RMB Newsletter Vol 6:5 Three Part Test

Dear Reader, Time flies when you’re having fun. Now back in Australia and still catching up on the pile of waiting correspondence after the trip to Europe and China. On 10 September the Victorian Canine Association, guided by Lorraine Cossart-Walsh and Heather Simpson, put on a fine seminar. We met lots of interested and interesting people. Thank you everyone who helped make our weekend most enjoyable. Jeannie Thomason & Kim Bloomer hosted a wonderful Virtual Dog Exposition on the weekend of 22/24 September and then followed up with a lively online interview broadcast on 14 November 2006. Online audio link at: http://www.rawmeatybones.com/radio.html Thanks Jeannie, thanks Kim and looking forward to the next chat in May 2007. Back in 1995 Mara Cvejic at the Dental School, Westmead Hospital, Sydney University helped me obtain some scanning electron microscope images of dental calculus. We’ve been friends and allies ever since and it’s thanks to Mara that the ‘The Pet Food Debacle: Dental and medical research perspectives’ lecture took place 17 October 2006. There’s videos, transcript and slides at http://www.rawmeatybones.com/tvVideo/video.html Thanks also to A/Prof Hans Zoellner and Professor Neil Hunter for making the event possible. In this newsletter I ‘grasp the nettle’ with an airing of the Three Part Test. For too long I’ve observed pet owners fall prey to false prophets, whether those prophets were simply well meaning but misguided or more cynical and calculating. By broaching a difficult and challenging subject I believe we can better serve the needs of the majority of animals and their owners. Wishing you and yours the most wonderful Christmas and New Year. Best wishes, Tom Lonsdale ___________________________________________________________________________ THREE PART TEST __________________________________________________________________________ All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Edmund Burke, Irish orator, philosopher & politician (1729 - 1797) ................... How perverse that the global community permits giant corporations, Mars, Nestlé, Colgate, Proctor & Gamble and others, to mass-produce junk pet food and thus to injure the health of a majority of the world’s pets. How obscene that the organized veterinary profession colludes in this mighty junk pet-food industry consumer and scientific fraud. Surely then it’s incumbent on those of us ‘in the know’ to do something about it. Recently I’ve been giving this matter some thought and would like to suggest a new and objective approach and would appreciate your thoughts on the matter. Here’s what I propose: As a starting point I believe we need to invoke two fundamentals of carnivore biology -- the two imperatives that drive carnivores to do what they do. Carnivores need to: 1.) Seek out, pursue and consume whole carcasses of prey animals (or parts of animals and table scraps offering nutrients in similar formulation). 2.) Expend considerable time and energy gnawing, ripping and tearing and thereby ‘brushing’ and ‘flossing’ their teeth. If we are to be true friends to our carnivore companions then invoking the two points above should, I believe, be our starting point. By reaffirming the biological basis of our beliefs we stay in touch with Nature and ensure validity to our approach. But clearly that’s not enough in the face of the junk pet food/veterinary alliance. We need to keep to the fore how powerful, how determined the alliance is and we need to constantly work to defeat it by all means at our disposal. Anything less fails our carnivore companions and their dependent owners. Unfortunately, these days, there’s a multiplicity of quacks, opportunists, niche marketers and false prophets seeking to turn a buck and gain kudos peddling nonsensical gibberish and weird incantations that do little to help companion carnivores in their time of need. How can we spot the well meaning and ill-informed and those with more cynical intent? How can we protect ourselves and our pets against slick presentations and marketing hype? Maybe it’s not so difficult. Maybe by applying the Three Part Test false prophets can be identified and thus resisted. Here’s the test: Does the speaker/proponent/prophet affirm and invoke the need for: 1.) Carnivores to have a regular full belly of whole prey or something akin to the same? 2.) Carnivores to maintain a pearly white set of teeth and salmon pink gums? 3.) Every effort to overturn the junk pet-food industry/veterinary alliance? Check out the articles, the websites, the books and the sly rhetoric of a multiplicity of barfers, herbalists and pushers of supplements and quack cures. Do they pass one, two or three parts of the Three Part Test? Or do they fail abysmally? To my mind we’ve got a massive job to do, if we are to combat the junk pet food/veterinary alliance and restore pets to rightful good health. We don’t need opportunists and false prophets deflecting the issues and making the job more difficult. Let’s invoke first principles, stick to first principles and advance the cause of animals, people and the planet. It would be real good to hear your thoughts on the introduction and application of the Three Part Test. Messages to: tom@rawmeatybones.com ___________________________________________________________________________ PAPERS ___________________________________________________________________________ Fifty one years ago in May 1955 the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) published a paper entitled: Kennel Construction and Management in Relation to Longevity Studies in the Dog. The researchers were keen to ‘provide optimum conditions for normal life in a number of dogs’. Under Nutritional Regimen they report: ‘The diet consists of raw beef and compounded ration. Once or twice weekly, each animal receives between ľ to 1 lb of fresh frozen beef obtained directly from a local abattoir and consisting of cheeks, hearts, and oxtails. Oxtail, besides being a food, is excellent for de-tartaring and keeping the teeth and gums in good condition’. In 1968 a paper entitled Control of Dental Calculus in Experimental Beagles published in Laboratory Animal Care cited the JAVMA paper as a reference. Brown and Park the researchers stated: ‘The test confirmed the feasibility of preventing the accumulation of dental calculus in experimental beagle dogs by regular weekly feedings of oxtails.’ And ‘No harmful effects of feeding oxtails have been observed in the colony of 200 dogs after more than 6 years’. See the full paper at: http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=7217 These days JAVMA publishes no papers on the extensive benefits of a more natural diet but does publish scare stories about relatively minor and imagined dangers of raw food. A few years ago we tried to engage JAVMA Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Janis H. Audin, in correspondence with nil result. Her address is: Dr. Janis H. Audin, Editor-in-Chief JAVMA 1931 N Meacham Rd, Suite 100 Schaumburg, IL 60173-4360 USA If perchance you manage to write to Dr Audin and obtain any useful information we shall be pleased to publish it in the RMB Newsletter. Good luck. ___________________________________________________________________________ CONFIDENCE TRICKS ___________________________________________________________________________ Some of the richest people on the planet engage in some of the most deceptive conduct. The Mars Corporation is a family owned business responsible for thousands of tons of candy and thousands of tons of junk pet food. ‘Discover a REVOLUTIONARY new way to feed your dog’ they say at a typically disgraceful website: http://www.mealbone.com/Mealbone/default.asp Have a look at this one too: http://www.wholemeals.com/wholemeals/home.asp Whilst the Mars family is conning people into believing bone shaped junk food is good for dogs Pfizer Inc. is pushing its gum disease vaccine ‘Periovac’. Pfizer has spent a reported $15 million working with vet dentists to develop a vaccine that according to Professor Colin Harvey is: ‘A marketing challenge – the value to a particular patient will never be demonstrable to an owner.’ Professor Harvey appears to be a willing participant in the Pfizer scheme although in his 1993 book the professor tells readers: ‘The diet of the wild carnivore has a plaque-retarding effect. In rigidly controlling and optimizing the nutritional content, palatability to the pet, and acceptance of commercially available dog foods, by the pet-owning public, we have created materials that in gross form do not closely resemble the natural diet of wild carnivores.’ But at the New Zealand, Periovac launch he posed the rhetorical and ridiculous question: ‘Does a vaccine make sense for something that is best prevented with a toothbrush?’ If you fancy dropping Professor Harvey a line to enquire as to his double- speak and why he rides to work on the Pfizer gravy train you can find him at: Professor Colin E Harvey FRCVS Department of Clinical Studies 3900 Delancey Street School of Veterinary Medicine University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6010 USA ___________________________________________________________________________ COMPLAINTS ___________________________________________________________________________ The UK Raw Meaty Bones Warriors are kept ever busy fighting the good fight. If you check out www.ukrmb.co.uk you can find a number of new additions. In particular take a look at the new Complaints section. http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=80281 The first and only complaint listed is a beauty. When a dissatisfied pet owner complained to Nestlé-Purina about their junk food concoction ‘Beneful’ the company replied saying the comments were ‘valid’. Now that the UKRMB Complaints page is open please send in any useful, interesting, incriminating correspondence -- whether from junk pet-food companies, vets, vet schools, vet authorities, etc. Happy writing. ___________________________________________________________________________ UK STRUGGLES ___________________________________________________________________________ In 1992/3 the UK veterinary authorities were provided with ample evidence of the junk pet-food fraud: http://www.rawmeatybones.com/lectures.html At last, fourteen years too late, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons makes a response: ................. PET NUTRITION Over the last few, years we have received considerable correspondence on pet nutrition. This interest perhaps mirrors a growing preoccupation with healthy eating at large, whether in the form of improved school dinners or initiatives to reduce trans-fats, salt and other additives in human diets. During discussions with MPs and other individuals, questions have been raised about veterinary surgeons' responsibilities for pet nutrition. The Pet Food Manufacturers Association has recently launched a new website [www.pfma.org.uk] to provide better information, and individual pet food companies have called for more focus on pet nutrition at undergraduate level. Meanwhile, an action group called UKRMB (United Kingdom Raw Meaty Bones) has proclaimed its mission: "... to draw attention to the harm that feeding processed pet food causes our pet dogs and cats, and the continuing refusal by the veterinary authorities to acknowledge this." We have indicated to this group and others that there is no current evidence to support the allegation that processed pet food causes harm to cats and dogs. We have also suggested that other views should be submitted for peer-reviewed publication in the usual way. Nevertheless, it is worth reminding members that while the responsibility for pet food sold out of practice premises may be limited to that of a retailer, if specific advice is given on pet nutrition, or particular products recommended, then this is part of professional practice. Veterinary surgeons should be aware that many clients buying pet food from them in either context will assume it carries some veterinary endorsement. ................. If you have time and energy please drop the RCVS a line to let them know your thoughts on their false and misleading statement. We shall be delighted to see their reply. Good luck. Their address is: Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Belgravia House 62-64 Horseferry Road London SW1P 2AF Tel: (020) 7222 2001 Fax: (020) 7222 2004 Email: admin@rcvs.org.uk ___________________________________________________________________________ WEBSITE ADDITIONS ___________________________________________________________________________ If you’ve a spare moment or two please check out the TV and lecture videos posted at www.rawmeatybones.com There’s some early footage from 1992/3, recent footage from China and a presentation for dental and medical researchers at Sydney University, Dental School. The 14 November 2006, Animal Talk Naturally online interview with Jeannie Thomason & Kim Bloomer was well received. The audio is at: http://www.rawmeatybones.com/radio.html ___________________________________________________________________________ CHRISTMAS GIFTS ___________________________________________________________________________ Raw Meaty Bones and Work Wonders can be read online at: www.rawmeatybones.com Many people enjoy and prefer to read real books. How about giving copies of the books as presents to friends/relatives/vets/lawyers/dentists/doctors for Christmas? That way you will help get the message out, possibly lay the foundation for change and contribute a few dollars to assist the Raw Meaty Bones Campaign. http://www.rawmeatybones.com/order-book.html Best wishes, Merry Christmas, Tom Lonsdale ___________________________________________________________________________ We welcome copies of correspondence/emails/faxes for possible inclusion in future RMB Newsletters. Please circulate, distribute or reproduce this newsletter as you wish. ___________________________________________________________________________ The Raw Meaty Bones Newsletter is published by: Tom Lonsdale Rivetco P/L PO Box 6096 Windsor Delivery Centre NSW 2756 Australia Phone: +61 2 4574 0537 Fax: +61 2 4578 1384 Email: rivetco@rawmeatybones.com Web: http://www.rawmeatybones.com To subscribe or unsubscribe go to: http://secureshop.rawmeatybones.com/newsletter