Stop the Madness I can't help but wonder what the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and the cattle industry is so afraid of right now. When a
small producer of high-quality beef, Creekstone Farms Premium
Beef, decided that they'd like to privately test all of the cattle they
slaughter for mad cow disease at their own expense, I would think
the Feds would give them a gold star for being so responsible and
taking this kind of industry leadership. Instead, they're acting much more like a teen who has been out
past curfew -- and up to no good. If you can believe it, the USDA
does not allow private testing for mad cow disease by producers,
insisting that the government testing system is perfectly adequate. Even though they have just introduced a new plan that will test 10
times more animals than before, they will still test less than 1
percent of the 37 million cattle slaughtered each year. I don't find
this very comforting. Especially not when you consider that some
other countries, like Japan, require 100 percent testing of beef
products sold in their country. Cattle producers, of course, are fighting against Creekstone Farms'
independent testing plan, saying that it would set an expensive
precedent that consumers will be footing the bill for in the
supermarket. But the fact is, if the government raised its current
standard to 100 percent testing, the shift would add only six cents
per pound to the cost of beef.
And polls have shown that 95 percent of Americans would happily
pay an extra TEN cents per pound for beef they knew was safe
without a doubt. So what's the problem? Why won't they allow even one small
farm to perform 100 percent testing -- at its own expense? Granted, bureaucratic systems hate change -- and our labyrinth of
government regulators always seem more likely to resist a new
idea than investigate its merits. But this ban goes beyond reason --
and into the realm of guilt and fear-based behavior. The bottom line is that whether our government is merely afraid --
or practicing a more sinister cover-up -- they are putting us all at
risk. You can somewhat sidestep this mess by sticking with meat from
grass-fed cattle. But since beef products can be found in much
more than just steak and burgers, you're still not completely safe. There's much, much more information about mad cow disease than
I could even begin to fit in here. You might want to look into it,
although I'll warn you that it is extremely unsettling. Of course, I
suspect that some of the more hysterical claims should be taken
with a grain of salt and dismissed until proven. But the lingering
question is: shouldn't we be anxious to learn the truth -- and avoid
the consequences – of such a potentially dangerous disease? I
know what my answer is. **********************************************
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What's in a name? Q: My uncle, who recently passed away at age 92, believed in
adding a few drops of Lugol's solution to a glass of milk every day
to cleanse the system, and advised me to do the same. I am now 88
years of age and still healthy, so I think he was on to something.
My uncle was also a doctor, and he kept up my supply of Lugol's
all these years. After he passed, I learned that I need a prescription
-- and my doctor seemed a little hesitant when I asked for one.
After reading one of your columns, I started wondering if the SSKI
iodide you write about is the same as the Lugol's solution I have
been taking all these years -- and if it might be easier to come by? JVW: Lugol's solution and SSKI are similar, although Lugol's is a
slightly stronger concentration. Most traditional doctors only think
of giving Lugol's to cancer patients who are on radiation therapy --
they have no idea of the many other benefits (for more information
on these benefits, refer to the article about SSKI in the November
2002 issue of Nutrition & Healing). There are some creative ways of obtaining either one, and you
might be able to skirt getting them by prescription only at a good
health food store or on the internet. However, I suggest finding a
physician who will be more open to working with you and helping
you to continue this health practice safely. You can try contacting
the American College for Advancement in Medicine (800-532-
3688, 949-583-7666, www.acam.org), for a list of skilled natural
physicians near you. ********************************************
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(if you can't open here use the HTML links listed below) ******************************************* What are…prions? Prion is an acronym for "proteinaceous infectious particles" -- and
is a strange type of cell mutation. It is not a bacteria or a virus, but
rather a protein molecule. However, it has no DNA or RNA -- two
substances that once were thought to be essential for a living tissue
to reproduce. Like cancer cells, prions exist as a normal part of our
system until something causes them to lose their shape and become
twisted -- which is when they start to cause disease. Dr. Stanley Prusiner won a Nobel Prize in 1997 for his discovery
of prions, which he described as "tiny protein molecules that cause
very slow-acting -- and inevitably fatal -- diseases in animals and
humans." This discovery formed the basis for the current most
popular theories about mad cow disease. Other diseases thought to be caused by prions are similar to one
another in that they are neurological and fatal. Another unsettling
similarity is the relationship to the development of these diseases
with the practice of cannibalism. In the case of Kuru, which is
found in New Guinea, it can be traced to the practice of human
cannibalism. In the case of mad cow disease, it is the practice of
feeding "downed" cows -- and other diseased animals -- to healthy
cows, who are vegetarian by design. Causes of the others remain
"unknown." Perhaps there's a good reason why civilized societies have placed
such a stigma on this distasteful practice. Yours in good health,
Amanda Ross
Managing Editor
Nutrition & Healing Sources:
"Beef firm faces perplexing resistance to mad cow tests," USA
Today, 3/25/04
Gerger, Michael, MD. Could Mad Cow Disease Already be Killing
Thousands of Americans Every Year?
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0107-07.htm Asante EA, et al. "BSE prions propagate as either variant CJD-like
or sporadic CJD-like prion strains in transgenic mice expressing
human prion protein." EMBO J. 2002; 21(23): 6,358-6,366. "Expanded "Mad Cow" safeguards announced to strengthen
existing firewalls against BSE transmission," Food and Drug
Administration press release (www.fda.gov), 1/26/04 | 
