Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news37~3.htm/text0000.txt

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`No One Wants The Truth, It's Easier To Make The Pork Farmers The Whipping
                     Boy For A Broad Cross-Section Of Problems'
          RALEIGH, N.C., April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The North Carolina Pork
Council
(NCPC) today announced strong opposition to any moratorium that doesn't apply
across the board to every entity and organization that affects the quality of
North Carolina's waterways and ground water.  "Our position hasn't changed,"
said Walter Cherry, executive director of NCPC.  "We think the moratoriums as
proposed, whether one year or two years -- or even one day -- are unfair,
unneeded and an unconstitutional restraint of trade if they apply only to pork
farmers."
          Cherry made the statement in response to rumors circulating that
pork
producers were willing to accept a moratorium on the siting or growth of
farms.  "The only moratorium that we will even consider supporting is one that
applies to every entity, business and municipality that impacts the water
quality in this state," Cherry said.  "It is grossly unfair to single out pork
farmers and tell them they can't prosper when it has been clearly proven that
the hog farmers are not the only and certainly not the largest polluter of
waterways and ground water!"
          Cherry's remarks come in the wake of the consideration of a one-year
moratorium by the legislature and a call for an expansion to two years by
Governor Hunt on April 9th.  "Law Engineering, a world renowned engineering
firm is releasing a study today that shows, after intensive testing of wells
in Eastern North Carolina over the past few weeks, that those wells were not
contaminated by pig farms or pig farmers," Cherry pointed out.  "In fact, it
shows that they were contaminated by fertilizer and the owners' own septic
tanks.  The problem is nobody in the legislature, the Governor's office or
even the media wants to hear that.  It's just easier to make the pork farmers
of this state the whipping boy for every water quality problem we have."
          Law Engineering, along with Dr. William Showers, director of the
North
Carolina State University Stable Isotope Laboratory, released a study today
that showed results of the sampling of 30 of the 47 wells reported
contaminated in Sampson County near the community of Keener.
          The study's major conclusions were that:
    -- Synthetic fertilizer, septic systems and naturally occurring soil
       organic nitrogen were identified as the primary sources of nitrates in
       ALL 30 wells.  Animal waste, if present at all, was a very minor
       secondary source of nitrates.
          -- The wells sampled were shallow and the majority were of poor
       construction which played a part in the nitrate contamination found.
          -- The majority of nitrated-contaminated wells identified in Sampson
       County appear to have resulted from more than one source of nitrate.
          "We have seen pork farmers and supporters of the pork industry
show up in
Raleigh by the thousands over the past few weeks.  These people are serious
about making their concerns known and they are scared to death that they are
going to be run out of business because, at this point, it seems to be
politically popular to pick on the farmer," Cherry said.  "We have said from
the beginning that our pork farmers are good stewards of the land and water.
We have said that we'd be willing to step up to the plate and take on our part
of whatever needs to be done.  But we aren't going to do it alone."
          The North Carolina Pork Council is a voluntary association of
pork farmers
and those in affiliated and supporting industries.  The Council provides
public information and research services to its members.
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 23:04:01 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Cat out of the bag, says Frankenstein
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Scientists say human cloning not needed now but may be in future

The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Va. (April 13, 1997 5:19 p.m. EDT) -- Studying animal clones
is keeping researchers busy now, but scientists warned an ethics panel
Sunday that a permanent ban on research into human cloning could stall
medical progress.

For now, animal cloning gives "the biggest bang for the buck," said
Stuart Orkin, a developmental biologist at Harvard University's medical
school. Scientists may fall behind, however, if human cloning isn't at
least examined, Orkin told the National Bioethics Advisory Commission.

President Clinton formed the 18-member commission to study implications
of human cloning after a Scottish scientist unveiled Dolly the sheep in
February, the first-known successful clone of an adult mammal.

As the panel mulls over the ethical, scientific and policy ramifications
of human cloning, Clinton has banned using federal money on such
experimentation and suggested a moratorium on private studies.

Both Orkin and Janet Rossant, a professor of molecular and medical
genetics at the University of Toronto, appeared to pique the committee's
interest when they agreed that human cloning may be premature while so
much is left to study in animals.

"Is it possible that we can do most of the basic science on animals ...
without ever creating an entity which many people find offensive?" asked
commission member Thomas Murray, director of the Center for Biomedical
Ethics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Orkin did not advocate widespread cloning of animals. Plenty of research
is left to do that would not necessitate further cloning of any kind, he
said. But researching human cloning could lead to major advancements in
such fields as organ transplants.

"I'm not comfortable with the notion of banning any kind of research,"
Orkin said. "However, I am comfortable with moratoria on the
implantation" of cloned human embryos because of the "inherent
risks that I think are unacceptable."

Rossant said because not all animal research is directly applicable to
humans, the board should "avoid prohibiting legitimate research into
animals or humans (because) it really has big potential for immense
benefits in the future."

The panel's mandate takes it beyond scientific ramifications of cloning
into the hazy realm of ethics.

Religious groups have already testified before the commission, which is
now dealing with whether to incorporate religious beliefs into the
recommendations to Clinton.

"It's one thing to respect their beliefs ... but it becomes difficult to
incorporate that to make public policy," Murray said.

Commission member Bernard Lo, director of the medical ethics program at
the University of California, San Francisco, questioned whether
scientific review boards should ask the motives of laboratories seeking
funds for future cloning projects. Other genetics studies are not
required to answer such questions.

Even if motive were questioned, private clinics that don't use federal
funding would not face such scrutiny. That, commission members mused,
would create another moral dilemma.

While the panelists seemed to be asking more questions than providing
answers, many did agree that whatever is recommended now will come under
scrutiny again as science speeds along.

"Once the science is out of the bag, somebody is going to do it," said
panel member Lawrence Miike, director of Hawaii's State Department of
Health.

"What are the ethics of cat out of the bag?"

===========================================================

"Murky" ethics juxtaposed to scientific "objectivity..."  This mental
set gives you an idea of the complete inability of vivisectors to ponder
on the social and ethical consequences of their actions.

These disembodied scientific minds have no more scrupples about what
will be happening to human beings than they have about the broken bodies
of the animals they torture and kill daily in their laboratories.

Andy

Andy
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 23:12:43 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Mutilation as preventative measure
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Preemptive mastectomy prevents cancer in women at high risk

The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (April 13, 1997 3:19 p.m. EDT) -- The increasingly common
practice of surgically removing both breasts while they are still
healthy is an effective, if radical, way of preventing breast cancer in
women at high risk of the disease, a study finds.

Until recently, bilateral prophylactic mastectomy, as doctors call it,
was rare. But the development of screening tests for the inherited bad
genes that can trigger breast cancer has increased demand for this
approach.

When a woman discovers she has a high genetic susceptibility to cancer,
there is little she can do besides frequent checkups or having her
breasts removed. Some doctors are reluctant to offer the genetic
screening test because of uncertainty about whether a preemptive
mastectomy actually works as well as common sense would suggest it
should.

To help settle the issue, doctors from the Mayo Clinic followed up on
950 women who have had bilateral prophylactic mastectomies, mostly
because of a strong family history of breast cancer. They found that it
reduced their breast cancer risk by 91 percent.

It was not, however, totally effective. Even when the breasts are cut
off, surgeons often leave behind tiny bits of breast tissue on the chest
wall. These remnants can still turn cancerous. Furthermore, undetected
cancer may sometimes have already spread to other parts of the body
before the breasts are removed.

The study, directed by Dr. Lynn C. Hartmann, followed women who had the
surgery between 1960 and 1993 -- before screening for breast cancer
genes became common over the past two years.

Nevertheless, Hartmann said her findings are the first to suggest that
mastectomies in women with cancer genes will work as intended.

"It's an extreme approach," she said. "For a woman who decides to
proceed, at least she now has some clear information instead of a
question mark."

Hartmann presented her results Sunday at a conference sponsored by the
American Association for Cancer Research.

While there are no clear figures on how many women are opting for
mastectomies to prevent cancer, Dr. Henry T. Lynch of Creighton
University said the numbers have clearly increased since the discovery
of two powerful cancer genes in 1994 and 1995.

Mutant forms of these genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2, together cause
about 5 percent to 10 percent of all breast cancer and 5 percent of all
ovarian cancers. While rare, they greatly increase the cancer risk for
those who get them.

A woman with either BRCA1 or BRCA2 has about an 85 percent lifetime risk
of breast cancer. BRCA1 also gives her a 40 percent to 60 percent risk
of ovarian cancer, while BRCA2 causes a 10 percent to 20 percent risk of
ovarian cancer. They also cause less dramatic increases in the risk
of colon cancer as well as prostate cancer in men.

The genes are suspected in women whose families include many people with
breast or ovarian cancer, often at unusually young ages.

In the Mayo Clinic study, two-thirds of the women had their breasts
removed because of their family histories of the disease, while the rest
were concerned by frequent biopsies that produced worrisome findings.

The researchers suspect that many of these women have bad BRCA1 or BRCA2
genes and are now following up with tests to check for them.

The women's average age when they had the surgery was 43, and they have
been followed for an average of 17 years. Based on their risk factors,
the doctors would have expected 76 cases of breast cancer by now.
Instead, seven occurred.

Lynch said his own follow up shows that three-quarters of women who find
they have the cancer genes say preemptive removal of their ovaries is a
reasonable choice, while one-quarter say they will consider breast
removal.

He said this is probably because breast cancer is easier than ovarian
cancer to detect early.

"What it boils down to is the woman's decision once she is armed with
the facts," he said.

============================================================

Miracles of modern medicine: removing women's breasts because they are
said to have genetic predisposition for breast cancer; colon removal for
people deemed to have a genetic predisposition; prostatectomy for men
who are judged to have a genetic predisposition for prostate cancer.

Wonder when the brain surgeons get into the act and suggest preemptive
surgery for people predisposed to bran tumors.

Andy
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 23:50:34 -0700 (PDT)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Meeting Set with Indiana Governor over Jailed Teens
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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URGENT NEWS ADVISORY
April 14, 1997

Attention: Assignment Editors






Meeting Set With Governor Monday Morning
To Request Pardon of Teen Hunger Striker

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Gov. Frank O'Bannon is expected to meet with supporters
of a 16-year-old hunger striking animal rights activist here Monday as part
of an international campaign to free the youth from the Indiana Boys School
in Plainfield.

Members of the "Free Tony & Stacey Committee" have scheduled an appointment
with Gov. O'Bannon for Monday at 11 a.m. at the Statehouse. The news media
is invited.

They will ask the governor to either pardon Tony Wong -- who has been on a
hunger strike for 50 days as of Monday -- or commute his sentence
immediately. They will also ask O'Bannon to commute the sentence of
17-year-old Stacey Schierholz, who has been jailed for 33 days as of Monday
in the Indiana Girls School.

Wong and Schierholz were sent to juvenile jail for participating in peaceful
demonstrations to end what they believed to be the animal cruelty of the fur
trade. Their incarceration for a nonviolent crime (trespassing) has sparked
a flood of protests nationally and internationally, with demonstrations in
support of the youth taking place from Holland and England to New Zealand
and Finland. Amnesty International is investigating their case.

"We are asking you to use your power...to commute Tony's and Stacey's
sentence, or to intercede in any way you see fit to end this atrocity," said
Seth Stevens, an Indiana Univ. Student and member of the "Free Tony & Stacey
Committee," in a letter sent to the governor Friday.

"The world is watching Indiana and its treatment of young people. We believe
long-term incarceration of good students, and peaceful demonstrators sends
the wrong message. (We're) concerned many will believe less-than-peaceful
means may become an alternative to nonviolent change...(which) Tony and
Stacey support," the letter continues.

Late Friday, a lawsuit was filed in Federal Court in Indianapolis against
the Indiana Dept. Of Corrections and the Indiana Boys School on behalf of
Wong, who has been painfully force-fed for nearly 3 weeks by officials
forcing a plastic tube 3 times daily through his nose and down into his
stomach. Lawyers for Wong said they will file for an emergency temporary
restraining order Monday or Tuesday to end the force-feeding if the state
does not respond favorably.
-30-
Contact: Seth Stevens [phone] or Cres Vellucci/ACLC [phone]


Activist Civil Liberties Committee
PO Box 19515, Sacramento, CA 95819 [phone]


Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 08:02:31 -0400
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Vegetables studied as cancer fighters
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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(orig. posted to Veg-News)
from Mercury Center web page:
---------------------------------------------
Posted at 10:50 p.m. PDT Sunday, April 13, 1997

Vegetables studied as cancer fighters

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- For years, cancer experts have
been telling folks to eat fruits and vegetables.
Now they are trying to answer the next obvious
question: ``Which ones?''

They are still far from having a firm answer. But
studies presented at a cancer conference this week
suggest tomatoes are looking good. So are oranges
and several other kinds of food, including tofu and
spaghetti.

Teasing out specifics about the health effects of
different kinds of foods is difficult, in part
because it may take many years for a particular
nutrient to have even a small effect on health.

However, scientists are trying. And tomatoes appear
to be the food of the moment.

Last year, Harvard researchers reported that men
who get at least 10 servings a week of tomato-based
foods are up to 45 percent less likely than usual
to develop prostate cancer.

No one knows why, but it could be because tomatoes
are the primary source in the diet of a nutrient
called lycopene. Now a team from Columbia
University has preliminary evidence that this may
be especially important for smokers.

Dr. Jean G. Ford and others looked at levels of
various vitamins and other nutrients in the blood
of 204 people, half of whom had lung cancer. They
found concentrations of lycopene were was
significantly lower in the lung cancer victims.

After taking smoking into account, they found that
those with low levels of lycopene have triple the
cancer risk of those with high levels. The
association was especially strong in people
currently smoking. The lower their lycopene levels,
the higher their cancer risk.

Ford cautioned that low lycopene levels might be a
result, rather than a cause, of lung cancer.
Nevertheless, the findings raise the possibility --
still to be proven -- that this nutrient might
somehow help protect smokers from the cancerous
effects of cigarettes.

``This is a preliminary report, but it raises
questions about whether there are dietary risk
factors that we need to take a closer look at for
lung cancer,'' Ford said.

Among other reports on the effects of food released
Sunday at the American Association for Cancer
Research meeting:

--Animal studies suggest that orange juice protects
lab animals from cancer. In an effort to find out
why this might be, Dr. Najla Guthrie and others
from the University of Western Ontario evaluated
limonoids, the bitter stuff in limes, lemons,
grapefruit and oranges. They found that a
particular limonoid called nomilin was an
especially powerful inhibitor of cancer in the test
tube.

--Dr. Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute
looked for links between meat consumption and lung
cancer in 1,216 women in Missouri. Women who ate a
lot of red meat were twice as likely as those who
had it sparingly to get lung cancer, but fish and
chicken had no apparent effect on risk.

--People in Mediterranean countries have
traditionally had relatively low risks of colon
cancer, and some wonder whether pasta might be the
reason. In a study at the University of Florence,
Dr. Giovanna Caderni compared the effects of sugar
and pasta in rats. She found that pasta-eating
rodents had a lower risk of getting precancerous
polyps.

--People with high intake of tofu and other foods
made from soybeans also seem less likely to get
some kinds of cancer. To test this, Dr. Jin-Rong
Zhou from Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center in
Boston fed soy concentrate to mice with bladder
cancer. He found their tumors were about one-third
smaller than would have been expected.


Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 20:14:35 +0800
>From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [Aust] New meat policy sparks health fear.
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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The following headline appeared on the front page of our
daily newspaper today. This is very relevant when considering
the potential for possible increased occurencess of food
contamination should food standards slip in Western Australia.
(See previous reports of Salmonella outbreaks, Australia)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

New meat policy sparks health fear.
West Australian Newspaper  (14.4.97) by Carmello Amalfi

A New Health Department policy to let abattoirs employ their own meat
inspectors would allow potentially diseased meat on WA tables, government
examiners and
health officers warned yesterday.

The policy gives slaughter houses supplying the domestic market the option of
providing in-house meat inspections under a quality assurance program
approved by the department. One independent inspector is still required to
oversee operations.

But by September next year, the department will review whether an
independent examiner is needed.

Environmental health director Michael Jackson said six department inspectors
had been recalled from Watsons food factory in Spearwood, leaving three
inspectors employed by the company and one by the department.

The controversial move is part of a deregulation drive approved last year by
Australian and New Zealand agriculture ministers to introduce
self-regulation in an industry tainted by food poisoning deaths in the
eastern States.

Northam Shire environmental health minister Bert Munyard said the government
was cutting its own throat by reducing independent inspectors to one officer
who could not monitor all operations.

"The domestic scene in WA has improved greatly, but if we take the same line
as the eastern States, commercial reality will eventually take over in the
meat inspection area," he said.

Mr Munyard said recent food poisoning cases in Victoria, where companies had
employed their own inspectors since deregulation in 1994, highlighted
serious deficiencies.

Cheaper meats from other States entered WA from abattoirs where meat had not
been inspected properly and where meat inspectors' qualifications were not
acceptable in WA - claims the department confirmed.

An environmental health officer, who could not be named, said the national move
would also threaten Australia's $4 billion annual meat export market because
European and US authorities supported independent inspection of meat.

He said some WA abattoir operators would follow Watsons Foods but others
would prefer not to because of legal ramifications of an outbreak from a
slaughter house floor inspected by company-employed examiners.

"The concept of quality assurance and self regulation is fine in the wine
industry because consumers will not buy a bottle that looks cloudy," he said.

"But in the meat game, where diseases cannot be seen but have to be tested
for, people can and do die if a tainted product slips through."

Mr Jackson said the new policy placed full responsibility on WA companies to
produce meat that was suitable for consumption. The State has 34 domestic
abattoirs. Others kill for the export market.

"I believe this won't jeopardise meat inspection in WA," he said.

We are not giving this approval lightly. If something goes wrong, there is
still that one person to blow the whistle."

Neither Health Minister Kevin Prince nor Watsons Foods could be contacted
yesterday.

End




------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, kia tere ai te karohirohi
i mua tonu i o koutou huarahi.
                              -Maori Prayer

(May the calm be widespread, may the sea be as the smooth surface of the
greenstone and may the rays of sunshine forever dance along your pathway)

Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 20:53:46 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (HU) Foie Gras
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>The Straits Times, APR 10 1997
These geese lay golden eggs in export earnings


IN A low-roofed shed in central Hungary, Balazs Seres feeds
     boiled corn night and day to geese to make a delicacy which
     people swear melts in their mouths.

        "It's hard work and I'm very tired," the 42-year-old said hoarsely
     over the din of hundreds of honking geese. As he spoke, he
     pushed corn through a plastic tube down their throats to fatten
     their livers for foie gras.

       In the process the French call gavage, or forced feeding, each
     goose must consume a kilogram of corn a day in the final stages
     of a three-week period to produce foie gras -- literally, fat liver.

       To animal rights activists, the forced feeding of geese is as odious
     as clubbing baby seals or raising minks for their pelts.

       "This is a form of torture, however they do it," said Ms Agnes
     Szechy, a prominent Hungarian animal rights activist.

       But for gourmets, foie gras ranks as a delicacy alongside caviar,
     champagne, oysters and truffles -- and for Hungary it is a gold
     mine.

       The country is the world's leading producer of fattened goose
     liver, turning out 1,300 tonnes every year worth some US$30
     million (S$42 million).

        "If you feed them gradually and gently, it doesn't harm them,"
     said Mr Seres, who gets 2,300 forints (S$20) a bird, or S$3,800 for
     three weeks' work. "But if you give them too much, their stomachs
     may burst."

          It is the forced feeding of geese which causes what is described as
     a "fatty degeneration of the liver".

       "Of course, in general, there is a negative feeling against forced
     feeding," Mr Seres said.

        "I guess there will be regulations to limit industrial production
     but at the same time ... we cannot live in fairy tales where people
     say I love the goose liver but I don't like the way it's produced."

Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 20:54:04 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (SG) Foie gras, caviar consumption up (Part 1)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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       > The Straits Times, APR 13 1997


     Jason's Mr George Balyck ...
     caviar, truffles, truffle juice
     and foie gras are among his
     top-end gourmet items.

     Pass the caviar, my dear


     More Singaporeans are eating roe, mushroom, goose
     liver and snails - and paying for them, because these
     are western gourmet foods which go by the classy
     names of caviar, truffles, foie gras and escargot.
     Magdalene Lum reports.

     IF JAMES BOND ever flew to Singapore during one of his capers, he
     would have no problems finding caviar to nibble on when sipping
     his martini, shaken not stirred.

     And should 007 want to whip up a dish to impress his date, he can
     dip into caviar (roe of the sturgeon fish) or foie gras (goose
     liver).

     Today, the average Singaporean can indulge in caviar, truffles
     (expensive French mushrooms), foie gras and other Western gourmet
     food at five-star hotel restaurants, trendy eateries, and a few
     gourmet stores here.

     In the past, such Western gourmet cuisine was usually available
     only to the very rich.

     Despite a general decline in formal fine dining worldwide, some
     establishments here, such as the Raffles, Shangri-La and Hilton,
     have seen more orders for caviar, foie gras, truffles, escargot
     (French speciality snails) and oysters over the past few years.

     Hoteliers and gourmet food retailers here have also observed a
     growing number of well-travelled Singaporeans -- be they yuppies,
     businessmen, professionals, students or housewives -- going for
     such food.

     According to Mr M. P. S. Puri, executive assistant manager of the
     Raffles, the hotel uses 5 - 10 kg of caviar a month today -- a
     50-per cent jump compared with five years ago.

     "This is much higher than most restaurants in the city," he says.

     Caviar is usually eaten as an appetiser with chives and pancakes.
     One of the signature dishes at the Raffles Grill is warm smoked
     salmon with potato and caviar.

     The eatery has several types of caviar, from Beluga, Sevruga and
     Royal Oscietra to Golden Oscietra.

     Last year, the hotel held a Food & Wine Experience dinner for VIP
     guests. It featured an expensive White Caviar which normally
     comes in a 24-carat gold tin and costs $25,000 a kg. But, the
     hotel bought only half a kg, says Raffles' executive chef Grant
     MacPherson.

     According to Mr Puri, customers consume 100 kg of goose and duck
     liver a month -- a 50-per cent increase over the past five years.

     Likewise, white truffles and escargot consumption has grown by a
     similar rate over the same period.

     "Singaporeans have developed a keener awareness of these gourmet
     items, especially when we bring in guest chefs," he says.

     "They have always appreciated Chinese gourmet food such as bird's
     nest and shark's fin and now, they have discovered the gourmet
     food of the West."

     Shangri-La uses 10 kg of caviar a month at its Latour Restaurant
     and at hotel banquets.

     Mr Jean Offe, the hotel's executive assistant manager (food &
     beverage) has observed a 25-per cent increase in consumption of
     caviar and truffles at the outlet in the past three years.

     Hilton's Kaspia Bar serves 40 portions of 30-g caviar a month,
     while its Harbour Grill dishes up 2,000 oysters a month -- 20 -
     30 per cent more over the past 10 years.

     Ms Selena Oh, marketing communications manager of Hilton, says:
     "Indulging in these items is a trendy thing for some people.
     Having travelled abroad frequently, Singaporeans are more exposed
     to them and they try to impress their business clients by
     ordering caviar and other gourmet items."

     Mr George Balyck, general manager of Jasons Gourmet Grocer at
     Orchard Towers, considers any "food which is unique and not
     readily available here" a gourmet item. Caviar, truffles, truffle
     juice and foie gras are among his top-end gourmet items.

     His store also retails 100-year-old Balsamic Vinegar, a gourmet
     item from Modena in Italy.

     At Jasons, truffle juice retails for $755 a 300-ml tin, while
     Beluga caviar (the best type) from Iran sells for $245 per 100 g
     and foie gras from Perigod, France, is $274 a tin.

     Inspite of the stiff prices, these items apparently sell well at
     the store.

     "Shipments come every week and we sell them regularly to
     discerning customers who appreciate them," says Mr Balyck whose
     customers include the well-travelled Singaporeans and
     expatriates.

     "Just yesterday, a Singaporean came and paid $780 for a half-kg
     tin of caviar," adds Mr Balyck, who declined to provide exact
     sales figures.

     "Gourmet items need not necessarily be all expensive. For
     example, we consider Spanish saffron spice, which costs $5.50 a
     vial, a gourmet item as it is the best grade and exclusive to
     us", he says.

     The store, which has been around for over 20 years as a
     supermarket, got an image change last year. Now, it sells itself
     as a gourmet grocer which caters to travelled Singaporeans and
     students returning from abroad, as well as the small expatriate
     communities here such as the Jews, Irish and Hungarians.

     According to Ms Irene Legay, managing director of Comptoir de
     France, gourmet food has "history and culture and needs time to
     develop".

     Ms Legay, who operates La Maison des Gourmets, a gourmet
     boutique, and Cafe En Tete-A-Tete, an eatery, both at Chijmes,
     says such food involves the use of quality ingredients and a fine
     method of processing.

     The businesswoman, who is of French-Chinese descent, opened her
     family-owned gourmet boutique at Chijmes last November and the
     eatery earlier this year.

     She sells truffles and truffle juice, foie gras and escargot
     (Burgundy snails) at the gourmet boutique to cater to an
     "increasing trend among Singaporeans to have fine dining at
     home".

     But, she says, more people here go for foie gras and escargot
     than truffles.

     Her alfresco Cafe-En-Tete-a-Tete offers French food at lower
     prices than in hotel. For instance, you pay $8 for half a dozen
     escargot, instead of $12 to $16 at some five-star hotel eateries.
     And you can enjoy caviar at $10 nett for small helpings, but she
     has this promotion only once every three months.

     According to Mr Walter Junger, executive assistant manager (food
     & beverage) for Ritz-Carlton, gourmet food "need not necessarily
     be all French".

     Mr Sebastian Tan, managing director of Euraco Fine Foods, which
     imports oysters, foie gas, caviar, cheese and salami, considers
     cheese, salami (cured pork) and special hams as gourmet items
     too.

     "Sales of cheese, special cured ham and salami have increased by
     40 - 50 per cent over the years," he says.

     His main business, though, is oysters. Their sales have more than
     doubled in the past five years.

     Overall, Singapore imports $2 million worth of fresh oysters a
     year -- a 20-per cent jump over the past five years, he says.

     According to him, the market for caviar and truffles is still
     "very small".

     "The caviar trade is also seasonal, with more demand during
     festive periods, like Christmas and the New Year."

     "Sometimes, when Russian sailors come here, they bring caviar to
     sell to hotels and the market is not very controlled," he says.

     Foie gras is getting popular here. Ms Hoon Meei Ay, marketing
     manager of Sopexa, the marketing body for French food and
     beverage here, points out that a lot of it is also consumed
     through in-house catering by hotel and eateries here.

     Mr Ignatius Chan, a partner in the Les Amis restaurant, says more
     Singaporeans appreciate foie gras today and his eatery has seen a
     30-per cent jump in its consumption.

     Mr Philippe Pau, manager of the L'Aigle D'Or restaurant at Duxton
     Hotel, also points out that 20 per cent of 100 guests at his
     eatery go for the dish.

     Some hoteliers reckon that gourmet cuisine will continue to
     appeal to Singaporeans in the future.

     "The trend will continue as they continue to prosper," says Mr
     Puri.

     Shangri-La's Mr Offe believes the sales of caviar will increase
     in the next few years "because it's not so expensive anymore".

     It is now the trend in Europe for people to enjoy gourmet food,
     like caviar, truffles and foie gras in a casual environment, he
     says.

     "For instance, at the Coupole, a well-known old brasserie in
     Paris, people can have traditional and upscale gourmet food in a
     casual environment," he says.

     He describes a brasserie as a restaurant that is midway between
     an upscale gourmet restaurant and a normal restaurant, like a
     coffeehouse.

     He adds: "What the customer is looking for is to have such food
     in a less formal environment. I think that's the direction to go
     here."





Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 20:56:00 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (SG) (Part 2) Foie gras, caviar consumption up
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


> The Straits Times,  APR 13 1997


NOT JUST ANY FISH ROE OR MUSHROOM
CAVIAR: It is the roe of the sturgeon fish. Most caviar comes
     from the Caspian Sea today. The best grades are from Iran and
     Russia and the lowest grades from Manchuria.

        In the 19th century, the United States also played a major role in
     world caviar production. But most of that ceased in 1910, due to
     the near extinction of most of the commercially-harvested North
     American sturgeon.

        According to Mr George Balyck, general manager of Jasons
     Gourmet Grocer, Iranian caviar is best because the "high quality
     control of the business by the Iran government ensures better
     processing" of the product.

        He adds: "In Russia, the fishermen in the village collect the roe
     and send it to the government packing plant and quality can vary
     from village to village."

        There are several categories, such as Beluga, Sevruga Osietra
     (Royal and Golden) and White Caviar.
  TRUFFLES: These rare gourmet mushrooms come from
     France and have a history that dates back to the Mesopotamia,
     Greek and Roman periods.

        The Greeks knew of different types of truffles. The most popular
     were the Summer Truffles and the Terfez, according to Ms Irene
     Legay of La Maison Des Gourmets, which sells truffles and other
     gourmet food at Chijmes.

        Truffles -- they are harvested from November to the end of
     March -- were also appreciated by people living around the
     Aegean Sea, including the Romans, she says.

       Truffles are rich in minerals essential for healthy living and aid
     digestion, according to La Truffle, a book by Jean
     Pagnol.FOIE GRAS: Though foie gras, or fine goose liver,
     comes from Alsace and the Perigord region of France, its history
     goes back to ancient Roman and Greek times.

        The Roman Emperor Trajan used to eat it hot with fresh grapes,
     and the Roman legions later brought the delicacy to France. The
     delicacy comes from geese fattened on dried figs.

        Some French medical reports claim that foie gras has nutritional
     value as it is "rich in unsaturated acidic fat, which protects blood
     vessels", according to Ms Legay.

Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 21:00:14 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (SG) (Part 3) Foie gras, caviar consumption up
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times, 13 Apr 97

They are partial to gourmet food
SOME Singaporeans tell Sunday Plus about their passions for
     caviar, truffles, foie gras, escargot and other Western gourmet
     food:
 DR P. O. WONG, 67
     a retired dentist
     MANY years ago, I tried caviar when I passed through
     Teheran and liked it. Since then, I have been eating it as an
     appetiser. I visit Jasons Gourmet Grocer two to three times a
     week and buy Iranian caviar there occasionally. But I eat it only
     two to three times a year as it's rich food, which is high in sodium
     and cholesterol.

        I also like buy foie gras, especially during Christmas. I'm also
     fond of pate (chicken and duck liver) which I consider gourmet,
     as it has herbs and a special flavour.
     MRS LILY ANG, 24
     a housewife
     I USED to work in the food and beverage line. That's why I'm
     familiar with Western gourmet food. I am fond of escargot as it's
     delicious. I go to Cafe En Tete-A-Tete at Chijmes and other hotel
     restaurants..

        I've also tried truffles and caviar at these places. I eat them once
     a month. Truffles is healthy as it has lots of minerals. In fact, I
     ate so much truffles when I was pregnant that my one-month-old
     baby, Bubbles, was born weighing almost 4 kg.
MR DANIEL LING, 45
     a businessman
     I ENJOY gourmet food, especially escargot. I buy a tin of
     three dozen escargot a month from La Maison des Gourmets at
     Chijmes, and can consumer half a tin at one go. I usually eat
     them as a snack with wine at home. I also like to buy my caviar
     there. I also visit Cafe En Tete-A-Tete two to three times a
     month and have tried its escargot dish, which is affordable. I also
     try the caviar there once in a few months.
     MR ANTHONY SEAH, 35
     a foreign exchange dealer
     I'M VERY fond of escargot. I usually eat it at the American
     Club. I like to try new food.
     MS JOSEPHINE TAN, 29
     a buying officer
     I GO for gourmet food once in a while. I've tried escargot.
     Like other Singaporeans, I'm becoming more adventurous in
     trying out new food.
     MR SAXONE WOON, 35
     a businessman
     TWO years ago, I used to visit Duxton Hotel as its L'Aigle
     D'Or Restaurant serves very good foie gras stopped going now, as
     I'm worried about my cholesterol intake.



Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 21:00:43 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (CH) Animal shipments
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times, APR 14 1997
No more popping pussy in the post


     ZURICH -- Swiss citizens will no longer be able to pop their cats
     in the post after the authorities introduced new measures
     tightening up on animal mail.

     The new regulations ban the postal transportation of any animal
     weighing more than 15 kg "except beehives, which can weigh 20
     kg".

     Under the measures, cat shipments are banned altogether, while
     other pets such as parrots and rabbits, can only be sent in
     aerated containers and by express delivery.

     Animal mail amounts to less than 0.5 per cent of all express
     parcels in Switzerland, but, on average, 85 creatures are sent by
     post daily.

     Many of them are destined for laboratories. -- AFP.

     [Image] UN did not ground civilian planes, says Baghdad
     [Image] Long, long wait to get into european bank meeting

     [Image]                   [Image]

     You can send             Or post a tip-off or comment on
     a letter to the editor   news in this section to the Foreign Desk
     [rule]



Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 09:52:43 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Franklin Wade <[e-mail]>
To: Ar-News <[e-mail]>
Subject: (US-MD&DC) ALF "paints the town red"
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Early Sunday(4/13) morning, the ALF was out decorating in the DC area.
Some of their works of art can be seen at:

* Andriana's Furs in DC
     FUR HURTS and KILLERS painted on windows

* McDonald's in Germantown, MD
     MCMURDER and KILLERS painted

* Obrian's BBQ Pit in Rockville, MD
     van and grill "redecorated"

Support your local artists.
_____________________________________________________________________
[e-mail]                                   Franklin D. Wade
        United Poultry Concerns - www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc
        Compassion Over Killing - www.envirolink.org/arrs/cok

Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 22:32:02 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: RFI: Escargot and caviar
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


Hi,

I would like to write a letter to the local daily about the cruel methods
and health risks behind escargot, caviar and foie gras. I've got sufficient
info on foie gras but can't find anything on the web on details of the other
two. Could someone please direct me to some websites, urgently?

Please reply by private e-mail.

Thank you very much!

For the animals,
Vadivu

Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 11:20:07 -0400
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Court Denies Payment for Pet Ferret
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-------------------------------
04/14/1997 10:31 EST

 Court Denies Payment for Pet Ferret

 By RICHARD CARELLI
 Associated Press Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two Maryland girls who sought compensation because state
 health officials killed their pet ferret in a test for rabies after the
animal bit someone
 lost a Supreme Court appeal today.

 The court, without comment, turned away arguments made in behalf of
Washington
 County, Md., teen-agers Gina Raynor and Heather Sauders.

 Lawyers for the girls had contended that their private property -- the
ferret -- had been
 taken for a public purpose and that the Constitution's Fifth Amendment
requires
 ``just compensation'' in such circumstances.

 Gina and Heather both were 12 years old when in 1994 they took the ferret
to a
 slumber party. While trying to bite into a cookie, the ferret instead bit
the hand of
 13-year-old Christina Hiett.

 Christina's mother, concerned about rabies, sought to have the ferret
destroyed so
 its brain tissue could be tested.

 Such a test is the only method for determining whether an animal has
rabies, and it
 cannot be accomplished without destroying the animal.

 The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ordered Gina's father,
 Steven Raynor, to hand over the ferret so it could be tested.

 When he did not respond, health officials sought a court order to force his
 compliance. Raynor agreed to give the ferret to the local Society for the
Prevention of
 Cruelty to Animals for safekeeping while the testing decision was contested.

 State courts ruled that the health department's decision to kill the
ferret was a valid
 one. The state Court of Special Appeals called the department's action ``a
lawful use
 of the state's police powers because it is rationally calculated to
protect the public
 health.''

 That appeals court also rejected the girls' request to be compensated. It
said the
 seizure, destruction and testing of the ferret was a ``taking'' of private
property but
 ``there was no compensable taking.''

 ``Requiring government to pay in each instance where regulation diminishes
the
 value of personal property would handcuff the government and compel it to
regulate
 by purchase,'' the state court ruled.

 The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, refused last
November to
 hear the girls' ensuing appeal.

 The case is Raynor vs. Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene,
 96-1234.
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 08:29:21 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Mike Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail]
Subject: VT Alert: Urgent Calls Needed to Stop Expansion of Moose Hunt
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>Vermont Action Alert
>
>The Vermont Legislative Rules Committee will be voting before April 26 on
>a proposal to extend the Vermont moose kill from 100 permits to 165
>permits this year.  Vermont Fish & Wildlife have proposed a 65% increase
>in permits issued over the 1996 number (100).  That represents a 500%
>increase in moose permits issued since moose hunting first began in
>Vermont in 1993!
>
>Moose were protected in Vermont for 97 years, until the Vermont
>Department of Fish & Wildlife decided in 1993 to put the animals under
>the gun.  Although the Vermont House of Representatives voted 73 to 62
>against a moose hunt, Fish & Wildlife issued 30 moose permits in 1993 and
>40 in 1994.  The number has increased each year to 100 in 1996--and now a
>65% increase to 165 has been proposed!
>
>In addition, F&W are proposing to expand the hunt geographically, adding
>four new hunting zones to the original three, which will expand the hunt
>throughout the Northeast Kingdom and into Central Vermont.
>
>Please call your state senator and your state representative to tell them
>you oppose the Department of Fish & Wildlife's proposal to expand the
>moose hunt.  If your senator is Helen Riehle, Susan Bartlett, William
>Doyle, or Richard McCormack, or if your representative is Ann Seibert,
>William Fyfe, William Lippert, or John Murphy, we especially need your
>call.  These senators and reps are on the committee who will be
>voting--they are especially crucial.  (John Murphy stated at the hearing
>April 9 that he had not heard from a single person in opposition to the
>proposal--he had heard only from those in favor of hunting moose.)
>
>If you aren't sure who your senator or representative is, you can find
>out by calling the Legislative Council (802-828-2231).  Please make these
>calls--the moose deserve our help.
>
>For more information, call The Fund for Animals' New Hampshire/Vermont
office at 603-788-3750.

Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 10:47:02 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Mike Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail]
Subject: Humane Ways to Solve Wildlife Problems
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The Fund for Animals has a new resource online called "Bats in Your Belfry?
Humane Ways to Solve Wildlife Problems." It answers common questions about
urban/suburban wildlife problems, and it is especially appropriate for the
spring and summer seasons. Species covered include bats, bears, beavers,
birds, coyotes, deer, gophers, woodchucks, mice, rats, moles, opossums,
rabbits, raccoons, skunks, and squirrels. It is available at:

http://envirolink.org/arrs/fund/facts/wild4_nuisance.html

Hard copies (with photos) will be available soon for those who would like to
distribute copies.

Date: Mon, 14 Apr 97 11:02:57 -0000
>From: <[e-mail]>
To: "ar-news" <[e-mail]>, "Taimie Bryant" <[e-mail]>,
        "Mary Macdonald-Lewis" <[e-mail]>,
        "Kelly Matheson" <[e-mail]>,
        "Christine  Sheppard" <[e-mail]>
Subject: More Stolen Dogs in Research- calls needed
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"



Last Chance for Animals has been investigating a situation of stolen and fraudulently obtained
companion animals being sold into research.  This is a most unusual sitution in which the USDA
unprompted by an animal group initiated what seemed to be strong enforcement actions.  What
now appears to have happenned is that the case is being shelved in order to protect the research
facilties.  LCA has decided that it is time to move forward with our own publicity to push the
USDA into competing its enforcement actions.

We have all the documentation which can be maed available to the media.  We need your calls to
place pressure on the USDA.  Especially if you live in Oregon, we need you to contact your
federal legislators to intervene.  Here are the facts:

    ÇBetty Gayle Davis, of Myrtle Creek Oregon, was issued her license #92-B-0183 as a class
B dealer by the USDA on December 5, 1994.  Her business was called Circle D Kennels.

    ÇBetween December 1994 and February 1996, she sold approximately 500 "random
source" dogs to Southern California research facilities including Cedars Sinai Medical Center, the
VA Wadsworth facility, and USC who in turn sold 200 dogs to Good Samaritan Hospital.

    ÇDavis is named as a supplier of dogs to Washington State class B dealer, Dave Knight,
who has begun serving a 2 year license suspension for violations of the Animal Welfare Act,
including an inability to verify the sources of some of his animals.  Knight sold dogs to
Washington State research facilities, including the University of Washington.

    ÇThe USDA was issued a warrant by the U.S. District court in Oregon to search and seize
records as evidence in an investigation of criminal conspiracy, mail fraud and making false
statements to government regulators and investigators.  The case number, as written on the
warrant, is #96-2011M.  The issue surrounds alleged illegal acquisition of companion dogs for
sale into research.

    ÇDavis' kennel was raided by approximately twenty heavily armed federal agents on
February 7, 1996-- Present were U.S. Marshals, Douglas County Interagency Narcotic Team, and
USDA officials.  The suspects were held at gun point, handcuffed, and forced to remain on the
floor for four hours.

    ÇUSDA agents then worked with the Douglas County Humane Society to identify Oregon
residents who may had been tricked into giving their animals to Davis.

    ÇUSDA agents then searched for specific animals at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, the VA
Wadsworth Facility, USC and Good Samaritan Hospital.  Approximately six dogs were recovered
in Los Angeles and returned to their owners in Oregon.  Before Davis, Cedars Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles had purchased animals from the following dealers, each of whom
subsequently faced legal action for unlawful acquisition of animals for sale to research: Barbara
Ruggiero (6 years state prison); Frederick Spero (5 years state prison); Ralf Jacobsen (3 years
state prison); David Stephens (10 months Federal prison); Brenda Linville (8 months Federal
prison); Tracy Stephens (3 years probation); Joseph Hickey ($10,000 fine and suspended license);
Richard Mertz (suspended license); and Bud Knudsen ($10,000 fine).

    ÇAfter over a year, the USDA has failed to file charges of any kind against Davis, but in
December 1996, the USDA refused to renew her license without a hearing-- an action that,
although commendable, the USDA has claimed that they do not have the statutory authority to
carry out.

    ÇThe investigation is being conducted by Lisa Sprague at the USDA Office of the Inspector
General in Eugene Oregon, who was herself an armed member of the "strike force" conducting
the raid at Davis' home.

    ÇDavis may be moving to sue the USDA for the way in which she was treated during the
serving of the search warrant.

Please write to your senators and congressman demanding an inquiry as to the status of this case.
Also write to:

Assistant Secretary Michael Dunn
United States Dept. of Agriculture
Whitten Room 228W
1400 Independence Ave. SW
Washington DC, 20250

Ask why this case was not mentioned by the USDA during the August 1, 1996 House Hearings
on HR 3398 and 3393-- these hearings were held 6 months after the raid was conducted.

The California research facilities have faced no scrutiny-- If you live in Oregon and are missing a
dog, contact Last Chance for Animals immediately.