| Vegan News Archive - 1st Quarter 1999 |
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Vegan Street and ARM! Spread the Message of Meatout from March, 1999 IL Legislature May Undermine Endangered Species Act from March, 1999 IL House Set to Vote on Allowing Hunters to Kill Deer with Handguns from March, 1999 British Government Tries to Suppress Evidence Against Genetic Engineering from February , 1999 USDA Approves Irradiation of Animal Flesh from February , 1999 Vegan Street Activist Exonerated from February , 1999 Mad Deer" Disease Strikes the U.S. from February , 1999 USDA May Start Putting Warning Labels On Meat from February , 1999 Listeria Found in Milk and Airline Food from February , 1999 Activist Convicted in "Hunter Interference" Law from January , 1999 Listeria Death Toll Continues to Climb from January , 1999 Safe Water Act Fails to Save Our Water from January , 1999 New Illinois Law is Death to Raccoons from January , 1999 Listeria-Tainted Meat Kills at Least Eight People from January, 1999 |
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Saturday, March 20, Vegan Street and Animal Rights Mobilization (ARM!) joined forces in Chicago to celebrate and promote the many benefits of a plant-based diet in support of the Great American Meatout. What better location than just outside the (in)famous Rock and Roll McDonald's, North America's largest and busiest burger pusher with a (you guessed it) “rock and roll” motif? A lot of tourists swarm into this invariably traffic-congested neighborhood, known as River North, lured by the siren song of theme restuarants, like Michael Jordan's and The Rainforest Cafe, and the possibility of buying merchandise with a theme restaurant's logo on it, like Planet Hollywood t-shirts and the Hard Rock Cafe baseball hats. On this pleasant and sunny first day of spring, there were a lot of people who crossed our path, and quite a few were receptive to us and our message. Not everyone would take one of our flyers, which had a vegetarian message and recipe, but no one was overtly antagonistic, as often is the case. Perhaps they were star-struck by the irrepressible Valerie Vegiburger? Maybe they were too terror-stricken to respond? Whatever the case, we handed out hundreds of flyers, and helped make vegetarianism more accessible to the people we met. This was just one of hundreds of events across the country celebrating the Great American Meatout. Above: Vegan Street's Valerie Vegiburger joins forces with ARM!'s boss lady Kay Sievers to turn the public on to some vegan recipes Below: Michelle hands out a flyer while Sally lends a hand.
Valerie Vegiburger's famous lentil-rice burger
Illinois Legislature May Undermine Endangered Species Act In a move that underscores the arrogance and myopia of lawmakers who push for development at all costs, some Illinois politicians have constructed an unprecedented solution that aspires to remove the pesky but protected creatures that stand in the way of "progress": write a law that exempts them from the very law that protects them. It's not that the three species - the massasauga rattlesnake, the Indiana crayfish, and the least brook lamprey - are no longer in danger of becoming extinct, (indeed, they are included in the Endangered Species Act), but private interests and personal greed may circumvent any real protection that the aegis of the ESA offers. Unfortunately for the massasauga rattlesnake, a once-common species whose numbers have sharply fallen due to development of the Illinois prairie where it once thrived, the largest population lives along the shores of Carlyle Lake, an area earmarked for a multi-million dollar resort. The bill that would exempt the snake from the state's endangered species list is supposed to be voted on next week by the Illinois House of Representatives. Jim Hickert of the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying, "There has never been an attempt to legislatively modify the list - this is a whole new can of worms. We are required to make listing decisions based on purely scientific information, and this clearly cuts the science out of it." Rep. Kurt Granburg (D-Carlyle) showed very little pretense as to why he co-sponsored the bill, stating plainly, "Taking the snake off the endangered species list is one less impediment to the deal." The rattlesnake, which lives in small numbers in only six locations in the state, has its highest population of approximately 100 near Carlyle Lake. Chris Phillips of the Illinois Natural History Survey told the Tribune, "The Carlyle population is the only one in Illinois that has a chance of making it through the next 20 years... The others are too small." After Rep. Granberg began drafting the proposal to remove the snake from the endangered list, another state representative, Larry Woolard (D-Carterville), requested to also exempt the lamprey and crayfish, because the protection of these species is holding up the development of a 1,200 acre reservoir. Sugar Lake, where the lamprey and the crayfish live, would be dammed, replacing the clear, shallow, fast-running creek, with a still, 4-mile-long lake which would be inhabitable to these endangered species. Illinois residents, please send a polite message to members of the Illinois House of Representative telling them that you oppose House Bill 2243, arbitrarily removing animals from the Endangered Species Act to suit private interests. This sets a very dangerous precedent. You may want to mention that your future support will go for those representatives who have a record of voting responsibly and favorably on animal and environmental issues. Don't know your Illinois State Rep? Find out here!
IL House Set to Vote on Allowing Hunters to Kill Deer with Handguns In one of their most potentially boneheaded decisions ever, the Illinois House of Representatives is set to vote the week of March 14th on whether to allow hunters to murder deer with handguns. The bill, which comes under the familiar pretense of culling deer populations to protect them from themselves, or some such reactionary tripe, is being muscled through for those oh so well connected lobbyists from the NRA. We haven't gotten word yet about the bill's chance of passage, but we know it's heavily opposed by anti-gun groups, as well as anyone with either a heart or a brain (at least it should be). Even the Chicago Tribune posted an editorial condemning the bill. Still, it's important to let your rep know you won't stand for this. When you write to condemn the possible destruction of the endangered species act (see previous article), make a point to protest this other act of idiocy. Don't know your Illinois State Rep? Find out here!
On the morning of Wednesday, February 24, delegates from the United States and five other countries rejected a proposal to regulate trade in genetically modified products, despite the fact that the proposed treaty had the support of the rest of the nearly 130 nations. This would have been the first global treaty to regulate the sale of genetically engineered foods. The U.S. and its allies, Australia, Canada, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, argued that the treaty, which would have required that countries approve in advance any genetically altered commodities, would entangle the global food trade in red tape. Advocates of the treaty, led by European nations, said that it would help reduce the risk of spreading harmful environmental effects as genes from different species are spliced into plants, animals or micro-organisms. Up to 45 percent of major crops grown in the U.S. are genetically altered; delegates from the U.S. said that the proposed treaty could block or stall more that $50 million in yearly farm exports. Delegates from nations that supported the treaty expressed outrage at the U.S., accusing it of pandering to the interests of multinational businesses and biotechnology industries over protecting the environment. Joseph Goto, the representative from Zimbabwe, said that the U.S. "is holding the world at ransom." The talks are currently suspended and will resume no later than May 2000. In the meantime, individual countries will continue to limit the introduction of genetically modified products. Genetically altered foods are plants and sometimes animals that are modified by scientists at a genetic level, usually by splicing genes from one plant or animal onto the genes of another, causing a mutant hybrid. Sometimes, the reasoning is alleged added profits for producers, as in the case of recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone given to cattle to boost milk production. Other times, the only apparent reason is added profits to the agrichemical companies, as in the case of Roundup® Ready soybeans, which were designed by Monsanto to be more resistant to the deadly herbicide Roundup®, which, coincidentally, is also manufactured by Monsanto. The products that really send chills down the spines of vegetarians are ones where animal genes are spliced into plants, as in the case of Flavr-Savr® tomatoes, which contain the genes of fish, and potatoes which contain the genes of pigs. Unless you buy exclusively organic foods, the danger of eating genetically altered foods is pretty high. The high-tech agribusiness industry has a lot of clout in Washington, with executives continually moving back and forth between industry and government jobs. They have managed to bully many products onto the market with little or no regard or concern for either public opinion or public safety. They have even blocked rules regarding the labeling of genetically altered foods, so that you are probably eating the stuff without even knowing it. The one victory consumers have managed so far is the ban on genetically-altered foods from organic foods. Monsanto and some of the other planet-wreckers had tried to force that one down our throats along with a lot of other really nasty things, but after an amazing 275,000 letters, cards, e-mails and phone calls from consumers in early 1998, the USDA finally opted to put consumer and environmental safety ahead of corporate mega-profits. If you are interested in protecting your food supply from the possible dangers of genetically-altered food, we would urge you to write your congressional representatives (need help finding your congressional rep?) If you want to get involved in this issue further, here is a great internet resource: The Pure Food Campaign
British Government Tries to Suppress Evidence Against Genetic
Engineering Up to 60 percent of British processed foods contain ingredients that have been genetically altered, and last week a prominent scientist, Arpad Pusztai, was forced into retirement when he produced a report that refuted official claims that these "Frankenstein foods" were harmless. The report was suppressed despite the fact that 20 international scientists had signed a memorandum defending his findings. Phillip James, the director of the government-funded institution Pusztai worked for, has been accused of firing the scientist because the facility received financial support to the tune of $230,000 from Monsanto Co., a food industry giant and leading manufacturer of genetically modified crops. Mr. James has denied that Monsanto officials had any influence on his decision. In response to Pusztai's findings and with the British government considering the first commercial planting of genetically modified crops, the scientists who signed the memorandum in support of Pusztai are also calling for a five-year moratorium on the sale of such foods. The British government has not conducted any long-term independent research into the effects of genetically engineered food products on human health. The government did release an official statement that "The prime minister is very strongly of the view that [genetically modified foods] are safe." Adding to the lack of public confidence was the disclosure that Jonathan Jones, a scientist commissioned by the government to write an article on the benefits of genetically altered food, works for a facility that receives funding from Lord Sainsbury, an advocate of biotechnology and an owner of one of Britain's largest grocery chains. On Wednesday, the Daily Telegraph revealed that another suppressed report, this one commissioned by the government last year, found that genetically altered crops could kill some farmland birds, plants and animals. The report also cautioned that overly aggressive weed control could result in withering food and habitat for insects and the species that depend on them for survival.
More Listeria Hysteria And Just When You Thought Headcheese was Safe...
Vegan Street Activist Exonerated of Felony Charges
Ms. Rose was one of eleven activists picketing the World Championship Rodeo and Wild West Show held on the grounds of the Bristol Renaissance Faire on October 4th, 1998. She and the others were representing the Chicago-based group, SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), a longtime foe of rodeos in general and of this rodeo's producers, the Latting Rodeo Company, in particular. SHARK has been protesting the Latting Rodeo Company for years, most famously at the Wauconda Rodeo in Wauconda, Illinois, which has seen both sponsorship and attendance drop precipitously since activists have begun picketing and disrupting the annual event. Undercover cameras wielded by SHARK activists at other Latting sponsored rodeos have captured images of intense animal cruelty, including scenes of rodeo contestants and animal handlers tying ropes tightly around animals' genitals and then shocking them with electric cattle prods immediately before releasing them from the chutes with "cowboys" on their backs. It was one such electric cattle prod that landed Ms. Rose in trouble. Shortly after arriving at the scene of the rodeo, she began standing near the entrance to the parking lot holding an electric prod identical to ones used by this rodeo company above her head, while speaking into an electric megaphone she held in her other hand. Within less than five minutes, she was approached by Kenosha County sheriff's deputy Eric Klinkhammer, who promptly arrested her. As Ms. Rose sat handcuffed in the back seat of a squad car, Klinkhammer searched his violation books until he could find a charge to hold her on. Finally, he came upon "possession of an electric weapon". This law, which had been written in response to attacks on police officers and others with stun guns, was now used to rush Ms. Rose to jail. There were two problems with the law, however. First, Ms. Rose clearly never attacked or even threatened anyone. She was merely trying to show the weapons that rodeos use. Second, she was holding a cattle prod, not a stun gun. This particular type of cattle prod looks somewhat like a stun gun, but while stun guns deliver 100,000-200,000 volts of electricity and are illegal to sell in Wisconsin, cattle prods carry about 4,500 volts, can be bought in any large hardware store and are in use by thousands of Wisconsin dairy farmers. Apparently, these differences meant little to the sheriff's deputies or the Kenosha County district attorneys. After being held overnight in the Kenosha County Jail, Ms. Rose was charged with the aforementioned "possession of an electric weapon", which is a Class "E" felony, with maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine and 2 years in prison. For the next four months, through the bond hearing, preliminary hearing, arraignment and motion to dismiss hearing, Ms. Rose and her attorney, David Celebre, argued that she had, in fact, broken no law, and that the charges should be dropped. Finally, less than a week before her jury trial was to begin, they succeeded. In a private meeting with Assistant District Attorney Lisa Rowe, Mr. Celebre finally convinced her that the case would surely fail, and, faced with certain defeat, Ms. Rowe agreed to drop the charges. The irony is that animal rights activists contend that electric cattle prods bear too close of a resemblance to stun guns, and should be banned, at least from rodeos, while rodeo defenders typically argue that cattle prods are gentle, safe and almost completely painless. In fact, had Marla Rose been found guilty, the case might have set forth a spate of restrictions against electric cattle prods, possibly turning dairy farmers and hardware store owners into sudden felons, and likely banning the use of prods in rodeos. So in one sense, Ms. Rose's victory is a sort of a defeat. It absolved the very device she was trying to vilify. Not that she is complaining. "I'd much rather be out here than back in jail," she said after the charges were dropped. "Besides, we were able to demonstrate that police officers and prosecutors consider cattle prods to be dangerous weapons. If all this helps stop people from going to watch animals being tortured with these instruments, then it will be worth it". Will that happen? The World Championship Rodeo and Wild West Show in Bristol, was intended to be an annual event, though organizers hinted to Vegan Street last year that they might consider not continuing it if they felt enough pressure from the community. Vegan Street has wanted to follow this case to its conclusion before arranging a meeting with event organizers, though now we feel free to do so, and we intend to pressure them soon, before they invest too much into the next one. Keep coming back to Vegan News for developments. But that's tomorrow's story. Today Marla Rose is a free woman. To read a detailed account of events form Marla's perspective, see "Adventures in Kenosha" for more information on rodeo violence and other animal abuse, visit the SHARK homepage.
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Could Bambi be exacting her revenge? The reason for all this background is that there is a 30-year-old hunter from Utah, R. Douglas McEwen, who is dying from nvCJD, and there is a strong suspicion he contracted it through eating or handling the infected flesh of the deer and elk he killed. On January 7, 1999, a coalition of concerned individuals and organizations, including McEwen and the Humane Farming Association, filed two petitions with the Centers for Disease Control and the FDA. The first petition demands that the CDC and FDA begin a critical and aggressive study of nvCJD; the other demand of the first petition is to make it a reportable and monitored disease. As the petitioners maintain, symptoms of CJD usually appear to be dementia, which is most often diagnosed as Alzheimer's Disease. There are 4 million cases of Alzheimer's in the U.S. and there is no routine post-mortem analysis of dementia-related fatalities. As pointed out earlier, it is mainly through autopsies that the presence of CJD can be confirmed. Post-mortem studies of people who have died of a dementia type illness suggest a much higher incidence of CJD than previously suspected. The second petition demands that the FDA close important gaps in U.S. animal feed regulations which still allow cannibalistic feeding practices, such as feeding pigs to pigs, pigs to cows, and cattle blood products to calves. Also, sheep infected with scrapie are still allowed in U.S. pig and pet feed. The American public may have a false and dangerous sense of security that agencies of U.S. government are safeguarding our food supply, when in fact it appears that they are more interested in protecting agribusiness. How the deer and elk came to become stricken with CWD is uncertain, but what is certain is that most of the cases have been found in and around Fort Collins, CO. How the animals contracted the disease is purely speculative: some believe that they somehow ingested tainted cattle feed, some guess that deer may have chewed on the scrapies-ravaged bones of dead sheep to make up for calcium loss during antler growth season. Another theory is that the wildlife research center in Fort Collins was never properly sanitized from the scrapies infected sheep that were studied there years ago, and the species barrier was crossed when mule deer were later studied at that same facility. As is to be expected, the government has shown typical resistance about exploring the dangerous possibilities of contaminated, contagious meat. In 1996, 6.5 percent of deer and 1.5 percent of elk killed in Larimer County, CO tested positive for CWD; at the height of the BSE epidemic in Great Britain, only 1-2 percent of the cattle were infected. A year ago federal health officials said that there was no evidence that CWD could infect humans, but given the typically long incubation period of most TSEs, this may have been delusional thinking. How does all this affect vegans? First off, the animals infected
with TSE diseases are suffering and ill. Secondly, if vegans truly
embrace the principles of compassion and empathy, we must be extend
this toward the individuals who are stricken, even if they have
a different beliefs system from us. Thirdly, in a nation of Listeria,
E.coli, Salmonella, massive meat recalls and a health care system
already overflowing with those suffering from diet-related diseases,
"mad deer" may come to represent yet another nail in the coffin
of what is considered "acceptable" food in America. |
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Is meat going the way of cigarettes? If this measure goes through, it could represent a progressive step toward treating meat like the dangerous substance that it truly is. Of course, there is some resistance from the mega-meat producers of the world. Henry Hubbard, a spokesman for Thorn Apple Valley Inc. declared the proposed warning labels "Un-American!" Are we to infer from this that high fever, nausea, abdominal pain, miscarriages and painful, premature death are a welcome part of the American experience? It's easy to imagine why Mr. Hubbard was so adamant: last month his own company recalled a record 30 million pounds of red hots that were possibly contaminated with that most patriotic bacteria. The USDA has been under fire in recent months from food-safety advocacy groups for not having adequate testing of ready-to-eat products and for not exerting proper pressure on Sara Lee to announce a recall. Although the USDA now contends that it "suggested" in a December 18 meeting with the company that they begin a market withdrawal, a spokesperson for Sara Lee maintains that this never occurred. Sara Lee officials assert that the recall was initiated on a purely volunteer basis with no prompting by the USDA. Either way, one gets the notion that in the coming years, from baseball games to barbecues, the aroma of grilled veggie dogs and burgers will gradually overtake the stench of charred meat products. Perhaps during our lifetime, we'll see all the cases of food-related illness and death combine to make one collective, resounding statement: meat kills.
Would you like some Listeria to go with your coffee? Postscript: Four days after the announcement, Kohler Mix Specialties Inc., the Minnesota-based supplier of Land O' Lakes 2 percent milk, has widened its recall to include all cartons of milk products produced at its plant due to possible contamination. The products, which range from half and half to chocolate milk, are sold to multiple outlets, including Hardees, Wendy's, Kemps, and, of course, Land O' Lakes. I know airline food is bad, but this is ridiculous.
Activist Steve Hindi is Convicted In Violating Hunter-Interference Law |
Kenosha WI, 2/09/99 
"Mad Deer" Disease Strikes the U.S.
 Steve Hindi preparing for takeoff in his motorized paraglider |
In a move that was doubtlessly intended to frighten activists into silence, Steve Hindi, the outspoken president of SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Compassion), has been found guilty of violating Illinois' controversial and possibly unconstitutional Hunter Interference Law. The charges stemmed from September of 1996, when Hindi flew over the Woodstock Hunt Club in his motorized paraglider as a form of protest. Woodstock, a private club where those looking to get in touch with their inner-Ted Nugent paid big bucks to shoot tame, docile birds, have them cleaned and packaged, closed in 1996. The Hunter Interference Law is just that: it bars citizens from interfering with legal hunts. At the time Hindi was initially charged, there was nothing on the books that specifically banned flights over hunting areas. Hindi, who plans to appeal, could face up to 180 days in McHenry County Jail and a $1,500 fine. Sentencing is set for March 7. If anything positive that comes from this, it might be that the Hunter Interference Law is thrown out as just another unconstitutional means to harass activists. With this case, we may have the opportunity to make real, lasting change. |
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have listed twelve people who have died after eating meat infected with listeria monocytenes bacteria, and that the death toll is expected to continue to climb. Hot dogs and possibly deli meats from a Sara Lee processing plant in Zeeland, Michigan have infected at least 62 people killing nine adults and causing three miscarriages. The number of people infected and dying from listeria-tainted meat may actually be substantially higher since only 22 states require a reporting of listeriosis to the CDC, as of 1989, which is the last time the CDC surveyed the states. In fact, the Chicago Tribune reports that Kenneth Moll, a lawyer writing a class-action lawsuit against Sara Lee on behalf of the poisoned victims, said that he has learned of 15 deaths and 325 illnesses in 12 states, including seven states that have not been reported by the CDC. The states where people have contacted Moll with reports of illnesses and death from eating the infected meat are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. In addition, the CDC reports five cases in Arizona including the fatal contamination of an unborn child. The toll will likely climb because of the long time between the time the infected meat was put on the shelves last August and the time it was finally recalled on Dec. 22. Listeria has an incubation period of up to six weeks. It is also believed that many people still have infected meat sitting in their freezers. Sara Lee has recalled more that 300 varieties of meat products as a result of this listeria infection. Also, Oscar Meyer Foods has recalled 28,313 pounds of meat after the US Department of Agriculture found listeria in samples. This meat is all in the form of sliced cold cuts and has resulted in at least one report of illness potentially linked to the products. Listeria will usually cause severe flu-like symptoms to a typical healthy person. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weak immune systems are at a much more grave risk from the blood infection meningitis which is caused by the bacteria. See the earlier listeria article in our news archive.
Clean water. Sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? Water that's been treated to reduce the threat of that menacing by-product of factory farming, microbe contamination, which is caused by animal wastes that have seeped into our waterways. On December 3, when the Clinton administration unveiled the new regulations for our public water under the Safe Drinking Act of 1996, we should have been thrilled. The $1 billion per year that it's going to cost to treat drinking water is going to be handed down to the polluters, right, the corporate farms? Nope. In the coming months, examine your water bills... They will increase. We are the ones paying the price, literally and figuratively, for the environmental recklessness of factory farming. Bacterial pathogens are in our water; we're paying to fix it. Five years ago in Milwaukee, thousands were hospitalized and several dozen died after exposure to the microbe cryptosporidium, a bacterial pathogen carried by animal wastes that were in the water supply. Corporate animal killers caused it, and American citizens, even those who do not purchase the products of factory farming, are paying the price. The Clinton administration is asking all the wrong questions, thus coming to the wrong solutions. Instead of asking, is this style of "farming" environmentally sustainable, they ask, how can we develop costly filtration systems to remove its attendant bacteria? Instead of asking, what causes this bacterial infestation and how can we avoid it, they ask, how can we chlorinate and disinfect our nation's water without too much risk? Within this framework of questions and answers, real solutions will never be reached, only temporary salves. At Vegan Street, we believe that one day the crushing weight of factory farming will be impossible to ignore or camouflage. One day, a presidential administration will be unable to disguise the truth, manipulate the public or protect corporate polluters, because the outcome of factory farming will be stripped clean of all subterfuge. Here's hoping that it's sooner than later. Also on December 3, two environmental advocacy groups issued a report charging that Illinois state government and regulatory agencies are failing to control the health risks created by lagoons of livestock manure that are accumulated at factory farms. Among the agencies cited by the environmental groups as being too lenient on polluters was the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, for failing to monitor how corporate farms store and dispose of animal waste. In August 1998 a waste spill from a cattle farm killed more than 100,000 fish in a four-mile stretch of Little Indian Creek; two months earlier, 250,000 gallons of hog manure from a facility spilled into a stream feeding the Illinois River. Also, in a 1997 incident, an Illinois hog farm dumped 800,000 gallons of waste into a tributary of the Mississippi River. Jim Park, chief of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's
Bureau of Water, admits that his department is not properly staffed
to regulate the 34,000 animal feedlots in the state.
New Illinois Law Means Death For Thousands of Raccoons Homeowners in suburban subdivisions sometimes seem to have little understanding of the fact that the new sod of their yards and the new asphalt of their roads cover what was once a vibrant habitat with nary a single sport utility vehicle in sight. So it follows that some may have little compassion for the four-legged neighbors that often come with suburban sprawl. This may help explain a new Illinois law that makes it easier to kill raccoons who bring a disgusting element of untamed nature into carefully manicured neighborhoods. A panel of Illinois legislators gave their unanimous approval to a rule imposed by the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources to help rid people of these "nuisance" animals. Specifically, if a person traps a raccoon, she has three options: either release him on the same property on which he was captured (an unrealistic, inane, and impractical suggestion), kill the offending raccoon, or else turn him over to one of the state's 5 specially licensed veterinarians, where he will be "treated" and kept in isolation for 45 days. The last option is just as impractical as the first: how likely is it that a trapper is going to seek out the approved veterinarian and pay for the animal's treatment? It seems that the second option offered, that of killing the raccoon, is the most likely strategy that will be taken. Some animal advocates and wildlife rehabilitators estimate that at least 95 percent of the trapped raccoons will die; in 1997, before this more stringent law was in effect, about two-thirds of the 15,800 raccoons caught were put to death. When this story was released it was unclear as to whether there would be guidelines for approved methods of euthanasia. We can only hope that the IDNR is not establishing those guidelines, as they consider drowning and stunning to be a merciful way to get rid of animals who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of course there is the predictable spin generated by the IDNR. The raccoons are overpopulating (according to the state's own records, the raccoon population has decreased by 20 percent in 1997, and 30 percent in 1998); they infect the human population with toxoplasmosis (individuals are much more likely to contract toxoplasmosis from a cat's litterbox than from a wild raccoon). Basically it amounts to nothing less than one more government agency chucking its integrity in favor for public approval. Too bad that once again the animals have to pay the price for human shortcomings. Please call The Voice for Wildlife if you have any questions at (847) 821-DEER.
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The Sara Lee Corp. has the distinction of being the latest company that has had to have a massive recall of meat that was tainted with life-threatening bacteria - in this case listeria monocytogenes. Since August, eight people have died and 50 people have fallen ill after consuming contaminated meat products produced at Sara Lee's Bil Mar Foods plant in Zeeland, MI. This current outbreak of listeriosis, the nation's third-largest in the past 20 years, has the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worried, because the bacteria has an incubation period of up to six weeks. Experts at the CDC anticipate that the number of those stricken might rise. Although the tainted meat has been pulled from shelves, most consider it futile since the recall wasn't announced until December 22, by which time most had already been consumed. Evidence of listeria contamination was found in both Sara Lee brand hot dogs and cold cuts. The cold cuts are of particular concern, since they are meant to be served "as is" without cooking.
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Sara Lee Forced To Recall Listeria-Infected Meat That Killed Eight
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