Everything stops for tea

I have been down in the south of the country staying with the in-laws for a few days. Lovely people they are, good looking, large bank accounts, beautiful large home, perfect children. The garden is big enough for a very, very decent survival garden, the koi carp in the pond would provide several very decent meals and the woodburner is flat topped not a stove built for cooking but a decent sized flat area that could be utilised as such. 

This wonderful place is on the outskirts of a small town, set back  off the road with a high spiked hedge at the front and nasty plants and trees on the other three sides, it's a detached property standing on a full half acre.  A fantastic place to live at any time and a very nice location and set up for when the rest of the country finally falls. 

There is only one problem. They do not believe in the possibility that their world could come tumbling down around them. Like many high earners in seemingly secure jobs they think they are safe, and will continue to be safe on an on-going basis.

After one to many comment regarding me getting a "proper" job rather than just studying for a degree, raising my child and working ad hoc when the hospitals require me I finally told them about this blog, and mentioned that some major players, and some not so major players in the alternate media had published some of my work. "but you don't make money from it so what's the point? " was the answer from most of them. The rest kept quiet and smiled, embarrassed at having someone in the family who could hold such views. 

"actually your wrong there" I announced knowing how foolish I was going to sound when mentioned Adsense and that I had actually made enough to buy a six pint container of milk that week. The sister-in-law nodded, a sickly smile on her face. "riggghhhtttt" she said quietly.

"so it's more of a vocation than a job" added brother in law. It wasn't a question, more of a statement of fact. Everyone else sat quietly looking at the pedigree cat, pedigree dogs and pedigree children. At this point one of pedigree children demanded a glass of milk. Sister in law walked to her beautiful kitchen and opened the fridge. " mommy will ask daddy to go to the shop in a minute darling, would you like apple juice instead?" turning to brother in law she said she would write a list as they needed a few basics, just bread, milk, breakfast cereal and some blueberries would be nice.

My 7 year old looked horrified. " we NEVER run out of anything" she said quietly. "mommy makes sure of it. What if you had an emergency and couldn't get to the shops?" the adults giggled nervously. "We couldn't get to the shops when it snowed last  year (it was actually the year before) and when mommy fell down the stairs and couldn't drive we couldn't go out for ages but it was okay" (it was four days but it seems it felt like ages) she went on to tell them about us making the bread when we were snowed in and getting long life milk from the back of the cupboard. "there's always something at the back of the cupboard" she added finally. (This proves my point that kids talk, she has no reason to know about the food storage I have all over the house, telling her there is stuff in the back of the cupboard suffices.)

The conversation started up again when the kids were in bed. They were curious in an odd, eccentric relative is visiting kind of way. I answered their questions honestly and with no exaggeration and with as few of my personal views as possible. I was told " It's a very interesting theory but not something I  could buy into" by the sister in law. This was followed by " who would like a nice cup of tea?"

On the whole I think they feel I am a little mad, a touch insane for the views that I hold. The rest of my time was spent smiling at very sarcastic remarks, which they regarded as mildly teasing rather than insulting, such as " you need to check your site, you may have earned enough to buy a couple of slices of bread by now" and " how long is it going to take you to earn enough to buy a box of cereal?" my favourite comment was that they buy all the kids Christmas presents from Amazon but they wouldn't do so via this site as it is just "encouraging me to carry on when I should be out looking for a 'proper' job"

What have I learned from this? 

Leave them to it. 

Admitting you are doing something like blogging, trying to pass on  information to others will earn you ridicule and for all time you will be looked at as the family nut job. They have no idea of the pride I have in these pages, no it will not put money in the bank, no it will not alter my current status in life, but each time I post an article that may help someone somewhere to help themselves or their family when it hits the fan I smile and feel I have achieved something they cannot, and will not ever understand.

Take care

Lizzie

CDC: "We are in the midst of one of the worst outbreaks of West Nile Virus the USA has ever seen"

Figures released by the CD. On august 22 reveal that there have been 1118 reported cases of West Nile Virus, a three fold increase in the normal levels for this time of year. Of those cases reported, half have been inTexas where 21 of the 41 recorded deaths have also taken place. The rest of the cases are split between, South Dakota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Of these 1118 case 629 have been serious cases that have progressed, becoming neuro-invasive. Lyle R Petersen  the Director of the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases at the CDC gave a briefing during which he said:

 " We are in the midst of one of the worst outbreaks of West Nile Virus the USA has ever seen" Petersen, who contracted the disease himself in 2003 went on to say that anyone who survives the condition has life-long immunity from the disease.

WHAT IS IT?

Officially is is one of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex viruses of the family Flaviviridae. As stated it is a virus and it is spread by mosquitoes of the genus culex, particularly culex Pipiens and it is maintained by vertical transmission (adult to egg). This is not the genus of mosquito that spread malaria. Birds are the natural reservoir of the disease and mosquitoes pick it up by feeding on infected birds. They then pass it through their bite to other animals and humans.

The United States is so far unique in that the virus is highly pathogenic to its birds with the crow family being particularly susceptible although it has been found in 250 species of birds, all who were dead or dying.

In Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa morbidity and mortality in the birds is rarely found, they appear healthy.

It can also be spread by contact with infected blood from other animals, and rarely through blood transfusion, organ transplantation and pregnancy.

SYMPTOMS

* high temperature 101.4*F (38*C)

* headache

* backache

* muscle aches

* sore throat

* nausea

* vomiting

* diarrhoea

* swollen lymph glands in the neck

* rash on stomach back and chest

These symptoms usually appear 3-15 days after infection occurs. The more serious, neuro-invasive cases show the above symptoms and in addition may present with:

* sore eyes

* disorientation

* shaking

* seizures/fits/convulsions

* stupor/coma

* muscle weakness

These symptoms usually precede encephalitis, meningitis or paralysis. People over the age of 50 are more likely to develop the serious form of the disease than are younger people.

TREATMENT

there is no specific treatment for West Nile Virus. As a virus antibiotics have no effect. The milder form usually clears of its own accord within a few days to a few weeks and there are rarely any lasting effects after recovery. The more serious cases do not have such a good prognosis and although people do recover it is possible they may be left with brain damage from encephalitis and meningitis can lead to meningococcal septicaemia with the resultant loss of one or more limbs. Very severe cases can lead to death through either of the above conditions. Medical care is IV infusions to maintain hydration, IV antibiotics if secondary infection is suspected and ventilatory support as required.

AVOIDANCE

* decent mosquito repellant containing DEET

* long sleeves and long trousers

* screens on windows and doors

* citronella or other bug repellant candles

* draining of stagnant water and un-used swimming pools

* community spraying to prevent mosquitoes breeding

The fact that only 1  in 150 people usually develop the severe form of the disease, but  in this outbreak more than half have developed it, is the reason the authorities are spraying with such vigour in an attempt to control the spread of the disease. One report, from the BBC suggests they are spraying a substance called DUET, based on extract of chrysanthemum which is not harmful to animals and humans but deadly to mosquitoes. I have found no other mention of DUET so I cannot verify that this is indeed the substance being sprayed.

Take care

Lizzie

Chemical weapons and indications of release

On June 27th 1994 the Aum Shinriko cult drove to a residential area of Matsumoto and using a computer system remotely released a cloud of Sarin gas. Their targets were three judges that lived in the area, and they were using it as a trial run for an attack they were planning. 7 people died in the Matsumoto attack, and hundreds were sickened. Nine months later on March 20th 1995 five members of the cult boarded underground trains in Tokyo. They placed plastic bags of liquid Sarin on the floors, pierced them with sharpened umbrella tips and left the trains. As the liquid evaporated into gas people started feeling ill, stuck down with nausea and vomiting, uncontrollable trembling, foaming at the mouth and convulsions 13 people died and over 3800 were injured, hundreds of them permanently.

Aum Shinrikyo had business holdings worth an estimated $1.5bn including a plant able to manufacture chemical agents. There was evidence of experiments with Q fever, botulin toxins, Ebola and anthrax as well as Sarin.

Sarin like many chemical agents cripples the nervous system and causes a myriad of symptoms from those listed above to bleeding from the nose and mouth, paralysis, coma and death. In its liquid form the amount of liquid that can fit on a pinhead can kill an adult but considerably more is needed when it evaporates into gas.

Mustard gas was used extensively during WWl, and has been used since. Saddam Hussein was reputed to have used it against his own people, and it is believed that upto 100,000 US troops may have been exposed to it during the Gulf conflicts. Many doctors feel it is the cause of the illness known as Gulf war syndrome.

Unless you receive a large dose of mustard gas, which is also known as blister agent, you will not notice any immediate effects. Depending on the dose, at some point between a few hours to a couple of days red spots will appear on the skin, these will quickly turn into yellow blisters which are painful. If the agent has been inhaled blisters will form in the airways, on occasions closing them completely causing the victim to suffocate. In those that do not perish within a few days from massive exposure broncho-pneumonia usually results, causing death by secondary infection.

Low dose exposure causes minor to moderate health issues over a protracted period of time, often years where respiratory tract linings have been damaged, or eyesight affected. Given the range of symptoms it is easy to see why many regard it as the cause of illness in soldiers returning from the Gulf. Eye irritation, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, repeated respiratory infections,fevers, recurrent fevers and blindness can all result from exposure to this agent.

Cyanide causes histotoxic hypoxia. It prevents the cells of a living organism from taking up and utilising the oxygen available to it. Cellular respiration ceases and organ shut down follows ending in complete respiratory arrest. Cyanide has several forms, but the three most common ones are hydrogen cyanide gas, and the crystalline forms, potassium and sodium cyanide. Exposure cause shortness of breath rapidly followed by seizure, coma and death.

VX is a nerve agent developed at Porton Down chemical weapons research centre, Wiltshire England in 1952. It is normally found in a liquid state. The film ‘The Rock’ starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage showed it as a green liquid in glass spheres. In actual fact it is an odourless amber coloured liquid. It’s not volatile, it’s odourless but it has excellent adhesive qualities and is all but impossible to remove from the item it has come into contact with. This makes it very viable as a strategic weapon. Should a military base be contaminated with VX the base is effectively out of use until the VX degrades, which takes a long time as it has an evaporation rate about the same as motor oil.

It is absorbed through the skin, takes an hour or so to work and will see the victim drooling, sweating excessively and suffering eye pain and rapid breathing. This leads to paralysis, respiratory failure and death. In its gaseous form it kills rapidly, often without time for the symptoms to develop. The gas is heavier than air and if ever there were an alert regarding it the safest thing to do is get to high ground. If you were unfortunate enough to get VX liquid on you and it is on your clothes rather than your skin the CDC give the following advice “remove your clothes carefully by cutting them off and place in a plastic bag which should be sealed.” what I will say is don’t take clothes off over your head as inhaling any at all is a death sentence.

The antidote for VX poisoning is atropine. VX binds to enzymes in the body effectively cutting off the nervous system. Atropine removes it from the enzymes but to do so has be be injected directly into the heart, it won’t work any other way.

The USA, Russia and France are the only nations recorded as having VX in their possession. The UK gave theirs to the US in return for a thermonuclear device back in the fifties….no I am not kidding.

Mustard gas, sarin and cyanide is held by many countries including Syria and others in the Middle East. More recent reports also say that Syria has stocks of both Sarin and VX though it's difficult to substantiate that. It’s to be hoped that they feel having them is a good enough deterrent and that using them would result in retaliatory action that would most likely lead us very quickly into global warfare.

Practical Indications of a Chemical Release

Signs of a chemical release can include smoke or a peculiar odour on the air like (but not limited to) Garlic, Mustard, Geraniums, Burnt almonds, Bleach, and Mown hay.

People may be having difficulty breathing, eye irritation, losing co-ordination, nausea, a burning sensation in the nose, throat and lungs. Any of these may be an indicator that an airborne agent is present. Dead insects and birds are also a sign that there may be 'something in the air' as some of the substances would kill off these groups before affecting humans.

A list of the most common agents.

1. Symptoms associated with the nerve gases SARIN or VX Gas (no odour).

Headache, runny nose, salivation, pinpoint pupils, difficulty in breathing, tight chest, seizures, convulsions, nausea, and vomiting.

First aid includes:- Remove from the area, treat with Atropine and pralidoxime chloride (2-PAM chloride), diazepam for seizure control

2. Symptoms of blood agents Hydrogen Cyanide and Cyanogen Chloride (smells like burnt almonds).

Cherry red skin/lips, rapid breathing, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, dilated pupils, excessive salivation, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, pulmonary oedema, respiratory arrest.

First aid includes:- Remove from the area, pure oxygen, administer a cyanide kit.

3. Symptoms of blister agents Mustard gas (smells of mustard or garlic) and Lewisite (Geraniums).

Red,burning skin, blisters, sore throat, dry cough, pulmonary edema, eye damage, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Symptoms may be delayed from 2 to 24 hrs.

First aid includes:- Evacuate, wash with with copious water, remove contaminated clothing, support airway and breathing.

4. Symptoms of choking agents Chlorine (smells like Bleach) and Phosgene gas (smells like mown hay).

Eye and airway irritation, dizziness, tightness in chest, pulmonary oedema, painful cough, nausea, and a headache.

First aid includes:- Evacuate, remove contaminated clothing, pure oxygen, patient will need plenty of rest.

Take care

Lizzie

Pentagon withdraws Ebola vaccine funding

Two companies leading the search to find a vaccine for Ebola have had their funding suspended by the Pentagon.

Ebola, often described as the most terrifying disease on earth is a hemorrhagic virus that causes internal bleeding, organ failure and death in 90% of cases. A recent small outbreak in Uganda has claimed 16 lives so far.

The main efforts to combat the disease are funded by the US Department of Defence and the National Institute of Health. Several vaccine candidates have been identified and have been effective in animal trials.

Two companies, Sarepta and Tekmira have just begun human clinical trials only to be told to stop work due to funding issues. The order was issued by the Department of Defence. Scientist say that without continued funding it is most unlikely a vaccine will be forthcoming.

Two companies leading the search to find a vaccine for Ebola have had their funding suspended by the Pentagon.

Ebola, often described as the most terrifying disease on earth is a hemorrhagic virus that causes internal bleeding, organ failure and death in 90% of cases. A recent small outbreak in Uganda has claimed 16 lives so far.

The main efforts to combat the disease are funded by the US Department of Defence and the National Institute of Health. Several vaccine candidates have been identified and have been effective in animal trials.

Two companies, Sarepta and Tekmira have just begun human clinical trials only to be told to stop work due to funding issues. The order was issued by the Department of Defence. Scientist say that without continued funding it is most unlikely a vaccine will be forthcoming.

	Ebola virus Zaire	Ebola virus Zaire Electron micrograph of Ebola Zaire virus taken at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

Gene Olinger, a virologist at the US Army Research Institute at Fort Derrick in Maryland stated:

" with funding I would say there would be a vaccine in 5-7 years, that could triple if the funding goes away"

Larry  Zeitlin, from Mapp pharmaceuticals, a small company working on Ebola therapies feels it is unlikely big pharma will get involved and take the research forward. " there is not a huge client base at this point and big pharma like are only interested in big profits, it is the smaller companies that drive products for niche market bio defence" he stated recently.

You can bet you bottom dollar funding will be re-instated if Ebola makes it out of Africa.

Take care

Lizzie

Gene Olinger, a virologist at the US Army Research Institute at Fort Derrick in Maryland stated:

" with funding I would say there would be a vaccine in 5-7 years, that could triple if the funding goes away"

Larry  Zeitlin, from Mapp pharmaceuticals, a small company working on Ebola therapies feels it is unlikely big pharma will get involved and take the research forward. " there is not a huge client base at this point and big pharma like are only interested in big profits, it is the smaller companies that drive products for niche market bio defence" he stated recently.

You can bet you bottom dollar funding will be re-instated if Ebola makes it out of Africa.

Take care

Lizzie

Another virus makes a species jump

Recently two polar bears at a Berlin zoo started foaming at the mouth and having seizures, one of them , Jerka died a week later, the other Lars, survived after several weeks of intensive treatment.

Post-mortem studies on the brain of the dead bear revealed encephalitis, swelling of the brain, caused by a virus found in zebras and it was concluded through further
tests that the virus, never found in bears before was responsible for the polar bears death.

The zebra house at the zoo is 68ft from the polar bear enclosure and none of the keepers care for both groups of animals. None of the feeding apparatus is shared and the zoo has ruled out any other possible cross contamination. They have no idea how the virus got into the polar bears, particularly as none of the zebras at the zoo were known to be suffering from the condition.

Zoos bring together animals from all over the world, animals that would never normally be in close proximity to each other, often they would not even be on the same continent as each other. It is extremely unlikely, in fact nigh on impossible that this would have happened in the wild.

I am not anti-zoo. They play an important role in animal conservation with breeding programmes that hopefully ensure that endangered animals survive in sufficient numbers to carry the species forward. What concerns me is that they have no idea on how Jerka contracted the disease, how it was transmitted to her, until the death of that polar bear they had no idea that the virus could affect polar bears.

With seals in New England recently being found to be a vector for the avian flu virus H3N8, and with so many diseases, such as Ebola, West Nile Virus, novel H1N1 swine flu, Hantavirus and many more zoonotic diseases crossing the species barrier from animal to man could it be that zoos and sanctuaries become the breeding ground for these viruses to jump from one species of animal to another, allowing them to mutate and adapt to their new host before they finally are able to jump the final barrier and cross into humans?

Prof Klaus Osterreider from the Free University Berlin said in an interview with Biology (journal)

"These viruses do not seem to respect boundaries, and in fact we do not know that they have any"

A sobering thought indeed.

Take care 

Lizzie

Something Stinks, But It's Not The Raw Milk....

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurised or homogenised and prior to 1864 when Louis Pasteur ( 1822-1895) discovered that pasteurisation prevented  spoilage raw milk was the norm, and was consumed by all including weaned infants. Even after the process of pasteurisation became more common it was the discovery of germ theory in 1870 by Joseph lister (1827-1912) that started turning people away from raw milk.

Germ theory showed how highly contagious diseases, such as brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis could be controlled via pasteurisation. The process was first used in the USA in 1890.  Tests developed since that time have shown that milk can carry not only brucellosis and bovine TB but listeria, salmonella and e.coli 0157.

 It should be pointed out that not all raw milk carries these diseases, and some has been found to carry none of them but the fact that most raw milk carries at least some of these diseases even in small amounts has prompted some governments to ban the sale of raw milk and cheeses made with raw milk.

Those in favour of raw milk feel the health benefits and taste of consuming the unadulterated product outweighs the health risk. They also feel that in the pasteurisation process good bacteria as well as bad are destroyed. Those against it say the health benefits are unaltered by pasteurisation and that public safety is paramount.

In the USA the FDA and CDC has ruled raw milk unfit for human consumption though 28 states continue at this point to allow it to be sold, often after obtaining a permit to do so, but not all allow it to be sold for human consumption. The number of states allowed to sell raw milk at all is dropping with 11 more banning the sale of raw milk products since 2000.

Canada banned the sale of raw milk completely in 1991.

Raw milk is widely available throughout Europe, in the UK it is banned in Scotland but allowed to be sold directly by farmers to consumers in England, Ireland and Wales though it does have to carry a warning as to the possible dangers of drinking it.

So, what's the truth, is it safe or is it not?

The answer to that depends entirely on which research and/or studies you read. Those done by farmers and raw milk aficionados say it is safe, those done by the government say it is not.

Working on the KISS principle, maybe, just for once statistics can help.

The CDC record 2 deaths directly attributable to raw milk between 1993-2006. A mean annual death rate of 0.15 per year.

EACH YEAR an average of 100 people die in the United States as a direct result of e.coli 0157 from ground beef.

EACH YEAR an average of 98 people die in the United States from Vibrio contracted by eating oysters and shell fish.

It seems crazy to me that a totally natural substance that has been consumed for thousands of years in its natural state can be banned because it causes 2 deaths in 
13 years. 

Studies indicate that more people are sickened drinking raw milk than pasteurised milk, and this is a fact, it contains germs and some people are susceptible to those germs but the list of food that contain germs, many of them the same ones that are found in raw milk is huge.

Everything from raspberries to potatoes, and eggs to bean sprouts carry nasties such as e.coli, salmonella, norovirus  and cyclospora. Should all such foods be banned we would have very little left to enjoy.

Each of us has to make our own mind up about the food we eat and that really is the point, that choice for many, has been removed. It is strange that when obesity and heart disease kills hundreds of thousands of Americans each year the high fat, empty calorie, processed junk that helps cause their deaths is still sold in stores across the country, and the shop owners that push this junk are free to legally do so, yet a farmer selling raw milk is prosecuted for selling a totally natural product, a product that has caused 2 deaths in 13 years. 

This seems totally illogical to me and from my standpoint seems to be more about 
erosion of rights than preventing deaths.

Take care

Lizzie 

Smallpox and bioterrorism

Smallpox is a category A biological disease that in the wrong hands could easily become a biological weapon of mass destruction. A single case of smallpox would be considered an emergency caused by intentional release as the disease was confirmed eradicated on May 8th 1980. 

The last person known to have died of smallpox was Janet Parker, a medical photographer at The University of Birmingham Medical School, Birmingham UK. She died after an accidental release of the virus in September 1978.

The smallpox virus, medically called Variola is still in existence in a lab in the USA and another in Russia, no other countries have admitting having stocks of the virus but that doesn't mean they DON'T have them. Governments around the world confirm that they hold 90 million doses of smallpox vaccine and the seed virus from which new vaccines can be made-vaccinia virus strain Lister Elstree is stored in level four containment in Bilthoven, Netherlands.

The vaccines stored will be in various stages of degradation and will at some point need replacing. Tests on the vaccines are done every five years to check the efficacy of the drugs, so far vaccines up to 18 years old would still be effective if used.

As with all vaccines complications can occur and the death rate from smallpox vaccine was estimated to be one per million. Those vaccinated many years ago against smallpox may still have a small amount of immunity, possibly enough to prevent death, but not enough to prevent them catching the disease and many of the complications that go with it. These include:

* arthritis and bone infection

* encephalitis

* eye infections

* blindness

* pneumonia

* scarring

* severe bleeding

* skin infections

It was recommended that smallpox inoculations be repeated every 10 years in non-endemic regions and every 3 years in regions where the disease was endemic. 

There are two types, and two sub-types of smallpox. Variola Minor as the name suggests is the least problematic and has a death rate of around 1% of those infected. Variola Major has a death rate of around 30% and two sub-types of Variola Major, haemorragic and malignant smallpox, although very, very rare have a death rate of almost 100%.

Smallpox is spread by face to face contact, on clothes and bedding or via aerosolised particles. In lab experiments 90% of the smallpox virus was found to be dead 24 hours after release into a contained atmosphere. Sunlight and heat hastens the demise of the virus.

Due to its long incubation period of 7-17 days, with a mean of 12-14 days smallpox can be in the community for a few days before it is realised there has been a release of the disease. Like many illnesses in the first instance it manifests as would a bad case of flu. The symptoms are:

* general malaise

* fatigue

* headache progressing to severe headache

* fever progressing to high fever

* vomiting 

*  diarrhoea 

* excessive bleeding 

* raised pink rash that becomes crusty

Because of the long incubation period epidemics get off to a relatively slow start when compared to most diseases. New waves of victims will occur every 2-3 weeks and the disease will progressively move through a region until their are no hosts left. The last smallpox vaccinations were given to children in 1979 and we are approaching the time when very few on the planet will have even residual immunity. Only those considered to be at risk from smallpox are offered inoculation, currently this is restricted to lab workers who come into contact with the virus. In any outbreak medical workers and the military will be first in line to receive any vaccine on offer.

Monkeypox is also a Variola virus and it has the same symptoms as smallpox though they are much less severe. 1-10% of those contracting monkeypox will die from it. Smallpox vaccine is effective against the virus.

Caring for someone with Variola carries risks of contracting the disease. Strict barrier nursing should be employed and only one person should come into direct contact with the patient. All clothing towels and bedding should be stored in a hard environment such as a lidded bucket for five days to make sure the virus is dead. The items should then be washed in hot water and detergent. Formaldehyde gas was used for the fumigation of homes where smallpox was present decades ago but there is no current advise or protocol in place at this point due to the total eradication of the disease.

There is nothing except inoculation that prevents smallpox and inoculation up to day four after being in contact with the disease can still reduce the severity of the condition. No government has so far gone on record to say how long it would take them to mass produce enough vaccine to inoculate the population of their country. With 90 million vaccine doses in store worldwide, and making a logical assumption that some of them will have degraded since their production lets hope for all our sakes that it doesn't take them too long.

Take care

Lizzie

What would you like with your steak?

Eating beef, juicy, tender and tasty is a joy for carnivores the world over but sadly there is a two out of three chance you are getting far more than meat and micronutrients.

In 1998 the European Union banned the use of hormones in beef cattle production. The Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Related to Public Health identified six hormones, three natural and three synthetic that pose a threat to human health.

The natural hormones are:

* Oestrodial

* Progesterone

* Testosterone

The synthetic hormones are:

* Zeranol

* Trenbolone

* Meglengesterol

Although concern has arisen over the use of these hormones in beef cattle the USA and Canada has continued to use them.

The scientists have issues regarding the residual amount of hormones left in the meat at the point of consumption. These hormones have been implicated in not only the early onset of puberty, particularly in girls, but an increase in levels of breast, prostrate and colon cancers, and in disruption of the reproductive cycle in women of all ages.

Manure produced by growth enhanced cattle contaminates the ground surface and groundwater and this can lead into runoff into, streams, rivers and ultimately the ocean.

Aquatic ecosystems have proved very vulnerable to hormone exposure and such exposure has been shown to affect the gender of fish produced and their reproductive capacity.

It is estimated that of the 35,000,000 beef cattle slaughtered in the United States each year 2/3 of them have been injected with growth hormones to make them grow faster.

In addition, rBGH - recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone is used by many dairy farmers to increase milk production. This hormone is also called Somatatrophin, and it varies from the natural Somatatrophin present in the cow by one amino acid. It is this that has an affect on another hormone within the cow IGF1 and it is the raised IGF1 that stimulates the cow to produce more milk. Although no human issues have been found from rBGH increased IGH1 levels have been linked to prostrate, breast and colo-rectal cancers.

A major issue of giving cows artificial Somatatrophin is that they develope more udder infections, which are treated with antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant bacteria could become a problem, and in turn the worry is that these bacteria may survive pasteurisation and be passed to humans in the milk they drink.

It's no wonder that organic farming, particularly that of animals produced for food, is the fastest growing sector of US agriculture.

Take care

Lizzie