
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/108563520/ABSTRACT


EXPERTS FORESEE 60 MORE BSE CASES IN JAPAN:  (05/15/04): "About 60 more
cases of mad cow disease are expected to occur in Japan, with discovery
likely to peak in 2005 and 2006, the Cabinet Office said in a survey report
Friday. The report was complied by an expert panel in the governmental Food
Safety Commission.  Testing of all cattle is expected to uncover more cases
as the brain-wasting disease has an average incubation period of five
years, the office said. The report assumes the presence of 60 more
BSE-infected cows because one case of infection is estimated to have led to
four more infections in countries such as Britain."

[From:
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=298583


NO MAD COW TESTS AT TEXAS FIRM IN 2004:  (05/14/04): "The U.S. Department
of Agriculture did not test any cows for mad cow disease in the past seven
months at the same Texas facility where federal testing policies for the
deadly disorder were violated last month, United Press International has
learned.  The USDA also failed to test a single cow in 2002 at another
Texas slaughterhouse that processes high-risk, downer cows, according to
agency testing records obtained by UPI under the Freedom of Information
Act. Downer cows are unable to stand or walk, which can be an indication of
mad cow disease, as well as other disorders.

The low-level of testing irks consumer advocates because Lone Star, the
18th largest slaughterhouse in the country, processes high-risk, older
dairy cattle, slaughtering approximately 172,000 per year.   "We have, in
my opinion, a government policy (on mad cow disease) of 'Don't look, don't
find,'" said Howard Lyman, a former rancher turned vegetarian, who has
insisted mad cow is present in U.S. herds and has called for increased
testing for several years. The concern is humans can contract a fatal,
incurable brain-wasting disorder called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
from eating meat infected with the mad cow pathogen.

"When you're slaughtering 35 million head of cattle and testing as few cows
as the USDA does, it's like sending a blind man to find a needle in a
haystack," Lyman told UPI. The agency tests less than 1 percent of cows
slaughtered annually."

[Edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040513-065401-5285r


USDA ALIENATES JAPAN BY BEING EVASIVE ON MAD COW PROBLEM IN THE USA:
(05/15/04): "The U.S. Department of Agriculture has failed to supply the
number of cows exhibiting signs of a brain disorder it has tested for mad
cow disease to Japanese authorities, who requested the information more
than four months ago, an official told United Press International.  The
failure to provide the information comes amid the recent revelation USDA
officials did not test an animal displaying brain disorder symptoms
consistent with mad cow disease at a Texas plant in April.

"Although the Japanese government requested this information in January,
the official said the USDA has not yet provided any substantial statistics.
"We received a one-page document" showing the number of dead and downer
cows -- those unable to stand -- that have been tested, the official said.
But there is no information on the number of tested animals with CNS signs,
he added.  The USDA has also failed to address other questions about how
the agency is ensuring mad cow disease does not infect U.S. herds, the
official said. This has created a sense of frustration among Japanese
authorities.

J.B. Penn, USDA's undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural
services, who has been heavily involved in the negotiations with Japan,
declined repeated requests from UPI for comment.  [A Japanese official]
noted, however, that Japanese officials took issue with some of Penn's
other statements to reporters -- for example, he appeared to downplay some
of their most serious concerns, including the worry that cows under 30
months old can carry the disease and therefore should be tested. Two of
Japan's young cows --ages 21 and 23 months -- have tested positive within
the past year for mad cow, otherwise known as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy."

[Very edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/japanusda051804.cfm


USDA SAYS CANADIAN BEEF IMPORTED DESPITE BAN WAS SAFE:  (05/21/04): "The US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) acknowledged today that it allowed the
importation of about 7.3 million pounds of Canadian beef that was
officially banned under rules intended to keep bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) out of the United States.  But the USDA said the meat,
imported since last summer, did not represent any risk to consumers because
it came from cattle under 30 months of age. BSE has very rarely been found
in animals younger than 30 months.

USDA officials discussed the issue in response to news reports published
yesterday. A Washington Post report, quoting figures from a cattlemen's
organization, said 33 million pounds of "processed" beef was imported since
last summer despite the official ban.  Ron DeHaven, administrator of the
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), said all of the
processed beef that was imported was made from beef that would not have
been subject to the ban in its unprocessed form.   While insisting that the
products posed no risk to consumers, USDA officials admitted mistakes in
handling the matter. "Clearly the process and our failure to announce some
of these actions was flawed," DeHaven said."

[Edited from:
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/hot/bse/news/may2104beef.html

[See also a Transcript of USDA Briefing:
http://www.usda.gov/Newsroom/0204.04.html


MALFORMED PROTEINS FOUND IN SHEEP MUSCLE:  (05/23/04): "Prions, the
misfolded proteins that are widely believed to cause brain-wasting
diseases, have been found in sheep muscle, scientists announced yesterday -
the first time they have been discovered in animal flesh that many humans
normally eat.  But the scientists emphasized that the finding did not mean
that lamb or mutton posed a danger to humans.  "The risk of transmission
from sheep to humans is very, very low," said Olivier Andr�oletti, a prion
specialist at the National Veterinary School in Toulouse, France, and lead
author of the study, which was published yesterday in Nature Medicine.

Two years ago, in collaboration with Dr. Stanley Prusiner, who won a 1997
Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work in the field, Dr. Legname found prions
in the muscles of mice and showed that they could replicate there. Since
then, Swiss researchers have found prions in the muscles of humans with
sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a degenerative brain disease that is
thought to arise spontaneously in one in a million humans.

Dr. Brown, who spent decades on prion research, said he was not surprised
that they had been found in sheep muscle. "In the last few years, the
sensitivity of immunoblot tests has been ramped up so much that people are
beginning to find the protein all over the place," he said.  He ventured a
prediction: "Within the next year, somebody will make a big splash by
finding it in the muscles of cattle," he said, "and the beef industry will
go crazy."

[Very edited from:
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200405240703230.485516


BEEF PROMOTION CASE GOES TO SUPREME COURT:  (05/24/04): "The U.S. Supreme
Court said on Monday it would decide if the federal government can require
cattle ranchers and farmers to pay for an industry marketing program,
famous for its "Beef, It's What's for Dinner" advertisements.  The beef
promotion program raises more than $80 million a year by requiring American
farmers to contribute $1 per animal from their cattle sales. In addition to
television and magazine ads, the program offers recipes to consumers to
encourage them to prepare steaks, roasts and other cuts of beef.  An
appeals court last year ruled that the program violated farmers'
free-speech rights and should be ended.

The U.S. Agriculture Department runs dozens of promotion programs for
commodities such as beef, pork, eggs, milk and cotton. Producers of the
commodities are required to contribute to funds that pay for programs that
encourage consumption.  The Bush administration, along with the largest
U.S. cattle ranchers group, said the program is essential to boost consumer
demand for steaks, roasts and other beef cuts. U.S. per capita consumption
of beef is forecast to rise to 66.9 pounds in 2004, up from 64.8 pounds
last year, according to the USDA."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5239076


UK FIRM DEVELOPS TEST FOR HUMAN 'MAD COW' DISEASE:  (05/26/04): "British
diagnostics company Microsens has developed the first blood test that can
detect abnormal proteins that cause the human version of "mad cow disease,"
the privately owned company said on Wednesday. The firm's Seprion
technology can detect abnormal prions, a type of protein, in the blood of
patients with so-called variant Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), it said."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5258109


INTENSIVE MAD-COW TESTING TO BEGIN FOR WASHINGTON CATTLE:  (05/31/04): "The
U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to test between 5,000 and 10,000
Washington cattle for mad-cow disease as part of a $70 million effort to
find out if the infection is present in the United States, and if so, at
what level.  The one-time, intensive program, which kicks off Tuesday, aims
to test at least 220,000 animals nationwide over the next 12 to 18 months.

"It's important to acknowledge that, in fact, it is possible we will find
an additional BSE-positive cow," Ron DeHaven, the agency's chief
veterinarian, said last week. "If this weren't a concern, we obviously
would not be undertaking the huge surveillance effort that we are."
Consumer groups and the Japanese government, which suspended imports of
U.S. beef after the December mad-cow case, continue to push for even more
testing.  "You only have absolute safety if you test all animals that can
be tested and remove any that test positive from the human and animal food
supply," said Michael Hansen, of Consumers Union.

Even the expanded testing program will examine less than 1 percent of the
35 million cattle slaughtered in the United States each year.

[Very edited from:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/8804425.htm?1c


HOUSE WANTS MAD COW RESEARCH COORDINATED:  (06/02/04): "Health and Human
Services Secretary Tommy Thompson was asked Wednesday to create a task
force to coordinate research now performed by several agencies and
universities into diseases such as mad cow.  Thirteen House members, all
but one of them Democrats, said their request was triggered by the first
U.S. case in December of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, or BSE.  "We are concerned that there is limited
coordination among the crucial components of a national research program
around the prevention, surveillance and study of prion disease," the
lawmakers wrote Thompson. "And there appears to be no coordinated action
plan to ensure that these efforts build on one another."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=534&e=4&u=/ap/20040602/ap_on_he_
me/mad_cow_research


HOT DEBATE OVER CHICKEN DUNG; FDA WRESTLES WITH WHETHER TO BAN IT AND OTHER
WASTE FROM CATTLE FEED:  (04/22/04): "A mountain of chicken dung - among
other things - is preventing the Food and Drug Administration from banning
blood, chicken waste and restaurant leftovers from cattle feed, a top
administration official said yesterday.  In the scramble to keep mad cow
disease from spreading after a Holstein from Yakima County was diagnosed
with the brain-wasting illness, the FDA recommended in January what seemed
like simple and sensible restrictions on cattle feed.

In an interview yesterday, Sundlof [director of the FDA's Center for
Veterinary Medicine] provided no likely deadline for the new bans, only
assurances that progress was being made.  But Sundlof did offer some
explanations for the delays.  He said, for example, that the proposed ban
on adding chicken litter (fecal matter, dead birds, feathers and spilled
feed) generated huge concern from chicken producers.  Sundlof said adding
chicken litter to cattle feed is one of the primary methods of waste
disposal for the chicken growers, especially in the Southeast.  "From an
environmental standpoint, what are people going to do with the poultry
litter?" he asked. "One of the benefits of doing this was that it was an
environmentally sound way of recycling the material.""

[Edited from:
http://www.mycattle.com/news/dsp_topstories_article.cfm?storyid=13563


************************************************
*03:  Additives/Hyperactivity, Ban Transfats, Diet/Cancer Stats
************************************************
FOOD COLORINGS/PRESERVATIVES HAVE "SIGNIFICANT" IMPACT ON CHILDREN:
(05/24/04): "Artificial food colourings and preservatives have a
"significant" impact on hyperactivity levels in very young children, finds
research in Archives of Disease in Childhood.  Removal of these substances
could be in the long term interest of public health, say the authors.  The
authors base their findings on over 1800 three year old children, who were
screened for hyperactivity and allergies.  Almost 300 children, divided
into four groups, completed the four week study.

Parental ratings showed that the children became significantly less
hyperactive during the period when the additives were removed from the
diet, and much more hyperactive when they were put back in.  "These
findings therefore suggest that significant changes in children's
hyperactive behaviour could be produced by the removal of artificial
colourings and sodium benzoate from their diet," they conclude. Studies
should be undertaken to see if the same effects might be seen in older
children as well, they suggest."

[Edited from:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/505142/

["The Effects Of A Double Blind, Placebo Controlled, Artificial Food
Colourings And Benzoate Preservative Challenge On Hyperactivity In A
General Population Sample Of Preschool Children:"
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2004/05/19/1084917656828.html


GROUP SEEKS TO BAN TYPE OF FAT FROM FOODS:  (05/18/04): "A U.S. consumer
group asked the government on Tuesday to bar restaurants and food
manufacturers from using a type of artery-clogging fat found in pastries,
cookies, crackers and deep-fried foods.  The ingredient, called partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil, is formed when food makers harden liquid oil to
make it solid. It is the main source in Americans' diets of trans fat,
which raises the "bad" cholesterol, LDL, and increases the risk of heart
disease.

Removing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil from the food supply could
save between 11,000 and 30,000 lives each year, the consumer group Center
for Science in the Public Interest said in a petition to the Food and Drug
Administration.  "Getting rid of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is
probably the single easiest, fastest, cheapest way to save tens of
thousands of lives each year," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of
the consumer group."

[Edited from:
http://news.lycos.com/news/story.asp?section=Health&storyId=866226

[See "Transfreeamerica Campaign Launched:"
http://www.TransFreeAmerica.org

["About Transfats:"
http://www.transfreeamerica.org/about.html


CHEWING THE FAT ON OBESITY:  (06/02/04): "One study says the number of
hours spent in cars is a key determinant of being overweight; another notes
that junk foods such as sodas and chips make up nearly one-third of
calories consumed in the U.S. diet. A third study, by the U.K. Parliament,
says that in Britain obesity "has grown by almost 400% in the last 25
years, and on present trends will soon surpass smoking as the greatest
cause of premature loss of life."

Urban sprawl is part of the problem, say researchers at the Georgia
Institute of Technology. While the conclusion of the $4 million, seven-year
study seems obvious, and it mirrors the findings of a study released last
year in The American Journal of Public Health and The American Journal of
Health Promotion, the Georgia Institute's authors said they were surprised
to discover that how much time a person spent driving had a greater impact
on whether a person was obese than other factors, such as income,
education, gender or ethnicity."

[Very edited from:
http://www.forbes.com/commerce/2004/06/02/cx_da_0602topnews.html


DIET, ALCOHOL LINKED TO NEARLY 1/3 OF CANCER CASES:  (05/20/04): "Diet is
second only to tobacco as a leading cause of cancer and, along with
alcohol, is responsible for nearly a third of cases of the disease in
developed countries, a leading researcher said.  Dr Tim Key, of the
University of Oxford, told a cancer conference that scientists are still
discovering how certain foods contribute to cancer but they know that diet,
alcohol and obesity play a major role.  "Five per cent of cancers could be
avoided if nobody was obese," he said.  While tobacco is linked to about 30
per cent of cancer cases, diet is involved in an estimated 25 per cent and
alcohol in about six per cent. "We know that obesity and alcohol are
important," said Key."

[Edited from:
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2004/05/19/1084917656828.html


************************************************
*04:  GM Seeds/Farmer Ruling, Tell Monsanto, Biotech Silence Science
************************************************
CANADA'S TOP COURT BACKS MONSANTO AGAINST FARMER:  (05/21/04): "Canada's
top court ruled against farmer Percy Schmeiser on Friday, upholding
agri-business giant Monsanto's patent on genetically modified (GM) canola,
a decision observers say will have implications for agriculture worldwide.
However, the Supreme Court of Canada also ruled Schmeiser does not have to
pay Monsanto's court costs of more than 200,000 dollars (146,000 U.S.
dollars) and can keep 20,000 dollars in profits from his 1997 crop that
sparked the six-year legal battle.

In upholding Monsanto's patent over the process that created the plant the
court, in a tight 5-4 decision, in essence granted the company control over
the plant. At the same time the majority decision said plants are higher
life forms and therefore cannot be patented, explained Schmeiser's lawyer,
Terry Zakreski.  Ann Clark, a crop scientist at the University of Guelph
who has written extensively on this issue calls the decision "bizarre".

Schmeiser has steadfastly maintained that his fields were contaminated by
pollen from a neighbour's GM canola (oilseed rape) fields and by seeds that
blew off trucks on their way to a nearby processing plant.  The ruling will
affect farmers worldwide, says one expert.  "This will come as shocking
news to indigenous farmers in Mexico, whose maize fields have been
contaminated with DNA from genetically modified plants, and to farmers
everywhere who are fighting to prevent genetically modified organisms from
trespassing in their fields," said Silvia Ribeiro, from the Mexico office
of ETC Group, an international civil society organisation based in Canada.

"By not caving into the extraordinary pressure from Monsanto on this issue,
Percy Schmeiser and his wife Louise have changed the course of history,"
says Clark [a crop scientist at the University of Guelph].

[Edited from:
http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=23862


PERCY CLAIMS VICTORY IN SUPREME COURT DECISION:  (05/22/04): "I believe
that Monsanto will have a hard time in pursuing patent infringement against
other farmers. They are now going to have to prove that a farmer profited
from having RR canola in their field. The Court noted that my profits were
the same whether I had conventional canola or RR canola, so I find it hard
to see how Monsanto can say in any future case that the farmer made more
money because of their product. This decision may have removed the "teeth"
from their patent.

I have always campaigned on the right of a farmer to save and re-use his
own seed. This is what I have been doing for the last 50 years.  I will
continue to support any efforts to strengthen the rights of a farmer to
save and re-use his own seed."

[Heavily edited from his comprehensive statement at:
http://www.percyschmeiser.com/decisioncomments.htm

[Offical and Detailed/referenced Ruling:  "Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser:"
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/rec/html/2004scc034.wpd.html


TELL MONSANTO WHERE TO GO!:  (05/20/04): "Bees, beetles and blowing prairie
winds can carry Monsanto's genetically-modified canola a good 26 kilometers
- and a whole lot farther if the transgenic seed or pollen hitches a ride
on passing trucks, trains or trousers. After eight summers in Canada's
West, GM canola has earned the dubious status of a major weed - a common
sight in fields, boulevards and cemeteries - and even backyard gardens.

"Canola can winter over for 8 years," says ETC Group's Pat Mooney in the
NGO's Winnipeg headquarters, "meaning GM pollen has probably travelled a
minimum of 200 km since Monsanto first commercialized its patented seed in
1996." Which is why, Mooney reasons, just about everyone on the prairies
has a direct, personal interest in the May 21st Supreme Court decision.
"There are about 5 million Percy Schmeisers out here [roughly the
population of Canada's three prairie provinces]. For all any of us know, we
could have Monsanto's canola in our window boxes."

[Edited from the Press Release at:
http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=4

[Fascinating campaign background info, form letters, cartoons, etc.:
http://www.etcgroup.org/takeaction.asp


MONSANTO HALTS GM CANOLA TRIALS IN AUSTRALIA:  (05/13/04): "International
biotech giant Monsanto will shut down its multimillion-dollar investment in
genetically modified canola in Australia after being frustrated by state
regulations and bans on GM crops.  In a decision lamented by the Grains
Council of Australia, but hailed as a victory by environment groups and
some farmers, Monsanto confirmed yesterday it would suspend trials of its
GM canola this year.  Monsanto's decision follows a long-running campaign
by environmental groups and the Network of Concerned Farmers.  Greenpeace
anti-GM campaigner Jeremy Tager was celebrating yesterday. "Effectively
there is not going to be a commercial release of GM canola... and to have
defeated that is pretty extraordinary."  Greenpeace is concerned that
insufficient tests have been made into the health and ecological impact of
GM crops. Mr Tager said it also supported farmers' concerns over increases
in costs to keep GM and non-GM crops separate."

[Very edited from:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/12/1084289748081.html


BIG BIOTECH HAS SILENCED MAJORITY OF SCIENTISTS WORKING ON RISK:
(06/02/04): ""They've been going after scientists in a systematic,
organized way that I haven't seen in my memory," says Chuck Benbrook, a
food policy expert and former executive director of the Board on
Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences. "Let's face it, [big
biotech has] silenced the vast majority of scientists who are interested in
doing research on risks."  "I thought only criminals and desperate people
lied, not educated people" - Tyrone Hayes.

In these excerpts from an article centered on UC Berkeley professor, Hayes,
the cases of other researchers who have come under fire from the biotech
industry are also dealt with in passing, including, interestingly, the
little-reported case of the entomologist, Angelica Hilbeck. Hilbeck's
research into a type of genetically modified corn produced by Syngenta
showed that the green lacewing was being poisoned by eating corn borer
larvae that had fed on this corn. Like so many others, she then found
herself under attack from the industry."

[Very very edited from the disturbing and comprehensive info at:
http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=3664


************************************************
*05:  Hamburger Actor, Gigabites, World's Richest Pets
************************************************
NEW 40-GIGABITE IHOP BREAKFAST PLATTER HOLDS UP TO 10,000 PANCAKES:
[headline to a funny photo at:
http://www.theonion.com


LOCAL HAMBURGER TO STAR IN NATIONAL AD:  (06/03/04): "Kankakee, IL  Local
citizens are abuzz with the news that a local Angus beef hamburger will be
featured in a national Weber gas-grill TV commercial that begins airing
Monday. "We are all just so proud," Kankakee Mayor Donald Green said of the
burger, which appears seated on a seeded bun and dressed with ketchup,
pickles, lettuce, and a slice of tomato. "We've had some great sandwiches
in this town, but none have gotten this kind of recognition. All of us who
knew the burger had a hunch it was going to go on to great things."
According to Green, the burger's talent agent is currently negotiating
details for the burger's inclusion in a diner scene in an upcoming Will
Ferrell movie.

[Satire from:
http://www.theonion.com


WORLD'S 20 RICHEST PETS:  (05/15/04):  [True story!]: "They are the pets
who will never lack creature comforts - the world's 20 richest animals
worth �306million.  Most have been left the fortunes by millionaire owners
taking animal welfare a little too far.  The Animal Rich-List:

(1) Gunther IV (dog) �180million German countess Karlotta Libenstein left
�60m to alsatian Gunther III when she died in 1992. Her trustees invested
wisely and tripled the fortune for Gunther III''s son.  (2) Kalu
(chimpanzee) �53million Owner Patricia put his name on her will after
removing her husband''s - Aussie Olympic swimmer Frank O''Neill.  (4) Gigoo
(hen) �10 million Publisher Miles Blackwell left his fortune to the hen
after wife Briony died in 1999.  (10) Moose (dog) �1.8million Better known
as Eddie in US comedy Frasier, where he earns �6,000 an episode.

[Note:  British pound is roughly 1.8 times a U.S. dollar:
http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html#

[Cattle, a tortoise, a parrot, and more... edited from:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=14053353&method=full&site
id=50143


************************************************
*06:  Excerpts from: "Dying for a Hamburger"
************************************************
[Waldman, Dr. Murray (with Marjorie Lamb), "Dying for a Hamburger:  How
Modern Meat-Packing Led to an Epidemic of Alzheimer's Disease."  ISBN:
0-7710-8765-9.
http://www.thebukowskiagency.com


(P. 264):  "We have already noted the close connection between the rate of
Alzheimer's disease and the consumption of commercial beef, both
geographically and temporally.  This does not mean that Alzheimer's must be
an infectious prio disease like CJD, but rather that prions may play a role
in a person's developing the disease.   Dr. Chi Ming Yang, one of the
world's leading experts in prion research, outlines a possible mechanism
for the pathology seem in Alzheimer's.  His research suggests "...a common
putative [supposed] mechanism underlying the initiation stages of sporadic
Alzheimer's disease and both sporadic and genetic forms of prion disease."
In other words, a prion may provide the initial push required for the onset
of these diseases. (10)"

(10) Yang Chiming. "An 'i-4, i, i+4' 'reductive and nucleophilic zipper'
shared by both prion protein and beta-amyloid peptide sequences supports a
common putative molecular mechannism."  Chemical Journal on Internet.  July
2, 2000.  Vol. 2, No. 7, p. 35.  Online as of June 2, 2003:
http://www.chemistrymag.org/cji/2000/027035le.htm


(P. 144): "The natural lifespan of an unconfined chicken can be up to ten
years, yet chickens raised for meat are usually slaughtered at six weeks of
age, before they reach sexual maturity.  Egg-laying hens are kept for two
to four years.  The natural lifespan of pigs is about ten to fifteen years,
and even up to thirty years, but they are usually slaughtered after four to
seven months.  Pigs intended for pork are usually slaughtered one to two
months younger than pigs for bacon.  Sows kept as breeding stock are
slaughtered after three or four years for sausages, pork pies, and other
lower-quality products.  These animals that never reach their full, natural
lifespan may act as silent reservoirs for the disease [prion-based]."  (5)

"In 1999, scientists reported that they had observed beta amyloid plaques
in the brain of a sixteen-year-old woodpecker.  Although the woodpecker
plaques tested negative for prions, this is the first reported example of
these types of lesions in a bird. (6) This finding may mean that birds are
capable of getting these types of diseases, but because chickens, turkeys,
geese, and ducks are slaughtered so young in the food-processing industry,
they do not live long enough to demonstrate any symptoms or pathological
findings.  Products from the poultry industry constitute one of the largest
inputs to the rendering industry --- and it's still legal to feed poultry
products to cattle."

(5) Aguzzi, Al., Weissmann, C., "Spongiform encephalopathies:  The prion's
perplexing persistence."  Nature 392, April 23, 1998.  pp. 763-764.  (6)
nakayama, H., Katayama, K.I., et. al., "Cerebral amyloid angiopathy in an
aged great spotted woodpecker (Picoides major)." Neurobiology of Aging 20
(1): 53-56.  1999 Jan-Feb.


************************************************
*07:  Elephants Freed, Tough AR Laws, HSUS CEO, Antibiotic Resistance
************************************************
DETROIT ZOO TO FREE ELEPHANTS!:  (05/20/04): "The Detroit Zoo will become
the nation's first major animal facility to give away its elephants solely
on ethical grounds.  Winky and Wanda, the latest in an 81-year-old
tradition of pachyderms at the zoo, will be sent to one of two U.S. refuges
this summer or early fall.  The decision to send them away comes amid a
nationwide push to provide better care for elephants, widely considered to
be among the Earth's most intelligent creatures. They form strong social
bonds and have a powerful need for physical and intellectual stimulation.

In the wild, female Asian elephants like Winky and Wanda typically roam 30
miles a day, form lifelong and unique friendships with members of their
herds and mourn for their dead.  In captivity, they live in unnatural
climates, develop physical problems such as chronic arthritis and exhibit
psychological problems related to boredom and stress.  Five U.S. zoos have
closed elephant exhibits in recent years under public pressure after animal
deaths or alleged mistreatment, and a small animal sanctuary in Georgia
gave up its elephants earlier this year, partly because of space and cost
concerns.

[Very edited from the much more detailed and fully engaging article at:
http://www.freep.com/news/metro/zoo20_20040520.htm


TOUGH ANIMAL RIGHTS LAWS ENACTED IN AUSTRIA:  (05/27/04): "Hens will be
free to run around barnyards, lions and tigers will vanish from circus
acts, and Dobermans will sport what nature intended - floppy ears and
longer tails - under a tough animal rights law adopted Thursday in Austria.
The anticruelty law, one of Europe's harshest, will ban pet owners from
cropping their dogs' ears or tails, force farmers to uncage their chickens,
and ensure that puppies and kittens no longer swelter in pet shop windows.
Violators face steep fines Violators will be subject to fines of $2,420,
and in cases of extreme cruelty could be fined up to $18,160 and have their
animals seized by the authorities.

It's the latest example of how the animals rights issue is gaining
attention across Europe:

*The European Commission has proposed a sweeping overhaul of EU regulations
on transporting livestock across the continent to give more protection to
the hundreds of thousands of animals that are shipped daily and to prevent
deaths and abuse. *In March, Hungary's parliament banned cockfighting and
the breeding or sale of animals for fighting, and it made animal torture -
previously a misdemeanor - a felony punishable by up to two years in
prison. *Last summer, the region of Catalonia, which passed Spain's first
animal cruelty law in 1988, banned the killing of abandoned cats and dogs
in animal shelters and raised fines for cruelty to as much as $24,200.
*Italy is considering a law that forbids sending horses to the
slaughterhouse after their competitive careers are over, and Germany plans
to phase out mass farming of caged chickens by the end of 2006."

[Very edited from:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5077350/


CEO OF HUMANE SOCIETY STATEMENT OF BELIEFS:  (06/01/04): "Editor's note:
Wayne Pacelle sent this memo to staff members on June 1, 2004, his first
official day as Chief Executive Officer of The Humane Society of the United
States.  "....The HSUS is one actor-albeit a major one-in the larger
movement to restructure humanity's relationship with animals and the
natural world. We can only succeed by engaging people in our mission and
activating people in their communities. If the 300 staff members of the
HSUS change their buying habits, that will not reshape markets or the world
around us. But if we galvanize 300,000, 3 million, or even 30 million
people to make humane consumer choices based on the vision we promote, then
markets will be transformed in dramatic ways.

So do your best to draw others into our work and make them ambassadors for
animals. We will succeed only if we are mindful of that imperative..... we
will begin to concentrate our efforts. Among other steps, The HSUS will
create a new campaigns section, devoted to seeking changes on some of the
most urgent challenges that confront us. One campaign will focus on farm
animals, since the abuse of animals raised for food occurs on a scale far
larger than any other issue that we confront."

[Very excerpted from:
http://www.animalconcerns.org/external.html?www=http%3A//www.hsus.org/ace/21152&
itemid=200406032014430.384353


ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE LINKED TO ANIMALS 'UNACCEPTABLE THREAT' TO HUMANS:
(05/24/04): "A new report by the investigative arm of Congress, the
Government Accounting Office, concludes that the Food and Drug
Administration "has determined that antibiotic resistance in humans
resulting from the use of antibiotics in animals is an unacceptable risk to
the public health." The study was requested by Senators Edward M. Kennedy
(D-Mass.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Tom Harkin (D- Iowa). Kennedy and
Snowe are sponsors of a bipartisan bill (S. 1460) to phase out the routine
use of medically important antibiotics in livestock and poultry that are
not sick; the bill also provides funding to help farmers make the
transition. Reps. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.) are
sponsors of the companion bill (H.R. 2932).

"This GAO report confirms that routine overuse of antibiotics in chickens,
pigs and beef cattle is a ticking time bomb, for both human health and
agricultural trade," said David Wallinga, M.D., physician-director of the
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Antibiotic Resistance Project."

[Edited from:
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=104-05242004

[Actual GAO report:
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-490

["Keep Antibiotics Working: The Campaign to End Antibotic Overuse:"
http://www.KeepAntibioticsWorking.com


************************************************
*08:  Upcoming Events of Special Note
************************************************
MODERN MANNA 10th ANNUAL HEALTH & HEALING CRUSADE:
Free Admission:  June 24-27, 2004,  9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Lodi, California Lodi Grape Festival grounds 413 E. Lockeford Street, Lodi, CA

Featured Speakers: Dr. T. Colin Campbell - Robert Cohen - Howard Lyman -
Dr. John McDougall - Dr. Alan Goldhamer - Charlotte Gerson - Dr. Lorraine
Day - Danny & Charise Vierra .  Also Featuring: Cancer Cures - Herbal
Remedies - Natural Healing - Vegetarian Cooking & Demos Cleansing & Detox -
Exhibits - Children's Programs - RV hook-ups - ree Tent Camping. Delicious
vegan meals, raw food, organic juices & smoothies served daily.

http://www.modernmanna.org


AR2004 CONFERENCE:
July 8-12, 2004:  "Animal Rights 2004 is the animal rights movement's
annual national conference. It provides a forum for sharing knowledge,
discussing strategies and tactics, networking, and "recharging our
batteries." It is dedicated to exposing and challenging the terror
perpetrated every day by our society against billions of innocent, sentient
nonhuman animals.  More than 80 animal rights leaders have been already
signed.  The conference will be held on July 8-12 at the Sheraton Premiere
Hotel in Vienna, VA, just outside the Washington Beltway. Vegan banquet,
buffets, extensive exhibits, seminars, and additional networking sessions."

http://www.animalrights2004.org


VEGETARIAN SUMMERFEST - NAVS' 30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION:
July 21-25, 2004 University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown PA

A Fun 5-Day Experience: Cutting-edge Educational Sessions, Health &
Nutrition, Lifestyle Issues, Cooking Demonstrations, Exercise & Fitness,
Animal Rights, Compassionate Living, Earth Stewardship.  Great Natural Food
Vegan Meals prepared under the direction of "Gold Medal Winning" chef Ken
Bergeron.  Dozens Of Speakers:  Doctors, Dietitians, Chefs, Authors, Social
Activist & other educators will Share their knowledge & experience Keynote
Speaker include: Carol Adams, Brenda Davis RD, Michael Greger MD, Michael
Klaper MD, Howard Lyman, Milton Mills MD, Tom Regan & more

[North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) & conference info:
http://www.vegetariansummerfest.org


UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS 5TH ANNUAL FORUM 2004:
Saturday, August 21 - Sunday August 22, 2004:  "Mad Cows to Mad Chickens:
What Insiders Can Tell You About Agribusiness, Animal Liberation, and Your
Diet."  Meet the eyewitnesses and hear their testimony from behind the
scenes of the meat, poultry, egg, dairy, medical, and alternative animal
production industries.

Registration Form, Schedule, Directions and Accommodations :
http://www.upc-online.org/alerts/41904forum04.htm


************************************************
*09:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ANIMAL ISSUES:
["The Animal Times is your monthly publication for all things animals:"
http://www.animal-times.com/

["PETA Activist Runs For President On Reality TV Show:"
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=1925510&nav=23iiNjuu


DIET:
["Grabbing a Quick Bite Nabs More Calories:"
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2004/040521.htm

["People - Not Their Words - Tell "The Carbohydrate Story:"
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/2004nl/040400pucarb.htm


ENVIRONMENT:
["10 ways to a chemical free garden:"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/chemicalworld/story/0,14534,1220181,00.html

["New online "wiseguide" helps consumers make everyday, Earth Day:"
http://www.enn.com/businesscenter/products/797_24019.asp

["A quarter of China's population at risk as glaciers start melting:"
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/84696/1/.html

["Darker at noon: Pollution is dimming sun:"
http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/May04/150504/wn02.htm

["Bay Area Footprint 33 Times Too Large For Sustainability:"
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1366D000000FCBEDC54012BCA
036E


GMOS:
[GM Watch:
http://www.gmwatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=1&page=1


HEALTH:
["20 ways to cut out chemicals [in you]:"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/chemicalworld/story/0,14534,1215273,00.html

["Sugar industry threatens WHO's anti-obesity strategy:"
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=Sto
ryFT&cid=1084907697891


MAD COW-RELATED:
["Alzheimer's a Growing and Deadly Problem:"
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=G1KPKBYVLNAJ4CRBAELCFEY?type
=healthNews&storyID=5353603

["Study links diabetes to risk of Alzheimer's:"
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/05/18/Worldandnation/Study_links_diabetes_.shtml


NEWSLETTERS/WEBSITES:
["The June 2004 issue of Vegetarians in Paradise:"
http://www.vegparadise.com


RECIPES:
[42 Vegan Zucchini Recipes:
http://www.vegan-food.net/search.cgi?search_text=zucchini&search_type=all&sort_o
rder=alph

[Over 75 Vegan Desser Recipes:
http://www.vegan-food.net/index.cgi?dessert

[213 Vegan Tofu Recipes:
http://www.vegan-food.net/search.cgi?search_text=tofu&search_type=all&sort_order
=alph

["Vegan Grill and barbecue sauces, recipes for grilling, etc.:"
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/121284.html

[Vegan Feta "Cheese" Recipes!:
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/837124.htm

[Over 10,000 veg'n recipes online:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VegRecipes.html


VEG'NISM:
["Top chefs join raw-food revolution:'
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/02/Taste/Top_chefs_join_raw_fo.shtml

["Raw food enthusiasts have ways to avoid cooking:"
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/8697142.htm

["Vegetarian dogs and cats: Kibble doesn't cut it anymore:"
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/pop/articles/0518vegpets18-CR.html


************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Jun 19: Rhineland, NY > Animal Sanctuary - Julie Baron  845.336.8447
Jun 22: St. Henry, OH > 7:30, PM Romers Entertainment Facility - 419.336.1022
Jun 26 - 27: Lodi, CA > (26th at 4 pm, 27th at 10:30 am) - "Health and
Healing Crusade

Jul 8 - 11: WashDC (Viena, VA) > AR2004
Jul 21-25: Johnstown, PA > Summerfest 2004
Jul 29 - 30: Wichita, Kansas > TBA

Aug. 7-8: Watkin Glen, NY > Farm Sanctuary

Sep 11, 12, 13: Cleveland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04
Sep 18: WashDC> Green Festival
Sep 26: San Francisco, CA > SF Vegetarian Society
Sep 27: Portland, Oregon > "AM Northwest TV," and KBOO radio (both tentative)
Sep 28: Portland, Oregon > 7 pm. - First Unitarian Church, 12th & Main

Oct 12: Harrisburg, PA > 6:30 pm - Vegetarian Society and SDA Church

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
************************************************
Both Mooshoes and VeganCats will donate 5% of sales accessed through the
MadCowboy Home Page to the filming of the Mad Cowboy Feature Documentary.
Check 'em out!  Mooshoes sells much more than shoes, and VeganCats sells
cruelty-free products for cats AND dogs!


************************************************
*12:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"When I was on the farm in Montana, we had all kinds of animals.  One I
want to tell you about today is something that most of us have never
thought about.  We had a pig.

The pig is by far the most intelligent animal that we had on the farm.
That pig would actually come up to my house, stand on his back legs, open
the back door and come into the house.  We never had to worry about it
because pigs are a very fastidious animal if you give 'em the opportunity
of staying clean, they will.  Being involved in agriculture I learned early
on to look in the eyes of the animals.

The eyes of the animals tell you how the animal is feeling, whether they
are well or sick, they tell you whether the animal is stressed or happy.
How many of us ever stop and take a look at the eyes of the animals that
are going out of factory feedlots and into factory slaughterhouses?"

--- Howard Lyman (from Vol. 01 of 3ABN's "Earth Talk 2003" segments)


"The zoo is the window into our humanity, and how we treat other things in
nature." [Zoo Director Kagan, about his decision to give away the Zoo's
elephants on purely ethical grounds... see article above.]


******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 39th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

For this issue we have a special announcement:  the official release of the
"Earth Talk 2003" interactive DVD:  select lectures by Howard on
environmental issues.  Comprised of eight video segments ("Garden of Eden,"
"Spongiform," "Population," "Water," "Global Warming," "Birds,"
"Recycling," and "Biodiversity), this project is the result of a unique
team-up between Howard and the 3 Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN).  You
can learn more about this DVD (and see the cover art for the "soon to be
released" Mad Cowboy Documentary) at:

http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VVFprods.000.html

Moving on in this edition of the Newsletter, aside from our standard Mad
Cow Info Roundup, you'll learn how the government is categorizing "french
fries" as "fresh," learn how the news about eating fruits and vegetables
just keeps getting better and better (vision, Altzheimer's, and Cancer).
There's also articles about power companies are being sued, and new
estimates on their impact to human health in our country.

Further on down, you'll read comedian Jerry Seinfeld's take on "milk,"
learn about hippo sweat, depressed bovines, be surprised at the new
Austrian Animal Rights Law, and wonder about the dog with the incredible
vocabulary.  There's also information from PCRM about how the USDA is
promoting Oreos (and milk) to children, Compassion Over Killing's unique
commercials on MTV, and the amazing "Agi" with her internet radio show
(plus, her interview with our favorite "Mad Cowboy").

Finally, don't miss our "Quick Bytes" section with links to over 10,000
veg'n recipes, "Nine Ways To Live Healthy And Prevent Cancer," recent
announcements/findings on cholesterol, and other useful online resources.

And.... as always, a special nod of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all
can read back issues at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Happy Summer to All!  ...and stay cool...... Mark


***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
04:  "Fresh" Fries, Fruit Vision, Anti-Altzheimer's, Cancer/Food
05:  Power Companies Sued, Cause Deaths, Ruin Glaciers
06:  A Hit of Milk, Hippo Sweat, & Clinical Depression in Cows
07:  Austria AR Laws, Crimes Unseen, Fowl Cruelty,  Dog Vocab
08:  Vegans Franchise, USDA Oreos, COK on MTV, Internet Agi
09:  Upcoming Events of Special Note
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Donations to the Mad Cowboy Documentary
12:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quotes of Note
************************************************
"Hi, my name is Howard Lyman, better known as the "Mad Cowboy."  I'm a 4th
generation agriculturalist from Montana.  I travel about 100,000 miles a
year around this Earth, and I believe the way we are treating our
environment today is absolutely, totally, non-sustainable...  the Earth is
gift from God, and our responsibility.

Every day we knowingly or unknowingly make choices.  Let's look at making
better choices.  Our environment is a gigantic interconnected system which
resembles a puzzle.  Today we will look at one of those pieces of the
puzzle.  I want to spend some time today reviewing these problems so we can
assure our children and grandchildren a viable future."

Howard Lyman, introducing the 8 video segments discussing environmental
issues on the brand new and just-released "Earth Talk 2003" interactive DVD!

[Learn more about the DVD and other resources, now available at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_VVF.000.html


************************************************
*01:  New Pix from Howard's Digital Camera
************************************************
[Travels to the West Coast, and back to the DC area for AR2004:
http://www.madcowboy.com/05_04to06_04_HLpix/index.html
http://www.madcowboy.com/06_04to07_04_HLpix/index.html
http://www.madcowboy.com/07_04_AR2004_HLpix/index.html


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"The United State's annual oil imports have increased by roughly what
percentage from 1973 to 2002?"

a) 10%  b) 30%  c) 50%  d) 70%  e) 90%

Correct answer:  c)

["US oil imports, which accounted about one-third of total US petroleum
needs in 1973, jumped to 60% of US oil needs in 2002:"
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2CDA8F31-A5D7-4071-B12D-1B804E1C15EE.htm
http://hutchison.senate.gov/prl269.htm


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"Which country has the MOST television sets (total)?"

Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT August 3rd, 2004.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
MAD COW TESTS GO TO INDUSTRY BEFORE PUBLIC:  (06/15/04): "The U.S.
Department of Agriculture plans to notify industry officials of positive
mad cow test results at least one hour before informing the public,
according to a meat industry newsletter obtained by United Press
International.  The revelation comes as government officials are being
investigated for possibly leaking information about the first U.S. case of
mad cow in December to commodity traders prior to telling the public.

A statement on NMA's [National Meat Association] Web site says, "Generic
information concerning the inconclusive result will be publicly released
after the market closes for the day, after the plant and other key
personnel or associations have been notified, with at least an hour between
the two notifications."  The statement goes on to say USDA officials told
industry representatives in a private meeting, "No establishment
information will be publicly released, including the city or town of the
slaughtering facility."

In January, various consumer groups, including GAP, Public Citizen and the
Consumer Federation of America, requested the USDA hold a public hearing on
the mad cow issue. The groups reiterated their appeal just last month. So
far, their requests have gone unanswered."

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040614-055058-5276r


JAPAN'S BSE DEMANDS DIVIDING U.S. CATTLE INDUSTRY:  (06/21/04): "Japan's
continued insistence that the U.S. test all cattle for bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) at slaughter is creating a divide in the cattle
industry. Scientists agree that BSE, commonly called mad cow disease,
doesn't develop in cattle until about 30 months of age.  Therefore, testing
all slaughter cattle for BSE is scientifically unjustified and cost
prohibitive, Greg Doud chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef
Association (NCBA) told Farm Bureau county vice presidents at last week's
Midyear Conference in West Des Moines.

"There is a fundamental misunderstanding between the U.S. and Japan about
beef safety because of differences in the production system," Doud said.
He said most cattle slaughtered in Japan are 30 months old or older. U.S.
slaughter cattle are generally 15 to 18 months old, well before BSE infects
the animal."

[Very edited from:
http://www.ifbf.org/publication/spokesman/story.asp?number=22732&type=News

["BSE in 21-month Holstein in Japan" - mentioned in MC Newsletter #32:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2319032
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040114-041124-1470r


FLORIDA WOMAN WITH HUMAN FORM OF MAD COW DISEASE DIES:  (06/21/04): "A
Florida woman suffering from the only known case in the United States of
the human form of mad cow disease has died, her family said on Monday.
Charlene Singh died on Sunday at her home in Fort Lauderdale after being
ill for several years with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is
fatal and incurable. Her family believe she contracted it by eating
contaminated meat in Britain more than a decade ago. Singh, 25, was born
and raised in Britain, where an outbreak of the disease hit tens of
thousands of cattle in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the more than 150 cases
of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob worldwide have been reported in Britain."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RQV0JB2G5NTOWCRBAELCFEY?type
=domesticNews&storyID=5477412


BUSH GIVEN GRADE OF "D" AT ANNIVERSARY OF MAD COW FINDING:  (06/22/04):
"The Bush administration received a letter grade of "D" today for its
efforts to prevent mad cow disease during the six months since a mad cow
was found in the United States.  Seven public interest organizations with
more than 5 million members released a report card rating the
administration's performance.  The groups assessed 10 key actions needed to
prevent the disease including testing, feed restrictions, animal
identification and tracking, prevention of the human version of the disease
and whether the administration has been following its own rules.

Groups rating the Bush administration include the Center for Food Safety,
Consumers Union (the publisher of Consumer Reports), the Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease Foundation, Friends of the Earth, the Government Accountability
Project, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy - Action, and Public
Citizen."

[Edited from:
http://www.foe.org/new/releases/604reportcard.html
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/8986974.htm


USDA WARNS CANADA, MEXICO OF RAPID MAD COW TEST:  (06/24/04): "Canada and
Mexico should not shut their borders to U.S. beef if a new U.S. testing
system finds an animal may have mad cow disease, the U.S. Agriculture
Department said on Thursday.  The USDA this month began using rapid test
kits that carry a greater risk of false positives for bovine spongiform
encephalopathy. Any positive or inconclusive tests would be confirmed by
the USDA's main animal health laboratory in Iowa.  John Clifford, USDA's
chief veterinarian, said the department has prepared Canadian and Mexican
government officials for the possibility of inconclusive tests.  "They
understand that they are not going to shut us off based on an inconclusive
(test result)," Clifford told reporters. "It would be inappropriate in our
minds for that to occur."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp?type=topNews&localeKey=en_CA&st
oryID=5509364


USDA FINDS 2ND SUSPECT ANIMAL FOR MAD COW DISEASE:  (06/29/04): "A second
animal in less than a week preliminarily tested positive for mad cow
disease and it will be retested, the U.S. Agriculture Department said late
on Tuesday.  The USDA refused to disclose any information about the suspect
animal's slaughter location, age or sex, but said the cattle carcass did
not enter the human food supply.  USDA officials say the government's new,
rapid tests carry a greater risk of false positives.  The first U.S. case
of mad cow disease was diagnosed last December in a Washington state dairy
cow. In response, Japan and dozens of other countries halted purchases of
American beef, valued at about $3.8 billion annually."

[Very edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5547298


U.S. SAYS FINDS NEGATIVE RESULT TO MAD COW TEST:  (06/30/04): "A suspect
animal tested negative for mad cow disease in a second round of testing,
the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.  The additional tests
were ordered after an inconclusive or possible positive test was found last
Friday in an animal sent to slaughter.  "That particular result is negative
for BSE on confirmatory testing," John Clifford, the department's chief
veterinarian, told reporters. BSE stands for the formal name of mad cow
disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy.  The department has cautioned
that its new rapid tests to detect the brain-wasting disease are likely to
produce false positives."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=5557846


UP TO 100 MORE MAD COW CASES EXPECTED:  (06/30/04): "...a food industry
consultant told UPI he estimates there could be more than 100 cases of the
deadly disorder in the country's herds.  About half of the cases will go
undetected and passed on for human consumption, Robert LaBudde, president
of Least Cost Formulation Ltd., a food industry consultancy in Virginia
Beach, Va., told UPI.  LaBudde, who has served on the faculties of the
University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, thinks there will be many more infected cows detected.

Only about half the cases will be detected, however, because many animals
will not show any symptoms, LaBudde said. This is based on the experience
in Europe, where half the animals that test positive have no outward
symptoms of infection, he added.  LaBudde said the department should test
all cows over age 5 regardless of their health status, because these are
the most likely to have passed through the lengthy incubation period of the
disease and test positive. He called the USDA's failure to do that
bordering on "negligent."

[Edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040630-042354-9787r


JAPAN SAYS U.S. PLAYED DOWN SERIOUSNESS OF BSE:  (07/03/04): "The chairman
of the government's Food Safety Commission on Friday played down the
seriousness of mad cow disease in the United States. "Deep down, I think
the risk of BSE in the U.S. was hardly taken seriously," Masaaki Terada
said during a workshop on food safety.  Terada also said that as the U.S.
government does not have enough data on the disease, it is still difficult
to scientifically assess the danger of the brain-wasting disease in the
country, leading to Japan's ban on American beef imports. The commission is
therefore collecting information to determine necessary safety measures
against U.S. beef, Terada said."

[Edited from:
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=2&id=304264


FRENCH MAD COW EPIDEMIC WENT UNDETECTED:  (07/04/04): "French researches
have concluded that more than 300,000 cows in France contracted bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, between 1980 and June 2000,
the Telegraph reported on its Web site.  About 50,000 of the infected
animals entered the food chain, the newspaper said, citing a report by
researchers at France's Institute of Health and Medical Research. The
study, "The Unrecognized French BSE Epidemic,'' is published in Veterinary
Research, the newspaper said.

The number of officially recorded cases of mad cow disease in France over
the past 13 years is 923, the newspaper said.  The editors of Veterinary
Research had three independent scientists verify the study's findings, the
newspaper said."

[Edited from:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=aWtySbz5mpnY&refer=europe


CANADIAN PM SAYS BSE COW LIKELY CONTAMINATED BY US FEED:  (07/08/04): "At a
conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, this week, Canadian Prime Minister Paul
Martin criticized US actions after BSE was discovered in a Canadian cow in
May 2003. "Some chose to ignore the fact that in all probability, the feed
that gave it the disease came from the United States and consequently, the
border was closed," he said.

Martin blamed special interests for blocking the US government from a joint
solution. "Beef prices are at an all-time high because Canadian beef is no
longer coming in and they are enjoying very high profits, and obviously, in
a year in which there is a US election, there is huge pressure being
brought to essentially keep that border closed," he said.  In the long run,
Martin said it's the US beef industry that will suffer unless the border is
fully opened, because Canada will have no choice but to build massive
processing facilities there."

[Edited from:
http://www.agriculture.com/default.sph/AgNews.class?FNC=goDetail__ANewsindex_htm
l___52121___1


FDA DELAYS MAD COW FEED RULES:  (07/09/04): "The Food and Drug
Administration on Friday banned brains and other cattle parts that could
carry mad cow disease from use in cosmetics and dietary supplements, but
delayed some similar safeguards in animal feed for up to two years.
The FDA said it will adopt some regulations, initially announced in
January, that prohibit the use of brains, skull and spinal cords from older
cattle in human food and cosmetics. The USDA, which regulates the meat
industry, adopted similar measures in January.

Consumer groups criticized the agency for taking six months to issue only
some of the new safeguards.  "Action that was urgent in January has become
action that can be delayed until the last mad cow comes home," said Carol
Tucker Foreman, food policy director for the Consumer Federation of
America.  The American Meat Institute, a trade group representing U.S.
meatpackers, said it was against a mandatory elimination of cattle brains
and spinal material from all animal feed."

[Very edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040709/bs_nm/madcow_fda_dc&e
=4


USDA ADVISED AGAINST MAD COW TEST IN 2002:  (07/13/04): "The U.S.
Department of Agriculture in late 2002 warned against using the same mad
cow disease test the agency now is using in its expanded surveillance
program for the deadly disorder, United Press International has learned.
The USDA said governments should not authorize the test, which is
manufactured by Bio-Rad Laboratories in Hercules, Calif., because it can
give false positives -- results that are ruled negative on follow-up
testing -- and "will cause loss of consumer confidence in beef and beef
products," the agency wrote in a letter to the World Organization for
Animal Health in Paris.

The USDA recommended countries employ a different test manufactured by the
Swiss firm Prionics -- a test the agency has licensed but has not yet put
into use. The USDA's reason for the delay is the Prionics test, which has
not yielded a false positive in more than 20 million tests in Europe, still
must pass through the agency's validation procedures.  Experts on testing
and mad cow disease have suggested one reason the USDA might have opted for
Bio-Rad is the same reason it advised against it in 2002: its potential to
yield false positives.  By releasing preliminary positives -- or
inconclusives, as the USDA has deemed them -- that are later ruled
negative, the agency could desensitize markets, consumers and foreign
trading partners to real positive cases when and if they occur, the sources
said."

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040712-060601-3233r


USDA'S OWN AUDIT SLAMS ITS MAD COW PLAN:  (07/13/04): "The U.S. Department
of Agriculture's mad cow disease surveillance plan has numerous problems
that may have reduced the chances of detecting the deadly disease among
U.S. herds, according to a draft report from the agency's inspector
general.  Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who made the IG report available on
his Web site [address below], sent a letter Tuesday to Agriculture
Secretary Ann Veneman noting the House Government Reform Committee -- on
which Waxman serves -- and a separate IG investigation not yet made
available to the public, found additional evidence contradicting claims of
USDA officials regarding potential U.S. cases of mad cow disease.

"The Inspector General's finding and the additional evidence obtained by
the committee have major implications," Waxman, the ranking Democrat, wrote
in the letter. "They call into question the credibility of the department's
public statements and the adequacy of the department's past and ongoing
response to mad cow disease."  The IG audit of the mad cow surveillance
plan details a slew of problems, including failure to test the riskiest
animals, confusion among inspectors in the field due to inadequate
training, and "an almost complete absence of available documentation"
supporting the surveillance plan from 1990 through 2003.

[Very very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040713-065121-9550r

[See also:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/07/13/mad.cow.usda.reut/

[For formal letter and Drafat Audit:
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_food_safety/index.htm


USDA SAYS MANDATORY MAD COW TESTS WOULDN'T WORK:  (07/15/04): "Mandatory
testing of cattle for mad cow disease would not improve on the current
voluntary system because the government still could never be sure producers
were complying, an Agriculture Department official said Wednesday.  Even
under mandatory testing, if a producer did not want an animal tested, ''it
would be very difficult for us to find out,'' said Dr. Ron DeHaven,
administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.  ''When we
are talking about potentially every cattle producer in the country getting
involved in this program, enforcement is a real issue,'' DeHaven said.

He said that relying on cooperation from farmers, slaughterhouse operators
and renderers is working well in coming up with brain tissue samples to be
checked for the fatal brain-wasting disease.  ''We clearly are getting the
support we need to make this successful, so there is no need to proceed to
a mandatory program,'' DeHaven said.  Mandatory testing also would mean
time-consuming rule-making, DeHaven said."

[Edited from:
http://www.arkcity.net/stories/071504/com_0004.shtml


ITALY REPORTS LATEST CASE OF MAD COW DISEASE:  (07/19/04): "A 7-year-old
cow from a breeding farm in northwestern Italy has tested positive for mad
cow disease, bringing to 122 the number of cases detected in the nation
since testing began in 2001, the Health Ministry said Monday.  Two years
ago, Italy reported its first case of the human form of the brain-wasting
illness, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which experts believe is
transmitted by eating meat from infected animals."

[Edited from:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/07/19/financia
l1419EDT0129.DTL


************************************************
*04:  "Fresh" Fries, Fruit Vision, Anti-Alzheimer's, Cancer/Food
************************************************
FROZEN FRIES ARE 'FRESH' VEGGIES:  (06/15/04): "Based on a little-noticed
change to obscure federal rules, the USDA now defines frozen French fries
as "fresh vegetables."  A federal judge in Texas last week endorsed the
USDA's decision in a court case.  U.S. District Judge Richard Schell said
the term "fresh vegetables" was ambiguous. The USDA quietly changed the
regulations last year at the behest of the French fry industry, which has
spent decades pushing for a revision to the Perishable Agricultural
Commodities Act.

The USDA explained its rationale in its arguments in the Texas case.
"While plaintiff argued that battered-coated French fries are processed
products, they have not been 'processed' to the point that they are no
longer 'fresh,' " attorneys for the USDA argued.  "It is still considered
'fresh' because it is not preserved. It retains its perishable quality."

[Edited from:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0615-02.htm


FRUIT FENDS OFF VISION TROUBLE, STUDY FINDS:  (06/14/04): "Eating fruit
regularly earlier in life may help ward off macular degeneration, the
leading cause of vision loss in older adults, a study said Monday.  The
study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston looked at data from
77,562 women and 40,866 men who were followed for from 12 to 18 years as
part of long-term studies tracking them for a variety of health issues.  It
found that both men and women who consumed three or more servings of
unspecified fruit a day had a 36 percent decreased risk of developing
macular degeneration.  The report said macular degeneration is the leading
cause of vision loss among people 65 and older. There are no effective
treatments for the condition in which the macula -- a small part of the
retina -- deteriorates, causing a loss of central vision."

[Edited from:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/06/14/fruit.vision.reut/index.html

[Study abstract:
http://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/122/6/883


PREVENT ALZHEIMER'S THRU FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND EXERCISING:  (07/20/04):
"Researchers in a new study say that you can prevent Alzheimer's by staying
lean, eating lots of fruit and vegetables and exercising, you will also
reduce significantly your risk of developing heart disease. High
cholesterol during midlife, as well as high blood pressure will increase
your risk of developing Alzheimer's and dementia later in life if you do
not do anything about it.

A Finnish study found that people who are obese in midlife have twice the
risk of developing dementia during old age - the study looked at 1,500
people. The people with high cholesterol and blood pressure had six times
the risk.  Women who eat plenty of vegetables during their middle-age years
are much less likely to lose their cognitive abilities during their 70s
than women who did not eat many vegetables. This study looked at 13,000
women. The study was carried out at the Harvard Medical School, led by Dr.
Jae Hee Kang."

[Edited from:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=11003


AMERICAN DIET TOO HEAVY ON MEAT, STUDY FINDS:  (07/19/04):  "Despite
warnings from the government, health groups and doctors, more than 70
percent of Americans still eat too much meat and fat and too few
vegetables, cancer researchers said.  They published a survey showing 72
percent of Americans still centered their meals around animal fats, leaving
little room for the vegetables that prevent not only cancer but heart
disease and perhaps a range of other diseases, too.

"Every time we sit down to a meal we are presented with a fresh opportunity
to bolster our bodies' natural defenses," said Melanie Polk of the American
Institute for Cancer Research.  "Today, the overwhelming majority of us
routinely squander that opportunity."  The AICR, which funds research aimed
at showing links between nutrition and cancer, commissioned a survey of
1,000 adults. They were asked what they had eaten the night before and how
much.  The AICR also released a study of nearly 30,000 women that showed
those who ate a diet closest to the group's guidelines - rich in
vegetables, with moderate alcohol intake - had the lowest risk of cancer."

[Edited from:
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/26079/story.htm

[See also:
http://www.aicr.org/press/pubsearchdetail.lasso?index=1781


SCIENTISTS REPORT 80% OF CANCER CASES FROM ENVIRONMENT & FOOD:  (06/28/04):
"Most cases of cancer are linked to environmental causes, U.S. government
scientists report, and simultaneously, a second group of government
researchers says the number of cancer survivors is growing in the United
States. Cancer is the second leading cause of death for Americans after
heart disease.

Cancers linked to environmental causes make up at least 80 percent of all
cancer cases, according to a second new report by the National Cancer
Institute, this one published with the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences. Environmental causes include exposure to agents in the air
and water as well as lifestyle factors such as smoking and diet.  "When I
use the word environmental, I mean it in a broad sense to include both
lifestyle factors such as diet, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as radiation,
infectious agents, and substances in the air, water, and soil," said Dr.
Blair in the June 17 issue of the NCI publication "Benchmarks."

[Edited from:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/cancer070104.cfm

[Original interactive source (with a breakdown of "cause" percentages:
http://www.nci.nih.gov/newscenter/benchmarks-vol4-issue3


************************************************
*05:  Power Companies Sued, Cause Deaths, Ruin Glaciers
************************************************
SHELL BOSS SAYS WORLD'S FUTURE GRIM UNLESS CARBON EMISSIONS CUT:
(07/17/04): "A chairman of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Cos. said in
comments published Thursday he sees "very little hope for the world" unless
there is a reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions.  Lord Oxburgh,
chairman of Shell Transport and Trading Co. PLC, the Anglo-Dutch oil
giant's British wing, told the Guardian newspaper that he's worried about
the threat of climate change.  "No one can be comfortable at the prospect
of continuing to pump out the amounts of carbon dioxide that we are at
present," Oxburgh was quoted as saying. "People are going to go on allowing
this atmospheric carbon dioxide to build up, with consequences that we
really can't predict, but are probably not good."

[Edited from:
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=585ca8a7-9333-48b
b-8f81-2975f9f6c438


8 STATES, NYC TO SUE POWER COMPANIES:  (07/21/04): "Eight states and New
York City intend to sue five of the country's largest power producers to
demand they cut carbon dioxide emissions, which are believed to be linked
to global warming.  Named will be American Electric Power Co., Southern
Co., Xcel Energy, Cinergy and the federal Tennessee Valley Authority. The
companies collectively own 174 fossil fuel-burning power plants that
produce 646 million tons of carbon dioxide annually - about 10 percent of
the nation's total, the statement said.

Global warming has become a growing concern for many scientists, who worry
industrial exhaust and other gases in the atmosphere are raising
temperatures and will damage crops and human health, raise the sea level
and cause other problems.  The states contend carbon dioxide emissions can
be reduced by increasing efficiency at coal-burning plants, switching from
coal to cleaner burning fuels, investing in energy conservation, and using
clean energy sources such as wind and solar power."

[Edited from:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Emissio
ns%20Lawsuit


STUDY TIES EARLY DEATHS TO INDUSTRY POLLUTION:  (06/10/04): "Find out more
about the effects of power plant pollution What you don't know about the
air you breathe can hurt you. For the first time, the Power Plant Air
Pollution Locater puts at your fingertips detailed information about the
air you and your family are breathing. Now you can zoom in on your state,
your city, and even on the power plant in your back yard - and find out
what dirty air means to you. Nationwide, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's own air quality consultants, using standard EPA methodology, found
that:

- Pollution from power plants cuts short the lives of nearly 24,000
Americans nationwide every year.

- Those 24,000 Americans die an average of 14 years early because of
exposure to power plant pollution. 2,800 of those deaths are from lung
cancer.

- Power plant pollution is responsible for 38,200 non-fatal heart attacks
per year.

- Enforcing the current Clean Air Act will result in 4,000 fewer deaths
each year than the Bush Administration's air pollution plan. Far from
cleaning up, the Bush air pollution plan represents a step backward from
simply enforcing current law.

- The Clean Power Act, a leading proposal to clean up power plants once and
for all, would save 8,000 more lives every year than the Bush
administration plan. This is 100,000 more lives by 2020."

[Edited from:
http://cta.policy.net/


110 GLACIERS HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM MONTANA'S GLACIER NATIONAL PARK:
(07/2004): "More than 110 glaciers have disappeared from Montana's Glacier
National Park over the past 150 years, and researchers estimate that the
park's remaining 37 glaciers may be gone in another 25 years. Half a world
away on the African equator, Hemingway's snows of Kilimanjaro are steadily
melting and could completely disappear in the next 20 years. And in the
Alps, glaciers are retreating and disappearing every year, much to the
dismay of mountain climbers, tourist agencies, and environmental
researchers.

"Receding and wasting glaciers are a telltale sign of global climate
change," said Jeff Kargel, head of the Global Land Ice Measurements from
Space (GLIMS) Coordination Center at the United States Geological Survey
(USGS) in Flagstaff, Arizona. Kargel is part of a research team that's
developing an inventory of the world's glaciers, combining current
information on size and movement with historical data, maps, and photos."

[Edited from the long & information article with great satellite images at:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/GLIMS/


************************************************
*06:  A Hit of Milk, Hippo Sweat, & Clinical Depression in Cows
************************************************
A HIT OF MILK: "Isn't it weird that we drink milk, stuff designed to
nourish baby cows ?  How did THAT happen ?  Did some cattleman once say,
"Oh, man, I can't wait till them calves are done so I can get ME a hit of
that stuff."

[Attribted to Jerry Seinfeld in the Wash. Post as quoted at:
http://brian.bch.net/comedy.d/seinfeld.joke


HIPPO SWEAT EXPLAINED:  (05/27/04): "The secret of a hippopotamus's 'magic'
sweat has been revealed. The sticky reddish substance that acts as a
sunscreen was enough to make the ancient Greeks think hippos sweated blood,
says BBC Online.  But now a team from Kyoto Pharmaceutical University in
Japan says the substance is made from two unstable pigments, one red and
one orange. They tell Nature magazine that the red pigment also has
antibacterial properties.  These work to protect the hippo from certain
pathogens and accelerate its recovery from wounds.

Hippos, who usually forage at night, sometimes have to come out from the
water in the day to top up their feed. The sweat protects them from the
baking sun. "The sunscreen property of the sweat was first suspected
because albino hippos are often observed - and they seem healthy," said
Kyoto's Kimiko Hashimoto."

[Edited from:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_969493.html?menu=news.quirkies.animaltales


73% OF U.S. LIVESTOCK SHOW SIGNS OF CLINICAL DEPRESSION:  07/22/04):
"According to a joint study conducted by the FDA and the Department of
Agriculture, nearly three out of four members of the U.S. livestock
population show signs of clinical depression, with the vast majority of
cases going untreated, government officials said Monday.  "The FDA is
charged with the task of preventing potentially disastrous outbreaks of
disease within the U.S. livestock population," said Henry Wolcott,
Assistant Undersecretary of Agriculture, Psychiatric Division. "I'm afraid
that, in this case, our intervention came too late. Our study shows that 73
percent of U.S. cattle, goats, sheep, and swine suffer from serious
psychiatric problems."

Signs of clinical depression discovered by the researchers include severe
listlessness, lack of motivation, and a flattening of emotional affect
marked by glazed eyes and slow movements. "Most of the cows we examined
barely had the energy to drag themselves from the barn out to the field,"
Walcott said. "Once in the field, they tended to spend most of their time
quietly brooding and chewing cud, showing little to no willingness to
communicate with their herd-member peers. Their depression was so
debilitating that they needed to be coaxed out of inactivity through the
use of hollering, physical force, and, in extreme cases, trained dogs."
The study also noted the average U.S. cow's tendency to emit low, mournful
moans.

Dr. Theodore Nelson, author of "The Slow Slaughter: Growing Up Livestock In
An Uncaring World," has made combating bovine ennui his personal mission.
In his book, Nelson calls for a federal program to provide Selective
Livestock Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors to animals in need.

The government's report also contained preliminary data suggesting a rate
as high as 95 percent for severe anxiety disorder among U.S. poultry.

[Edited from the very funny satire at:
http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4029&n=1


************************************************
*07:  Austria AR Laws, Crimes Unseen, Fowl Cruelty,  Dog Vocab
************************************************
CRIMES UNSEEN:  (07/2004):
"To statisfy the public's ever-growing appetite for meat, slaughterhouses
in the United States killed ten billion animals last year. That's
27,397,260 animals every day, 1,141,553 every hour, 19,026 every minute.
Most Americans, largely disconnected from their food supply, assume these
animals met a painless end, if they think about it at all. Even readers of
books and articles about conditions in factory farms may not be aware of
what happens to animals at slaughter. But every now and then ... for a
brief moment the veil had been lifted on the brutality of the process that
turns living creatures into meat.

[major edit]

Nothing better illustrates the failure of the USDA to provide for the
humane treatment of animals raised for food than its position on downed, or
nonambulatory, animals. Images of animals too sick to stand being prodded,
pushed, and pulled to slaughter has sealed many an animal advocate's
decision to eschew meat. Yet for more than a decade the USDA ignored pleas
from animal protection groups to halt the marketing of downed animals on
humane grounds. The agency continued to do nothing even after research
conducted in Europe showed that downed animals presented the greatest risk
of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, entering the
U.S. food supply. Only after a BSE-infected dairy cow was reported in
Washington State last December did the agency ban the slaughter of these
animals."

[Very edited from the long and quite comprehensive article at:
http://www.oriononline.org/pages/om/04-4om/Jones.html


AUSTRIA OKS STRICT ANIMAL RIGHTS LAW:  (06/13/04): "Hens will be free to
run around barnyards, lions and tigers will vanish from circus acts, and
Dobermans will sport what nature intended - floppy ears and longer tails -
under a tough animal rights law adopted recently in Austria.  The
anticruelty law adopted May 27, one of Europe's harshest, will ban pet
owners from cropping their dogs' ears or tails, force farmers to uncage
their chickens, and ensure that puppies and kittens no longer swelter in
pet shop windows.

It's the latest example of how the animal rights issue is gaining attention
across Europe [here's two of several in the original article]:

- Last summer, the region of Catalonia, which passed Spain's first animal
cruelty law in 1988, banned the killing of abandoned cats and dogs in
animal shelters and raised fines for cruelty to as much as $24,200.

- .... Germany plans to phase out mass farming of caged chickens by the end
of 2006."

[Edited from the larger article at:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/nation/8903906.htm?1c


PILGRIM'S PRIDE PROBES POULTRY CRUELTY CHARGEs:  (07/21/04):  "A video from
an animal rights group allegedly showing cruelty at a U.S. poultry plant
owned by Pilgrim's Pride Corp. prompted the company yesterday to launch an
investigation of its workers and sent its shares lower.  People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said the tape showed workers at a West
Virginia Pilgrim's Pride plant ripping off birds' beaks, spitting tobacco
into their mouths and eyes, stomping and kicking live chickens, and
squeezing them with such force "that the birds expelled feces."  The tape
is the latest in an 18-month-long series of investigations by PETA of
companies that supply KFC, the fast-food chicken chain owned and operated
by Yum Brands Inc.

Pilgrim's Pride, the No. 2 U.S. poultry producer after Tyson Foods, is a
KFC supplier.  Pilgrim's Pride President O.B. Goolsby said in a statement
that the company was appalled and outraged by the allegations.  Goolsby
also said an investigation into the PETA allegations had begun. One worker
was suspended without pay and three others were being investigated, he said.

[Very edited from:
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/26138/story.htm

[Excerpts of the 100 hrs. of footage:
http://www.petatv.com,


RESEARCH SHOWS DOGS UNDERSTAND LANGUAGE:  (06/10/04): "German researchers
have found a border collie named Rico who understands more than 200 words
and can learn new ones as quickly as many children. Patti Strand, an
American Kennel Club board member, called the report "good news for those
of us who talk to our dogs." "Like parents of toddlers, we learned long ago
the importance of spelling key words like bath, pill or vet when speaking
in front of our dogs," Strand said. "Thanks to the researchers who've
proven that people who talk to their dogs are cutting-edge communicators,
not just a bunch of eccentrics."

The researchers found that Rico knows the names of dozens of play toys and
can find the one called for by his owner. That is a vocabulary size about
the same as apes, dolphins and parrots trained to understand words, the
researchers say. Rico can even take the next step, figuring out what a new
word means."

[Edited from:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040610/D8344JGO2.html

[Funded the study:
http://www.dfg.de/en/index.html


************************************************
*08:  Vegans Franchise, USDA/Oreos, COK on MTV, Internet Agi
************************************************
VEGANS' FOOD CHAIN:  (06/18/04):  "Franchising emerges as new way to spread
the meatless message:  When Brad Wolff decided 21�2 years ago to open a
meatless and dairyless restaurant in Ocean Beach [Eatopia Express], he knew
only that he wanted an intimate haven for local vegans.  But his three
partners - a small-business lawyer, a vegan caterer and a former Taco Bell
franchise analyst - quickly convinced him that a franchise strategy was a
better idea.  "I do see a money potential in this," said Wolff, a
48-year-old vegan chef and UCLA-trained food scientist. "But this isn't
about money. It's about converting as many people as I can to vegetarianism
and veganism."

Once considered taboo in the veggie restaurant industry, corporate-style
business models are slowly gaining popularity as vegans seek to advance
their message with franchised restaurants nationwide.  The fledgling
movement is centered in Southern California, with two San Diego companies
vying to become the country's first vegan franchise chain."

[Very edit from the really cool article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040618/news_1b18vegan.html

[Eatopia Express:
http://www.eatopiaexpress.com/mainframe.html

[Mr. Goodburger:
http://www.mrgoodburgers.com/

[Native Foods:
http://www.nativefoods.com/


COK'S NEW TV COMMERCIALS DEBUT ON MTV!:  (07/14/04):  "COK is thrilled to
announce the launch of our new TV commercials! Beginning on July 14, 2004,
MTV viewers in and around Washington, D.C. will see first-hand what
cruelties farmed animals endure to give us meat, milk, and eggs. The
commercials direct viewers to TryVeg.com, where they can learn how to stop
animal abuse, every time they sit down to eat.  Our two 30-second
commercials will air approximately 400 times over two months on MTV,
resulting in an estimated 3 million views. We expect the commercial will be
viewed more than a million times within our target audience: teen girls and
young women, those most likely to choose animal-friendly eating.

To give you an idea of how cost-effective these teen-targeted commercials
are, check out the numbers:  $40 pays for 1 full 30-second spot, with 8,000
viewings - $80 pays for 2 spots, with 16,000 viewings - $120 pays for 3
spots, with 24,000 viewings - $200 pays for 5 spots, with 40,000 viewings -
$400 pays for 10 spots, with 80,000 viewings."

[Edited from:
http://www.cok.net/feat/commercials.php


PCRM PETITIONS USDA TO END OREO COOKIE, JUNK FOOD PROMOTIONS:  (06/18/04):
"The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) today petitioned
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop promoting Oreos and other junk
foods through its controversial agricultural "check-off programs," urging
it to "get serious about fighting the obesity epidemic" in the United
States.

Through the dairy check-off, the USDA is currently partnering with Nabisco
to push kids to eat more Oreos and Chips Ahoy cookies and to drink more
milk. The recently completed "Dunk and Win" cookie contest, which awarded
$1 million to the holder of a "special Oreo cookie" that, when dunked,
turned milk blue, was touted by the dairy industry as "the most successful
retail milk promotion ever conducted under the check-off program." By
airing commercials on kid-friendly networks such as Nickelodeon and the
Cartoon Network, the USDA aims to induce kids to push their parents to buy
even more milk and cookies. Because of the success of the "Dunk" contest,
the USDA, the dairy industry, and Nabisco launched a new promotion in June:
Spell M-I-L-K with specially marked Oreo cookies and win $100,000. A third
milk-and-cookies sweepstakes-this one aimed at school children-is set to
kick off in August.

As part of its campaign ... PCRM [ran] an advertisement in the June 20
"Outlook" section of the Washington Post. The ad features Uncle Sam holding
a plate of cookies. The headline reads: Uncle Sam Wants You�Fat!

[Edited from:
http://www.pcrm.org/news/issues040618.html

[Download the Free "Uncle Sam...etc." Poster & credit PCRM when using:
http://www.pcrm.org/news/downloads/Uncle_Sam_cookie_ad.pdf


HEALTHY TALK INTERNET RADIO SHOW WITH AGI:  (06/04):
"Join Agi Lidle, two time cancer survivor, author and certified herbalist
as she interviews authorities in the fields of traditional allopathic
medicine and non-traditional alternative therapies. Monthly features
include a panel discussion between health care professionals regarding
various health conditions and treatments. Co-hosts include: Evan Trost MD,
Sunneil Jain ND and Nathan Jaynes MH.""

[For more information an online radio access:
http://www.achieveradio.com/showpages/agi.htm

[Interview with Howard Lyman (broadband recommended):
http://www.realham.com/arch/agi/AGI_6-3-04_ARCHIVE.mp3


************************************************
*09:  Upcoming Events of Special Note
************************************************
VEGETARIAN SUMMERFEST - NAVS' 30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION:
July 21-25, 2004 University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown PA

[North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) & conference info:
http://www.vegetariansummerfest.org


3RD ANNUAL OOHMAHNEE OPEN HOUSE FUNDRAISER AND CELEBRATION:
Sunday, July 25th, 2004 12 PM to 8PM. Vegan Food, Vendors, Tours, Family Fun.

Need more info? Contact the OohMahNee Office
Phone: 724.755.2420     Email: omnoffice@...
http://www.oohmahneefarm.org/


UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS 5TH ANNUAL FORUM 2004:
Saturday, August 21 - Sunday August 22, 2004:  "Mad Cows to Mad Chickens:
What Insiders Can Tell You About Agribusiness, Animal Liberation, and Your
Diet."  Meet the eyewitnesses and hear their testimony from behind the
scenes of the meat, poultry, egg, dairy, medical, and alternative animal
production industries.


************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Jul 21-25: Johnstown, PA > Summerfest 2004
Jul 25: Hunker, PA > 3rd Annual Open House, Oohmahnee Farmed Animal
Sanctuary. (724) 755-2420

Aug. 7-8: Watkin Glen, NY > Farm Sanctuary

Sep 11, 12, 13: Cleveland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04
Sep 18: WashDC> Green Festival
Sep 26: San Francisco, CA > SF Vegetarian Society
Sep 27: Portland, Oregon > "AM Northwest TV," and KBOO radio (both tentative)
Sep 28: Portland, Oregon > 7 pm. - First Unitarian Church, 12th & Main

Oct 12: Harrisburg, PA > 6:30 pm - Vegetarian Society and SDA Church
Oct 15: Malibu, CA > Health Conf.

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*11:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
ANIMAL ISSUES:
[Catskill Animal Sanctuary:
http://www.casanctuary.org/index.php

[Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken - DVD:
http://www.chickenindustry.com/cfi/documentary/

[New online database of North American Birds (and some neat articles):
http://north-american-bird-species.org

["Over 10,000 related links!"
http://www.animalsvoice.com/PAGES/home.html

[Information about Tom Regan's New Book:  Empty Cages:
http://www.tomregan-animalrights.com/


DIET/HEALTH:
["Nine ways to live healthy and prevent cancer:"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/773850.cms

["High Fibre Diet Helps Cholesterol Level: Study:"
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/07/23/cholesterol_030723

["Panel's Ties To Drugmakers Not Cited In New Cholesterol Guidelines:"
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hschol0715,0,847235.story?coll=ny-health-h
eadlines


ENVIRONMENT:
["Humanity Overshoots the Earth's Limit Again:"
http://www.enn.com/businesscenter/products/797_25328.asp


FOOD BORNE ILLNESSES:
["N.Carolina Firm Recalls Chicken Over Listeria Fear:"
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=54A12L0JDL1RMCRBAEKSFEY?type
=healthNews&storyID=5571880

["USDA announces recall of 100,000 pounds of ground beef:"
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1963891


ONLINE INFO:
[Agriculture growth in countries, and more (interactive):
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/agr_agr_gro

[FDA databases collection:
http://www.fda.gov/search/databases.html


RECIPES:
[Close to 200 veg'n salad recipes:
http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/salads/

[Close to 100 vegetarian "meatless entre" recipes:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/meatless/meatless.html

[Over 10,000 veg'n recipe links:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VegRecipes.html


VEG'N-RELATED:
[Hidden animal products:
http://www.cyberparent.com/eat/hiddenanimalsinfood.htm

[Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society:
http://www.all-creatures.org/mhvs/

[Excellent compendium of veg'n'-related links:
http://www.family-friendly-fun.com/files/vegetarianvegan.html


************************************************
*12:  Closing Thought(s)
************************************************
"Being kind to animals is not enough. Avoiding cruelty is not enough.
Housing animals in more comfortable, larger cages is not enough. Whether we
exploit animals to eat, to wear, to entertain us, or to learn, the truth of
animal rights requires empty cages, not larger cages."

- Dr. Tom Regan, in his new book:  "Empty Cages"


''The thing that drives me now is knowing no animal has to die for me to
live.  The pursuit of life became so special to me...''

- Howard Lyman

******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@...  http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 40th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

Howard was so impressed with Dr. Tom Regan's new book, "Empty Cages," the
he decided that a new Mad Cowboy Interview was in order.  This edition of
the Newsletter has not only excerpts from the interview, but a link to
Parts 01 and 02.  They cover an overview of Animal Rights concepts and
controversies, his new book, as well as more of the personal side of Tom.
The final two parts of the interview, focussed primarily on the book, will
be available for the next newsletter.

But, that's not all... reading further down you learn about which fruits,
vegetables, and legumes (!) have the highest concentration of antioxidants,
why the American Heart Association recommends fresh veggies/fruits and not
antioxidant pills, a new survey about the cost of fresh produce compared to
Fad diets like Atkins, and a 72-year old veg'n marathon runner.

There's also a disturbing study about the sudden rise in brain diseases and
relationship to what we breathe, eat, and live around, how India plans to
go organic, and what environmental damage is being done via our lawns.
You'll read about a shy moose, gorilla dentistry, laugh at some cartoons,
know that ultrasonics are used by squirrels, and how hungry bugs promote
plant diversity.

Finally, there's an explanation as to why the recent coverage of "high
carbs and breast cancer" is deceitful, and a new study that shows switching
to a vegan diet has been proven to be easier than thought.

...and as always, a tip of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read
past issues at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Best wishes to everyone, stay cool, and check out Bryanna's Vegan Pesto
Recipes in the "Quick Bytes" section below.

Mark

***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  A New Mad Cowboy Interview with Dr. Tom Regan
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
04:  Best Antioxidant Sources, Pills NOT, Produce Cheap, $$Atkins
05:  Pollution/Brain Diseases, Organic Advances, Green Lawns
06:  Deadly Kebab, Shy Moose, Dogs vs Cats, Cartoons
07:  Ultrasonic Squirrel, Gorilla Dentistry, Hungry Bugs, Frozen Ark
08:  High Carb/Cancer Deceit, 'Protein Power," Switch to Veg Easy
09:  Upcoming Events of Special Note
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Quick Bytes
12:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quotes of Note
************************************************
"While traveling over one million miles in my life as an activist I have
met some of the most remarkable people on the face of the earth. I have
decided we'd interview some of these folks from time to time so the readers
of the Mad Cowboy newsletter will get a chance to understand what giants
they are.

This group is as diverse as anyone could imagine. They are young and old,
female and male, quiet and outspoken, foreign and American, every color and
religion under the sun. The common denominator for this group is they are
my friends."

--- Howard, 01/21/03

************************************************
*01:  A New Mad Cowboy Interview with Dr. Tom Regan
************************************************
[Dr. Tom Regan is professor emeritus of philosophy at North Carolina State
University in Raleigh.  The author of more than 20 books, and he is
universally recognized as the intellectual leader of the animal rights
movement.  His latest book is:  "Empty Cages."]

INTERVIEW EXCERPTS:

MS: "You were a butcher?"

TR: "I...(pause)... was a butcher... I mean I sliced and diced, and packed,
sawed... their cold flesh gave way to my cold will.  I didn't find
butchering bloody, I found it bloody hard... it was hard work at times.  I
was so blind to animal consciousness, that even when I had held the victim
in my hands, the victim was invisible."

MS: "It must be shocking for you to look back and realize how much you are
a different person now."

TR: "... I do say, often and sincerely, that if Tom Regan can become an
animal rights advocate, anybody can become an animal rights advocate.  When
I had the victims in my hand and I didn't see the victims... my god, you
can't get any further back into the darkness than I was."

ON EXTREMISM:

MS: "One of the things that intrigued me in your book, is that right up
front you deal with this issue of how "animal rights advocates" (which you
call ARAs) are deemed 'extremists' or 'practitioners of extremism.' Can you
summarize how you approach clearing up these misconceptions?"

TR: "'Extremism' is an ambiguous concept because it can mean different
things. ... [edit] ...to some, 'extremism' can mean that you have a
position that is unqualifiedly opposed to something. In this sense, you can
say, "are you against rape some of the time, most of the time, or all of
the time?" "Well, I'm against rape all of the time." Well, then you're an
extremist when it comes to rape: you have an unqualified moral opposition
to it. Or extremist when it comes to child abuse, "are you against child
abuse some of the time, most of the time, all of the time."

DISCONNECT DICTUM:

MS: "You've coined the term "Disconnect Dictum" referring to these [animal]
industries and the treatment of animals. Can you expand on this?"

TR: "Sure.... what I mean by that, is there's a disconnect between the
meaning of what they say and the actual things they do. I'll just talk
about "humane" for example. "Humane" is a word; it has a meaning. You can
look it up. You can go to the dictionary. "Showing mercy and kindness....
consideration and sympathy." That's what it means to be in favor of humane
treatment, and who could be against that? Everyone's for being humane to
other human beings and to other animals. So, we go and look at people in
biomedical research, for example, saying, "we support the humane care and
responsible use of animals." So "humane" means they're going to show
kindness, they're going to show mercy, they're going to show sympathy,
they're going to show compassion. And then you say "well, what do they
actually do?"

Well, what they do is they blind animals, they crush their limbs, they
crush their organs, they subject them to radiation, they deprive them of
sleep, they deprive them of food, they drown them, they burn them.... how
in God's name can any of this be "humane?"

"SUBJECTS-IN-A-LIFE"

MS: "How does the concept of a biography not a biology fit into this debate?"

TR: "The central question in the animal rights debate is whether any other
animals are like us being "subjects-in-a-life," whether any other animals
are in the world, aware of the world, aware of what happens to them, and
what happens to them matters matters to them. That's the fundamental
question, and the answer to that is "yes," then we have made the case for
"animal rights," in my judgment.


[You can read Parts 01 and 02 of the interview, and access related web
resources at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_MCIview03.000.html


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"Which country has the MOST television sets (total)?"

Congratulations to Krista Bobick, as being the only person to correctly
guess "China."

[The stats:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/med_tel


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"Which of these four countries has the highest number of threatened mammal
species?

Brazil   China   India   Indonesia

(Hint:  the same country has the most mammalian species...)


Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT Sept 1st, 2004.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
BEEF GROUPS TO PRESS USDA FOR PRIVATE BSE TESTS:  (07/23/04):  "A group of
U.S. cattle industry producers and companies plans to petition the U.S.
Department of Agriculture for the right to test all their cattle for mad
cow disease to comply with demands by Asian customers who currently are
refusing to buy U.S. beef.  The group includes Creekstone Farms Premium
Beef, a Kansas meat-packing plant, and Missouri-based Gateway Beef
Cooperative, both of which have been banned by the USDA from testing their
cattle.

"A lawsuit is definitely an option," said Bill Bullard, chief executive
officer of R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America, one member of the budding
coalition challenging the USDA.   But the USDA has refused, and it has
refused to allow for private companies to buy the test kits that would
enable them to test 100 percent of their herds...  the USDA has said that
only animals displaying certain characteristics should be tested and 100
percent testing would set an improper and costly standard that could hurt
companies that don't test their presumably health animals."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=594&ncid=594&e=10&u=/nm/20040723
/hl_nm/madcow_testing_dc


SECOND CJD CASE FROM TRANSFUSION:  (07/23/04):  "The first strong evidence
that the human form of BSE might strike a wider group of people than those
affected so far was revealed yesterday as the [UK] Department of Health
announced that the disease could have been spread for the second time
through a blood transfusion.  The deadly rogue form of the prion protein
linked to the disease was found in the spleen of a patient who died from an
unrelated cause but had received blood from a donor who later developed
variant CJD.

The genetic signature in this person was different from the one found in
the 142 patients who have died from vCJD in Britain. The patient, who
received blood in 1999, had displayed no symptoms of vCJD but it is unclear
how advanced the infection was. Scientists are also uncertain whether vCJD
causes the same symptoms in different genetic groups, and say incubation
may sometimes be longer than that for CJD.

Graham Steel, vice-chairman of the Human BSE Foundation, said: "This raises
the stakes with regard to the issue of secondary transmission."  The latest
estimates suggest about 3,800 people might eventually get the disease and
more research is under way. Yet deaths from vCJD, which began in 1995, have
been falling. Only three infected Britons have died so far this year, with
five still alive."

[Very edited from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1267385,00.html


USDA BLAMES CANADA FOR BURGER RECALL:  (07/28/04):  "A Pennsylvania meat
company voluntarily recalled 170,000 pounds of hamburger patties that
contained Canadian beef products prohibited under safeguards against mad
cow disease, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.  The USDA
said the recalled products from Quaker Maid Meats, Inc., a privately-owned
business, was allowed into the United States after a Canadian meat
inspector improperly labeled a shipment of 41,000 pounds of beef. The beef
was later used by Quaker Maid to produce 170,000 pounds of hamburger.

"This is a mistake made in Canada," USDA Undersecretary Elsa Murano told
reporters. "This does not pose any risk to human health."  The USDA said it
will review Canada's food safety inspection system this fall. "Obviously,
we will make sure that this kind of incident ... doesn't happen again,"
Murano said."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=4G2UVHXMDNIP0CRBAE0CFEY?type
=domesticNews&storyID=5802716


NIH TO SHUT DOWN MAD COW LAB:  (07/28/04):  "The U.S. government laboratory
credited with conducting groundbreaking work on human brain disorders
similar to mad cow disease soon will be shut down, United Press
International has learned.  The lab -- known officially as the Laboratory
for Central Nervous System Studies at the National Institutes of Health in
Bethesda, Md. -- has been relatively inactive for the past several years
and will come to a complete halt at the end of the week.

A panel of 12 experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine agreed with
[lab director] Brown on the importance of keeping an in-house TSE lab
operating at the NIH.  Brown's research helped demonstrate the nearly
indestructible nature of prions. In one controversial experiment, he took a
sample of prion-containing tissue home with him and buried it in a flower
pot in his backyard. The agent was still infectious when he dug it up three
years later.  The CNSS lab was instrumental in the 1960's in showing a rare
and fatal brain disease known as kuru that occurred in the Fore people in
New Guinea was infectious. The work won the lab's first director, Carleton
Gajdusek, a Nobel prize in 1976 and helped pave the way for discovering
that prions are involved in causing TSEs."

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040727-020751-7281r


U.S. MAD COW TESTING CRITICIZED:  (07/29/04):  "Calls for widespread
testing of the nation's beef supply have stretched from Tokyo to Arkansas
City, Kansas, after the United States detected its first-ever case of "mad
cow disease" in December.  Still, the U.S. government has refused to
support widespread testing of the nation's cattle herds. Instead, the
Agriculture Department has launched a limited voluntary testing program
that its own inspector general said may be scientifically invalid.

Critics are also accusing the government of favoring big businesses that
oppose extensive testing, at the expense of small cattle companies that
back it.  "It is truly a mess," said Thomas McGarity, who teaches food
safety law at the University of Texas and heads the Center for Progressive
Regulation think tank.  But the U.S. Department of Agriculture says
widespread testing is unnecessary. Its new "surveillance" program, expected
to cost taxpayers $70 million, aims to test about 270,000 animals in the
next 18 months, compared with about 35 million slaughtered annually."

[Edited from:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/07/29/us.madcow.testing.reut/index.html


LAB CREATES SYNTHETIC, INFECTIOUS PRION:  (07/30/04):  "California
scientists say they have created the first synthetic version of a rogue
protein called a prion and used it to give mice a brain-destroying
infection, evidence important to settling any lingering doubt these
mysterious substances alone cause mad cow disease and similar illnesses.
The report, published Thursday, won't end the scientific controversy, as
skeptics already are criticizing the research.

But if the work ultimately is validated it could have far-reaching
implications -- such as helping to create diagnostic tests for mad cow
disease. It also could help explain why normal brain proteins suddenly go
bad and sicken some people who've never eaten mad cow-tainted food.  The
work marks "a renaissance in prion research," said Dr. Stanley Prusiner of
the University of California, San Francisco, who won a Nobel Prize for
discovering prions and whose laboratory developed the synthetic version.
"It opens huge new vistas that were previously inaccessible," he said."

[Edited from:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/07/30/syntheticprotein.ap/


BSE/MAD COW DISEASE CRISIS PROVOKES TRADE WAR:  (08/02/04):  "The World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE, Organisation Internationale des
Epizooties) has blamed the "recent international trade disruptions" on "the
apparent misinterpretation of BSE standards or the failure to implement
these standards" by governments involved in the cattle and beef trade.  The
OIE has issued standards designed to reduce the spread of BSE via trade
using a risk assessment that counts the number of BSE cases found in a
country and the controls used to prevent the spread of the disease.

Of more concern are reports from scientists that there may be different
types of BSE-like diseases in cattle that could produce other fatal brain
diseases. Italian researchers have identified a brain pattern in two cows
that is different from the traditional BSE one and French and Japanese
scientists have also discovered atypical cases.   An additional worry is
that the fatal sheep disease scrapie could be masking BSE. If this proves
correct most of the UK flock would have to be slaughtered."

[Heavily edited from the comprehensive article at:
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200408020701110.91575


NO MAD COW TESTS FOR NEARLY 500 COWS:  (08/11/04):  "The U.S. Department of
Agriculture failed to test for mad cow disease or collect the correct
portion of the brain on nearly 500 suspect cows over the past two years --
including some in categories considered most likely to be infected --
according to agency records obtained by United Press International.  The
testing problems mean it may never be known with certainty whether these
animals were infected with the deadly disease. Department officials said
these animals were not included in the agency's final tally of mad cow
tests, but the records, obtained by UPI under the Freedom of Information
Act, indicate at least some of them were counted.

Consumer groups say the untested cows are evidence of further problems with
the USDA's surveillance plan.  "This adds to the clear documentation in the
Inspector General's report that the program is in shambles, from its design
to its implementation to its record keeping," Dr. Peter Lurie, deputy
director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington told UPI.
Lurie testified about problems with the USDA's surveillance plan at a
congressional hearing last month."

[Heavily edited from from the very detailed and disturbing article at:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040810-042935-2066r


************************************************
*04:  Best Antioxidant Sources, Pills NOT, Produce Cheap, $$ Atkins
************************************************
BERRIES, BEANS TOP 'BEST ANTIOXIDANTS LIST':  (06/28/04):  "
A variety of veggies, fruits and nuts battled it out this month for the top
spot on a new list of the 20 most antioxidant-rich foods, ranked by
nutrition scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  In the
end, small red beans won the day, narrowly beating out wild blueberries as
the food with the highest concentration of disease-fighting compounds per
serving.  Antioxidants fight damage to cells from rogue molecules called
"free radicals." Experts believe this assault on cells may fuel killer
diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and even aging itself.  Their
Top 20:

1. Small red beans (dried). 2. Wild blueberries. 3. Red Kidney beans. 4.
Pinto beans. 5. Blueberries (cultivated). 6. Cranberries. 7. Artichokes
(cooked). 8. Blackberries. 9. Prunes. 10. Raspberries. 11. Strawberries.
12. Red Delicious apples. 13. Granny Smith apples. 14. Pecans. 15. Sweet
cherries. 16. Black plums. 17. Russet potatoes (cooked). 18. Black beans
(dried). 19. Plums. 20. Gala apples"

[Very edited from:
http://health.discovery.com/news/healthscout/article.jsp?aid=519693&tid=19

[USDA "5 A Day" Campaign:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/5ADay/campaign/color/index.htm

[Study:  "Lipophilic and Hydrophilic Antioxidant Capacities of Common Foods
in the United States:" J. Agric. Food Chem.; 2004; 52(12); 4026-4037:
http://pubs3.acs.org/acs/journals/toc.page?incoden=jafcau&indecade=0&involume=52
&inissue=12


GET ANTIOXIDANTS FROM FOOD, NOT PILLS: AHA:  (08/02/04):  "Despite some
reports that antioxidant vitamins have cardiovascular benefits, a panel of
experts at the American Heart Association (AHA) has concluded that there is
too little evidence to recommend taking antioxidant supplements to reduce
the risk of heart disease.  Instead the AHA panel advises the public to get
plenty of antioxidants from food sources, such as fruits, vegetables, whole
grains and nuts.

"We know that diets high in fruits and vegetables are associated with
decreased risk of cardiovascular disease," lead panel Dr. Penny M.
Kris-Etherton of Pennsylvania State University said in a press release.
"Thus, following a diet consistent with the American Heart Association's
dietary guidelines is recommended."  Antioxidants, including vitamins C and
E and beta-carotene, target a process called oxidation in which
cell-damaging substances called free radicals accumulate. Oxidation is
suspected of increasing the risk of several diseases, including heart
disease."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5849952

[Circulation: 110:637-641: " Antioxidant Vitamin Supplements and
Cardiovascular Disease:"
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/110/5/637


USDA STUDY INDICATES PRICE NO REASON TO AVOID PRODUCE:  (08/01/04):  "A
government study found that though many people say cost prevents them from
eating more produce, consumers can get the recommended three servings of
fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for just 64 cents. That would
account for 12 percent of daily food spending per person, which averaged
$5.50 in 1999.

"That's a lot of good nutrition for only 64 cents, only 225 calories and
less than 1 gram of fat," said the study by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. "That leaves 88 percent of their food dollar left for the
other three food groups."  The study, which is based on information
collected by A.C. Nielsen from 7,195 homes in 1999, looked at how consumers
spent nearly $223 billion at supermarkets, other retail stores and farmers'
markets. It did not include restaurants.

More than three-quarters of the fruits and vegetables included in the study
cost less than 50 cents a serving. "That's 127 different ways to eat a
serving of fruits and vegetables for less than the price of a 3-ounce candy
bar," the study said.  The study rated produce by cost-per-serving. Among
fresh vegetables, peas cost the most, at 91 cents per serving. Cabbage and
potatoes were the least, at 4 cents and 6 cents respectively.  For fresh
fruit, blackberries topped the list at 66 cents per serving, followed by
raspberries at 64 cents. Watermelon and apples tied for least expensive, at
11 cents."

[Very edited from:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2004/08/01/diet_usda_stu
dy_indicates_price_no_reason_to_avoid_produce/

[The Report from the USDA:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib790/


CAN ONLY THE RICH AFFORD TO BE THIN?:  (05/02/04):  "Using exclusive data
from AC Nielsen and menus from the best-selling diet books, [food prices
expert Phil] Lempert calculates that strict adherence to the low-carb, meat
lovers' Atkins diet would cost about $100 a week (presuming you eat all
meals at home). The salmon-rich South Beach diet priced out at almost $90 a
week. Too expensive for you? Make substitutions Some experts with the
Atkins and South Beach diets say there are ways to pare down the cost of
following those plans, although it may require eating the same foods more
often.

And no matter what diet you're on, whether one of the trendy plans or a
more tradional weight-loss program, it probably will be less expensive if
you cook at home. "You can cook for so much less, and you can provide a
much better diet for your family," says Marilyn Townsend, a nutrition
specialist at the University of California-Davis.  She blames some of
Americans' weight problems on lack of cooking ability. Still, she concedes,
given the pressures of earning a living and keeping a house, "cooking is
not on many people's radar as a valuable skill."

[Quite edited from:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-05-02-diet-cover_x.htm


************************************************
*05:  Pollution/Brain Diseases, Organic Advances, Green Lawns
************************************************
POLLUTANTS CAUSE HUGE RISE IN BRAIN DISEASES:  (08/15/04):  "The numbers of
sufferers of brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor
neurone disease, have soared across the West in less than 20 years,
scientists have discovered.  The alarming rise, which includes figures
showing rates of dementia have trebled in men, has been linked to rises in
levels of pesticides, industrial effluents, domestic waste, car exhausts
and other pollutants, says a report in the journal Public Health.

'This has really scared me,' said Professor Colin Pritchard of Bournemouth
University, one of the report's authors. 'These are nasty diseases: people
are getting more of them and they are starting earlier. We have to look at
the environment and ask ourselves what we are doing.'  The report, which
Pritchard wrote with colleagues at Southampton University, covered the
incidence of brain diseases in the UK, US, Japan, Australia, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain in 1979-1997.

The increases in neurological deaths mirror rises in cancer rates in the
West.  The team stresses that its figures take account of the fact that
people are living longer and it has also made allowances for the fact that
diagnoses of such ailments have improved. It is comparing death rates, not
numbers of cases, it says.  As to the cause of this disturbing rise,
Pritchard said genetic causes could be ruled out because any changes to DNA
would take hundreds of years to take effect. 'It must be the environment,'
he said.  The causes were most likely to be chemicals, from car pollution
to pesticides on crops and industrial chemicals used in almost every aspect
of modern life, from processed food to packaging, from electrical goods to
sofa covers, Pritchard said.  Food is also a major concern because it
provides the most obvious explanation for the exclusion of Japan from many
of these trends. Only when Japanese people move to the other countries do
their disease rates increase."

[Very edited from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1283588,00.html


INDIA ORGANIC VISION 2020:  (08/01/04):  "Organic Farmers Organize to Save
India's 700 Million Farmers and Rural Villagers:  Country's growers engaged
in organic farming are converging at Ramgarh village in Dehradun district
in Uttaranchal for a two-day conference begining on August 2 for
formulating an `India Organic Vision 2020.' The vision document will enable
Indian farmers to successfully tap the $ 37 billion global market for
organic foods.

...Dr Vandana Shiva of Navdanya said "we will work together to strengthen
the solidarity among organic communities, identifying the strengths of the
organic movement and the problems faced by organic growers. We will also
set an India Organic Vision 2020. The objective of the Vision 2020 will be
to put small and marginal farmers and organic farming at the centre of
India's agriculture policy."

The productivity of sugarcane crop is found to increase by 25 per cent
through organic farming. Similarly the productivity of some cereal and
horticulture crops increases on account of organic farming. Dr Shiva said
that Indian agriculture is in a critical phase. More than 300 farmers
committed suicide in just six weeks during May-June, 2004 in Andhra Pradesh
and more than 25,000 farmers in the country in the last five years. The
agricultural crisis is aggravated by unfair practices of trade
liberalisation and globalisation and the consequences of deepening farmers
debts, she said."

[Edited from:
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=64918


IOWA PRISON FARM GOING ORGANIC:  (07/19/04):  "In the future, as many as
1,000 acres of prison farms throughout Iowa may be converted to organic
crops, said Deputy Iowa Corrections Director Roger Baysden. "This is
perfect for prisons," Baysden said. "What I have got is labor, and I can
save money on the chemical side by putting inmates to work with hoes. That
is what the public really wants to see anyway."

[Inmate] Cook said working outdoors and doing farm chores is "100 percent
better" than spending time in a prison cell.  "You will probably see a lot
less violence on prison farms like this than you will inside" the walls of
a prison, Cook said. "This is well-organized. Everybody gets along just
fine here. You can keep your mind straight on something. There is nothing
negative."

... Iowa's prisons maintain huge gardens that last year produced more than
900,000 pounds of tomatoes, onions, carrots, squash and other vegetables.
The produce is served fresh in prison dining halls or stored for
consumption over the fall and winter. "

[Edited from:
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040719/NEWS01/40719032
8/1002


MORE LAWNS GO GREEN, ORGANICALLY:  (08/10/04):  "From snowy New England to
the desert Southwest, Americans have planted 30 million acres of grass
lawn. Each weekend in the summertime, an estimated 54 million people mow
their lawns, consuming 800 million gallons of gasoline a year.  The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency estimates that gasoline-powered landscape
equipment - mowers, trimmers, blowers and chainsaws - account for more than
5 percent of urban air pollution.

As much as two-thirds of urban freshwater is used to water lawns in some
cities. And Americans annually apply 70 million pounds of pesticides to
home lawns, trees and shrubs every year, roughly 10 times more per acre
than is used on farms.  Nitrates and phosphates from lawn and garden
fertilizers pollute the water table, leading to algal blooms that choke the
oxygen from ponds and lakes.

There are signs, however, of a growing movement toward more eco-friendly
lawn care and gardening. Suburbanites are packing organic-gardening classes
and an increasing number of landscapers advertise themselves as
specializing in organic landscaping and the use of native plant species.
"The larger companies like Home Depot and Lowe's are now offering
alternative pesticides. It used to be you could only find them at small
garden stores or through mail-order catalogues or on Web sites," said Lori
Ward of the National Wildlife Federation. "I definitely think there's a
trend."

[Very edited from (free registration required):
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/national/article/0,1406,KNS_350_3100387,00.html


************************************************
*06:  Deadly Kebab, Shy Moose, Dogs vs Cats, Cartoons
************************************************
NEW KEBAB DUBBED MOST DANGEROUS U.K. FOOD:  (08/09/04):  ""The Stonner", a
1,000-calorie, deep fried pork sausage kebab has been dubbed the most
dangerous fast food in Britain. Sky News reported Monday the kebab contains
46 grams of fat and is double the calories of a Big Mac hamburger.

However, the Ruby Chip Shop in Glasgow, Scotland, that sells the kebab has
provided a health warning to customers: "Due to the severe health damage of
this fine dish, we can only supply one Stonner supper per customer per
week," reads the sign provided by the restaurant's owner, Saei Sangag.
Neither the calories nor the health warning seems to be limiting the
Stonner's sales"

[Edited from:
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20040809-055045-1297r.htm


THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOGS AND CATS:  (01/29/01):  "A dog thinks: "Hey,
these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry
house, pet me, and take good care of me... They must be gods!"

A cat thinks: "Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me
with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... I must be
a god!"

[Edited from:
http://www.all-creatures.org/humor/dogcatdiff.html


SHY MOOSE GIVEN ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING:  (07/09/04):  "A Dutch zoo has
given a shy young moose assertiveness training to help him fit in with the
herd.  Emmen Zoo recently bought Kenwood the moose from a zoo in Toronto,
reports De Telegraaf.  But when he was put in the moose enclosure he was
immediately bullied by a female called Winya. "She ran after Kenwood and
kicked and bit him wherever she could. And although Kenwood is much bigger
than her, he let it all happen."  Kooi decided to take Kenwood out of the
enclosure and put him in a barn with a big, friendly moose called Icmu to
give him more self-confidence. And, by the time Kenwood was ready to take
his place again with the herd in the enclosure, he was a different moose.
Kooi added: "When Winya ran to him to give him a kick, he immediately
kicked her back. Ever since Kenwood has gained respect from her."

[Edited from:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1015954.html?menu=news.quirkies.animaltales


RABBIT-PROOF LETTUCE:
http://www.goma.demon.co.uk/genetics/lettuce.html

WATERING PLANTS:
http://www.goma.demon.co.uk/garden/waterinrain.html

FLOWER APPRECIATION GUIDE:
http://www.goma.demon.co.uk/garden/appreciation.html

WHERE LEONARDO GOT ALL HIS IDEAS:
http://www.goma.demon.co.uk/amazing/leonardo.html


************************************************
*07:  Ultrasonic Squirrel, Gorilla Dentistry, Hungry Bugs, Frozen Ark
************************************************
ULTRASONIC SQUIRREL A MAMMALIAN FIRST:  (07/29/04):  "A species of squirrel
uses ultrasonic frequencies to warn fellow members of its group of
impending danger, the first time an animal has been found to use
high-frequency sound this way, said a study published in the weekly journal
Nature.  The unusual rodent is a Richardson's ground squirrel (Spermophilus
richardsonii), which makes its home in the prairies of North America.
Canadian zoologists noted that in addition to making audible vocalizations
in the eight kilohertz (kHz) range to other members of their community, the
squirrels also made "whisper" calls to each other, which produced only
faint sounds of rushing air.

Analyzed closely, these calls turned out to be ultrasonic, in the 50 kHz
range, placing them well beyond the hearing of humans and most predators,
including coyotes.  In addition, it was discovered that the calls were in
the range of 66.8 decibels, which is the equivalent of a loud conversation
among humans.  The squirrels emit these high-frequency calls when they spot
low-grade threats. For urgent threats, they make audible calls.  The
finding is of interest because it is the first time an animal has been
found to use ultrasonic frequencies for communication. Other animals, such
as bats and dolphins, use ultrasonic frequencies to locate obstacles or
pursue prey."

[Edited from:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20040726/squirrel.html


GORILLA SEEKS HELP USING SIGN LANGUAGE:  (08/09/04):  "When Koko the
gorilla used the American Sign Language gesture for pain and pointed to her
mouth, 12 specialists, including three dentists, sprang into action.  The
result? Her first full medical examination in about 20 years, an extracted
tooth and a clean bill of health.  About a month ago, Koko, a
300-plus-pound ape who became famous for mastering more than 1,000 signs,
began telling her handlers at the Gorilla Foundation in Woodside she was in
pain.

"She's quite articulate," volunteer Johnpaul Slater said. "She'll tell us
how bad she's feeling, how bad the pain is. It looked like it was time to
do something."  The team came to Koko on Sunday, bringing portable X-ray
and ultrasound machines. They set up shop at her "apartment," which looks
like a remodeled box car, complete with a makeshift toilet, television, DVD
player and lots of toys.  After four hours of tests - including a
colonoscopy, gynecological exam, dental work, X-rays, and ultrasounds -
doctors pronounced her fit."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=8&u=/ap/20040809/ap_on_re_
us/koko_s_health


HUNGRY BUGS PLAY ROLE IN TREE DIVERSITY:  (07/29/04):  "Insects chowing
down on trees may not be such a bad thing after all, at least in tropical
areas where they can help increase plant diversity.  That's the conclusion
of a new study that found insects help keep some faster-growing trees from
taking over and driving out slower-growing trees, thus helping preserve the
diversity of the forest.

The report, by doctoral student Paul Fine and biology professor Phyllis
Coley of the University of Utah, is being published in Friday's issue of
the journal Science.  "The battle between plants and insects increases the
number of habitats in the rainforest," thus increasing the diversity of
trees living there, Fine said in a statement.  "A plant can't be extremely
well-defended from insects and grow very fast," said Fine. "It's similar to
why you can't have the heaviest, safest car and the fastest car."

[Edited from:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5551232/


BRITISH PROJECT PROTECTS ENDANGERED DNA:  (07/27/04):  "Britain's Frozen
Ark project aimed at safeguarding genetic material from a variety of
species boarded its first endangered passengers Monday, including an
Arabian oryx, a spotted sea horse and a British field cricket.  The Ark, a
project by three British institutions, doesn't include any living animals,
but hopes to collect frozen DNA and tissue specimens from thousands of
endangered species.  Like Noah, the scientists harbor hopes of repopulating
the Earth.

With some 10,000 species listed as in danger of extinction, the ark will
fill quickly. The project will be guided by the World Conservation Union's
red list of threatened species.  Professor Bryan C. Clarke, a population
geneticist at Nottingham University, said the project would not immediately
save any species from extinction.  "The Frozen Ark is not a conservation
measure but rather a back-up plan for when all best conservation efforts
have failed," Clarke said."

[Edited from:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040727/D8434D680.html


************************************************
*08:  High Carb/Cancer Deceit, 'Protein Power," Switch to Veg Easy
************************************************
HIGH CARB DIET & BREAST CANCER - MORE DECEIT:  (08/06/04):  "Friday's
(August 6, 2004) newspapers worldwide scared some people into believing
there is further reason to follow the low-carb diet craze, with headlines
like, "High carb diet linked to breast cancer - Study finds Mexican women
who ate lots of carbohydrates twice as likely to get disease" (San
Francisco Chronicle).  According to this newspaper article, these women
from Mexico City were getting their main carbohydrates from tortillas, soft
drinks, and bread.  You might think it is time to change your diet - as far
away from what McDougall recommends as possible.  Now is not the time for
people to make the switch to Atkins or South Beach to save their breasts,
but rather now is the time to sort out the undeniable truth.

Confusion has been created - and I believe willfully so by reporters and
researchers  - by lumping highly processed foods, like sugars and refined
flours, and natural carbohydrates, like starches (corn tortillas),
vegetables and fruits, together.  The only excuse for such obviously
irresponsible reporting is that sensational headlines justifying people's
bad habits sell newspapers and flatter the egos of researchers by providing
them a moment in the spotlight.  The truth, as mentioned much later in the
article, is that the cancer-producing diet is one high in sodas and
desserts, and lacking in insoluble fiber from whole grains, fruits and
vegetables."

[Very edited from Dr. McDougall's Newsletter at:
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/2004specialweekends/040810news.htm


MARKETING 'PROTEIN POWER:'  (08/05/03):  "After 18 months of comprehensive
research, on Wednesday Tyson Foods unveiled a new fully integrated
marketing campaign with the theme, "Powered by Tyson."  According to a
company news release, the strategy is designed to recognize Tyson's
position as the premier provider of protein by emphasizing the role meat
protein plays in a healthy diet and highlighting the chicken, beef and pork
products marketed under the Tyson brand. Its main message is "protein =
energy = power," which is communicated with the slogan, "Tyson. Proudly
Powering the World."   The campaign will also feature two new promotional
partnerships for Tyson with USA Gymnastics and the Crew Chief Club.  Media
spending for the campaign is estimated at $75 million over the next 12
months. An official launch is set for August 30.

[Edited from:
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/pop.asp?ID=12820


72-YEAR-OLD [VEG] MARATHON MAN:  (08/01/04):  "Fuelled by his love for
sport and staunch determination, a 72-year-old Indian athlete continues to
make waves in the international marathon races.  Ashis Roy has amassed
medals from 34 countries in his two-decade-long running career. His 63
races have found a place in the Limca Book of Records, 2003, for the
maximum number of marathons run by an Indian.

After Roy retired from the Indian Air Force at 50, where he was a
cardiologist, he started training for long distance running. Since then,
there was no looking back for the man who hopes to complete 75 marathons
before turning 75.  "It is very important for me to keep perfectly fit. I
run 12 km daily and 24 km on Sundays. I have even become a strict
vegetarian for this purpose."

[Edited from:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/040801/43/2f9uh.html


REPORT: SWITCHING TO VEGAN DIET EASY:  (08/05/04):  "Making the switch from
a regular meat-and-dairy diet to an all plant-based, vegan diet may be
easier than it would seem, new research suggests.  Among a group of
overweight, postmenopausal women, most of those who followed a vegan diet
-- which contains no animal products such as dairy, meat or eggs -- said
they enjoyed the diet.  Most women also said they were mostly or completely
used to the vegan diet after 14 weeks, and planned to continue it, for the
most part at least, in the future. Moreover, women eating only vegan foods
lost an average of 13 pounds, more than women who followed a standard
low-fat diet.

Study author Dr. Neal D. Barnard of the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine in Washington, DC, explained that, for many people,
giving up meat and animal products entirely is easier than trying to limit
them as part of standard low-fat fare.  "It's a little bit like quitting
smoking," he said. "If I said to you, 'have one-half of a cigarette a day,'
it's easier to quit."  Another incentive for people to follow the vegan
diet is that it works, he said. Study after study has shown that vegan
diets can lower cholesterol and lead to as many health benefits as
medications, Barnard explained."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&ncid=751&e=4&u=/nm/20040805/
hl_nm/diet_vegan_dc

[Study:  Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. 24(4):229-235,
July/August 2004
http://www.jcrjournal.com/pt/re/jcardiorehab/abstract.00008483-200407000-00004.h
tm;jsessionid=Bg4P3y1nyGKlY9ZfltDppIV32JAipX6sTTz1RDG1S0eXLqxKR6Mq!1305525459!-9
49856031!9001!-1


************************************************
*09:  Upcoming Events of Special Note
************************************************
RICHMOND VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL 2004:  August 29, 2004, from Noon to 5 p.m. at
the Azalea Gardens of Bryan Park, rain or shine. The event is free and open
to the public, providing free food, expert advice, and live entertainment
for people of all ages.  Nonprofit and humane organizations such as Prevent
A Litter, Siamese Cat Rescue, and Central Virginia Greyhounds will offer
information about their respective issues.

The festival is provided by Compassion Action for Animals, the Vegetarian
Society of Richmond, Natural Awakenings, Ellwood Thompson� Style Weekly,
Diversity Thrift, Vegan Action, Panda Garden, and the Virginia Organizing
Project. http://www.veggiefest.org, contact Christopher at 262-8507 or
info@....

EMPTY CAGES:  19th Annual International Compassionate Living Festival.
October 1-3 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, Research
Triangle Park, NC.  This conference will bring together artists, eminent
scholars, movement leaders, and grassroots activist.  Vegan meals, an
exhibit hall, and bookstore.
http://www.cultureandanimals.org/


************************************************
*10:  Howard's Schedule
************************************************
Sep 11, 12, 13: Cleveland, Ohio > Journey Expo '04
Sep 18: WashDC> Green Festival
Sep 26: San Francisco, CA > SF Vegetarian Society
Sep 27: Portland, Oregon > "AM Northwest TV," and KBOO radio (both tentative)
Sep 28: Portland, Oregon > 7 pm. - First Unitarian Church, 12th & Main

Oct 12: Harrisburg, PA > 6:30 pm - Vegetarian Society and SDA Church
Oct 15: Malibu, CA > Health Conf.

[More details and contact info at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/01_SchedCA.000.html


************************************************
*11:  Quick Bytes
************************************************
AGRICULTURE:

["Least Toxic Control of Pests In the Home and Garden:"
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/alternatives/factsheets/index.htm

["Deal to slash farm subsidies 'would end poverty for millions:"
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=546073

["Kitchen Gardening:"
http://www.kitchengardeners.org/


DIET/NUTRITION:

["A Comparison of Fruit and Vegetable Intake in 10 European Countries:"
http://www.5aday.org/html/research/summaries.php

["Coffee - Pleasure and Pain:"
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/2004nl/040700pucoffee.htm

["Too Much Junk Food:"
http://diet.fitness.msn.com/article/809359.armx

["Fructose Maybe Not So Natural...and Not So Safe:"
http://www.nutritionreporter.com/fructose_dangers.html

["PCRM Launches Golden Carrot Award for Innovations in School Food Service:"
http://www.pcrm.org/news/golden_carrot.html


ENVIRONMENT:

["Climate Change--Clash of the Corporate Titans:"
http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books072104.asp?source=daily

["National Recycling Economic Information Project:"
http://www.nrc-recycle.org/resources/rei/summary.htm

["Zero Waste:"
http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/index.html
http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/zerowaste_faq.html

The "just sent" newsletter was unexpectedly "cropped" at the end by the
Yahoo service.

I am sending out a corrected version after this note.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

Regards, Mark

******************************************************************
Mark Sutton, Webmaster@... * msutton@...
Editor, Mad Cowboy e-Newsletter, http://www.madcowboy.com
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Mad_Cowboy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Back issues/info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/
******************************************************************

Howdy!  Welcome to the 40th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter!

Howard was so impressed with Dr. Tom Regan's new book, "Empty Cages," the
he decided that a new Mad Cowboy Interview was in order.  This edition of
the Newsletter has not only excerpts from the interview, but a link to
Parts 01 and 02.  They cover an overview of Animal Rights concepts and
controversies, his new book, as well as more of the personal side of Tom.
The final two parts of the interview, focussed primarily on the book, will
be available for the next newsletter.

But, that's not all... reading further down you learn about which fruits,
vegetables, and legumes (!) have the highest concentration of antioxidants,
why the American Heart Association recommends fresh veggies/fruits and not
antioxidant pills, a new survey about the cost of fresh produce compared to
Fad diets like Atkins, and a 72-year old veg'n marathon runner.

There's also a disturbing study about the sudden rise in brain diseases and
relationship to what we breathe, eat, and live around, how India plans to
go organic, and what environmental damage is being done via our lawns.
You'll read about a shy moose, gorilla dentistry, laugh at some cartoons,
know that ultrasonics are used by squirrels, and how hungry bugs promote
plant diversity.

Finally, there's an explanation as to why the recent coverage of "high
carbs and breast cancer" is deceitful, and a new study that shows switching
to a vegan diet has been proven to be easier than thought.

...and as always, a tip of the hat to our new subscribers.  Y'all can read
past issues at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

Best wishes to everyone, stay cool, and check out Bryanna's Vegan Pesto
Recipes in the "Quick Bytes" section below.

Mark

***********************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:  Quotes of Note
01:  A New Mad Cowboy Interview with Dr. Tom Regan
02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
04:  Best Antioxidant Sources, Pills NOT, Produce Cheap, $$Atkins
05:  Pollution/Brain Diseases, Organic Advances, Green Lawns
06:  Deadly Kebab, Shy Moose, Dogs vs Cats, Cartoons
07:  Ultrasonic Squirrel, Gorilla Dentistry, Hungry Bugs, Frozen Ark
08:  High Carb/Cancer Deceit, 'Protein Power," Switch to Veg Easy
09:  Upcoming Events of Special Note
10:  Howard's Schedule
11:  Quick Bytes
12:  Closing Thought(s)


************************************************
*00:  Quotes of Note
************************************************
"While traveling over one million miles in my life as an activist I have
met some of the most remarkable people on the face of the earth. I have
decided we'd interview some of these folks from time to time so the readers
of the Mad Cowboy newsletter will get a chance to understand what giants
they are.

This group is as diverse as anyone could imagine. They are young and old,
female and male, quiet and outspoken, foreign and American, every color and
religion under the sun. The common denominator for this group is they are
my friends."

--- Howard, 01/21/03

************************************************
*01:  A New Mad Cowboy Interview with Dr. Tom Regan
************************************************
[Dr. Tom Regan is professor emeritus of philosophy at North Carolina State
University in Raleigh.  The author of more than 20 books, and he is
universally recognized as the intellectual leader of the animal rights
movement.  His latest book is:  "Empty Cages."]

INTERVIEW EXCERPTS:

MS: "You were a butcher?"

TR: "I...(pause)... was a butcher... I mean I sliced and diced, and packed,
sawed... their cold flesh gave way to my cold will.  I didn't find
butchering bloody, I found it bloody hard... it was hard work at times.  I
was so blind to animal consciousness, that even when I had held the victim
in my hands, the victim was invisible."

MS: "It must be shocking for you to look back and realize how much you are
a different person now."

TR: "... I do say, often and sincerely, that if Tom Regan can become an
animal rights advocate, anybody can become an animal rights advocate.  When
I had the victims in my hand and I didn't see the victims... my god, you
can't get any further back into the darkness than I was."

ON EXTREMISM:

MS: "One of the things that intrigued me in your book, is that right up
front you deal with this issue of how "animal rights advocates" (which you
call ARAs) are deemed 'extremists' or 'practitioners of extremism.' Can you
summarize how you approach clearing up these misconceptions?"

TR: "'Extremism' is an ambiguous concept because it can mean different
things. ... [edit] ...to some, 'extremism' can mean that you have a
position that is unqualifiedly opposed to something. In this sense, you can
say, "are you against rape some of the time, most of the time, or all of
the time?" "Well, I'm against rape all of the time." Well, then you're an
extremist when it comes to rape: you have an unqualified moral opposition
to it. Or extremist when it comes to child abuse, "are you against child
abuse some of the time, most of the time, all of the time."

DISCONNECT DICTUM:

MS: "You've coined the term "Disconnect Dictum" referring to these [animal]
industries and the treatment of animals. Can you expand on this?"

TR: "Sure.... what I mean by that, is there's a disconnect between the
meaning of what they say and the actual things they do. I'll just talk
about "humane" for example. "Humane" is a word; it has a meaning. You can
look it up. You can go to the dictionary. "Showing mercy and kindness....
consideration and sympathy." That's what it means to be in favor of humane
treatment, and who could be against that? Everyone's for being humane to
other human beings and to other animals. So, we go and look at people in
biomedical research, for example, saying, "we support the humane care and
responsible use of animals." So "humane" means they're going to show
kindness, they're going to show mercy, they're going to show sympathy,
they're going to show compassion. And then you say "well, what do they
actually do?"

Well, what they do is they blind animals, they crush their limbs, they
crush their organs, they subject them to radiation, they deprive them of
sleep, they deprive them of food, they drown them, they burn them.... how
in God's name can any of this be "humane?"

"SUBJECTS-IN-A-LIFE"

MS: "How does the concept of a biography not a biology fit into this debate?"

TR: "The central question in the animal rights debate is whether any other
animals are like us being "subjects-in-a-life," whether any other animals
are in the world, aware of the world, aware of what happens to them, and
what happens to them matters matters to them. That's the fundamental
question, and the answer to that is "yes," then we have made the case for
"animal rights," in my judgment.


[You can read Parts 01 and 02 of the interview, and access related web
resources at:
http://www.madcowboy.com/02_MCIview03.000.html


************************************************
*02:  The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
************************************************
LAST WEEK'S MIND-BENDER:
"Which country has the MOST television sets (total)?"

Congratulations to Krista Bobick, as being the only person to correctly
guess "China."

[The stats:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/med_tel


THIS WEEK'S MAD COWBOY VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"Which of these four countries has the highest number of threatened mammal
species?"

Brazil   China   India   Indonesia

(Hint:  the same country has the most mammalian species...)


Please e-mail guesses to:  webmaster@... with the word "contest"
in your subject line by NLT Sept 1st, 2004.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting the
correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest.  Our thanks to Joe, and you
can learn more about VegNews at:

http://www.vegnews.com  or e-mail:  editor@... or call 1.415.665.6397]


************************************************
*03:  Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
BEEF GROUPS TO PRESS USDA FOR PRIVATE BSE TESTS:  (07/23/04):  "A group of
U.S. cattle industry producers and companies plans to petition the U.S.
Department of Agriculture for the right to test all their cattle for mad
cow disease to comply with demands by Asian customers who currently are
refusing to buy U.S. beef.  The group includes Creekstone Farms Premium
Beef, a Kansas meat-packing plant, and Missouri-based Gateway Beef
Cooperative, both of which have been banned by the USDA from testing their
cattle.

"A lawsuit is definitely an option," said Bill Bullard, chief executive
officer of R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America, one member of the budding
coalition challenging the USDA.   But the USDA has refused, and it has
refused to allow for private companies to buy the test kits that would
enable them to test 100 percent of their herds...  the USDA has said that
only animals displaying certain characteristics should be tested and 100
percent testing would set an improper and costly standard that could hurt
companies that don't test their presumably health animals."

[Edited from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=594&ncid=594&e=10&u=/nm/20040723
/hl_nm/madcow_testing_dc


SECOND CJD CASE FROM TRANSFUSION:  (07/23/04):  "The first strong evidence
that the human form of BSE might strike a wider group of people than those
affected so far was revealed yesterday as the [UK] Department of Health
announced that the disease could have been spread for the second time
through a blood transfusion.  The deadly rogue form of the prion protein
linked to the disease was found in the spleen of a patient who died from an
unrelated cause but had received blood from a donor who later developed
variant CJD.

The genetic signature in this person was different from the one found in
the 142 patients who have died from vCJD in Britain. The patient, who
received blood in 1999, had displayed no symptoms of vCJD but it is unclear
how advanced the infection was. Scientists are also uncertain whether vCJD
causes the same symptoms in different genetic groups, and say incubation
may sometimes be longer than that for CJD.

Graham Steel, vice-chairman of the Human BSE Foundation, said: "This raises
the stakes with regard to the issue of secondary transmission."  The latest
estimates suggest about 3,800 people might eventually get the disease and
more research is under way. Yet deaths from vCJD, which began in 1995, have
been falling. Only three infected Britons have died so far this year, with
five still alive."

[Very edited from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1267385,00.html


USDA BLAMES CANADA FOR BURGER RECALL:  (07/28/04):  "A Pennsylvania meat
company voluntarily recalled 170,000 pounds of hamburger patties that
contained Canadian beef products prohibited under safeguards against mad
cow disease, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.  The USDA
said the recalled products from Quaker Maid Meats, Inc., a privately-owned
business, was allowed into the United States after a Canadian meat
inspector improperly labeled a shipment of 41,000 pounds of beef. The beef
was later used by Quaker Maid to produce 170,000 pounds of hamburger.

"This is a mistake made in Canada," USDA Undersecretary Elsa Murano told
reporters. "This does not pose any risk to human health."  The USDA said it
will review Canada's food safety inspection system this fall. "Obviously,
we will make sure that this kind of incident ... doesn't happen again,"
Murano said."

[Edited from:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=4G2UVHXMDNIP0CRBAE0CFEY?type
=domesticNews&storyID=5802716


NIH TO SHUT DOWN MAD COW LAB:  (07/28/04):  "The U.S. government laboratory
credited with conducting groundbreaking work on human brain disorders
similar to mad cow disease soon will be shut down, United Press
International has learned.  The lab -- known officially as the Laboratory
for Central Nervous System Studies at the National Institutes of Health in
Bethesda, Md. -- has been relatively inactive for the past several years
and will come to a complete halt at the end of the week.

A panel of 12 experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine agreed with
[lab director] Brown on the importance of keeping an in-house TSE lab
operating at the NIH.  Brown's research helped demonstrate the nearly
indestructible nature of prions. In one controversial experiment, he took a
sample of prion-containing tissue home with him and buried it in a flower
pot in his backyard. The agent was still infectious when he dug it up three
years later.  The CNSS lab was instrumental in the 1960's in showing a rare
and fatal brain disease known as kuru that occurred in the Fore people in
New Guinea was infectious. The work won the lab's first director, Carleton
Gajdusek, a Nobel prize in 1976 and helped pave the way for discovering
that prions are involved in causing TSEs."

[Very edited from:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040727-020751-7281r


U.S. MAD COW TESTING CRITICIZED:  (07/29/04):  "Calls for widespread
testing of the nation's beef supply have stretched from Tokyo to Arkansas
City, Kansas, after the United States detected its first-ever case of "mad
cow disease" in December.  Still, the U.S. government has refused to
support widespread testing of the nation's cattle herds. Instead, the
Agriculture Department has launched a limited voluntary testing program
that its own inspector general said may be scientifically invalid.

Critics are also accusing the government of favoring big businesses that
oppose extensive testing, at the expense of small cattle companies that
back it.  "It is truly a mess," said Thomas McGarity, who teaches food
safety law at the University of Texas and heads the Center for Progressive
Regulation think tank.  But the U.S. Department of Agriculture says
widespread testing is unnecessary. Its new "surveillance" program, expected
to cost taxpayers $70 million, aims to test about 270,000 animals in the
next 18 months, compared with about 35 million slaughtered annually."

[Edited from:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/07/29/us.madcow.testing.reut/index.html


LAB CREATES SYNTHETIC, INFECTIOUS PRION:  (07/30/04):  "California
scientists say they have created the first synthetic version of a rogue
protein called a prion and used it to give mice a brain-destroying
infection, evidence important to settling any lingering doubt these
mysterious substances alone cause mad cow disease and similar illnesses.
The report, published Thursday, won't end the scientific controversy, as
skeptics already are criticizing the research.

But if the work ultimately is validated it could have far-reaching
implications -- such as helping to create diagnostic tests for mad cow
disease. It also could help explain why normal brain proteins suddenly go
bad and sicken some people who've never eaten mad cow-tainted food.  The
work marks "a renaissance in prion research," said Dr. Stanley Prusiner of
the University of California, San Francisco, who won a Nobel Prize for
discovering prions and whose laboratory developed the synthetic version.
"It opens huge new vistas that were previously inaccessible," he said."

[Edited from:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/07/30/syntheticprotein.ap/


BSE/MAD COW DISEASE CRISIS PROVOKES TRADE WAR:  (08/02/04):  "The World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE, Organisation Internationale des
Epizooties) has blamed the "recent international trade disruptions" on "the
apparent misinterpretation of BSE standards or the failure to implement
these standards" by governments involved in the cattle and beef trade.  The
OIE has issued standards designed to reduce the spread of BSE via trade
using a risk assessment that counts the number of BSE cases found in a
country and the controls used to prevent the spread of the disease.

Of more concern are reports from scientists that there may be different
types of BSE-like diseases in cattle that could produce other fatal brain
diseases. Italian researchers have identified a brain pattern in two cows
that is different from the traditional BSE one and French and Japanese
scientists have also discovered atypical cases.   An additional worry is
that the fatal sheep disease scrapie could be masking BSE. If this proves
correct most of the UK flock would have to be slaughtered."

[Heavily edited from the comprehensive article at:
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200408020701110.91575


NO MAD COW TESTS FOR NEARLY 500 COWS:  (08/11/04):  "The U.S. Department of
Agriculture failed to test for mad cow disease or collect the correct
portion of the brain on nearly 500 suspect cows over the past two years --
including some in categories considered most likely to be infected --
according to agency records obtained by United Press International.  The
testing problems mean it may never be known with certainty whether these
animals were infected with the deadly disease. Department officials said
these animals were not included in the agency's final tally of mad cow
tests, but the records, obtained by UPI under the Freedom of Information
Act, indicate at least some of them were counted.

Consumer groups say the untested cows are evidence of further problems with
the USDA's surveillance plan.  "This adds to the clear documentation in the
Inspector General's report that the program is in shambles, from its design
to its implementation to its record keeping," Dr. Peter Lurie, deputy
director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington told UPI.
Lurie testified about problems with the USDA's surveillance plan at a
congressional hearing last month."

[Heavily edited from from the very detailed and disturbing article at:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040810-042935-2066r


************************************************
*04:  Best Antioxidant Sources, Pills NOT, Produce Cheap, $$ Atkins
************************************************
BERRIES, BEANS TOP 'BEST ANTIOXIDANTS LIST':  (06/28/04):  "
A variety of veggies, fruits and nuts battled it out this month for the top
spot on a new list of the 20 most antioxidant-rich foods, ranked by
nutrition scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  In the
end, small red beans won the day, narrowly beating out wild blueberries as
the food with the highest concentration of disease-fighting compounds per
serving.  Antioxidants fight damage to cells from rogue molecules called
"free radicals." Experts believe this assault on cells may fuel killer
diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and even aging itself.  Their
Top 20:

1. Small red beans (dried). 2. Wild blueberries. 3. Red Kidney beans. 4.
Pinto beans. 5. Blueberries (cultivated). 6. Cranberries. 7. Artichokes
(cooked). 8. Blackberries. 9. Prunes. 10. Raspberries. 11. Strawberries.
12. Red Delicious apples. 13. Granny Smith apples. 14. Pecans. 15. Sweet
cherries. 16. Black plums. 17. Russet potatoes (cooked). 18. Black beans
(dried). 19. Plums. 20. Gala apples&q