Farmed Animal Watch - May 23, 2003

1. BSE HITS CANADA
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or "mad cow disease") has been confirmed in a cow in Alberta, Canada. The cow was nonambulatory (a "downer cow"), unable to walk from the truck that transported her to slaughter in January. Suspected of having pneumonia, her body was reportedly instead processed into feed for nonruminant animals and her brain sent for testing. Four months later it was confirmed she had been infected with BSE. The 6-year-old cow had been used for breeding purposes. It is uncertain where the cow was born, how many herds she has been in, and how she contracted the disease, and it is doubtful that important elements of her history can be traced. Nine ranches in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been quarantined, and cattle from them have begun being killed and tested.

The cow was the first animal to test positive for the disease in North America in a decade. The previous case, which also occurred in Canada, involved a cow imported from Britain. Scientists are working on several theories to explain how the animal may have become infected. They don't believe BSE can be transmitted from one live animal to another. The illness is believed to be spread through the consumption of feed containing the ground-up remains of infected sheep and cattle ("meat and bone meal"). Canada (and the US) outlawed the feeding of such meal to cattle, sheep and goats in 1997. It is possible that the cow ate infected feed after the ban. Spontaneous gene mutation is another theory of how the disease originated. In the words of one reporter, the chances of a single cow becoming uniquely infected by the disease are "laughably, alarmingly remote."

CWD: Elk in western Canada have been found infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD), an illness related to BSE (see issue #80). Until this week, CWD was deemed the much greater threat, with provincial labs testing close to 5,000 deer and elk brains for CWD in 2002, compared with 849 cattle brains for BSE. The Canadian government in recent years has ordered the slaughter and destruction of 9,000 farmed elk found infected with the disease. It can also affect mule deer and white-tailed deer. In the U.S., it is known to exist in wild deer in 5 states and has affected farmed elk in 6 states. In Wisconsin, attempts are being made to eradicate the entire deer population in affected areas. The origins of CWD are unknown, but one theory is that it may be a variant of sheep scrapie, which has been linked to BSE. While there is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted from elk and deer to cattle or other farmed animals, or that CWD can cause BSE, precautions are being taken.

The BSE discovery is disrupting Canada's $5.8 billion beef industry. The country is the world's 3rd largest beef exporter, with the U.S. being its largest market. It is also the U.S.'s largest live cattle supplier. In 2002, the U.S. imported more than 1 billion pounds of Canadian beef and 1.075 million live cattle, constituting about 3% of the cattle slaughtered in the U.S. The U.S. government says 90,000 head of beef cattle imported from Canada since January pose little risk of BSE and won't be tracked down or kept from slaughter. Nor are there plans to trace other cattle who have been imported from Canada for breeding purposes. (The disease can incubate in cattle for up to 5 years.)

The case is renewing attention to the U.S. surveillance that protects the nation's $80 billion beef industry, a system critics say leaves much to be desired. The U.S. banned imports of live ruminants (cattle, sheep and goats) from the U.K. in 1985, and extended the ban to all countries with BSE in 1989. In 1997, the U.S. extended the ban to all ruminants from the European Union. In 1997, the FDA prohibited the use of meat and bone meal in ruminant feed. In both the U.S. and Canada, its use in poultry and swine feed is permitted, because those animals have not been found to contract the disease. (According to a Canadian official, 90% of meat and bone meal ends up in some type of animal feed.) A government report in 2000 found that 28% of U.S. feed companies weren't labeling prohibited feed with the required precautionary statements that the material shouldn't be fed to ruminants, while 20% of the companies that handled both ruminant and other kinds of rendered meal didn't have required systems in place to prevent cross-contamination. The FDA is also concerned about potential disease transmission from the use of poultry litter in animal feed and is considering a ban on it.

Canadian-derived ruminant products have now been banned in the U.S. and several other countries. In 2002, about 20,000 cattle were tested for BSE - out of a U.S. herd of 100 million. A lethal human variant of the disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD, see issue #91), believed to be caused by eating infected beef, is incurable and has killed about 130 people, mostly in Britain. Last year, the USDA found about 35% of beef products produced at U.S. meat processing plants contained parts of cattle spinal cord, which is believed to be among the most infective tissue.

The U.K. has slaughtered 3.7 million cattle based on approximately 180,000 confirmed cases of BSE since 1984. Total costs to the U.K. since the BSE outbreak began have been estimated at over $5 billion. A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 2001 that compounded effects from BSE has been estimated to have cost the U.K. approximately $11.5 billion.

2. MAJORITY SUPPORT STRICT LAWS RE FARMED ANIMAL TREATMENT
A Gallup poll conducted in early May shows a clear majority of Americans favor strict laws concerning the treatment of farmed animals. Of the1,005 adults who participated in the telephone survey, 62% were in support of such laws while 35% opposed them. Women were 14% more likely than men to support the laws, with 69% favoring them. Similarly, 67% of democrats and 66% of independents polled were in support, while only 53% of republicans were. There were little differences by age (generation) to the 5 questions asked, which in addition pertained to the use of animals in product testing and medical research, hunting, and general animal rights.

3. FARMED FISH
The suffering of farmed fish comprises much of a recent U.K. article about them. (See also N.15, V.2.) As of March 28th, fish sold in EU countries must be labeled as to whether they were farmed, caught at sea or in fresh water, along with info about the species' and catch area. Author Andrew Purvis discusses labels "designed to reassure consumers about the ethics, safety, environmental impact and wisdom of rearing fish intensively like broiler chickens, pigs or cattle." He explains that, although the industry has attempted to improve following a decade of bad publicity about overcrowded sea cages, dyed flesh, toxic chemicals, antibiotics and pollution, with strict rules governing husbandry and food safety, "even more lurid scandals have raised their ugly heads." Among them is a story he relates about captive salmon who were not slaughtered before their migratory instincts kicked in, causing them to kill themselves.

According to the 2002 Compassion in World Farming report "In Too Deep," trout are kept even more crowded than salmon, with 27 one-foot-long trout sharing the equivalent of a bathtub of water. To increase shelf life, they are left to suffocate in air or on bins of ice. Trout eggs are heat- or pressure-treated to produce "triploid" fish, who are sterile and have an extra set of chromosomes. Triploid rainbow trout have higher levels of spinal deformities and are prone to anemia. The report also notes that intensively farmed halibut, sea bass and sea bream can suffer severe cataracts resulting in blindness and corneal bleeding. Purvis visits an operation where trout are kept so densely that "damage," such as split tails, "is inevitable." He describes how fish there are killed with an electric current, noting that less inhumane electrocution methods are being researched.

Aquaculture sales have grown by 11% per year since 1984, making it the world's fastest-growing food sector (valued at $54 billion). In 2001, some 29% of all fish and shellfish was farmed. It is predicted that aquaculture will have to grow sevenfold in the next 25 years just to maintain the world's consumption of fish. If the FDA approves, salmon genetically modified to grow 6 times faster than wild ones may be on the market by 2004. (One Japanese city has announced plans to begin farming minke whales.) Environmental activist Don Staniford, author of the forthcoming book "Cancer of the Coast," discusses the environmental waste and pollution caused by fish farms, including organic ones, and the unsustainability of wild caught fish. (For two current articles on the depletion of ocean fish, see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57139-2003May14.html and http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-05-14-fish_x.htm ) Staniford thinks shellfish are the way of the future. (For an article on shellfish sentience, see: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/15/1052885349046.html )

For the commonly farmed aquatic species -salmon, trout, sea bass, cod, halibut, tilapia and prawns- Purvis tells who farms them, how, what chemicals are administered, what harm befalls them, and the environmental effects of raising them. In the sections entitled, "Are the fish harmed?" he tells, among other things, how some fish are starved prior to slaughter and the different ways different species are killed. Regarding shrimps and prawns, he merely states: "Welfare isn't an issue." For an article on environmental and other problems in the global shrimp industry, see: http://www.seafood.com/news/current/96751.html Extensive information on fish welfare can be found at: http://www.leicester.ac.uk/biology/fsbi/welfare.pdf

4. MILLIONS OF FISH KILLED IN FIRE
Nearly 3 million fish died in a May 15th fire at Atlantic Salmon of Maine. The dead included 675,000 juvenile fish (6-8 inches long), who were soon to be transferred into pens, and 2.1 million younger salmon. They suffocated when power to the tanks failed, cutting off aeration equipment. "No one was injured in the fire," reported Maine Today. Nine fire departments responded to the $1 million blaze which destroyed the hatchery of the largest salmon aquaculture business in the U.S. Both the building and the fish were insured. (The larger fish were rendered into cat food.) Atlantic Salmon is a subsidiary of Norwegian-owned Fjord Seafood. Earlier in May, a federal judge found the company in civil contempt for violating a court order that barred it from stocking older fish in pens. The order arose from a lawsuit accusing Atlantic Salmon of dumping waste feed, feces and medication into the ocean without a permit. The fire has put plans to boost production by 50% on hold. (N.3, V.2 includes an item about fire standards in confinement operations.)

5. RSPCA CATALOGUES ANIMAL TRANSPORT CRUELTIES
The RSPCA has presented the U.K. farm animal welfare minster with a report and video of live animal transport abuses occurring across Europe. "Standing Room Only" catalogues cruelties RSPCA investigators found while trailing shipments of cattle, chickens, horses, pigs and sheep. Among the images on the video are sheep dead and dying after a 9-day journey, a calf being stuffed into a compartment under a truck, and crushed crates of chickens. (Video clips are available on the first 2 web sites listed below.) "A huge body of scientific evidence shows that even healthy animals can suffer serious stress, dehydration and fatigue in transit. Others can be injured due to poor handling, overcrowding and on-board conditions.....With 10 million livestock moved by road every week in the EU, the potential for suffering is immense," an RSPCA spokesperson explained. She also noted resultant meat quality problems. Some countries prefer to import live animals due to specific slaughter practices and processing methods.

In Europe, animals can legally be transported for more than 30 hours. The RSPCA alleges that European Union transport laws are commonly ignored. The organization is calling for new laws banning travel in excess of 8 hours, stronger enforcement, and more frequent health checks. Although the European Commission acknowledges that existing laws are poorly enforced, it has repeatedly postponed proposed changes to the law. The National Farmers Union says there should be a clamp down on problem operators on the continent rather than the introduction of laws that could disadvantage British farmers.

Farmed Animal Action is a U.K. group which has made campaigning against live animal exports its primary issue of focus: http://www.farmedanimalaction.co.uk A petition drive is currently under way to have animal protection recognized as "an indispensable part of European culture" in the drafting of the future European Union constitution: http://www.animals-constitution.info/uk/intro.html

"Farm Animals Mistreated," Sky News, May 14, 2003.
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-12316738,00.html
"Animals ‘Suffering' in Transport," BBC News, May 14, 2003.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3025927.stm
"UK Animal Export Study Reveals ‘Sickening Cruelty,'" Reuters, Michelle Green, May 16, 2003 http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20809/story.htm

6. SUPER SOY
Sales of soy foods grew 17% in 2001 to reach $3.2 billion. Sales of meat alternatives, soy milk, cold cereal and energy bars were especially strong. Sales grew nearly 27% in mainstream supermarkets, 12% in specialty supermarkets, and 5.5% in other natural-food stores. "The research, more and more, is showing that it's incredibly beneficial for our bodies," states the clinical nutrition manager at Jewish Hospital (Kentucky). Soy has been shown to be helpful in regard to hot flashes, osteoporosis, cholesterol, blood-sugar level, obesity, and possibly cancer prevention. According to the American Diabetic Association, soy products provides higher quality protein than bean- or grain- based products. Soy, long used as a health and beauty product by the Chinese, is now being used in U.S.-formulated products for skin and hair care. The article mentions different forms of soy and ways to include them in the diet, along with a number of suggested web sites.