RMB Newsletter Vol 8:1 WSAVA

Dear Reader, As a RMB Newsletter subscriber you know that junk pet food is the single biggest threat to the health and welfare of pets. Front, centre and conspiring in the back rooms, large segments of the veterinary profession feed off the junk pet-food fraud. So much so that we can say that the veterinary profession is the single biggest obstacle to resolution of the problem. Unfortunately, rank and file vets frequently have no idea of the nature and scale of their involvement. The junk pet-food manufacturers and veterinary authorities ensure that the majority of vets stay ignorant and in the dark. In an attempt to shed light and help resolve the immense and growing crisis, I submitted three papers for inclusion in the 2007 World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Congress. Alas, as is usually the case, light was not permitted, darkness prevailed. Thanks to the internet we can at least place information on the record. Perhaps one day we may obtain resolution of the mighty fraud. Abstracts of the rejected papers are listed below. Here’s hoping that this finds you and your pets in top condition. Best wishes, Tom Lonsdale __________________________________________________________________________ WSAVA __________________________________________________________________________ Ridgeon. We're not a profession: we're a conspiracy. Sir Patrick. All professions are conspiracies against the laity. The Doctor’s Dilemma George Bernard Shaw 1906 http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/dcdlm10.txt One hundred years on, and judging by the articles in the International Journal of Epidemiology http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/32/6/910? ijkey=43550467984937d6bfcf635ddb730a45f4715739&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha and The Medical Journal of Australia http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/185_10_201106/martin_201106.html, there are medical doctors who are prepared to give some credence to George Bernard Shaw’s contention that the medical profession is a ‘conspiracy’ and that ‘the medical service of the community, as at present provided for, is a murderous absurdity’. Had Shaw lived to see the current state of the global veterinary profession what would he say? Had he attended the WSAVA Congress in Sydney in August 2007 he would have seen ‘conspiracy’ and ‘murderous absurdity’ writ large. Even the bunting on the lampposts approaching the conference hall proclaimed the link between vets and Hill’s, the Colgate-Palmolive junk pet-food makers. As main ‘sponsor’, the Hill’s stand dominated the entrance to the event. When Royal Canin, a division of the Mars Corporation, had the temerity to raise its banner higher than Hill’s they were told to lower it forthwith. It gives you an idea of the pet-food titans jousting to capture the hearts and minds of impressionable vets lured by the ‘free’ coffee and the goody bags emblazoned with junk pet-food slogans. Gathering in groups or strolling jauntily to their next lecture, the vets had not the faintest idea that they were pawns in a massive fraud. Little did they realise that the junk pet-food goody bags marked them as walking adverts for the abandonment of thought and the mass poisoning of pets. According to their website http://www.wsava.org/ : (quote)'The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) is an ‘association of associations’. Its membership is made up of veterinary organisations from all over the world, which are concerned with small companion animals such as cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs etc. Currently there are 76 member and affiliate associations, representing over 70,000 individual veterinarians from around the globe.'(end quote) Many of the vets at the Congress were flown in by the junk pet-food companies. The man on the Royal Canin stand told me that the company sponsored several vets from South Korea, all tickets and accommodation paid for. Others were flown in from India and China, the burgeoning new markets targeted by the pet-food titans. For the companies it’s money well spent. The hapless, helpless vets become junk pet-food salesmen and women for life. The WSAVA boasts that: (quote)‘2,048 delegates representing 67 countries [attended] . . . the 32nd WSAVA Congress held from August 19-23, 2007. The top 5 countries of attendee origin were Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the USA. The continuing education (CE) program was comprised of over 240 lectures (including 4 State-Of-The-Art Lectures or SOTALs) accommodated into 8 streams with over 23 disciplines presented by 70 speakers from 10 different countries. This was complemented by 95 oral or poster Abstract presentations.’(end quote) http://www.wsava.org/Congress2007.htm Be amazed at the nonsense and impenetrable jargon dished up as ‘continuing education’. http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx? CID=WSAVA2007&O=Generic The September 2007 edition of The Veterinarian tells us that: (quote)‘The scientific program was put together by former Sydney University faculty Jill Madison, now Director of Professional Development at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), [London University] and David Church, Professor of Small Animal Medicine and Head of the RVC’s Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences.’(end quote) What else do we know about these two Australian vet academics besides that they are a married couple who now live and work in the UK? Have a look here and you can see Jill Madison, in 1997, proclaiming how she’s a pet-food company ‘consultant’: http://www.rawmeatybones.com/tvVideo/today-on- saturday/todayonsaturday.html In April 2005 the RVC were ‘able to supply only limited details of current grants, for reasons of commercial sensitivity’. However they did disclose that Professor David Church received a grant of UKpounds132,000 (US$260,000) from Hill’s Pet Nutrition. You might be tempted to think that Dr Madison and Professor Church may be unaware of the junk pet-food issues -- except that they were both in attendance at the 1992 presentation of Pandemic of Periodontal Disease: A Malodorous Condition http://www.rawmeatybones.com/tvVideo/Pandemic/pandemic.html -- and were both perched at the back of the lecture theatre during the 1993 Veterinary Dental Conference presentation: http://www.rawmeatybones.com/tvVideo/SydUni/syduni.html On another occasion the Director of the Sydney University Post Graduate Foundation in Veterinary Science, Dr Douglas Bryden, handed Dr Church (in the days before he became a professor) a copy of the Dental Conference proceedings and suggested that he make a point of reading the chapter on Preventative Dentistry: http://www.rawmeatybones.com/PrevDent.html About the same time, in a crowded Sydney University lecture theatre, I asked David Church to comment on the Mars corporation junk diets labelled as ‘Professional Formula’. Dr Church admitted that it was ‘incongruous’ that dogs should be fed rice-based food and cats be fed corn-based food. A hard nosed Jill Madison simply refused to answer my questions –- at which her sycophantic audience erupted in spontaneous applause. Against this admittedly dismal backdrop, I thought it nonetheless worth submitting three Abstracts for consideration by Dr Madison and Professor Church for inclusion in the Oral Presentation Sessions of the WSAVA Congress. http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx? CID=WSAVA2007&Category=2970&O=Generic Permitting myself a ray of optimism, I hoped that they might take the opportunity to add an element of ‘balance’ to their lopsided and largely irrelevant program. But after 17 years spent grappling with a deaf, dumb and blind veterinary establishment, I should know better. Three rejection notices arrived by email. Please see the Abstracts reproduced below that were not ‘selected for presentation in the Congress Program’. For fuller information on each of the topics please see Raw Meaty Bones: Promote Health www.rawmeatybones.com ========================================================================== ABSTRACT _______________________________________ Raw Meaty Bones: Past, present, future _______________________________________ Context In London in the 1860s Jack Spratt established the world’s first processed pet-food company. Charles Cruft joined Spratt and started pedigree dog shows as a pet-food marketing scheme. Now in 2007 pets everywhere, pedigree or cross-bred, are fed from the manufacturers’ can or packet. In the 1980s a group of Sydney veterinarians, Raw Meaty Bones (RMB) Lobby, noted the correlation between diet and ill health, in particular dental disease, affecting their patients. A diet of raw meaty bones and a few table scraps acted as both cure and prevention. Objectives To show: • How the early RMB Lobbyists gained awareness of the diet and disease connection. • History of the debate within the Australian veterinary community. • The current levels of diet and disease awareness. • Future plans and prospects. Key messages 1. Processed pet foods injure the health of pet carnivores. 2. A more natural diet acts as both treatment and preventative. 3. Processed pet-foods are associated with ill health, economic loss and environmental damage. Conclusion Veterinarians can readily obtain a historical perspective and scientific understanding leading to changes in clinical practice. Administrative and political changes at the professional level will take a considerable act of will. Better that a start is soon made. References 1. Lonsdale, T (1993) Preventative Dentistry in Veterinary Dentistry, Sydney University PGFVS, Proceedings 212, 235–244 2. Lonsdale, T (2001) Raw Meaty Bones: Promote Health Rivetco P/L, Windsor DC, NSW, Australia (www.rawmeatybones.com) 3. Malik, R and Bryden D I, (2004) ACVSc Nomination Statements www.rawmeatybones.com/vetsay.html ========================================================================== ABSTRACT ______________________________________________________________________ Haematological assessment of dogs and cats undergoing dental treatment ______________________________________________________________________ Background Early reports suggested a link between periodontal disease and systemic disease in elderly animals. In human medicine considerable research efforts focus on the connections between periodontal inflammatory disease and systemic diseases affecting the heart, kidneys, liver and including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and premature births. In our small animal practice we were familiar with the clinical improvement in patients undergoing dental treatment. We were also aware that a more natural diet served as an ideal preventative of periodontal disease. Aims In an area of conflicting opinions but absence of hard data, it was decided to obtain some haematological data pre and post dental treatment. Methods Six dogs and two cats undergoing dental treatment for advanced periodontal disease and showing low or very low white cell counts were selected for follow up testing after dental treatment. Results White blood cell counts increased between 37% and 150% with an average of 78%. Six animals had red blood cell changes which averaged 23% increase. All animals showed marked clinical improvement in condition with owners reporting marked increase in vitality. Prior to dental treatment several of the animals had blood values within reference ranges. Conclusion • Common reference haematological reference values may be too wide allowing patients with severe disease to go undetected. • Lowered white cell counts and anaemia are associated with periodontal disease. More work is necessary to further quantify and qualify these findings for the benefit of animal and human patients Reference: Lonsdale, T (1993) Periodontal disease and leucopenia, Journal of Small Animal Practice, 36, 543-546 http://www.rawmeatybones.com/pdf/periodontal-leuco.pdf ========================================================================== ABSTRACT ____________________________________________________________________ Cybernetic Hypothesis of Periodontal Disease in Mammalian Carnivores ____________________________________________________________________ Context Throughout 65 million years of the Cenozoic Era mammals have played an intrinsic part in the ecology of the Earth. All life forms are coevolved and carnivores at the top of the food chain have an important regulatory role. In contrast to their importance it seemed odd that carnivores, both wild and domestic, should suffer ‘weakness’ and be susceptible to periodontal disease. Objective In the early 1990’s periodontal disease was a subject of hot debate in the Australian veterinary profession. In an attempt to better understand the anomalies, the pathogenesis and natural ecology of the condition research got underway. Key messages Mistakes frequently lead to re-evaluation of our circumstances and, if we’re lucky, provide us with new insights. So it was with the pandemic of periodontal disease affecting domestic carnivores. Instead of blaming bacteria or a failure of the immune system we saw that the relationship between carnivores and their tough ‘chewy’ diet was the defining characteristic. A cybernetic system based on the ‘benefits’ of periodontal disease was conceived with strong explanatory and predictive powers. Germ theory and Darwinian evolutionary concepts, already weakened, are further attenuated and subsumed into the new hypothesis. Conclusion In an age of global warming new insights into our planet’s regulatory systems are essential — better still if those insights lead to a new theory of health and disease. Reference Lonsdale, T (1994) Cybernetic Hypothesis of Periodontal Disease in Mammalian Carnivores, Journal of Veterinary Dentistry, 11:1 5–8 http://www.rawmeatybones.com/pdf/periodontal-cyber.pdf ========================================================================== ___________ Postscript ___________ Of all the links listed above, if there is one that thoroughly deserves your attention, it’s George Bernard Shaw’s scathing analysis of the medical conspiracy –- with the obvious veterinary parallels. http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/32/6/910? ijkey=43550467984937d6bfcf635ddb730a45f4715739&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha __________________________________________________________________________ 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