RMB Newsletter 9:2   RCVS Q&A

Dear Reader, Regular RMB Newsletter readers know that the veterinary profession -- self-appointed guardian of the public interest -- has been hijacked by the junk pet-food industry. Back in 1991 members of the RMB Lobby blew the whistle on the pet food/veterinary/fake animal welfare alliance. Rather than act responsibly, the veterinary establishment maintains denial, defends the indefensible and tries to suppress discussion. One way to keep the matter on the agenda is to contest veterinary elections. In the UK, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is a stuffy, archaic body responsible for the education and regulation of about 21,000 vets. The RCVS imposes a strict 500 word limit on election statements. This year there’s been a quantum leap in the scope for discussions. www.vetsurgeon.org is hosting a RCVS discussion forum for vets, vet students and allied professionals. On the same web site there’s a Raw Diet forum where Roger Meacock does sterling work explaining the health benefits of a more natural diet. As one of nine candidates for six vacancies on the RCVS Council, I attempt to engage the other candidates about the junk pet-food issue. A vet asked me to explain: ‘After failing 12 times, what keeps you going? Why do you really want to become RCVS president? Is it just to promote RMB or do you have any other interests in the veterinary profession?’ My answer appears below (as well as at www.vetsurgeon.org) I hope you’ll get a moment to click through the links that set out what I believe to be important –- and by implication what needs to be done. Thanks and best wishes, Tom __________________________________________________________________________ Cybernetics, U-turns and resolution of the junk pet-food scandal __________________________________________________________________________ [quote] ‘Hi F***** and all, Thanks for the questions. Please think of the 12 previous attempts as ‘rehearsals’, they’ve brought us to the point where you and I can discuss the issues. www.rawmeatybones.com/elections.php What keeps any of us going? Why do we get out of bed each morning? What motivates a whistleblower turned campaigner? At one level: Genes interacting with Environment —- I simply can do no other. There’s an expanded answer, from a whistleblower perspective, posted in the files accompanying my profile. In the early days there was no single ‘light bulb’ moment, more a series of such moments akin to stadium floodlights gaining intensity. That was back in the late 1980s and early 90s. We lived in a different environment before widespread use of the internet. Information was relayed in books and by word of mouth. So the ‘wow’ factor was huge when we stumbled on the explanation for why pets suffer a litany of easily preventable chronic and acute diseases. As suburban veterinary practitioners, we had immense motivation to bound out of bed each morning. Every day provided new research, treatment and prevention opportunities. But one day stands in the memory. It was Christmas Day 1992 and I woke with the fully formed outline for the Cybernetic Hypothesis. I tiptoed out of bed at 4.30 in the morning, made for the study and wrote down the first draft. www.rawmeatybones.com/pdf/periodontal-cyber.pdf If, as I believe, Cybernetics reinterprets existing information to form the basis of a new paradigm of health and disease leading to a renaissance in medical and veterinary thought, that will be special. If it helps us to better understand the homeostasis of our planet as it was in prehistoric times —- regulated as it was by mammalian carnivores —- then I believe we’ll be onto something big. I admit that it’s been a slow burn —- not least because any and all aspects of this story have been starved of oxygen. Although you can see an early attempt at getting the story aired in the Australian Veterinary Association 1994 election statement. www.rawmeatybones.com/pdf/AVA%2094.pdf There have, however, been some wonderfully uplifting events. By chance, I heard Professor Lynn Margulis speak on the radio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis Inspired by her enthusiasm and concepts about our co-evolved world I sent her a draft of the Cybernetics paper and the lecture monograph: Petfoods Insidious Consequences: A modern veterinary snafu. www.rawmeatybones.com/PFIC.html When her hand written reply arrived, it was one of my proudest moments. ‘Your work is wonderful’ ... ‘If you write this up as a book proposal, send it to our agent’. Fate smiled in other ways. I met with Professor Colin Harvey, www.vet.upenn.edu/RyanHospital/SpecialtyCareServices/DentistryOralSurgery/ FacultyStaff.aspx at that time one of only two Veterinary Periodontists on the planet, who gave me advice on how to strengthen the paper Periodontal disease and leucopenia (Journal of Small Animal Practice 1995, 36, 542-546). www.rawmeatybones.com/pdf/periodontal-leuco.pdf He never said and I never asked, but I reckon Professor Harvey had a hand in ensuring that Cybernetics obtained pride of place in the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry. When James Lovelock FRS endorsed the paper I was confident this was no flash in the pan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock Eventually in 2001, with the aid of two editors and a team of lawyers, Raw Meaty Bones: Promote Health was published. www.rawmeatybones.com/book.php The book has several themes and culminates in Chapter 14 on Cybernetics. Effectively, the other 13 Chapters are there in a supporting role. (Suggested reading list www.rawmeatybones.com/suggestedreading.php) That the book received glowing endorsements from highly esteemed colleagues fills me with pride. www.rawmeatybones.com/vetsay.php I’m motivated and grateful for the support from younger vets such as Roger Meacock (doing sterling educational work on the Raw Diet forum), family, friends and acquaintances. You are right that I want to promote RMB the concept, and the book of the same name is currently available in the files. However, I hope you appreciate that’s only an educational tool to help us deal with the crisis the profession now faces. In 2006 I visited the UK and made a presentation at Parliament House as part of the U-turn Tour. www.rawmeatybones.com/speaking_2006.php As agreeable as that tour was, please be assured, I do not relish the struggles to get the diet and health matter on the agenda. What I hope to see is action. I hope to see the veterinary profession making a U-turn and fixing the biggest problem of the age. I hope to continue to play a useful role. Initially I seek a mandate from the electorate that will take me onto the RCVS Council to provide one clear voice amongst forty at the Council table. Thereafter, if enough Councillors agree on our collective obligations and opportunities, and if they decide to elect me as President, I shall be honoured to serve. Of course it’s a long term project. For the benefit of pets, people and the planet let’s get started. Thank you.’[end quote] __________________________________________________________________________ Questions needing answers __________________________________________________________________________ So far the eight other candidates, five of whom include the current President and Members of the RCVS Council, have not seen fit to answer the questions I raised in the RCVS Forum at www.vetsurgeon.org: [quote]‘Your Comments Please Dear Colleague, Your comments on the raw diet question would be appreciated. Judging by the 112 messages (and counting) on the Raw Diet forum http://www.vetsurgeon.org/forums/ veterinarians are taking an interest in the subject. Where the majority of auto-mechanics are conversant with how to fuel the family car, many veterinarians appear unsure about the food (fuel) requirements of the family dog. The British Veterinary Association policy and a rebuttal may be assessed here: www.rawmeatybones.com/pol-brief.html The November 2006, RCVS statement and a rebuttal can be found here: www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=78812 Does the confusion about feeding pets concern you? Do you believe that a committee of enquiry might help the profession to better understand and resolve the issues? If elected, what might be your contribution? Thank you for your consideration.’ [end quote] If they can’t or won’t answer basic questions, can they be trusted? Are they fit to run a so-called self-regulating profession? If you are a vet, vet student or allied professional and want to question the candidates or raise discussion points please log on to www.vetsurgeon.org __________________________________________________________________________ Nearly Doctor, Already Doctrinaire: Vet students regurgitate strange dogma __________________________________________________________________________ Nearly Doctor Blog: http://www.nearlydrferox.blogging4life.com/?p=528 http://www.nearlydrferox.blogging4life.com/?p=536 Nearly Doctor RMB review: http://www.nearlydrferox.blogging4life.com/?p=540 _________________________________________________________________________ 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: tom@rawmeatybones.com Web: http://www.rawmeatybones.com To subscribe or unsubscribe go to: http://secureshop.rawmeatybones.com/newsletter