Kollengode S Venkataraman, Written in 1998)
In the wake of the mad cow disease in England and the massive recall of 25 million pounds of hamburger patties in Nebraska, lacto-vegetarians might think that they are safe because the milk products they consume comes from herbivorous cows. Well, think again. Left to themselves, cows are herbivorous, we all know. However, as a commodity traded in the Chicago Board of Trade, cows are not left to themselves.
If you have a sensitive stomach, we suggest that you skip this article and opt for living in ignorance. However, if you read further, your stomach may turn, but you will be a better informed consumer.
According to a US News & Word Report article (September 1, 1997 issue), ranchers feed their cows not only hay, soybeans, grains, alfalfa, antibiotics and hormones to fatten the cows and increase their lactation, but also other innocuous waste products — corncobs, rice husk, peelings of fruits and vegetables, for example
And some not-so-innocuous items such as chicken droppings (rich in protien and cheap), slaughter house wastes such as the blood, bones, intestines (they are nutritious, and it costs to get rid of them). And they also feed the mortal remains of millions of cats and dogs “put to sleep” by veterinarians and animal shelters, well ground so that the herbivorous cows with no canine teeth can masticate what they eat.
In other words, the Homo Sapiens have made cows into cannibals.
Biologists know that these animal products, when not processed properly, can have harmful bacteria that can cause disease in humans; in addition, they may contain intestinal parasites, veterinary drug resi-dues, and toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, and cadmium.
In August, FDA ordered a halt to feeding all slaughter house waste products to cattle and sheep as a safety precaution. This Fall, the journal Preventive Medicine published a paper pointing to the potential dangers of recycling chicken waste to cattle.
What can one do about this? For the present, not much. But when government sees a big public health risk, the long, strong arm of the Feds will dictate what ranchers can feed their cattle, and more impor-tantly, what they can not. If we feel strongly about this, we have to first agree!?) on what needs to be done, and mobilize public opinion around it. After all, if public opinion in the last twenty years could force workplaces to be free from cigarette smoke and girlie pinups without any legislation, anything is possible.
But laying the road for transforming the possibilities to realities is slow, arduous work that often culminates in dead ends. END