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Pet-food recall: Fun with numbers and Friday morning open thread
By Gina Spadafori
May 4, 2007
- If you have a sick pet or a question on your pet’s health, call your veterinarian.
- If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page (includes information on recalled foods).
- If you want to report a sick or deceased pet, click here.
(Update: As I figured they would, the FDA today clarified that they didn’t mean half of 17,000, but rather that the number of pets reported as dead was a little more than 4,000. Corrections are now coming in from the media outlets that actually quoted what the FDA said, instead of guessing at what they meant to say. Oops.)
Christie called last night at 9 p.m.
“Are you asleep?” she asked. I would have laughed, except … well, I was asleep.
The fact that we have completely different sleep cycles has been great for our ability to keep reporting. In a 24-hour day, I think there are only eight hours — noon to 8 p.m. — where we’re both awake. As a blogging team we’re like cable news, on 24/7.
But then, she’s Ms. Big City. Who goes to bed early in glittering San Francisco? Here in the sleepy, dull capital of California — Sacramento, for those of you who slept through third grade geography lessons — we hew to our farming traditions and go to bed early. Surely something will need plowing in the morning, and the livestock will always need feeding.
She called because the L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, Reuters and more were reporting a number — one of few the FDA deigned to give out at the media briefing yesterday — that 8,500 pets had been reported (in their words, “alleged”) to have died in the pet food recall. Here’s where that came from, excerpted from the transcript:
REPORTER: Okay. And this may be a question for Dr. Sundloff. Last week the FDA said it had gotten reports of nearly 2,000 dead cats and about I guess 2,000 dogs. I know they are not confirmed yet, but can you give us an update on the numbers? I think also 17,000 complaints.
DR. STEPHEN SUNDLOFF: I think we don’t have any new numbers from that, so I would have to ago back and tally the numbers again. We are continuing to add the – we have more phone calls than we’ve actually been able to log into our system, and so right now what we are doing is, we are trying to catch up with the backlog and get all those logged in and I imagine when we have our next press conference we can update the numbers. But right now those are still the same numbers that we reported on last time.
DR. MICHAEL ROGERS: I can update or provide some context to that number as we provide it. This group last week, we stated the agency has received more than 17,000 calls from consumers that allege animal illness or death associated with pet food products. Our preliminary review of those, and we’ve certainly entered a subset of those into our official data system, but the preliminary reviews suggest that as many as 50 percent allege an animal death associated with those pet food products. But as part of a long-term process, the agency will be evaluating those calls and determine their direct association to the implicated product.
DR. ACHESON: I want to emphasize that Michael Rogers said “allege.” This does not mean it’s definitive proof as I understand that.
Emphasis mine. That sure sounds like 8,500. But I think he meant to repeat what was said at the May 1 media briefing, but tripped over his own tongue. From that transcript:
OPERATOR: Priscilla Goodnough (sp?) with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
REPORTER: Hi. I wonder if you could just update the basic statistics on the pet food recall, because I’ve seen different numbers. How many pet food products have actually been recalled at this point, and what percentage of the total market is that, that was supposed to be 1 percent of all the available pet foods initially, and I’m not sure what that figure is now. And I also wanted to confirm that the FDA has received unconfirmed reports of 1,950 cat deaths and 2,200 dog deaths related to contaminated food. Is that correct?
MODERATOR: We’re going to ask Michael Rogers to take that.
MR. ROGERS: Yes, I’ll take your second question. What we’d like to reveal is the agency has received as many as 17,000 calls into the agency regarding this pet food incident that are alleging some association with animal illness or death associated to recalled product. Of those, about 8,000 or so have been entered into our official data system and have been evaluated and roughly 50 percent of those allege an animal death. As part of a long-term project, the agency is going to be evaluating the balance of those to determine their direct association to some of these recalled products.
Emphasis mine. It’s like reading tea leaves, isn’t it?
In any case, I want to point out that they’re pretty darn sure that the melamine in the livestock presents no risks whatesoever to people, so quit worrying your silly heads about this, because we have industries to protect. And yet, they take great pains to suggest that every person who called in a complaint about a dead pet only “alleges” a connection to recalled food, and that requires scientific proof to confirm. Which is why the “confirmed” count of dead pets — the “high teens” to quote from one of the media briefings — counts little more than the animals who died in feeding trials at Menu Foods.
Dear people, your civil servants believe you are too stupid to note any sort of correlation between a product on a recall list that you know you bought and a very decidely dead pet . Not to mention a bill for anywhere from a couple hundred dollars (for swift euthanasia to end suffering) to several thousand dollars or more for dialysis. And they think your veterinarians aren’t too bright, either.
Seems weird for me to be talking about lower numbers, doesn’t it? After all, we’re the ones who have been accused of fomenting panic and unrest with our own self-reported database that jumped above the FDA figures the first day we opened it. But all along what we’ve said is that if nothing else, this tragedy points to a need for greater recognition of the role of veterinarians in the public-health system, a role that must include a national database for collecting information on pet deaths. Not only because our pets are important to us, but also because illness in animals is one of the ways we can spot a pending health catastrophe in people.
The FDA admits this, in this snippet from yesterday’s media briefing:
REPORTER: Hi. That’s Joe Johns with CNN. Pretty straightforward question, could you give us some sense of sort of the data and the amount of data you’ve been able to recover on your testing in order to be able to say with any degree of confidence that the melamine did not actually reach into the human food chain except for those animals?
DR. ACHESON: I feel confident to say that the investigation of the contaminated pet food has been exhausted. We have followed that multiple different directions. The investigation continues, so I’m not going to say never, but that has been exhausted in terms of originally tracing back from the sick animals to what the problem was, then tracing forward from the contaminated wheat gluten into all kinds of different areas, and hence the host of recalls that you’ve seen.
So based on that, I’m very confident that none of those two contaminated batches have ended up on the human food supply.
By the way, you notice how careful Dr. Acheson was to state that they’re certain none of the contaminated product from the two batches — one wheat gluten, one rice protein concentrate – got into the human food supply chain. That leaves out of the mix the second batch of rice protein concentrate that Sens. Dubin and Cantwell have asked about:
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today sent a letter to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Andrew von Eschenbach asking him to identify the companies that were recipients of the contaminated rice protein shipments from China and to request that the FDA identify and inspect all suspect pet food ingredients imported by the U.S. from China and other countries.
Recent reports indicate that in addition to the contaminated wheat gluten found during the first wave of pet food recalls, contaminated shipments of rice protein and corn gluten have been used for pet food and could have entered the human food supply. On April 2nd, a Chinese company, Binzhou-Futian, sold rice protein to Wilbur-Ellis and a second unknown importer. Wilbur-Ellis has said that the shipment was distributed to five pet food manufacturers. Three of those manufacturers have revealed themselves and recalled food, the other two have not.
Emphasis mine. That letter was sent to the FDA on April 23. Durbin’s office told us yesterday the FDA hasn’t responded to the senators’ letter. We had planned to ask about that second lot, but Christie wasn’t called on in the media briefing. She sent the question to the FDA as a follow-up, but we’re not holding our breath waiting for an answer.
After all, if two Senators can’t get a straight answer out of these guys, is it likely we will?
About moderation: If you’ve posted successfully before, your post should go through without pause. However, our spam filter will pick up even the regulars if in its opinion you’ve tried to post something fishy — i.e., a really long post or one with lots of links. So, if you post and it doesn’t show up, don’t post again: We’ll get to your post when we can.
We have from time to time removed individual posts, mostly for foul language, hate speech or personal attacks, although we’ve also nuked the comments of people who come in just to pitch some product, trying to capitalize on your anger, uncertainty and fear.
We have one person on full moderate — all posts of that person’s need to be approved — and another has been banned. Otherwise, most everything goes through, eventually. Whether we personally agree with it or not.
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Awesome post. :-)
Comment by Kim — May 4, 2007 @ 8:37 am
We got a deal?
http://tinyurl.com/24o4dd
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 8:39 am
Dirty little secrets about the petfood industry is what this whole thing is about and exactly what we need to know.
There are plenty of other sites that want to get this info out.
Comment by phdcat — May 4, 2007 @ 8:40 am
You missed my point entirely. We’re all about getting information out. But we’re not about people looking to turn a quick buck on your fear.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 4, 2007 @ 8:42 am
Barbaro- the movie now will air on NBC Sat at 8 PM.
Comment by Mary Ann — May 4, 2007 @ 8:42 am
Comment by Mary Ann — May 4, 2007 @ 8:42 am
Stay away from popcorn.
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 8:49 am
http://tinyurl.com/25bcxu
“Said Zhang Huimin, president of Hebei Haojia Husbandry Co. in Handan, China, a protein additive maker that also uses melamine, “Don’t be fooled by those names. Whatever they call it, NPN, ESB … they are all the same, it’s still melamine.”
IMO, I feel Chem Nutra knew they were using Melamine, etc. by this above.
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 8:53 am
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmr.....05_07.html
SmartPak Canine Voluntarily Recalls LiveSmart Adult Lamb and Brown Rice Formula
Comment by Sue — May 4, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Does anyone have any idea how long this may have been going on? Does anyone know where to have food tested? I have some old cans of different cat foods from a few years ago, I would like to see if those contain melamine.
Comment by Peter — May 4, 2007 @ 9:00 am
It’s Friday
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 9:01 am
I’m total idiot about anything concerning computers/internet. New to blogging, too. But this morning short time ago (10:57 a.m. CST) i read AP report on SFGate.com (San Francisco Chronicle) by writer Christopher Bodeen. It’s full of inaccurate, partial info about pet food recall and the dangerous foods. Says the causes of death in pets are due to liver problems brought on by the foods! You’d think AP would at least have important facts about this horrible tragedy! Sorry i don’t have any clue as to using the tinyurl whatever or i’d post the website.Thanks so much for all the accurate information on pet connection! I’m constantly updating a pet sitters list i’m on, plus forwarding updates every day to clients, friends, family.
Comment by CherCat — May 4, 2007 @ 9:02 am
Comment by Peter — May 4, 2007 @ 9:00 am
Welcome to the club. A lot of people are discovering some older cans of food that got left in the back of the pantry.
Hold onto it till we can make sure any testing lab that will test food isn’t in bed with or bought off by the bad guys.
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 9:03 am
Peter -
Melamine by itself - 15 years (est)
Melamine combined w/ other chemicals - dunno
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 9:06 am
Thanks , it seems that kidney disease has been the most common(“natural”) cause of death of cats belonging to me and many I know for the last 10 years or so. I hate to think that tainted food has been damaging cats kidneys all these years!
Comment by Peter — May 4, 2007 @ 9:16 am
Link for CherCat’s article:
Report on Pet Food Recall Company
http://tinyurl.com/3727oh
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
Friday, May 4, 2007.
CherCat what did you think is inaccurate??
This is definitely not inaccurate:
“The chemical, normally used to make plastics and fertilizers, is not considered a direct health risk to humans. However, scientists say they have too little data to assess how it might react with other chemicals, raising concerns about its introduction into the human food chain through the consumption of meat from animals raised on melamine-spiked feed.”
In fact this bit is right on!
Comment by Peggy — May 4, 2007 @ 9:18 am
I have a real problem with a few things.
The FDA lied to a Senator ,and everyone else too but I am talking about Durbin, and got a lot more money. To enable them to do a job they were farking up big time.
They do not have the staff to do the job but the FDA has at least one set of eyes on THIS blog at all times so they can removed any documents that might need..er..revision.
Does Senator Durbin think this system is working? I don’t.
Comment by E. Hamilton — May 4, 2007 @ 9:19 am
“After all, if two Senators can’t get a straight answer out of these guys, is it likely we will?”
This pretty much sums up my feeling about the ASPCA’s recent advice to avoid pet foods containing foreign sources of protein, and any possibility of consumers getting full disclosure from the FDA.
Comment by karen — May 4, 2007 @ 9:21 am
Found the part about liver damage:
“Earlier, the administration said it had confirmed only about a dozen pet deaths due to liver damage caused by melamine ingestion.”
They do say earlier on, though, but that does give a false impression.
On the other hand there may be a problem with liver function and we just don’t know about it. I have heard bits and pieces about continuing problems with some of the animals who are trying to recover and we don’t know if there is any long term damage since it just started and no time has really gone by yet. Just my thoughts here, though, not being a scientist myself or anything.
Comment by Peggy — May 4, 2007 @ 9:23 am
Sundloof,
(or is it something ona log?)
your FIRED!
dammm …
Well their it is, after months of “investigation” the fools on drugs admistration still can’t get their heads outta
their proverbial butts enough to say 8,000 animals have died.. mumbles ? sounds like gas
being released from the sewer, my goverment is
really headed to hell with a wish?
sigh, people> we have to take this to the congess, the senate.. and even to the whitehouse.
if not sun-ona-log and his ilk will play dead, ‘till it blows over??
Comment by johnypaycut — May 4, 2007 @ 9:25 am
Sunloff, also thinks we ate too stupid to make homemade pet food. Granted one has to get all the ratio’s correct for the long term. But I would argue for a few days on an adult healthy pet the animal would be far better off on with the ratio’s not perfect than eating deadly toxic contaminated food. The ingredients on the label apparently mean nothing and we don’t know if it is cross-contamination or the manufacturers just dumbing whatever is the cheapest ingredient in the food. Sunloff’s comment yesterday re homemade food, just proves to me that FDA is in bed with the pet food industry. Like how hard would it be for FDA to publish some recipes on the proper ratio’s for homemade pet food on their web-site? No,they just expect us to continue playing Russian Roulette with our pet’s food and putting change in the pockets of their buddies.
Comment by Robin — May 4, 2007 @ 9:26 am
They all have cranial rectitis. I wonder if you can get that from eating melamine?
Comment by Tammy — May 4, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Comment by Kim — May 4, 2007 @ 8:37 am
:ditto:
One of the best reads since this fiasco began. Thanks muchly.
Thanks as well for allowing us as much freedom of expression as you do AND for ever vigilant weed patrol. I don’t know how you both do it amid serious sleep deprivation, wrists falling off & fighting the story that has “eaten your life”. It can’t be said enough: THANK YOU.
Comment by Ally — May 4, 2007 @ 9:33 am
Just heard on the noon news milk prices rising by 8% by Oct. Why? To cover costs of increased feed. More melamine anyone?
Comment by VJ — May 4, 2007 @ 9:33 am
I have not previously heard anything about liver involvement causing pets to die after eating tainted pet foods. But since the liver detoxes food eaten (i think?), perhaps the primary cause of death is kidney failure, with secondary liver failure? I think the Bodeen article down-plays too much. Thanks to person putting up the tinyurl link to the article!!
Comment by CherCat — May 4, 2007 @ 9:35 am
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/o.....a5713.html
Note - Attachment “revised 5/3/07”
HUMAN NEONATAL KIDNEY CELLS that are used in drug creation . Inspection revealed they were adultered.
Imagine that.
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 9:36 am
Ask the Health Insurance Corporations if coverage includes treatment for treating the many chronic diseases resulting from bad nutrition and low-dosage exposure to neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors.
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 9:41 am
Peter wrote
“Does anyone have any idea how long this may have been going on?”
Peter
From all that I have read and researched this practice has been going on for years. Back around 1985 urea ( urea metabolizes into melamine) was used in cattle feed but has since been outlawed in the US. As to melamine probably years but until recently it has not been IMMEDIATELY fatal. Recently someone here found a USDA document about melamine and cyrozamine from 1991 so it has been known about and tested for at least that long.
No one is sure how toxic it is long term, no one is sure why it has become immediately fatal recently, probably the quality of the salvaged melamine was really bad with who know what in it. This appears to be a root cause for disease,ingesting a little bit of poison regularly, what it will eventually become traced to as cause remains to be seen.
sam
Comment by sam — May 4, 2007 @ 9:43 am
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/o.....a0202.html
This is updated 4/12/07 -
Eewww - just don’t eat riceanything
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 9:45 am
And aren’t 6,000 pigs about to die as a direct result of melamine poisoning and 100,000 chickens that are being slaughtered?
That will make the “confirmed and official” death toll due to melamine look pretty bad.
Since the FDA ordered the deaths I guess that is really “official”.
True they were not pets but boy, the FDA should have given out the REAL pet death numbers sometime in the last month and taken the heat off themselves.
Comment by E. Hamilton — May 4, 2007 @ 9:46 am
That word “alledged” they are using because there is an ongoing investigation into all the complaints they have recieved. I alledged my dog died because of his food to the FDA, dry formula. Not many of which have been recalled. So we don’t know if my dog counts in their numbers, yet. I know that I am not the only one to have alledgely said a dry formula was the reason my dog died. A class actions investigator I spoke to freely told me I am not the only one to have talked to them with the same formula in question.
I sent the requested 4 cups to the company a few days ago, in the packet they provided.
On April 5, 2007 I reported my dog “illness” to the company. I gave the customer service girl the codes/dates and she transfered me to corperate to file a claim immedently. All I saw was a parade of red flags while I was on hold.
I called the gentleman back on the 9th to report to him my dogs passing. Alledging it was his food.
Comment by Maudigan — May 4, 2007 @ 9:47 am
ditto: petcom..
you’v done well!
i am wondering how many senators , and congress
critters are aware of the petfood sehnangin’s?
i’ve called mine (one gets about 3calls a week).
i am pushin ahead , we’v got to get the gov to
dump sundlog and his lackey pals..
(looks like a weekly process with the bush administration?) every week we see “new faces”!
maybe it’s test?
Comment by johnypaycut — May 4, 2007 @ 9:48 am
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/o.....a1701.html
Talks about surveillance of imported rabbit. I feed my dog raw rabbit but it’s not a favorite. thought it would be, excited when I found it. anyhow, wonder about this surveillance thing.
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 9:48 am
CherCat,
I’m not medical person (just old and been around, plus mother had liver disease) and what you said about liver and kidney’s is correct from my understanding. We and our fur children can “appear to be functioning normally” with only 10% of kidney or liver function. As soon as it drops below the 10%, it’s straight downhill and seems to be sudden but in fact has been building…
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 9:51 am
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/o.....a9929.html
This is the Import alert for Melamine - wasn’t placed until 4/27. Look at this list of stuff - amino acids are on there too!
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 9:52 am
It’s good they included amino acids… There would be the same incentive to dope them with melamine as there is with wheat gluten, etc.
Comment by Lisa C — May 4, 2007 @ 9:56 am
http://www.fda.gov/foi/electrr.htm
FDA’s link to the electronic reading room (compliments of the FOIA)
If you wish to visit an FDA Public Reading Room in person, they are located at:
Division of Freedom of Information, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 6B05, Rockville, MD 20857
Division of Dockets Management, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Mail Stop HFA-305, Rockville, MD 20852.
Hours of operation for both sites are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 10:04 am
Import alert is DATED 4/27. Wasn’t on FDA’s web site until sometime late 4/30 or early 5/1.
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 10:05 am
Last night as I was wondering if I was in fact going to kill my dogs by feeding them homemade chow (3 lbs of meat per day, 5 cups of rice, some vegies and a variety of supliments that I don’t even make sure I get…) a white toy poodle hopped into my head. He joined our family in 1972 or 73 lived until 1988, and in his entire life with us may have eaten a grand total of 12 lbs of dog food of any sort.
You could buy a brand new bag of whatever, he would usually eat say 1/4 of a cup, and then never again. If you bought the same brand anytime within the year he wouldn’t even eat the 1/4 cup. Canned stuff was even less popular. He ate what we ate, unless he didn’t care for it. In that case he had leftover steak, or pork chop of it all else failed, Mom would run over to McDonalds and grab a burger (plain please, no bun) or to KFC for a two piece snack …
He didn’t have great teeth by the end of his life, but other than that he had a very healthy 15 years or so. Much better than the recent corgi who made it to 10 on science diet r/d, the two schnauzers whom made it to 12 & 13 on Iams and the toy poodle who would did dog food and who died a worn out old dog at 11 after a life time of mighty dog and the like.
Now I don’t say a steady diet of fast food is the way to go, but could it be worse than munu ala melamine?
Comment by schnauzer — May 4, 2007 @ 10:05 am
Classic
http://tinyurl.com/3596do
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 10:07 am
FORBES article - link below - downplaying melamine toxicity in humans - no one knows what they’re talking about and they’re just repeating the lies over and over!
It’s time we inundate all the major magazines with letters. We’re up against big advertising bucks, but we can try. If we had a list with addresses and emails, we could all send letters. Somebody please write to Forbes:
http://tinyurl.com/ywgx29
Comment by Nadine Long — May 4, 2007 @ 10:09 am
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/g5898d.htm
A warning letter sent to a China Firm in June of 2006 regarding a drug for veterinary use. this Chinese firm also manufactures human drugs. Warning re: adultered drugs, etc.
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 10:09 am
This disaster seems to be wearing on everyone, even the esteemed weasel,Duane Ekedahl is looking raggedy lately. Wonder if the mela -chicken is not setting right in his stomach?
Don’t they serve a LOT of chicken at those political dinners?
Comment by E. Hamilton — May 4, 2007 @ 10:12 am
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05.....tfood.html
China Now Testing Food for Chemicals
By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: May 4, 2007
SHANGHAI, May 4 — Responding to the sweeping recalls of pet food in the United States and to worries about contamination in its own food supply, China said today that it has begun nationwide inspections to determine whether wheat gluten is being contaminated with chemicals, according to the state-controlled Xinhua News Agency.
A spokesman for the main export and import inspection agency, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said the inspections began on Monday. Regulators are testing for a chemical sometimes used as a rat poison, as well as for melamine, an industrial chemical that is believed to have killed or sickened thousands of pets in the United States and South Africa.
…“Sampling and examination are under way,” a spokesman for the Chinese regulators told the Xinhua news agency today. “We will announce the results as soon as the investigation is completed.”
By late in the day, however, the report of the nationwide inspections was being carried only in the English language versions of Xinhua and state-run newspapers like the People’s Daily and China Daily — not in the Chinese-language versions.
….MORE
Comment by Kat — May 4, 2007 @ 10:13 am
Comment by Nadine Long — May 4, 2007 @ 10:09 am
A list of media contacts is being built at itchmo forums, please add your link.
Comment by E. Hamilton — May 4, 2007 @ 10:14 am
How long is this ban going to be in place on all protiens and glutens? Can we hope FOREVER!
Comment by Maudigan — May 4, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 10:07 am
Somebody ought to make a cartoon out of that photo of Duanebaby with a Groucho nose and glasses, and instead of the traditional dropping-down ‘duck’, a cat & dog hanging by a rope with a caption having to do with the ‘secret word.’ Then we could publish full-page ads everywhere with the cartoon. Sure would get attention.
Comment by Nadine Long — May 4, 2007 @ 10:16 am
I dunno, but it seems to me that the 17,000 complaints that the FDA keeps reporting for a while now, is also frozen/stuck/outdated..
It surely must be higher by now.
Comment by Serijna — May 4, 2007 @ 10:16 am
also..
“According to Xinhua, the inspections being carried out by the agency are looking for traces of melamine and aminopterin, a chemical sometimes used as a rat poison that was mentioned in the early going as a possible cause of the deaths of some pets. But regulators have never been able to confirm that aminopterin was present in contaminated pet food.
While wheat gluten has been a major locus of concern in the United States, the Chinese government said nothing today about testing corn or rice protein; those ingredients, too, have been identified as being contaminated with melamine and have been linked to illness in pets in the United States and South Africa.
“…
==========================
NOTE: You might remember aminopterin was the chemical used in the 2 mass poisonings in China, 7 days apart last month.
Comment by Kat — May 4, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Comment by E. Hamilton — May 4, 2007 @ 10:12 am
Did you you know that one of Ekedahl’s in laws is a deputy assistant inspector general of the Central Intelligence Agency?
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 10:18 am
…In recent weeks, several melamine traders, animal feed producers and chemical companies have said the practice of mixing melamine into food and feed additives is widespread in China. It is inserted in everything from baking flour and corn meal to fish feed, they say, and artificial coloring is also used to disguise one protein additive mixture as another.
Two Chinese companies were apparently the sources of all the melamine-tainted protein that found its way into pet food ingredients in the United States, and they are both located in eastern China, not far from the vast wheat-growing areas that are also centers for the production of melamine.
Both of the companies — Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development and Binzhou Futian Biology Technology — had recently won contracts to supply pet-food ingredients to American and South African buyers.
Comment by Kat — May 4, 2007 @ 10:18 am
From Brakke Animal Health News:
“Tyson Foods Inc. announced that earnings for its fiscal second quarter were $68 million, compared to a $127 million loss in the same period last year, citing improved margins related to cost-cutting…”
Wonder how they achieved that cost-cutting…by buying cheap contaminated chicken feed???
May all the politicians and bureaucrats choke on the “safe to eat” tainted rubber chicken dinners at their self-congratulatory functions.
Comment by Gail B — May 4, 2007 @ 10:18 am
I have to doubt China being worried about “contamination in its own food supply”. They’ve had the “one child rule” for quite awhile because of overpopulation.
It’s more likely the bad press and being cut off from our $$$ that really worries them!
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 10:21 am
RE: Comment by Gail B — May 4, 2007 @ 10:18 am
Several days ago I posted the link to that statement by Tyson. It was a very long article & in the last couple of paragraphs they stated that there would be no recall of their chicken. They buried that statement & at the time, had not published it on their website. It’s probably still not there.
Comment by Kat — May 4, 2007 @ 10:21 am
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 10:18 am
No wonder he is so good at the cover up! The dinner table conversations must be a hoot at family functions.
One side has to kill you if they tell you anything and the other side can’t tell the truth because they are paid spin doctors.
LOL
Hollywood is just MISSING out on some good stuff here.
Comment by E. Hamilton — May 4, 2007 @ 10:23 am
As far as my possibly recalled can goes: STILL waiting for Menu Foods to call me back and explain the discrepency between their website and their customer service - and tell me if it’s recalled or not. Kim, I’ve still got to do that digging through previously posted lists (it’s exams time, so I’m a little bit nuts).
Does anyone know: has Itchmo opened a forum in response to the ASPCA’s press release? I’d like to be able to look at what products people have already contacted the manufacturers about, in response to that. Also, everyone should make sure to e-mail that press release out. Some people may not be taking notice about most of this stuff (blowing it off, saying “Well, my dog/cat’s been eating it, and he’s fine”), but I have a feeling a lot of people will listen more closely to the ASPCA. Many pet owners trust them. Good for them to make that press release!
Comment by Krystal Kubichek — May 4, 2007 @ 10:23 am
The NO RECALL WAS ON PORK:
http://tinyurl.com/3bc3ye
Pork, about 12 percent of Tyson’s sales, saw higher sale prices and strong export sales. Bond said 195 hogs that had eaten feed from China that had been treated with the banned chemical melamine did go to a Tyson pork plant in Nebraska. Bond said there is no indication of harm to humans and that the meat was not recalled.
Comment by Kat — May 4, 2007 @ 10:24 am
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/ora_ref_cntry.html
At this site you can view Import Refusals by country by month through and including March 2007. It will also show you the amount of refusals by country. We have serious issues w/ China imports.
duh
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 10:26 am
Steve, I guess my mind does not run to the conspiracy way , until all this I pretty much took people at their word and went on and I did not pay much attention to the incestuous world of power.
Makes the backwoods cousins marrying cousins stuff look tame, doesn’t it?
Comment by E. Hamilton — May 4, 2007 @ 10:29 am
Dear Sir or Madam:
On behalf of its members, the Pet Food Institute (PFI) presents the following comments in response to the Food and Drug Administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled “Establishment and Maintenance of Records Under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002” (Bioterrorism Act) (68 Federal Register 25187, May 9, 2003). PFI represents companies that manufacture 97 percent of the dog and cat food sold in the United States and supports the overall intent of the Bioterrorism Act to improve food and feed safety. However, the proposed rule, as currently drafted, would pose a number of burdens on the US pet food industry and its suppliers that would not contribute to the overall goal of improved food safety.
http://tinyurl.com/3xwsr2
Comment by Steve — May 4, 2007 @ 10:30 am
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 10:21 am
ditto! It’s all for show. Our FDA finally got in…after it’s all cleaned up, of course.
Comment by Kat — May 4, 2007 @ 10:30 am
It’s frightening when you see the Import Refusals and know that the FDA only inspects 1% of the imported food items that they are resposnible for.
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 10:32 am
(on my soapbox) as a people dr, i find it very irresponsible of the fda to give blanket assurances that humans who ate animals that ate poisoned pet food are safe, when they clearly have not done a thorough investigation, and the medical literature is lacking. i have searched medical and govt websites for human toxicity info on melamine, etc, and there is very little info. we know it is excreted thru the urinary tract, acts as a diuretic (amiloride, the breakdown product, is actually a prescription diuretic—Moduretic), causes kidney stones, which may then may cause bladder tumors in rats. sounds pretty benign, except that thousands of pets died from something. we haven’t heard path reports from the slaughtered hogs’ kidneys or flesh. to make those assurances, the fda needs to have traced the animals that ate contaminated feed to the slaughterhouse, then to the stores, then to the consumers, and they need UAs, labs, imaging, kidney stone analysis if available, biopsy if indicated. it’s doable but it takes time, effort, and common sense. clearly the fda is just going to hang back and wait to see if any ‘epidemics’ appear. but, as many readers have commented, your kidneys can sustain quite a bit of damage with no clinical symptoms appearing, so the watch-and-see approach of the fda is really irresponsible.
Comment by nancy — May 4, 2007 @ 10:33 am
RE:Comment by Krystal Kubichek — May 4, 2007 @ 10:23 am
Itchmo has a thread in the forums devoted to all-US vegetable proteins:
http://tinyurl.com/2lz397
Comment by Gail B — May 4, 2007 @ 10:37 am
FDA is reactive instead of proactive. Stellar idea folks. Stellar.
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 10:40 am
According to the FDA IMPORT ALERT:
“DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL
EXAMINATION OF ALL VEGETABLE PROTEIN PRODUCTS FROM CHINA FOR ANIMAL OR HUMAN
FOOD USE DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELAMINE AND/OR MELAMINE ANALOGS”
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/o.....a9929.html
CHARGES: “The article is subject to refusal of admission pursuant to
section 801(a)(3) in that it appears to bear or contain a
poisonous or deleterious substance, which may render it
injurious to health [Adulteration, section 402(a)(1)]”
and/or
“The article is subject to refusal of admission pursuant to
section 801(a)(3) in that it appears to bear or contain a
food additive that is unsafe within the meaning of section
409 [Adulteration, section 402(a)(2)(C)(i)]”
and/or
“The article is subject to refusal of admission pursuant
to section 801(a)(3) in that it appears to be unfit for
food [Adulteration, 402(a)(3)]”
Whichever of the 3 reasons this substance should not be in food or any other products. It is either “poisonous or deleterious”, “unsafe”, or “injurious to health” (those are the words of the FDA). They state that this Import Alert is for “ANIMAL OR HUMAN FOOD USE” Since they used that actual wording how can they say it is not a problem for people.They are contradicting themselves!!
Comment by mal — May 4, 2007 @ 10:41 am
I just want to thank Pet Connections and Itchmo, for all you guys are doing. Without you we would be in the pitch dark without a flashlight. Again, many thanks.
Comment by Robin — May 4, 2007 @ 10:43 am
If we can review only 1% of our imports, we need to decrease our imports by 99%. Use our own stuff, stop shipping it out. this whole import/export stuff is out of control in my opinion. We ship our soy out and ship soy back in? US has the best soil in the world for growing it. Supposedly we do it because we don’t have the capability to manufacture some items into various forms. Build it.
Comment by shelly — May 4, 2007 @ 10:46 am
I want to know what Indiana chicken farms used the tainted feed, don’t you? Has anyone found or seen a list?
Perhaps these people know:
Indiana State Poultry Association
http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/ispa/
…their list of links also might be useful.
Comment by Barry — May 4, 2007 @ 10:48 am
We have allowed cheap imports from countries that don’t abide by the same standards as producers in the US, to undercut prices. Many US companies have either switched what they produce, gone under or out of the country. That’s why we now only have 4 companies in the US that produce wheat gluten, a couple of them at only 20% capacity.
Todays article in the International Business Times is very telling:
Imports Erode U.S. Wheat Gluten Industry
http://www.ibtimes.com/article.....-scene.htm
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 10:59 am
From the article posted above “PFI represents companies that manufacture 97 percent of the dog and cat food sold in the United States”….”However, the proposed rule, as currently drafted, would pose a number of burdens on the US pet food industry and its suppliers that would not contribute to the overall goal of improved food safety.”
But Duane, I dont understand, if only 1% of the pet food is involved, it should be no big deal right?
Comment by Sandi K — May 4, 2007 @ 11:03 am
Yes, I do wonder just how long this is going on.
I had to put my dog, Rasker to sleep in 2004, reason: Kidney Failure
I put my cat, Spike to to sleep in 2005, reason: Kidney Failure
Now I’m wondering if the kidney failure of my pets is a coincidence…or not…an accumulation of melamine over the years?
Comment by Deanna — May 4, 2007 @ 11:08 am
The why of CYA…
Chinese government’s proposed purchase of $16 billion dollars of U.S. goods this month before the May trade talks begin (“Chinese Companies Prepare for Massive U.S. Purchases Ahead of Trade Talks,” The San Jose-Mercury News, 5/3/2007,
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5808225
Comment by Neyll — May 4, 2007 @ 11:16 am
I had to put an 11 year old to sleep 8/06 for kidney failure (sudden); I had to put a 6 year old to sleep for liver disease (sudden). They were on Nutro, Iams and Science Diet wet and dry….
Comment by Nabiya — May 4, 2007 @ 11:24 am
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - have urinalysis testing done. Not just bloodwork. Have been testing blood for BUN & Creatin in 6 kitties for 5 weeks now. One 13 yr old is testing high and is on daily sub-Q fluids. Our vet said urinalysis was not necessary. Upon my insisting it be done, she is doing so even as I type this. The 13 yr old’s urine (the one with the high kidney values) tested good - no crystals. HOWEVER, our 2 yr old tested fine for BUN & Creatin. Today the spoke -like crystals are in his urine. Antech Diagnostics has pictures of these crystals on their site. The kitty’s looked EXACTLY like those in fig. 9. Textbook. Waiting results for 3 more kitties. They were all eatting Hills Science
Diet M/D.
Comment by elliott — May 4, 2007 @ 11:35 am
Aunt Granny,
I read the article about the imported Wheat Gluten erroding our gluten economy - I hope we can take back these industries and once eat products with gluten in them without worrying about kidney failure. Did you see the link on Itchmo where kidney disease has increased over the last ten years or so - very alarming - to think this poisoning must have been going on for decades - scary thought.
Comment by Linda — May 4, 2007 @ 11:39 am
Comment by Barry — May 4, 2007
I did contact Perdue and Butterball and both replied in a detailed email that they did not use any of the contaminated feed. I’m hoping I can beleive them since we eat more chicken and ground turkey than anything else and now the dogs are eating the same.
Comment by Maureen (Lilly and Lucy's mom) — May 4, 2007 @ 11:54 am
Linda,
I hope we can get back the industries we’ve lost too!
This has always been such a wonderful nation, with so much to take pride in that we’ve been the hopeful destination for a lot of people (not counting the sour-grapes lot, of course). It’s a shame that things have gotten to this sorry state. Worse yet, is that somehow We The People let it happen. If we’re not careful we won’t be able to grow and feed ourselves. So many family farms have been lost…
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
Aunt Granny, When I go to my grocery story and find so much produce imported from Mexico and other countries, I have 2 thoughts:
If I am told not to eat the fresh produce or drink the water if I go to Mexico, why would I want to purchase it and eat it here? Same produce.
The 2nd thought is: what is happening to the farmer and his family that used to supply this grocery store with fresh produce from the U.S.?
Comment by Elaine — May 4, 2007 @ 12:13 pm
The Wall Street Journal thread is shutting down Internet Explorer like what happened with the FDA live-blog.
Comment by Linda P. — May 4, 2007 @ 1:01 pm
Elaine,
The family farms started going away big time in the mid 1980’s. Considerable effort was made by some to save them but it wasn’t enough. To few understood what it all meant, and even fewer cared. There was plenty of food, no problem here. The family farms couldn’t compete price wise with the big agri-businesses that were moving in. Many of those businesses accumulated a lot of land and were owned by people outside the US. Many countries don’t allow non-citizens to buy land, we’re not that way. So many of the family farms went under. Some were sold to the big agri-businesses (some of those are at least highly influenced by the big chemical companies creating the frankenfoods) or divided into 5 acre country estates or subdivisions, etc…
I know what you mean about all the produce from outside the US. It’s all there because we’ve become spoiled and expect to have what we want when we want it! My old Granny always said: “Eat what grows where you live.” She was a very wise woman! I can’t grow watermellon here in January, but it’s in my grocery stores. People want it and buy it, simple matter of supply & demand. I don’t know how we can turn this train wreck around, wish I did! Maybe if I and others thought about how our buying habits effect what happens. If we could look at the big picture and connect the dots like is being done on this awful situation that has caused so much misery and death with our family pets…
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
> I did contact Perdue and Butterball and both replied in a detailed email that they did not use any of the contaminated feed
Thanks, Maureen. That’s *some* good news, at least. Still, I know that the FDA knows who they’ve inspected and who was using the contaminated feed, I think they should tell *us*, don’t you?
Comment by Barry — May 4, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
Barry I absolutely think the FDA should take the initiative and speak out and tell us everything concerning who bought the wheat gluten, who bought the Rice Protein what they used it for and on and on. It seems they either don’t have the authority to do that or they have more pressing reasons NOT to tell.
Comment by Maureen (Lilly and Lucy's mom) — May 4, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
MORE PEANUT BUTTER RECALL —
5-2-07 Enforcement Report:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/.....01002.html
Comment by Kat — May 4, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
Granny,
Gosh! Do I ever know what happened in the early 8o’s! If my husband and I weren’t so tenacious, we would have gone under with a lot of our ranching friends.
Our local grocery store has just recently started putting U.S. Grown or Canada Grown labels above the produce that is not labeled individually. I am sure due to the fact that, if it isn’t labeled, I ask them to go look on the box! I know they get irritated with me, but I think I made a difference.
Comment by Elaine — May 4, 2007 @ 1:58 pm
Ol’ Roy has killed Ho-tee, a service dog:
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/sto.....v=15MUCBSd
Comment by Kat — May 4, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
Elaine,
I’m glad you and your hubby managed to hang on in the 80’s, it was a bad time.
You’re doing the right thing in the grocery store too! Early last fall I examined my buying habits when a grocery closed that always tried to carry as much local produce as possible. I realized that I had slowly slipped into some habits that made me a part of the problem. It had been all too easy to do the one stop shopping at Spend-mart.
Granny
Comment by Aunt Granny — May 4, 2007 @ 3:07 pm
Kat - More Peanut Butter Recall - 1:49 pm
Scroll down page further and look at blood recall - donor - risk of - nvCJD.
What does that mean! 8)
Comment by Kathi — May 4, 2007 @ 4:38 pm
Would everybody please wake up….this has been in our human food supply for a very long time…….Do we have no brains…..the Chinese got caught …this is not the first time they have done this…they have been doing this all along for years…..shut down all processed food imports coming into this country!!!!!!!Now!!!!!! Don’t be naive or foolish!
Obewan
Comment by Lew Orban — May 4, 2007 @ 5:09 pm
re: Comment by nancy — May 4, 2007 @ 10:33 am
Thank you for that very good post - wanted you to know it was noticed. I totally agree; ignoring these risks is so irresponsible. I’ve become fatalistic in past days; I figure I’ll be joining my kitty in chronic renal problems one of these days and maybe we’ll go together.
Comment by Sharon G — May 4, 2007 @ 6:32 pm
Here is the deal this story is much bigger than just melamine. You need to check out Novartis who owns Gerber…the baby food maker! Novartis also owns Ciba that has a melamine plant in China. Diabetes rates are through the roof and so is chronic illness for children as well as cancers…..hmmmmm
Novartis is also making drugs to help all these sick kids ….and make millions in the drug trade……..taking care of sick kids.
This Novartis is directly tied to the Nazi Germany…how come I am the only one that can see this connnection?
Obewan
Comment by Lew Orban — May 4, 2007 @ 7:11 pm
Comment by Lew Orban — May 4, 2007 @ 7:11 pm
I started giving my cats a jar of Gerber baby food every few days during a transition to a raw diet. Some vets even recommended doing that until all the recalls were determined. I noticed that Gerber uses cornstarch in some of their jar foods. I researched cornstarch and found out that the vast majority of it is produced in China. I have now emailed Gerber twice and phoned them twice asking where they source it from. I have not been contacted by them yet and it’s been over two weeks. I suspect it’s from China….
Oh yeah, don’t forget autism in children is now 1 in 100 births as opposed to 1 in 10,000 births a decade ago…
Comment by Nabiya — May 4, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
Comment by CherCat — May 4, 2007 @ 9:02 am
Bodeen isn’t entirely incorrect, even though there’s an edited version of the article you cited, stating, “This version CORRECTS that melamine causes kidney failure, not liver damage” currently on the internet site.
Other chemicals can often be confused with melamine. Case in point: aminopterin. Aminopterin DOES cause liver damage, so I would suspect that it’s possible for melamine to cause liver damage as well.
Comment by Lynn — May 4, 2007 @ 10:07 pm
50% in a statistical universe of 8000 is meaningful - about 8 times more meaningful than the average
political poll that makes headlines in the mainstream media. If the FDA has entered the data on
8000 interviews, and half of those are a report of a dead pet, the remaining 9000 calls that haven’t
been entered in the data base should show a similar 50% with a margin of error of less than 1%. Half
of 17000 is 8500, which should be a legitimate number to report.
Now, if someone was to follow up the FDA numbers with a poll of the usual sort, it should be possible
to get a statistically meaningful number of those who lost a pet to the food, and didn’t bother to
call the FDA. I would be real surprised if the FDA numbers account for more than 1-2% of the total. So,
50 to 100 times what has been reported to the FDA is a LOT of pets.
And, yes, these guys are quite careful how they phrase things to lie while still telling the literal
truth. It’s called spin, and most reporters aren’t bright enough to nail them down with questions that
are hard to spin answers for. One might ask, “With a known contaminant having entered the US food supply,
has the FDA inspected product intended for human consumption, how many such inspections have been conducted
and how many of them tested positive for melamine?”.
While on the topic of crunching numbers, I’ve been digging into some sites with raw data on various
substances. My objective was to try finding graphs similar to what is posted on the U of Goof site.
I haven’t hit pay dirt on that one yet, but I would say the lines on their graphs should be a whole
lot closer together before claiming they have produced an identical substance in their labs. A very
small variation in the lines can mean the difference between getting an antibiotic or a sleeping pill.
Close doesn’t count. The useful tidbit of information I ran across was the LD 50 for aminopterin.
It’s 3 mg. per kg. in body weight. To translate: if the number applied to a 9 pound cat (4 kg.),
12/1000ths of a gram would be lethal to every other cat that received that dose. The New York lab
originally reported in excess of 40 parts per million of aminopterin in two out of three samples they
analyzed. In other words, a kilogram of food would contain over 40 mg. aminopterin, and a 5.5 ounce
can would contain 7 mg. aminopterin. While a little shy of the LD 50, it is certainly a dangerous
level of the toxin, and increasingly so for every subsequent daily dose.
Contrary to media reports at the time, I have yet to find ANY source confirming the theory that it
has ever been commercially produced for rat poison ANYWHERE. From what I’ve been able to dig up, it
was patented for that purpose long ago, but was too expensive to produce to make it feasible for a
competitive, marketable product. The fact of the matter is the substance is so unusual it’s hard to
find detailed information on the stuff at all. As close as I can tell, there is only one company in
the world producing aminopterin with any sort of commercial intent, and they are doing so on an
experimental basis with the help of some sweetheart government grants for cancer research.
As bad as the melamine issue is, it doesn’t begin to compare with the question of how such a fantastically
rare and sophisticated toxin - a thousand times more lethal than Melamine - ended up in food.
Comment by Don — May 5, 2007 @ 2:01 am
Has anyone starting feeding (whince) muckrakers such as Matt Drudge our story? Traditional newsmedia is more apt to get active if Matt and others pick up on this and go with it?
I’m going to write as many blogs, websites, and wikis as possible to at least get them to post the FDA website and newsletter.
Comment by Pat — May 5, 2007 @ 3:11 am
Has anyone started a wiki or blog dedicated to the human food poisoning story as well as begin research on what food companies are most probably safe to buy their brands of a wide array of products?
I am just at the beginning of researching the humam story and have begun a wiki page of safe human foods. wkis allow for others to create pages and comment on each page. You are more than welcome to join our family’s effort by joining and adding pages and comments.
http://scottishterrier.wetpain.....d+Research
http://scottishterrier.wetpain.....s+Research
Please write me so we can share Human Research Story links and each other’s research. Please write me so that we can add to safe food human food companies.
aboutdogsxpen@yahoo.com
Please check into the “organic” movement that gives us humans a fighting chance to buy food for our families that aren’t tainted w/ human growth hormone, pesticides, raised from Monsanto’s killer seeds.
I do not want to buy human food to poison the human or pet family members in our home. All four of us are on human food.
Comment by Pat — May 5, 2007 @ 3:25 am
I guess I need to tell you all that this intentional poisoning of our food supply has been and will continue for years. When you go to a normal store here in the USA about 80% of all food found on the shelves has some type of GM food included in it. We do not know and these food companies have a strangle hold on our government and the FDA. To point out the reality of the human diet …it is a mess. Our diversified diet is only because there are people who make money off what we eat….it has nothing to do with health…it has to do with money. There is only one diet I would recommend and that is the “Eat Right for Your Blood Type” diet and this diet is based on genetics research. Stay organic and use this plan and you will stay healthy. I have been raising sheep now for ten years. They have only eaten green grass growing on my property and alfalfa in the off season. My sheep have never been sick they have never received a shot or any type of medication…….please tell me why these sheep are always healthy and we humans are always sick? Its the garbage that we eat and that are sold on every commercial on TV. We are being led around by our nose on purpose. See you the human are now a commodity and every thing you think, say, do, buy and want is worth money and control by someone else, It is not necessary for any of these companies to make you all sick. All they need to do is bring down a couple of you in the pen…..and create chronic illnesses that they can control and make money on for the long term. This pet food problem caused to much attention to the activity planned on purpose….they got caught and now the real cat is out of the bag. Companies like Novartis have been doing this for years. They create the poisons and then create the medication for you after you drop sick in the pen. Not everyone is needed…just enough of you to make a couple billion off the illness caused on purpose. This is not a world where ethics and morality reign supreme. There are very bad people involved in many industries and all they want is money and power and they really don’t care how they get it…just as long as they do.
I have known this now for many years and have tried to share it with those around me and in e-mails. Often I find people do not care and are not willing to listen or change their ways. If it does not directly effect them then they do nothing….how stupid we all really are. Children are dropping like flies and climbing the walls and taking drugs to control their behavior in record numbers. Companies making these control drugs also make food that the children eat……how nice and how stupid are we? Here in the USA we live in a fantasy world created by the TV and commercials we are bombarded with daily….its a wonderful place of deception for control….of your life and brain. All of us need to take a deep breath and change the future for the better and take control of the world and environment around us. A movement of truth would be a movement long overdue.
Obewan
Comment by Lew Orban — May 5, 2007 @ 5:48 am