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- Government hygiene regulations prevent him from taking visitors inside the
- abattoir, so they watch the killing through windows. The first tour took
- place 10 days ago. So far he has had 15 visitors and last week he arranged a
- tour on request for a couple of holidaymakers eager to see the premises.
-
- Mr David said he believed it was important to reassure the public, in the
- face of BSE and recent E coli scares. "When they visit us they see that no
- animal sees any other animal being stunned, or killed. We are terribly
- careful," he said.
-
- Mr David's slaughterhouse kills 50 to 60 pigs a week, 15 cattle and 60-100
- lambs. The animals come from farmers he has known for years, are checked by
- vets and are killed individually.
-
- Being an independent butcher, he said, has not been easy in recent years
- with the growing domination of the supermarket chains in the meat market.
-
- There are 11,500 butcher shops in England and Wales but they account for
- only 17.7 per cent of meat sales, according to 1996 figures from the Meat
- and Livestock Commission. More than 67 per cent of meat sales are carried
- out in one of Britain's 4,937 supermarkets.
-
- But Mr David believes the tide is once again turning in favour of smaller
- outlets. He denied the abattoir tour was a shocking way to woo the public,
- but said: "I know people don't like the idea of killing.
-
- "But when they come on a tour they realise it can be done humanely - that it
- doesn't have to turn your stomach. I haven't had anyone keel over, or react
- badly to a tour, yet. And I don't expect to."
-
-
- Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 19:28:52 +0800 (SST)
- >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Cc: jwed@hkstar.com
- Subject: (KH) Stray dogs to help deminers
- Message-ID: <199704061128.TAA23285@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
- >Cambodia Times March 17 - 23, 1997
-
- Stray dogs to help deminers
- Reaksmey Kongkea
-
- Dogs will be used to assist in demining activities in
- the future.
-
- The Cambodian Mines Action Centre (CMAC) believe that man's best friend can
- be trained not only to detect but to verify a mine.
-
- CMAC national director Sam Sotha said 11 of the canines were sent to Sweden
- last year and they are expected to return in July to assist demining teams
- throughout the kingdom.
-
- Sotha said the dogs would have been trained by Swedish experts on "mine
- verification and marking".
-
- This will be the first time that CMAC is using dogs in demining activities.
- It may also be the first time that canines are used for demining tasks in
- the region.
-
- Although dogs have been used in various other fields, such as sniffing out
- drugs or other concealed substances, they are not known to detect mines.
-
- And if the venture is a success, CMAC may well find a solution to its
- manpower needs as the dogs it sent to Sweden are not of pedigree breed but
- the common stray dogs that are found everywhere.
-
- "Cambodia has a lot of dogs. They may not be smart dogs but some of them can
- be trained to help locate a mine", Sotha told the Cambodia Times last week.
-
- He said that local deminers have also been sent to Sweden to learn how to
- handle the dogs and become trainers.
-
- Sotha added that CMAC would eventually train dogs on its own.
-
- "The dogs will be of great help to us in expanding our activities to cover
- more areas in Cambodia", he said, adding that the dogs would complement the
- activities of the mine verification and marking teams.
-
- The teams are responsible for locating and marking the areas which are
- mined. These areas would be cordoned off for the deminer to do the
- painstaking job of deactivating the mines.
-
- For its continuing efforts, CMAC has been acknowledged as a leader in
- demining at a conference on anti-personnel mines in Tokyo on March 6.
-
- Sotha said the world has now recognised CMAC's capabilities in carrying out
- demining work and implementation of projects.
-
- "The conference has given Cambodia the opportunity to share our problems and
- successes with other countries facing similar predicament.
-
- "Some of the countries had asked for our assistance in the form of sending
- deminers to train their own people", Sotha said.
-
- He said CMAC is ready to lend a hand to these countries if there is an
- official request from the government.
-
- Sotha said CMAC expects to set up another 120 demining units this year as
- part of its expansion programme.
-
- He said CMAC would focus on training people in the provinces as they are
- more familiar with the areas to be mined.
-
- Some 3,600 square kilometres of Cambodia is filled with mines and demining
- work now being carried out covers an area of 1,300 square kilometres. CMAC
- has successfully demined 690 square kilometres of land and returned them to
- local authorities for further use.
-
- CMAC's main training centre at Kop Srov can train up to 4,000 people in
- various aspects of demining work annually.
-
- The centre's director Bun Thoeurn said most of the trainees are former
- soldiers and those who are victims of mines.
-
- Since its inception in 1995, Bun Thoeurn said, the centre has produced 6,000
- deminers.
-
- "Most of them find work in the mine fields under CMAC. Others find jobs as
- trainers", he said.
-
- Sotha said CMAC has enough capable deminers to carry on its work but still
- need foreign assistance in the form of technical expertise and equipment.
-
- He said CMAC needs about US$8 million annually to finance its operations.
- The money has so far come from the United States, Australia, United Kingdom,
- Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Holland and Germany.
-
-
-
- Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 21:00:09 +0800 (SST)
- >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (JP) High tin levels found in tuna
- Message-ID: <199704061300.VAA30101@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
- > The Japan Times, April 4, 1997
-
- High tin levels found in tuna
-
- A joint research team has discovered that tuna and bonito in the seas around
- Japan have high concentrations of organic tin from paints used on ship hulls
- and material used to protect fish nets.
-
- The team, made up of scientists from Ehime University's Agriculture School
- and Kyoto University's Fishery Experimental Station, is scheduled to
- announce its findings during a meeting of the Japan Society of Fisheries
- that opened Apr. 4 at Tokyo University of Fisheries.
-
- The chemical concentration levels are many times that found in fish in the
- south Pacific and Indian Ocean, but not high enough to harm humans,
- according to the team. The team believes that the seas around Japan are now
- sources of organic tin contamination of fishery resources, and migratory
- fish like bonitos and tunas are believed to have absorbed the chemicals
- while migrating through the area.
-
- Shinsuke Tanabe, a professor at Ehime University's Agriculture School, and
- his team members collected 47 tuna and bonito from the central Sea of Japan,
- the waters off Kochi Prefecture, Papua New Guinea, the Indian Ocean and five
- other areas, from 1983 through last year. By analyzing organic tin chemicals
- in the livers of the fish, tuna caught in the central Sea of Japan were
- found to have the highest concentration of tributyl (320 nanograms -- 1
- nanogram is equal to 1 billionth of a gram) and two other tins.<BR><BR>Tuna
- caught off Kochi Prefecture followed with 310 nanograms, followed by 300
- nanograms in bonito caught in the central Sea of Japan, according to the
- team. The concentration levels are comparable to those found in fish living
- in contaminated waters like Tokyo Bay or off the Italian coast, they said.
-
- In the fish caught in the south Pacific or around the Philippines, the team
- found only 24 to 50 nanograms of tin.
-
-
- Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 21:00:18 +0800 (SST)
- >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (SG) Reclamation 'may lead to sea cow's extinction' here
- Message-ID: <199704061300.VAA29547@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
- >The Straits Times, 6 Apr 97
- Reclamation 'may lead to sea cow's extinction' here
- By Sharon Vasoo
-
- PROPOSED reclamation works on Pulau Ubin and Pulau
- Tekong may cause the endangered dugong or sea cow to become
- extinct here, warned the Nature Society (Singapore) yesterday.
-
- The mammal's only source of food supply is sea grasses and these
- will be wiped out by landfill works.
-
- Although the islands were slated as protected nature areas, the
- latest development guide plan by the Urban Redevelopment
- Authority did not indicate how these nature areas would be
- protected, said Dr Ho Hua Chew yesterday. He was speaking at a
- conference on the state of Singapore's natural environment,
- organised by the society.
-
- In an interview, Dr Ho, the chairman of the society's conservation
- committee, said: "They are already endangered and if their food
- supply is cut, they may just simply disappear altogether. However
- this situation can be prevented if the islands were legally
- protected."
-
- An estimated 20 to 25 dugongs were reported to be living around
- the two islands five years ago.
-
- But the situation has worsened due to water pollution,
- reclamation and the rise in leisure boat activities in these areas,
- said the Nature Society.
-
- "You'll be lucky if you do spot one now," said Dr Ho.
-
- He added that another mammal, the finless porpoise, which looks
- like a baby dolphin is under similar threat.
-
- "It's sad because they were driven away by the result of such
- activities. Something should be done to try to improve the
- situation."
-
- At the seminar, participants reviewed the Singapore Green Plan
- issued in 1983 by the Government. The plan identified 19 nature
- sites and four coral sites along the Southern Islands for
- conservation as nature areas. This includes the islands of Pulau
- Tekong and part of Pulau Ubin.
-
- But the URA's development guide plan covering the island
- indicate that two land parcels on Pulau Ubin have already been
- tendered out for rustic holiday accommodation or an outdoor
- activity centre.
-
- The plans, said Dr Ho also did not specify the conservation
- boundaries on these islands. He said: "It seems that the
- authorities have simply chosen to forget their claims to conserve
- these areas."
-
- The URA could not be reached for comment yesterday. At the
- end of the seminar, the society said that to step up conservation
- efforts, it will make several recommendations to the Government
- at year's end.
-
- These include clear boundaries of the nature areas so that new
- developments cannot encroach and mandatory checks to ensure
- that nearby developments do not harm these areas.
-
- In addition, it will ask for legal protection for nature areas.
-
-
- Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 21:00:40 +0800 (SST)
- >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Cc: jwed@hkstar.com
- Subject: (LK) Zoo animals moved
- Message-ID: <199704061300.VAA30282@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- (SRI LANKA)
-
- >Sunday Observer, 06, April 1997
- Ahungalla animals moved
- Under police guard
-
- OFFICIALS OF the Department of Wildlife Conservation yesterday
- removed the animals from the Ahungalle Private Zoo to the National
- Zoological Gardens, Dehiwela.
-
- All animals except the crocodiles and some birds which will be
- removed today, all other animals including elephants, lions, leopards,
- bears etc. were loaded into trucks and brought to Dehiwela.
-
- Commenting on the operation that commenced yesterday, Wildlife
- Conservation Director, N. W. Dissanayake told the Sunday Observer
- that the operation was kept a well guarded secret and his men moved
- into the Ahungalle Zoo without prior notice. The DIG Southern Province
- provided nearly 150 armed policemen for the security of officials and
- other men who went to Ahungalle.
-
- Mr. Dissanayake said that this was done in view of the Department's
- earlier experience where there were organised gangs protesting the
- removal of animals. They were refused entry into the zoo and had to turn
- back following threats by the organised gangs.
-
- Court ordered the closure of the private zoo following allegations
- that the animals were drugged and not tamed as claimed by the zoo
- authorities. The owner of the zoo denied this allegation and challenged
- the authorities to test the animals for any traces of drugs.
-
- However the whole episode culminated with the killing of a school
- boy by a lion a few weeks ago.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 09:45:39 -0400
- >From: Vegetarian Resource Center <vrc@tiac.net>
- To: AR-NEWS@envirolink.org
- Subject: Sears Boycott called
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970406004001.00d301b0@pop.tiac.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- Sears has decided to become the dream come true for the puppy mill industry
- in Raliegh, N.C. They have dogs for sale like cars on monthly credit.
- Large banner reads "Take a puppy or Kitten home in 15 minutes or less for as
- little as$20.01 >per month its a snap." also a sign on the door behind the
- puppy display reads "Start a home business breeding small animals for this
- pet store chain. Its a fun, profitable, and educational way for children
- and adults to earn mone while learning about business, animal sciences and
- responsibility.
- Hamsters Rabbits Gerbils Rats Guinea Pigs Reptiles Birds Kittens Puppies "
- Complaints about selling dogs and encouraging irresponsble backyard
- breeding should be addressed to :
- store manager Mike Bianchi (919) 782-9745 and
- Sears & Roebuck Co.
- National Customer Relations Dept.
- 3333 Beverly Road
- Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
- phone 800-762-3048
- or
- E-mail http://www.sears.com/cserv/compln.htm
- where they recieve comments/complaints
- I am cutting up my Sears card and telling them I got my card to buy tools
- and long
- underwear! NOT to support the puppymill industry. And until that atrocity
- of ignorance is removed I will boycott and inform everyone I can.
- Join me if you agree.
-
- Susan
- EnglandGal@aol.com
-
-
- Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 07:43:44 -0700
- >From: pmligotti@earthlink.net (Peter M. Ligotti)
- To: veg-news@envirolink.org, ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Genetically Safe Foods and Companies
- Message-ID: <v01540b01af6d66c29ceb@[206.149.207.78]>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- To get this periodic update on Genetically Safe Food, request to
- be on the "Shopping list" to Marie Zenack <sunrider@kdsi.net>
-
-
-
- >From: Marie Zenack <sunrider@kdsi.net>
- Subject: Shopping List 3/22/97
-
- GENETICALLY ORIGINAL SHOPPING is intended to find out and share as much
- info as possoble about purchasing genetically original food. (If you don't
- want to receive this, let me know. If you have friends who want the info,
- have them send me a message to that effect. Thanks.
-
- Please review the list to make sure everyone agrees that it is as accurate
- as we can tell, or to make suggestions, etc. At the end of this list are
- suggestions on how to research a company. This list can really grow if
- everyone takes their favorite five companies. If your begin to research a
- particular company, let me know and I will put it on the 'in process' list
- so that we do not duplicate efforts. Once you have a response from the
- company, let me know. If it is positive, please fax or snail mail me a
- copy. Marie Zenack, 701 S. 2nd St. Fairfield, IA 52556, USA,
- Phone/Faxs-515-472-6948. It is important that any info we get be in
- writing because, for legal reasons, companies are very careful about what
- they put in writing. We have developed a webb site
- (www.lisco.com/mothersfornaturallaw) where the good guys can find each
- other. If we have a company's response in writing, we will call them back
- about being on the webb site.
-
- COMPANIES ON BOARD:
-
- DAIRY: All lifestock fed 100% organic feed. All products rGBH free. If
- dairy produces cheese, they use genetically original rennet.
-
- Radiance Dairy, 1745 Brookville Rd, Fairfield, IA, USA
- Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net> Nov,96)
- Organic Valley Cropp cooperative, LaFarge WI 608-625-2602 (Info is on label.)
- Horizon Dairy - (Dec, 96,PO Box 17577 Boulder, CO 80308,
- Researcher:<walker@fairfield.com> or <ticciati@kdsi.net>
- Harmony Hills Organic Dairy: Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net>
- Morningland Dairy, Rt 1 Box 188 B Mountain View, MO 65548
- Eggs from Diana(DJ) and Bill Runyan, sold starting this week through
- Everybody's Market under the name of Iowa Oasis.
-
- GREENS PLUS - I have researched this company and found it to be gene free.
- Contains only organic and hydroponic elements. Company spokesperson is
- Elise Masheleau at 1-800-258-0444. Researcher: <hiscott@fox.nstn.ca>
- (I have not received the fax of company response yet but researcher will
- send it. Marie Zenack)
- GARDENING:
- Richter Herbs wrote: All of our seeds are either collected from
- wild plants or produced in traditional ways practiced for millenia. We do
- not offer genetically engineered plants or seeds. Goodwood, ON L0C 1A0,
- Canada,Tel +1-905-640-6677 Fax 640-6641, Info:info@richters.com, Catalog
- Requests: catalog@richters.com, Website: www.richters.com
- researcher:<merrygold@pobox.com>
- Arbico Environmentals: Providing sustainable alternatives for home
- and business. "We can personally certify that our Bt sprays and other
- products are not genetically engineered or produced from a genetically
- engineered organizm or process." 1-800-827-2847 researcher:
- sunrider@kdsi.net
- Apparently BOUNTIFUL GARDENS, SEEDS OF CHANGE, NATIVE SEEDS/SEARCH
- are all using open pollinated seeds. <sunrider@kdsi.net>
- SOY PRODUCTS:
- Eden Foods, which makes Eden soy products, etc, are very strong in
- their stand to only use non-gen eng. ingredients. Their purchaser said on
- the phone that they source all their ingredients from the farmer to the
- consumer. Sent the following in writing: "Please let this letter serve as
- our affidavit and your assurance that Eden foods will not purchase or sell
- any food or food ingredient known to be genetically engineered and that we
- will act to best insure our avoidance of such." Eden foods, Inc. 701
- Tecumsey Rd., Clinton, MI 49236.517-456-7424)
- Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net> Jan, 97)
- Nature farm foods, Inc. All grains OCIA certified organic. 850 NBC
- Center, Lincoln, NE 68508, 402-474-7576, Fax: 402-474-7591 Researcher:
- Cathy Bortz, 2000 N. Court # 15C, Fairfield, IA 52556. January, 1997
- Sunrider, which makes NuPlus, an herbal powder which also contains
- soy beans. Sent the following in writing: "Dr. Chen wanted me to advise
- you that he has complete cotrol over all ingredients used in Sunrider
- products, and Sunrider definitely does not use any genetic engineered
- foods." 1625 Abalone Ave,Torrance CA 90501,310-781-8096.
- Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net>, Oct, 9.1996
- YEAST:
- RED STAR YEAST does not use genetic engineering in their processes. Did
- not promise to avoid in the future. Nov. 96. Universal foods Corporation,
- Technical Center, 6143 N. 60th street, Milwaukee, WI 53218. Red Star Yeast
- is distributed through Frontier Herbs. Researcher: <judy_kew@txinfinet.com>
- TOMATO SAUCE: Millinas Finest, Morgan Hill, CA 95037. Info is on label.
- But read it anyway in case things change! Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net
- Muir Glen, P.O, Box 1498, Sacramento, CA, 95812. Info is on
- label, but read it anyway in case things change.
- Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net
-
- WHOLE FOODS MARKET in the U.S. is contacting all their suppliers
- and requesting that they sign written papers certifying that
- they use no genetically engineered products in their whole and
- processed foods.researcher: <pmligotti@earthlink.net> WholeFoods is a
- retailer and probably at this point they cannot be sure of all their
- products. But apparently soon they will be able to be more certain and this
- is definitely a significant step. We are waiting for their written or
- public statement.
-
- COMPANIES BEING INTERVIEWED:
- ??AMY'S FOOD COMPANY. researcher: suzaraa@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
- ??ALVARADO STREET BREAD: Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net>
- ??ALL ONE GOD FAITH: (Dr. Bronners) Jim Bronner called to say he was
- sending the info packet on to their supplier. He sent for info from
- Genetic ID. Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net>
- ??FLEISCHMAN'S YEAST: Have not faxed back, even after reminder.
- researcher: <judy_kew@txinfinet.com>
- ??GHEE PRODUCERS: Researcher <Keyhal@aol.com>
- ??LIGHTFOODS, INC of Greenfield, MA, makers of Wonderdogs(tm) vegetarian
- hot dogs, is interested in the use of non ge soy beans and wheat though at
- the moment their suppliers have informed them that they can not promise
- them that. I am preparing to send them some info and will keep you updated
- on the results. Researcher: merrygold@pobox.com
- ??LIVE FOODS PRODUCTS, (BRAGGS): said they are researching this issue.
- Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net>
- ??SAN-J SOY SAUCE: (About that little bit of alcohol made from CORN) Said
- they would be requiring genetic verification from supplier of alcohol and
- lab. Took info on genetic id test. Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net>
- ??SPRINGTOWN GROCERY in Kalona: an Amish Coop that delivers the eggs to
- Everybody's Market in Fairfield - What are their chickens and lifestock
- eating? What kind of rennet do they use to make
- cheese?Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net>
- WHOLESOME & HEARTY FOODS researcher: suzaraa@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
- WHOLE FOODS RETAIL MARKETS: See above, in Companies on Board. researcher:
- <pmligotti@earthlink.net>
-
- COMPANIES NOT ON BOARD:
- !!MOST HOME GARDENING CATALOGS ARE NOW CARRYING GENETICALLY
- ALTERED POTATOES.
- !!Alta-Dena contracts out their products and so cannot always guarantee
- what is in or not in them. Researcher: <judy_kew@txinfinet.com>
- !!Barbara's Bakery sees nothing wrong with genetically engineered food.
- researcher: <judy_kew@txinfinet.com>
- !!"Land of Lakes will never be on board". Fredlud@aol.com
- !!"Land of Lake does genetic research and have genetically manipulated the
- rhizobium bacteria through their company called Research Seeds. This
- bacteria could contaminate the earth." Researcher Eileen Dannemann NCOW
- c/o <sunrider@kdsi.net>
- !!Cabot Creamery was taken over by AgriMark more than 5 years ago. About a
- year ago they came out as proponents of rBGH use. AgriMark is one of the
- largest distributors of milk in New England, mostly selling to other
- companies for processing. researcher: briant@sun.goddard.edu (Brian Tokar)
- !!Carnation Infant formula wrote back that concerns about genetically
- engineered soy beans is unfounded because the FDA says they are safe.
- Researcher:Eileen Dannemann, NCOW c/o <<sunrider@kdsi.net> (Please add
- address)
- !!The Infant Formula council says that parents and health professionals
- don't need to worry because the industry conforms to FDA industry
- standards. 5775 Peachtree, Dunwoody Rd, Suite 500, Atlanta, Georgia 30342,
- 404-252-3663 Fax 404-252-0774 Researcher: Eileen Danneman NCOW c/o
- <sunrider@kdsi.net>
- !!Frito-Lay, Inc. 1-800-352-4477, P.O. Box 660634,
- Attn: Nutritionist 3B-167, Dallas, TX 75266-0634 , Inc.
- 1-800-352-4477, "The corn used in Frito-Lay product is grown specifically
- for Frito-Lay and are not genetically engineered. However, from time to
- time, we do purchase small amounts of corn on the open market. Since
- genetically engineered corn is not required to be labeled, it is possible
- that minute amounts of genetically engineered corn could find its way into
- FRITOS, DORITOS or TOSTITOS." They then go on to say that the FDA, USDA and
- EPA say that ge corn is safe. Researcher: <105147.3144@compuserve.com>
- SEED COMPANIES AND GARDENING CATALOGS:
- !!ICI/Garst Seed Co wrote: "We are offering genetically engineered
- seeds to our customers. To get our official stand on these issues I would
- suggest contacting our Communications Mgr in Coon Rapids, IA. His name is
- Mike Smidt, and his phone number is (712)684-3243." researcher:
- <merrygold@pobox.com
- !!Gardens alive: They were unable to tell me which, if any, of
- their Bt sprays is genetically altered. They gave me the name of the
- company that sells it to them. This company said that they only packaged
- it and that they would get back to me. They called back and said that
- their Colorado potato beetle BT is genetically altered. They did not know
- under what name Gardens Alive sells it. So, It seems that we can really
- not be sure of any of the biological controls in Gardens Alive.
- Researcher: sunrider@kdsi.net
- VITAMINS AND SUPPLELMENTS:
- !!Twin Labs. They have admitted to 30 products with aspartame and
- said if we could prove it was a poison they would remove it. We sent them
- so much
- material and independent studies that were unrefutable. Their dietitian
- then wrote and said they still were not going to take it out.
- Researcher:betty@pd.org
- Twin Labs wrote that their brewers yeast is organically produced and
- genetically original. Their nutritional yeast is genetically original but
- not organic. Can we trust them if they are willing to use aspartame? Jan.
- 97, 2120 Smithtown Ave, Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 11779, 516-467-3140 Fax:
- 516-467-3083 Researcher:<sunrider@kdsi.net> Dec, 96.)
-
- OTHER INFO:
- A genetic Id test for soy and corn is available from Genetic Id, 500 N. 3rd
- St., suite 208, Fairfield, Ia 52556. USA. 515-472-9979 Fax: 515-472-9198
- Send a message to:<cjorgen@fairfield.com> and they will fax info to the
- company.
-
- What we have learned about butter by following the issue closely last year
- is that most comanies seem to give butter their lowest priority in terms of
- using their best milk, vs. whatever they ca get on the spot market.
- In this country there are four types of rennet available: 1)From the
- calf's stomach (rarely used since BSE crisis) 2) genetically engeneered
- cow's rennet 3) a natural enzyme from a mold that produces the same effect
- as rennet, 4) a genetically altered version of this natural enzyme.
- Obviously only number 3 is acceptable. We have been checking with the
- manufacturers and have found some good supplies.
- The two trade names for g.e. rennet are "Chymosin" and "chymax". You can
- still get the genetically unaltered vegetable rennet, "Mucor Mihei",
- sometimes called "microbial enzyme" on the cheese package, but this name
- has also been used to describe the enetically engineered rennnet. Any
- cheese supplier is able to supply vegetable rennet. For example ,Chr.
- Hansen in Wisconsin at 1-800-558-0802 <judy_kew@txinfinet.com>, Nov. 96)
-
- NEEDED: Someone to research seed catalogs. Ask them 1) Their position on
- genetic engineering. 2) Their position on hybrid seeds and the patenting
- of life forms. 3) Do they product their own seeds or are they brokering
- them for someone else? Notice that <merrygold@pobox.com> is researching
- some and so ask me which ones she is researching before you begin.
-
- Someone to educate the tomato sauce industry and find us some safe sauce.
-
- Someone to educate the bread makers. Some Concerns are: Soy lecithin must
- be organic. Yeast must be genetically unaltered. Let them know that Red
- Star is genetically unalteredSho. All corn, soy, canola must be organic.
- Notice that <sunrider@kdsi.net> is researching Alvarado Street Bread.
-
- HOW TO RESEARCH:
-
- Here are a few tips that I have found as I call companies.
-
- Step 1 is always to call the company and ask for the purchaser. Introduce
- yourself, and tell them that you are going to send a packet of information
- on the genetic engineering of our food supply. ASK FOR THEIR NAME. This is
- to keep you from having to send a dozen packets before you get someone to
- respond.
-
- Step 2 is to send the packet, or a copy of the packet, from Mother's for
- Natural Law, available by sending $3. to P.O. box 1177 fairfield, IA 52556.
- Don't underestimate the power of this packet. It lets them know that there
- is a whole movement behind your phone call. Include your personal cover
- letter, professionally done. In the letter make the following clear: a)
- Genetically engineered food is being mixed in the market and cannot be
- distinguished from other food. Therefore, only organically produced foods
- can be certified as genetically original. b) The American Campaign to Ban
- Genetically Engineered Food is compiling a list of food suppliers who
- provide genetically original foods. c) If they can tell us in writing or
- on their label that they use entirely organically certified ingredients, or
- if they can tell us in writing that they are in contact with their farmers
- and personally verify that the foods are genetically original, we will
- include them on the list and MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO CONSUMERS.
-
- Step 3 is to call the person back and make sure they got the packet, get
- their response, and go from there. It will usually become clear if the
- company doesn't want to be bothered, or if they are on board, or if they
- would like to be on board. If they are on board, ask for it in writing.
- If they want to be on board, ask them what they need, and get back to me or
- post it on Ban-GEF. A local organic farmers cooperative is forming in Iowa
- and surrounding states. We may be able to connect them with a source of
- organic ingredients. Also we are beginning to network with other Organic
- Cooperatives. If you have a question or problem as you go along, send me
- an email messsage and I'll try to get back ASAP.
- Don't forget to tell them about the genetic Id test for soy and corn that
- is available from Genetic Id, 500 N. 3rd St., suite 208, Fairfield, Ia
- 52556. USA. 515-472-9979 Fax: 515-472-9198 <cjorgen@fairfield.com>
- This list of steps is not definitive. If you come up with other ideas,
- please let me know. "It is better to lightone candle than to curse the
- darkness".
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -----
- Marie Zenack
- sunrider@kdsi.net
- -----
-
-
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 12:06:40 -0400
- >From: "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net>
- To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: (US) THe Ethics of Hunting
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970406120620.0070bba0@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- This article appeared in today's (SUnday) NY Times. I would like someone
- who is informed on hunting to write a letter to the editor. Please post to
- ar-views if you are interested.
-
- April 6, 1997
-
- Outdoors: The Ethics of Hunting
-
- By PETER BODO
-
-
- The ritual occurs every blessed day when you return home. As you
- approach, your dog Max, is hurling himself at the door. He knows it is you
- and not the Fed Ex guy. Whimpering and moaning, Max beats his tail against
- the umbrella stand and the tower of old newspapers and takeout menus bound
- up for recycling.
-
- An ordinary person usually takes this display to mean that slobbering Max
- really, truly does love you, and experiences reckless joy at the mere
- prospect of your presence. A classically trained scientist will chuckle at
- this sentimental idea and insist that love and joy as we know them have
- nothing to do with it. Max is merely exhibiting a specific set of behaviors
- proved over time to contain survival advantages. End of story. Or is it?
-
- In their absorbing 1995 book, "When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives
- of Animals" (Delacorte), Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy
- catalogued and explored a remarkable range of incidents suggesting what
- most pet owners believe -- that animals, far from being mere survival
- machines, not only appear to have emotions, but also often exhibit
- behaviors that are determined by them.
-
- These authors are part of a growing chorus that challenges one of the
- scientific community's overarching commandments: Thou Shalt Not
- Anthropomorphize. In other words, don't ever attribute emotions such as
- joy, fear or anger to animals, because they cannot be proved to exist.
-
- The heretical notion that animals have "sensibility" has profound
- implications. For instance, it poses a serious threat to the tidy empirical
- world built upon the work of Charles Darwin.
-
- Although the concepts of animal sensibility and evolution are in many
- ways compatible, the idea that living creatures may be driven by factors
- other than pure survival throws a monkey wrench into the commonly held
- notion that life is merely a matter of chemistry and adaptation. Life
- becomes precious and miraculous, instead of merely interesting, when it
- represents something greater than the organic sum of its components.
-
- If there is such a thing as animal sensibility, how can you justify
- hunting deer, duck, rabbit or turkey, or even practice catch-and-release
- fly fishing?
-
- I believe in animal sensibility. I try to avoid foods made tender or rich
- through cruel methods (such as veal and pate). But I also hunt, and cannot
- accept the "animal rights" agenda that grows from the biodemocratic notion
- that life is a guaranteed, equal right of all creatures.
-
- I embrace the world view articulated by the ultimate authority in the
- Judeo-Christian tradition, the Bible. I believe mankind is radically,
- spiritually different from animals -- even animals that are capable of
- feeling. Our power is remarkable, and much too often horrifying. The
- scientifically tidy idea that we are just an evolutionary hop, skip and a
- jump removed from the apes seems to me simultaneously preposterous and
- empirically supportable. This is not contradictory to me because I accept
- science but cannot give it ascendancy over the authority of my God. And as
- I understand the plan of the creator, we are not equal partners on the
- planet. As human beings, we are both superior to, and responsible for, the
- welfare of all creatures.
-
- It is inarguable that in nature, prey and predator relationships are
- complex and essential. Life and death in the outdoors are not ethically
- supercharged issues, but, rather, part of an astonishing, beautiful
- process. Animals may have feelings, but that doesn't elevate them out of
- the natural order. Nature is a kind of society, but unlike our own, it is
- one in which death and killing are not synonymous with murder.
- Nevertheless, the idea that animals have sensibility should make us think
- that much harder about what we kill, and why and how we kill it.
-
- The hunter's role is to fill the niche left by the eradication or
- scarcity of traditional predators. The hunter is a manager, a damage
- control specialist, who harvests food in a traditional and increasingly
- quaint way, under regulations designed to maintain the balance of nature.
- Harvesting food is infinitely more humane than manufacturing it. The grouse
- shot and eaten by a hunter has led a far better life than a chicken raised
- in a horrid, cramped pen indoors under artificial lights.
-
- This is why I can believe that animals have emotions, and also justify
- taking their lives. And it is also why I wouldn't hold it against Max if he
- killed a squirrel. And why I wouldn't take that act to mean that the dog
- has no feelings.
-
-
-
-
- Copyright 1997 The New York Times
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 12:07:46 -0400
- >From: "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net>
- To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: (US) Vet CLinic for Homeless Animals
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970406120739.0070bba0@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- April 6, 1997
-
- A Veterinary Clinic Serving the Homeless
-
-
-
-
- SEATTLE -- Every second and fourth Saturday dozens of people go to the
- basement of the Union Gospel Mission to see Dr. Stanley Coe. They carry
- oddly sagging duffel bags or push grocery carts covered with blankets. They
- have cats that will not eat unless the owners are next to them and dogs
- that have chewed hindquarters until no hair remains.
-
- The Doney Memorial Pet Clinic, in its 12th year, may be the lone free
- clinic for pets of homeless and indigent people in the nation. Situated
- near the original Skid Row, the clinic has served more than 7,200 animals.
-
- The legends include one about Irish Jack, who drank himself to death,
- leaving behind his dog, and another about Joe and his dog Freeway, who died
- together in a burning abandoned trailer. Coe had to remove one of Freeway's
- eyes after an accident, and Joe's other dog, Theresa, was hit by a car when
- Joe was in jail drying out.
-
- The nicer stories include one about Kadatha, a shepherd-rottweiler mix
- who protected his owner, Jeani Coolbaugh, through two and a half years on
- the street. Another is about Umista and Tyger, pit bulls who keep people
- from sitting next to Norma Harris.
-
- When Ms. Harris took the dogs for vaccinations, she followed Coe's
- instructions, scratching behind their ears to distract them while he
- vaccinated them. He laughed when they licked his face.
-
- Pet ownership can be an incentive for homeless people to get back on
- their feet, to provide for their animals, said Coe, a colleague of the late
- founder of the clinic, Dr. Charles Doney. The people, Coe said, often take
- better care of their animals than they do of themselves.
-
- "It's unconditional love they get from their pet," he added. "It doesn't
- matter if they're an alcoholic or have a problem with drugs. I'm sure that
- keeps them going longer than they would otherwise."
-
- Many visitors are no longer in touch with their families and spend 24
- hours a day with their animals, who become particularly sociable. "That
- bond between them is really strong," the veterinarian said.
-
- Every other week he and helpers deliver eight cartons of donated medical
- supplies and bags of donated food to the mission, a center for the
- homeless. The volunteers see up to 70 patients in the two hours they work.
- Coe refers animals with broken legs or other serious ailments to Elliott
- Bay Animal Hospital, his regular practice, where he usually renders free
- treatment.
-
- The requests at the clinic can include the unusual.
-
- "One lady came in and said, 'Do you see rabbits?' " recalled a volunteer,
- Don Rolf. "She had a very large backpack on her back and unzipped it. There
- must've been eight rabbits in there. We looked them over. They were fine."
-
- The clinic also sees occasional birds and pot-bellied pigs. The animals
- have names like Major Pain, BoBoe, Cuddles and Alvin. The dogs wear spiked
- collars, stars-and-stripes bandanas or, a few years back, hand-knit
- sweaters made by volunteers from a nearby church.
-
- The dogs look like they are chosen for their beseeching eyes. They are
- not decorative, but edgy guardians who protect their owners on streets
- where the homeless are frequent victims of violence.
-
- Donovan Wright, a man in his 20s with tattered thermal underwear showing
- through torn jeans, had Eek, a 3-year-old rottweiler-pit bull cross with a
- sore ear. "She's my best friend and companion," Donovan said. "She won't
- turn her back on me like, like all the others."
-
-
-
-
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 12:12:12 -0400
- >From: "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net>
- To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: (US) Moose Pop. Plummets
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970406121203.0070bba0@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- April 1, 1997
-
- Winter Devastates Island's Moose
-
- By LES LINE
-
-
- When Dr. Rolf Peterson reported a year ago that the moose population on
- Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior had collapsed from a peak of
- 2,400 animals in the winter of 1994-95 to 1,200, he did not anticipate that
- the spectacular crash had barely begun. New surveys show that there are
- only about 500 moose left on the 210-square-mile wilderness island, the
- lowest number in 40 years. He said this is good news indeed for a badly
- overbrowsed forest.
-
- "The plants will breathe a sigh of relief," said Peterson, a wildlife
- ecologist from Michigan Technological University in Houghton. "A lot of
- trees went through this winter without being eaten at all, and we should
- see a major regrowth of the Isle Royale forest."
-
- The park's wolf population continue to build, if slowly. While five wolf
- deaths occurred over the last 12 months, seven pups survived from last
- year's litters and there are now 24 wolves in the park. That is double the
- all-time low in the winter of 1991-92, when there was concern for the
- survival of an aging wolf population that was producing few young.
-
- Every winter, Peterson and his colleagues spend seven weeks on the
- otherwise uninhabited island, continuing a study of the dynamic
- relationship between a predator, its primary prey and their environment
- that was begun in 1958 by Dr. Durward Allen of Purdue University.
-
- The 1996 field work was completed on Feb. 29, and Peterson reported at
- the time that one of the hardest winters on record had left the moose herd
- severely stressed from a lack of food, three feet of snow, temperatures as
- low as 43 degrees below zero, and a heavy infestation of blood-engorging
- winter ticks, which cause hair loss and can weaken even a 900-pound bull
- moose. "But I never believed a catastrophe would occur," he said.
-
- The Isle Royale moose, the scientist said, were dealt another blow by the
- late arrival of spring, and heavy mortality continued through May and even
- into June. "The length of winter was costly for calves and older, weaker
- moose, but it also killed a surprising number of young adults," Peterson
- said. What saved the survivors was an abundance of balsam fir browse on the
- east end of the island, he said. Those trees had grown up after wolves
- reduced the moose herd to 700 to 800 animals in the 1970s, before an
- outbreak of canine parvovirus in 1981 ravaged the wolf packs and allowed
- moose numbers to explode. As for the park's wolves, they had to work harder
- for food during the 1996-97 winter, Peterson said. "There were only a few
- calves for them to eat," he said. "Some wolves even dug up the carcasses of
- dead moose and ate their sun-dried hides. I'd never seen that before. But
- most of them were making a normal living."
-
- And it will be the wolves that determine the next events in the
- long-running Isle Royale wildlife drama, the scientist said. "If the wolves
- continue to increase," he said, "they will maintain the moose population
- around this level for the foreseeable future."
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 12:17:41 -0400
- >From: "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net>
- To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: (US) Trout Season in NYS
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970406121730.0070bba0@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- March 31, 1997
-
- Outdoors: Urge to Fish Grows Before Opening Day
-
- By NELSON BRYANT
-
-
- The hunger to angle on April 1 affects all ages. Old-timers are wont to
- stake out a certain pool on a certain stream and to remain there until
- their legs are numb, after which they retreat to shore to perch on a log or
- boulder and perhaps enjoy a nip from a pocket flask.
-
- Youngsters are prone to scamper from place to place through the leafless
- shrubbery, all the while calling to each other like newly arrived
- red-winged blackbirds in quest of nesting sites.
-
- Those planning to sally forth Tuesday for this year's opening day of the
- New York state trout season should encounter better conditions than they
- did in 1996, when the Northeast was emerging from a ferocious winter. This
- time around, the winter was relatively mild, but the latter part of
- February was unusually cold, as was most of March.
-
- According to Ed Van Put, a state wildlife technician who lives in
- Livingston Manor, N.Y., Catskill streams are running a bit below normal for
- this time of year. This is good news for anglers. The bad news is the cold
- weather.
-
- "It looks fairly good, but it's still winter here," Van Put said a few
- days ago. "Save for the south slopes, we still have snow at the higher
- elevations and at the headwaters of the Catskill streams."
-
- He noted that there were a few springlike days a couple of weeks ago, but
- added that some mornings recently the Willowemoc was filled with slushy ice
- created by the extreme cold -- temperatures at zero or below -- of the
- evenings before. "Today, even though it was sunny, it never went above 10
- degrees," he said.
-
- However, Van Put said that he had just come back from a trip to
- Westchester and Putnam Counties and that such streams as the East and West
- branches of the Croton River, and the Amawalk, as well, looked great.
- "Those streams will fish good on opening day," he said.
-
- "We did a survey on the Amawalk late last summer, and it was absolutely
- fantastic," Van Put said. "I've been taking part in that for 20 years, and
- I've never seen so many fish and so many large ones."
-
- Ron Pierce, a state fisheries biologist who is in charge of the Croton
- and Amawalk water systems, concurs, saying that the Amawalk was in
- beautiful shape when he visited it a short while ago. He added that partly
- as a result of the aforementioned survey, the daily creel limit has been
- altered this year to three trout no less than 12 inches long. Last year it
- was three fish, minimum length 10 inches. Only flies or lures, no bait, are
- permitted on the Amawalk.
-
- "We haven't stocked the Amawalk since 1992," said Pierce, "so its fish
- are wild." The preponderance of them are browns.
-
- The Amawalk and the Croton River branches are only about 80 miles
- southeast, as the crow flies, from where Van Put lives hard by the
- Willowemoc, but they are about 1,000 feet lower in elevation. This results
- in warmer temperatures and less snow, and their reservoirs absorb spring
- runoff.
-
- The state's Department of Environmental Conservation is saying that the
- cool, wet summer of 1996 provided good conditions for trout survival, and
- predicts that there should be more holdover fish for opening day anglers.
- The department's 1997 spring stocking will include 1.73 million brown
- trout, 545,000 rainbow trout and 99,000 brook trout. Streams will receive
- 778,000 of these fish.
-
- April 1 has stirred winter-weary anglers for more than a century, even if
- it sometimes has more to do with socializing than catching trout. According
- to John Merwin in his "The New American Trout Fishing" (Macmillan, 1994),
- April 1 in 1882 was opening day of the trout season in New York state, as
- well as the day the new Fulton Fish Market in lower Manhattan opened for
- business.
-
- Merwin describes how Eugene Blackford, the state's fish commissioner,
- "opened a grand display of trout at his fish stall on the Beekman Street
- side of the market that was apparently more appealing on this day than the
- cold streams of the Long Island trout clubs.
-
- There were other guests from as far away as Virginia and Boston; for the
- socially inclined angler it was an event not to be missed."
-
- Merwin writes that there were rows and rows of brook trout on moss and
- ice from as far away as Quebec and Vermont, as well as brook trout, rainbow
- trout, landlocked salmon, splake (a cross between a brook trout and lake
- trout that is still around), and black bass from a New York state hatchery,
- and rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout from California.
-
- Then, as now, there were those who favored the brook trout above all
- others. One such gentleman came down from Boston to take a look at the
- rainbow trout, which he had never before seen.
-
- After the viewing, according to Merwin, the Boston angler wrote "Forest
- and Stream," observing, in part: "I felt the need to observe the rainbow's
- beauties I have beheld them. I don't want to see any more. The great,
- coarse, black, ugly beasts!"
-
- He added, "I wouldn't eat one of those fever-flushed things unless
- starved."
-
- One suspects that the Bostonian would have reacted similarly to the brown
- trout, but that European species had not yet been introduced to North
- America.
-
- It came the following year via a shipment of German brown trout eggs from
- Lucius von Behr of Berlin that arrived in New York Harbor in February. The
- brown is a sagacious critter, so its arrival did much to hone the skill of
- American fly fishers.
-
-
-
-
-
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 12:19:47 -0400
- >From: "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net>
- To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Evil Dupont/Good Babbitt
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970406121936.0070bba0@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- April 4, 1997
-
- U.S. Says No in Advance of Mining Plan
-
- By JOHN H. CUSHMAN Jr.
-
-
- FOLKSTON, Ga. -- Standing at the Okefenokee swamp, an alligator lounging
- behind him, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt took an unequivocal public
- stand Thursday against the Du Pont Co.'s plans to strip mine along the
- eastern ridge bordering this wildlife refuge.
-
- Babbitt rejected in advance any and all arguments that plans by the
- company to mine titanium ore would not harm the 395,000-acre Okefenokee
- National Wildlife Refuge wetland, with its rare wildlife, forests of pine
- and cyprus trees, and swamps covered with grasses and lilypads as far as
- the eye can see.
-
- "You can study this, you can write all the documents in the world,"
- Babbitt said, "but they are not going to prove beyond a reasonable doubt
- that there will be no impact."
-
- "These studies can't possibly yield a conclusion which will be
- satisfactory to me," he said. "It isn't going to happen."
-
- Babbitt said the proposed operation posed unacceptable risks to the water
- flows, as well as the wildlife and vegetation of the wetland wilderness at
- the headwaters of the Suwanee River and the St. Mary's River on Georgia's
- southern border.
-
- The land Du Pont wants to mine for titanium dioxide, a whitening pigment
- used in paper and other products, is a nearly imperceptible ridge running
- down the entire eastern flank of the refuge. Indeed, Babbitt called it the
- natural levee that holds the swamp itself in place.
-
- "It is apparent on the face of it that this refuge and this mining
- project are not compatible," he said while on a tour of the area.
-
- Without waiting for E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. to apply for the
- required state and federal permits, Babbitt came here to state his
- rejection of the project that in any case would be years from fruition.
- This highly unusual public effort by a senior Clinton administration figure
- caught Du Pont off guard.
-
- "We are surprised that the secretary has taken a position before all the
- facts are known," said Jon Samborski, director of environmental affairs for
- the mining project. "We would not be proposing to do this unless we were
- confident that we can operate the project and protect Okefenokee at the
- same time."
-
- Du Pont figures the cost of building the project at about $150 million
- and has been working closely with the wildlife service.
-
- The giant chemical company has not yet applied for the required state and
- federal permits for mining on the 38,000 acres it owns or leases here for a
- project that would not begin for several years.
-
- While it was unusual for Babbitt to try to abort a development project at
- such an early stage, it was the latest example of the administration trying
- to hinder development just outside the boundaries of national parks,
- refuges and other sensitive public lands. Last year, the government blocked
- a gold mine just outside Yellowstone National Park.
-
- In the Okefenokee swamp, the DuPont Co. would need to sift the ore from
- the sandy soil. First it would clearcut sections of trees and peel off a
- foot-thick layer of topsoil, then build mile-square impoundments and begin
- to dig. The company would float dredging barges on the brackish water that
- builds up in these pools to suck up the mucky sand, carving ponds to depths
- of 50 feet. A floating mill would separate the valuable minerals from the
- sand, and the unwanted materials would be used to fill in the wounds. After
- replacing the topsoil, the company would plant new pine seedlings and the
- operation would move to the next square in the grid, a creeping progression
- that would last for 50 years.
-
- Fish and Wildlife Service scientists said that they were worried that
- these changes could alter the little-understood water balances, and they
- warned that even slight changes could cause major effects in the finely
- balanced ecology of this wetland that is recognized worldwide as a
- significant biological resource.
-
- John Kasbohm, an ecologist at the refuge, said the mining "threatens the
- very character of the swamp."
-
- "If you change the hydrology, you change everything," he said. "The
- stakes are real high, the risks are real high. This mining operation is a
- very risky business."
-
- The company would have to get permits from the Army Corps of Engineers
- before dredging and filling wetlands, and the Environmental Protection
- Agency can veto decisions by the Army Corps, although this power is rarely
- used. Babbitt's agency, the interior department, which includes the Fish
- and Wildlife Service and the refuge system, is consulted in these decisions
- but does not make the major decisions. An environmental impact study would
- probably be conducted in the deliberations on the permits, and Interior's
- scientists would play a crucial role in that process.
-
- But Babbitt plainly has made up his mind already, and his view was only
- reinforced in a helicopter tour of the region, including a look at a
- similar mine in Florida.
-
- He urged Du Pont to "do the people of Georgia and the people of the
- United States who care about God's creation a favor, by simply withdrawing
- the proposal once and for all."
-
- He said that the titanium is readily available elsewhere, that the few
- dozen jobs involved are dwarfed by the economic importance of the refuge as
- a tourist attraction, and that logging timber is an acceptable way to
- develop the property without risking damage to the swamp.
-
- But he said he was not contemplating any compensation for Du Pont, like
- trading other land or paying it not to mine. In contrast, when the
- administration blocked the gold mine near Yellowstone it agreed to pay
- Crown Butte, the American subsidiary of the Canadian conglomerate Noranda,
- $60 million in other mineral rights on public lands.
-
- Environmental groups welcomed Babbitt's stand, which they said was
- surprisingly strong.
-
- "You couldn't pick a worse place to put a mine," said Josh Marks, a
- conservation organizer for the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club.
-
- Steve and Jo Knight, a husband and wife who last year bought a junkyard
- near the refuge and turned it into a campground, said that they were
- dismayed by the project, which they thought would put their investment at
- risk.
-
- "It could kill the tourism on this side of the swamp," Knight said after
- Babbitt spoke to a crowd at the refuge, where 400,000 people visit every
- year.
-
- Other Places of Interest on the Web
-
- National Wildlife Refuge , from the Great Outdoors Recreation Pages
- http://www.gorp.com/gorp/resource/us_nwr/ga_okefe.htm
-
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory
- http://www.nwi.fws.gov/
-
- Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States ,
- from the
- http://www.nwi.fws.gov/classman.html
-
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- http://www.fws.gov/
-
- Safety, Health and Environment , from the
- http://www.dupont.com/corp/gbl-company/she/
-
- DuPont Site
- http://www.dupont.com/
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 12:22:30 -0400
- >From: "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net>
- To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: (US) NJ Bears
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970406122223.0070bba0@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- Interesting article including info about upcioming hunt. NJARA--who can we
- write about this? Pls post to ar-views.
-
- Hillary
-
-
- April 3, 1997
-
- N.J. Column: Like Showers, Bears Appear Each April
-
- By EVELYN NIEVES
-
-
- WEST MILFORD, N.J. -- Winter blew in for half a day, and life here
- tumbled back about a hundred years. The 2 feet of snow on Route 23 kept the
- kids home from school, toppled trees over the power lines and turned the
- fireplace into the hub of the household. This is not something people get
- used to, even when it happens time and time again.
-
- Jeanne Rennalls has lived here 19 years, long enough to know the woods
- behind her house as well as her kitchen cupboard, and she still gets that
- helpless feeling when the power is out. Snowbound from her job as a nursery
- school teacher, she could think of one good thing about having April begin
- like December: the bears have gone back into the deepest forest, where they
- belong. "It's just better for everybody," she said with a touch of
- resignation. "No problems that way."
-
- Well, the bears may be snowed in like everybody else, but they'll be out
- and about soon enough. And bears are something people here just cannot get
- used to, even though they're old neighbors, going back 10 years at least.
-
- This is the black bear mecca of the metropolitan region, and April is
- bear time. Big, beautiful bear tracks grace the snow-capped woods, just off
- Route 23. The talk is turning to bear sightings, nuisance bears and
- not-so-neighborly debates about "the bear problem."
-
- The problem, for some, is that bears are thriving. About 450 bears live
- in wooded towns in northwest New Jersey. This from fewer than 30 bears 20
- years ago.
-
- The 450 or so bears, in a state with 8 million people, have come to be
- seen as too many bears. There are people, from farmers with vulnerable
- sheep to mothers with vulnerable children, who cannot stand the bears, want
- them dead sooner than later and will even kill them themselves if they get
- the OK, which could happen. There are also people who live deep in the
- woods who feed the bears, against the wishes of their neighbors, against
- the advice of the state Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife and against the
- law, imposed in West Milford three years ago, that makes feeding bears
- punishable by fines of up to $1,000.
-
- Ms. Rennalls is an active member of a school of thought that holds that
- the bears cause problems only if people let them. Behind the house where
- she and her husband and 11-year-old daughter live, bears traipse back and
- forth on their evening strolls. She says nothing bad has come of it.
-
- "We'll see two or three a night," she said. "It's not a problem because
- we've been very careful with our garbage and our recycling. I have an
- electric fence that I can plug in. If the bears get too close, they'll get
- a rude little shock." In 19 years, she said, she has had her garbage
- toppled by bears just four times.
-
- "I've always taken the attitude that if you don't like what's here when
- you move here, don't move here," she said. "We have rattlesnakes and
- coyotes. People complain about them, too."
-
- Every complaint about the bears gives the Division of Fish, Game and
- Wildlife ammunition for a plan it will pitch later this year to start a
- limited bear hunt. (The division, which receives $12 million of its $15
- million annual budget from hunting and fishing fees, has received one
- complaint already this year, from a farmer who lost two sheep.) Mostly,
- people gripe about bears getting into trash cans. Ms. Rennalls regularly
- visits neighbors who complain. She offers advice: Keep garbage inside. Use
- boat horns to scare the bears away. Never, ever feed them.
-
- She has had limited success. After she visited Abby Hunt, a school bus
- driver who lives with her husband and two children in a suburbanlike
- development with no woods around, Ms. Hunt remained convinced that the
- bears should be shot. "Most people I know feel the same way," she said.
-
- No bear has ever attacked a human being in New Jersey, and throughout
- North America, bears have killed 38 people since 1900, most of those long
- ago. But you never know, Ms. Hunt said.
-
- "Jeanne Rennalls said I should put up an electronic fence," she added.
- "Well, that to me is like putting my children in prison. I don't feel I
- should have to do that." (Her small lot already has a fence around it; Ms.
- Hunt said enough is enough.)
-
- "I've had to use a boat horn and sit on the porch and shoo bears away
- while my children played outside," she said.
-
- Ms. Hunt is already anticipating the letters she'll write, urging a hunt.
- "I haven't seen any yet," she said, "but I have a feeling this is going to
- be a bad year for bears."
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 13:24:50 -0400
- >From: Shirley McGreal <spm@awod.com>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Safari Club forms links to zoos
- Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970406172450.008963c8@awod.com>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- The Safari Club International is an organization dedicated to the
- well-being of trophy hunters. The Club got itself a black eye in 1978 when
- it applied to import trophies of hundreds of animals belonging to endangered
- species, including gorillas and orangutans, to the United States. Since then
- its P.R. has improved!
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- This comes from the April 1997 issue of the Communique - the American Zoo
- Association newletter.
-
- Safari Club Initiative
-
- Roy Stroup, Education Coordinator for Safari Club International
- (SCI) has extended an invitation to the education curator/director at each
- AZA [American Zoo Association] institution to form a joint venture with SCI
- to educate the visually impaired by utilizing taxidermied wild game.
- These displays would be located at each participating zoological
- park and arranged in an educational setting to allow the blind and visually
- impaired to explore the animals by touching, feeling, smelling, etc. All
- items are described in both large print and Braille directories.
- In November SCI opened its first permanent "Sensory Safari" at the
- Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired. The Greater Baton Rouge Zoo has
- been involved with "Sensory Safari" since its debut and Director Paul Price
- strongly recommends the program to other AZA institutions.
- You can reach Ray Stroup at 520-620-1220 x 223. For more information
- call SCI Director of Development Jerry Niselson at 520-620-1220 x 276.
-
- END OF STORY
-
- Please keep an eye on your local zoo and see if it goes to bed with the
- trophy hunters.
-
- Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman
- International Primate Protection League, POB 766 Summerville SC 29484 USA
- Phone: 803-871-2280 Fax: 803-871-7988 E-mail ippl@sc.net and ippl@awod.com
- Web page (revised January 1997): http://www.sims.net/organizations/ippl/
-
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 14:01:17 -0400
- >From: Shirley McGreal <spm@awod.com>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: National Geographic Tiger Special
- Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970406180117.009a1f08@awod.com>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- Does anyone have any further information about the project shown on last
- night's National Geographic TV special on the Siberian tiger shown in the
- USA on prime time television? I'd appreciate others' opinions by personal
- e-mail or on AR-Views.
-
- The introduction showed a US national darting a Siberian tiger.
-
- The scientists nearly killed one of the 300 remaining Siberian tigers by
- OD-ing the animal with tranquillizer, and then "rescued" the animal by
- mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. They tormented other hapless animals with
- helicopter chases, always presented as "dangerous" to the humans with the
- copters almost crashing or almost running out of gas as they got ever closer
- to the tigers to dart and radio collar them to acquire information allegedly
- or genuinely crucial to the species' survival.
-
- Among the scenes:
-
- Tigers on their backs with dazed eyes, a moribund captive-born cub dying (a
- pair of tigers was enclosed in Siberia in the hope they will breed to
- produce tigers to be released into the disappearing wild), the surviving
- tiger cub exported to a US zoo, a captive tiger running down a rabbit
- released into his enclosure. And so on. A few minutes, if that, of natural
- wild tigers behaving like wild tigers.
- Interspersed throughout were commercials for Exxon, of Valdez oil spill
- fame. Exxon the killer of sea otters and ocean birds was polishing its
- corporate image as the tigers' best friend in alliance with the National
- Geographic Society. Exxon has links with the US Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
-
- An 800 number was shown (can someone please post this?) for more
- information. It was something like 1-800 then a number (5?) I didn't catch,
- followed by T-I-G-E-R-S.
-
- An 888 number was provided for the Hornocker Foundation which has worked
- with mountain lions in Idaho and is now active in Siberia.
-
- There was NO mention of the fine work done by Siberia's anti-poaching
- patrols, EIA, the Investigative Network, or the Tiger Trust.
-
- Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman
- International Primate Protection League, POB 766 Summerville SC 29484 USA
- Phone: 803-871-2280 Fax: 803-871-7988 E-mail ippl@sc.net and ippl@awod.com
- Web page (revised January 1997): http://www.sims.net/organizations/ippl/
-
- Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 14:01:59 -0400 (EDT)
- >From: BHGazette@aol.com
- To: AR-NEWS@envirolink.org
- Subject: Re: Sears Boycott called
- Message-ID: <970406140158_182638887@emout05.mail.aol.com>
-
- In a message dated 97-04-06 09:47:55 EDT, vrc@tiac.net (Vegetarian Resource
- Center) writes:
-
- << Sears has decided to become the dream come true for the puppy mill
- industry
- in Raliegh, N.C. >>
-
- According to info I received a month or so ago, Sears has responded to
- protests and will not longer sell live animals.
- JD Jackson
- Bunny Huggers' Gazette
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 13:13:41 -0700
- >From: Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Human cloning
- Message-ID: <334803F5.1556@worldnet.att.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
- Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
-
- The sheep that shocked the world boggles the human mind
-
- The Associated Press
-
- WASHINGTON (Apr 6, 1997 2:13 p.m. EDT) -- "The human imagination runs
- riot," declared the Church of Scotland when word came of what one of its
- countrymen had wrought. "We have got toask the question, 'What if?"'
-
- And indeed, in the weeks since scientist Ian Wilmut cloned the sheep
- that shocked the world, the question has been asked everywhere: What if
- someone clones a person?
-
- Wilmut's cloning achievement makes philosophers of everyone.
-
- A clone: a person with a DNA gene donor rather than parents. A person
- made to order. Replicated rather than conceived. Carried by a woman who
- is more delivery vehicle than mother. Not a son or a daughter, but an
- identical twin to someone older. A parent who is the twin of its child.
-
- The mind boggles.
-
- In the hand-wringing that followed the sheep named Dolly, a consensus
- has emerged: Human cloning will one day be achievable, and what can be
- done will be done.
-
- Though not necessarily soon. Mankind will not stand still for much
- failed experimentation involving spoiled human embryos or fetuses.
- Wilmut had 227 misses before he brought Dolly into being.
-
- Cloning is one of those drumbeat-of-history events that challenges
- mankind's understanding of the nature of nature. Such events seem to
- occur every generation -- Sputnik in the 1950s (with its promise that
- man could leave the confines of Earth) or in vitro fertilization in the
- 1970s (test tube babies, made without sexual contact).
-
- As with IVF births, Americans at first blush seemed appalled at the
- notion of cloning a human. In polls, the common theme was that people
- should not "play God."
-
- Even Wilmut agreed: "Similar experiments with humans would be totally
- unacceptable."
-
- Dr. Ward Cassells, chief of cardiology at the University of Texas
- Medical School, thinks this squeamishness is needless and short-lived.
-
- "Three or four years from now some couple is going to have the courage
- and persistence to be the first to do this," Cassells said in an
- interview. "They'll have a beautiful little baby and the critics will
- be quiet."
-
- He cites a practical purpose: using the genes of a child suffering from
- incurable leukemia to clone a child who would than provide lifesaving
- bone marrow to his older twin.
-
- "Would it be immoral to save the life of a 2-year-old baby?" he asks.
-
- Others, of course, see far more heinous, far less selfless purposes.
-
- They envision cloning to create a master race or a slave class. Cloning
- to duplicate celebrities. Cloning to provide organs for an ill person to
- "harvest." Cloning as an egomaniac's way to ensure his own immortality.
-
- Or cloning to create an unbeatable basketball team?
-
- Michael Jordan emerged as a front-running favorite in cloning
- speculation. But would a Jordan clone play as well? His brawn could be
- cloned. But his brain with its billions of accumulated memories can't be
- duplicated. And his brain has a lot to do with his basketball prowess.
-
- Jordan clones could turn out to be more adept at playing the piano. Or
- one might play chess, another Shakespeare, another the market, another
- gin rummy.
-
- Policy researcher Jessica Matthews explains that humans are the result
- of genes and environment -- nature and nurture -- and of the "constant
- interplay between them."
-
- "A cloned sheep proves that it will probably soon be possible to make a
- genetically identical copy of a person, but that is not remotely the
- same thing as making another you or another me," she wrote in a
- post-Dolly essay.
-
- Once human cloning starts, the ancient nature vs. nurture debate will
- get an injection of evidence.
-
- But just as it is already clear that the personhoods of lookalike twins
- differ, a person's clone, born in a different womb and into a different
- world perhaps decades after his gene donor, would differ even more in
- psychology and personality.
-
- For one thing, genes takes a beating going through life, and that damage
- could make the clone a different person.
-
- Unlike the Frankenstein monster in Mary Shelley's famous novel, a cloned
- person enters life as a baby, not fully grown. So if the cloning of
- Michael Jordan were to start today, he'd be well into middle age before
- seeing his clone take his first dribble.
-
- The biology of it all aside, the ethical issues that cloning raises are
- unsettling and unending.
-
- Opinions range from the prohibitive to the permissive. From a Roman
- Catholic theologian, the Rev. Albert Moraczewski, who calls human
- cloning "an affront to human dignity," to a philosophy professor,
- Jeffrey Reiman of American University, who says, "I don't think it is
- any different than having a baby the old-fashioned way."
-
- Reiman is untroubled by the prospect of cloning to "harvest" medical
- parts, or by parents cloning to create a mirror image of themselves
- ("Well, sometimes people treat children who aren't identical as
- extensions of themselves"), but draws a line at cloning to create a
- slave class.
-
- "That starts to have nasty implications," he said. "Not that it creates
- a moral problem; we already know what to think about slavery."
-
- And, into this ethical stew, medical anthropologist Lesley Sharp of New
- York's Barnard College, throws a new angle. She says cloning must be
- looked at from the clone's viewpoint. "Would you want to be a clone?"
- she asks.
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 13:26:24 -0700
- >From: Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: The Animals of the Homeless
- Message-ID: <334806F0.1FAE@worldnet.att.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
- Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
-
- April 6, 1997 - New York Times Online
-
- A Veterinary Clinic Serving the Homeless
-
- SEATTLE -- Every second and fourth Saturday dozens of people
- go to the basement of the Union Gospel Mission to see Dr.
- Stanley Coe. They carry oddly sagging duffel bags or push grocery carts
- covered with blankets. They have cats that will not eat unless the
- owners are next to them and dogs that have chewed hindquarters until no
- hair remains.
-
- The Doney Memorial Pet Clinic, in its 12th year, may be the lone free
- clinic for pets of homeless and indigent people in the nation. Situated
- near the original Skid Row, the clinic has served more than 7,200
- animals.
-
- The legends include one about Irish Jack, who drank himself to death,
- leaving behind his dog, and another about Joe and his dog Freeway, who
- died together in a burning abandoned trailer. Coe had to remove one of
- Freeway's eyes after an accident, and Joe's other dog, Theresa, was hit
- by a car when Joe was in jail drying out.
-
- The nicer stories include one about Kadatha, a shepherd-rottweiler mix
- who protected his owner, Jeani Coolbaugh, through two and a half years
- on the street. Another is about Umista and Tyger, pit bulls who keep
- people from sitting next to Norma Harris.
-
- When Ms. Harris took the dogs for vaccinations, she followed Coe's
- instructions, scratching behind their ears to distract them while he
- vaccinated them. He laughed when they licked his face.
-
- Pet ownership can be an incentive for homeless people to get back on
- their feet, to provide for their animals, said Coe, a colleague of the
- late founder of the clinic, Dr. Charles Doney. The people, Coe said,
- often take better care of their animals than they do of themselves.
-
- "It's unconditional love they get from their pet," he added. "It doesn't
- matter if they're an alcoholic or have a problem with drugs. I'm sure
- that keeps them going longer than they would otherwise."
-
- Many visitors are no longer in touch with their families and spend 24
- hours a day with their animals, who become particularly sociable. "That
- bond between them is really strong," the veterinarian said.
-
- Every other week he and helpers deliver eight cartons of donated
- medical supplies and bags of donated food to the mission, a center for
- the homeless. The volunteers see up to 70 patients in the two hours they
- work. Coe refers animals with broken legs or other serious ailments to
- Elliott Bay Animal Hospital, his regular practice, where he usually
- renders free treatment.
-
- The requests at the clinic can include the unusual.
-
- "One lady came in and said, 'Do you see rabbits?' " recalled a
- volunteer, Don Rolf. "She had a very large backpack on her back and
- unzipped it. There must've been eight rabbits in there. We looked them
- over. They were fine."
-
- The clinic also sees occasional birds and pot-bellied pigs. The animals
- have names like Major Pain, BoBoe, Cuddles and Alvin. The dogs wear
- spiked collars, stars-and-stripes bandanas or, a few years back,
- hand-knit sweaters made by volunteers from a nearby church.
-
- The dogs look like they are chosen for their beseeching eyes. They are
- not decorative, but edgy guardians who protect their owners on streets
- where the homeless are frequent victims of violence.
-
- Donovan Wright, a man in his 20s with tattered thermal underwear
- showing through torn jeans, had Eek, a 3-year-old rottweiler-pit bull
- cross with a sore ear. "She's my best friend and companion," Donovan
- said. "She won't turn her back on me like, like all the others."
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 15:31:10 -0700
- >From: Aldina A Cornett <"cornett@mctc.com"@cei.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: proctor & gamble
- Message-ID: <199704062027.PAA19434@mail.cei.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
- Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
-
- I am writing a paper on Proctor & Gamble for school. I was wondering if
- you had any statistics on last years animal death due to testing. I was
- also curious if P&G test their products other than on animals.
-
- Thank you
-
- Aldina
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 14:12:44 -0700
- >From: Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Police roughs up AIDS activists for anti-drug-company demonstration
- Message-ID: <334811CC.3D0E@worldnet.att.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
- Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
-
- AIDS GROUPS DENOUNCES BRUTAL POLICE RIOT
-
- By Shelley Ettinger
- New York
-
- At a March 29 news conference, members of ACT UP denounced
- New York police officers for beating, kicking and punching
- AIDS activists at a Wall Street demonstration five days
- earlier.
-
- According to ACT UP members and other witnesses, police
- brutalized people who were protesting drug-company
- profiteering at the headquarters of finance capital March
- 24. While they pummeled the protesters--including people
- with AIDS--cops screamed anti-gay and AIDS-phobic epithets
- and threatened to kill them.
-
- Cops threw people to the ground. They dragged people by
- the hair. They banged their heads on the pavement.
-
- They arrested 73 activists. One man says he struggled to
- breathe as officers held his face smashed against the seat
- in a police van. Cops knelt on his back and held him down
- with a nightstick as the van was driven to the precinct
- station.
-
- There, cops strip-searched women and men.
-
- HOLDING MAYOR RESPONSIBLE
-
- Bill Thorne of ACT UP/Golden Gate has been an activist for
- 15 years. He had come from San Francisco to mark ACT UP's
- 10th anniversary--and ended up in the hospital after police
- beat him bloody. He told reporters he still doesn't know the
- extent of his injuries.
-
- Thorne said police attacked him from behind and pinned him
- to the ground. "They slammed my head over and over on the
- pavement. Then they scraped my head on the asphalt--a piece
- of which stayed embedded in my head for several days.
-
- "They kicked me and punched me repeatedly."
-
- Cops slammed Thea Mateu, a Puerto Rican lesbian, onto the
- ground. Then, she said, one stood with his foot on her neck,
- screaming: "I'm going to break your f-----g neck! I'm going
- to kill you!"
-
- Longtime ACT UP member Eric Sawyer commented: "The
- responsibility for the violent behavior of police officers
- lies squarely at the feet of the mayor. ... As [he has] with
- many communities in our city, the mayor [Rudolph Giuliani]
- has made a political decision to use the police to teach us
- the lesson to keep quiet, not to object to certain policies
- and to stay in our place. However ... we must confront the
- drug company profiteers at the root of this treatment-access
- crisis, and we cannot let the mayor stand in our way."
-
- - END -
-
- (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint
- granted if source is cited. For more information contact
- Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
- ww@workers.org. For subscription info send message to:
- info@workers.org. Web: http://workers.org)
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 14:20:06 -0700
- >From: Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Patenting life forms
- Message-ID: <33481386.176F@worldnet.att.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
- Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
-
- THE NEWSPAPER FOR THE PEOPLE OF WASHINGTON STATE
-
- * * * * * MORNING EDITION * * * * *
-
- EDITOR: John DiNardo
-
- From the free airwaves of The People's
- Pacifica Radio Network station:
- WBAI-FM (99.5)
- 505 Eighth Ave., 19th Fl.
- New York, NY 10018
- (212) 279-0707
-
- Part 5, CLONING For The New Global Slave State
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
- ANDREW KIMBRELL [author of "The Human Body Shop: The Engineering and
- Marketing of Life"]:
- One thing that I did want to mention -- and I describe this in the
- book, and I think that it's terribly important for people who just
- have not heard this yet -- is that researchers in corporations ARE
- patenting life forms. One of the cases I describe in the book is a
- really shocking case where Grenada BioSciences in Texas actually has
- attempted, in Europe, to patent a WOMAN who would be genetically
- engineered to produce valuable pharmaceuticals in her mammary
- glands. I was absolutely in DISBELIEF when I heard this, but, as I
- documented in the book, I had spoken with their attorneys and
- documented the fact that this was actually the intent of the
- company.
-
- Our own U.S. Government researchers at the National Institutes of
- Health are trying to patent BRAIN genes in the hope of actually
- owning the patent that might be responsible for intelligence.
- Now, you and I know that they're never going to find these purported
- genes responsible for behaviors, but these scientists are doing a
- genetic land grab to try and get all of this.
-
- For anyone who is interested in animal [rights] issues, they've got
- to keep up with biotechnology because, as I describe in the book,
- they are cloning larger mammals. I describe a truly horrific
- experiment in England where cloning led to the creation of some
- really horrifying cows. They are currently under study. And I
- recently learned that at Texas A.& M. University they are cloning
- cows that produce the perfect marble steak.
-
- They're actually making Xerox copies of the animal kingdom.
- In other words, they're treating virtually all of life, at this
- point, as if it was genetic information -- as if it was machines.
-
- ROBERT KNIGHT:
- Andrew, the policies that are being made now, the very quiet
- decisions about patent ownership, the chilling stories about milking
- women .... there is legislation, there are business protocols being
- formed on the use of materials that are found in the pristine
- territories such as in the rain forests, the jungles, and so on.
- In fact, just recently, that issue was advocated or lobbied by
- members of the Clinton Administration. Was it not?
-
- ANDREW KIMBRELL:
- That's right. This is such a key point. Just as we saw the first
- stage of colonialism where the First World went into the Third World
- in order to get their resources, be it tin or rubber. They went in
- to try to get those inanimate minerals (e.g. ore, fossil fuels) from
- the Third World. Now, we're seeing a new wave of GENETIC colonialism
- wherein First World corporations and governments are going into the
- rain forests, going into the Third World in order to expropriate
- their resources.
-
- In October, my organization [The Foundation on Economic Trends, of
- Washington, D.C., phone: (202)466-2823] is working with the Third
- World Network. We're going to have worldwide demonstrations and a
- legal action against W.R. Grace Corporation and other corporations
- which have gone into India. They`ve taken the neme[sp] tree. Now,
- many of your listeners may know that the neme is sort of a magic
- tree in India. They use it as a natural pesticide. They use its bark
- as a dentifrice. That's why their teeth are in such an extraordinary
- condition. They use it for a number of cures for diseases,
- including cancer.
-
- Well, First World corporations have heard about this.
- They've gone into India and other places, got the neme tree and
- they've patented it. There are twelve patents by W.R. Grace
- Corporation and others on various aspects of the neme tree. And now,
- W.R. Grace is planning to build a factory in India where they are
- going to use the neme tree and, no doubt, exhaust much of the
- resources of the neme tree that are being used by the indigenous
- peoples there -- by the local communities there.
-
- ROBERT KNIGHT:
- Andy, we are just about out of time.
- Please take a minute or so to give us a sense of why this issue is
- important -- why one must be on the forefront of it, as you are.
-
- ANDREW KIMBRELL:
- I think that, as we've been saying, the genetic revolution is going
- to transform virtually every aspect of our lives. We are going to
- see genetically-engineered foods in our supermarkets. We are going
- to see reproductive technology, surrogate motherhood, using a variety
- of reproductive techniques whereby they're doing terrible things to
- women's bodies. We are going to be seeing genetic engineering used
- in warfare. We are going to be seeing it used in industry. We are
- going to be seeing it used as a whole new wave of colonialism
- against the Third World.
-
- These battles are in place right now. They will be controlling our
- lives and the lives of our fellow creatures. They will be
- controlling the lives of many of the indigenous Third World peoples
- around the World. It's TERRIBLY important to be informed. And I will
- add that very few broadcast stations give the truth about this
- technology. Very few show its risks as well as its benefits.
- WBAI is one of those rare stations, and that's why many of us,
- including myself, here in Washington, are so grateful that
- WBAI exists.
-
- ROBERT KNIGHT:
- And we're grateful for your work. Thank you, Andrew Kimbrell, author
- of "The Human Body Shop: The Engineering and Marketing of Life".
-
- One of the points that we've talked about, Michio, is that there
- were four environmental organizations. But, on this issue of First
- and Third World patenting, and on issues like using women for body
- fluids, and so on, even THEY got fooled. I mention that to point out
- that even the best of minds can be confused. It's a whole new issue,
- and we're trying to reveal it here.
-
- MICHIO KAKU:
- Remember. Ignore this new technology at your own peril! You might
- be like an ostrich, sticking your head in the sand, only to find
- this gigantic freight train called biotechnology headed your way.
- Just think of it: sixty-six laboratories within the United States
- investigating designer germ warfare -- twenty-four human genes that
- have been inserted into animals, creating all sorts of grotesque
- forms of life -- forty accidents that have taken place at the Fort
- Detrick Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, right
- outside of Washington, D.C. -- and the possibility of SUPER AIDS.
- I mean, that is chilling; an airborne ... get that, an airborne
- super AIDS virus that may be accidentally created, as the entire
- genome of the AIDS virus is injected into mice for the very first
- time.
-
- ROBERT KNIGHT:
- Women being milked, as if victims trapped in the spider web of
- technology, for their body fluids. PEOPLE being patented!
- Animals being patented. Tomatoes that bounce.
- All of these things are taking place, and that can happen only
- because we do not understand the technology. But we're changing
- that. That's why we're here -- so that you can change that.
- ~~ TO BE CONTINUED ~~
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 20:07:01 -0400
- >From: Wyandotte Animal Group <wag@heritage.com>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Phone tapping
- Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970407000701.2f671d3a@mail.heritage.com>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- Has anyone had their phone tapped before? I am looking for ways to be able
- to check if a phone has a tap on it. Are there any ways to determine this?
-
- With the recent mink release in Canada having a local connection to me in
- which several activists apparently had phone books on them when they were
- caught, it would not surprise me the FBI is reaching for as much as possible.
-
- So far, my phone constantly clicks while I am on it, once I picked up the
- phone to make a call and swear I heard someone talking on it, and have
- received a few calls from "interested people" wondering what my group is all
- about and how they can get more involved. Usually people call our answering
- machine for that kinda stuff, not my home number.
-
- Of course I have nothing to hide from the police since I know nothing of the
- recent raid, it's just eerie and aggrivating thinking of the possibilities
- they are doing.
-
- Any tips appreciated. Thanks.
-
-
- Jason Alley
- Wyandotte Animal Group
- wag@heritage.com
-
- Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 22:23:29 EDT
- >From: chris.p.carrot@juno.com (Christophe P Carotte)
- To: BHGazette@aol.com
- Cc: AR-NEWS@envirolink.org
- Subject: Sears Circus boycott called.
- Message-ID: <19970406.212245.4799.4.chris.p.carrot@juno.com>
-
- No one is free when others are oppressed . . Animal liberation is
- human liberation.
- STOP THE EXECUTION OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL! The death penalty is genocide.
-
- On Sun, 6 Apr 1997 14:01:59 -0400 (EDT) BHGazette@aol.com writes:
- >In a message dated 97-04-06 09:47:55 EDT, vrc@tiac.net (Vegetarian
- >Resource
- >Center) writes:
- >
- ><< Sears has decided to become the dream come true for the puppy mill
- >industry
- > in Raliegh, N.C. >>
- >
- >According to info I received a month or so ago, Sears has responded to
- >protests and will not longer sell live animals.
- >JD Jackson
- >Bunny Huggers' Gazette
-
- However, Sears still supports the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus
- ;^)
- Other major Ringling supporters include Visa, Frookies, McDonald's &
- First Card.
-
- C.P. Carrot
- Veggies & Animals Coalition
-
-
-
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