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FoE Meat Free Monday Pledge

MFM climate pledgeOn Tuesday 23 September world leaders are gathering in New York to discuss climate change. The first time the UN has tackled the subject since 2009.

Friends of the Earth are working with other organisations to get as many people as possible to pledge to go meat free for one day a week. This simple step will show world leaders that we’re serious about reducing global emissions.

Please pledge to go meat free for just one day a week before next Tuesday.

Did you know?

  • Livestock production is responsible for over 14.5% of global greenhouse gases
  • 75% of agricultural land is used to raise animals for food
  • Every hour an area of rainforest the size of 100 football pitches is cut down to create room for grazing cattle

Eating less meat is an easy way to reduce our climate impact and anyone can do it. Already vegetarian, vegan or flexitarian? You can still sign the pledge to show your support.

Worried about what to eat? Download our Eat Smart Pack full of handy tips and advice or invest in a delicious vegetarian cook book.

One small change can make such a big difference, so please show your support before next Tuesday and let’s show world leaders that we’re serious about tackling climate change.

For more inspiration on what to cook try this stunning cookbook full of vegetarian dishes from around the world.

Dirty Chicken Abattoirs Breach Hygiene Rules

UK food watchdog admits chicken factory breached hygiene laws

Roy Stevenson ChickenFood Standards Agency says it was wrong to clear Scunthorpe plant of any failings, as more workers make dirty poultry claims. The government’s food watchdog has been forced to admit that an initial inquiry which cleared one of the UK’s largest poultry processing plants of hygiene failings was misleading.
Instances of chickens being dropped on the floor then returned to the production line, documented by a Guardian investigation into failings in the poultry industry, constituted a “breach of the legislation”, the Food Standards Agency has now acknowledged.
Following the Guardian revelations at the site in Scunthorpe in July, the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, asked the FSA to investigate. It rated the factory as good and wrote to the shadow food and farming minister saying there was no evidence of any breaches of food hygiene legislation.
But in an embarrassing climbdown less than a month on, the FSA has written to Labour’s Huw Irranca-Davies admitting it was wrong. It has reviewed the Guardian’s undercover footage showing dirty birds from the floor being thrown back into food production and concluded there has been a serious breach. But it has not issued a penalty, saying the company has assured it the problem has been addressed.
The admission comes as fresh allegations of hygiene failings at the factory emerged, with three former employees making claims about dirty chickens contaminating the production line and attempts to manipulate inspections up to 2012.
Labour said the FSA admission and the new questions over safety raised serious questions about the poultry inspection system in the UK.
The Guardian investigation last month revealed poor practice at the abattoir in Scunthorpe. It is owned by the 2 Sisters group, which supplies, including Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and KFC. Hunt asked the FSA to audit the abattoir in the wake of the revelations.
Despite supermarket audits of this and another site suggesting that improvements were needed, the FSA did not alter its rating of the factory, or issue any penalty, because the company said during the official audit that it had taken action to ensure it did not happen again.
But now three workers who have been in charge of quality control at the factory in recent years have come forward claiming it was “an almost daily occurrence” for birds to fall on the floor and be put back into the food chain instead of being correctly disposed of as waste. The company initially denied any instances of this happening.
The sources also claimed that auditors were often hoodwinked, even when their visits were supposedly unannounced, as managers slowed production lines and cleaned up poor practice when they were present. One described his responsibility for ensuring production managers followed the company’s own rules on food hygiene and safety as “a war of attrition”.
Concerns about hygiene standards in poultry production focus on preventing the spread of the food poisoning bug campylobacter. An estimated 280,000 people in the UK get sick each year because of it, and about 100 die. It is the most common cause of food poisoning, with chicken accounting for the vast majority of infections. The bug is killed by cooking but can spread easily from raw chicken.
The original Guardian investigation was prompted by insiders claiming that one reason campylobacter rates remained high was the gap between the industry’s strict hygiene rules and auditing systems to check on them, and the reality on the factory floor, where managers were under pressure to process large volumes at high speed.
In a letter to Irranca-Davies, the FSA’s chief executive, Catherine Brown, admitted “pretty much all UK chicken production facilities experience unacceptably high levels of contamination with campylobacter“.
The Guardian’s investigation also revealed failings and breakdowns at another 2 Sisters site in Llangefni, Anglesey, and at another large processor. Sources said these occurred at several key points in the chicken production chain which are known to be high risk for the spread of campylobacter. Breakdowns meant that high-risk offal, guts and feathers piled up for hours as production continued. In another incident, scald tanks were not cleaned for days, meaning hundreds of thousands of birds were processed through unchanged dirty water.
The FSA emergency audit of the Llangefni site rated it as “generally satisfactory”. The Guardian understands that it was critical of the company for failing to cancel the day’s slaughter when the scald tank incident occurred. Sources at the site said the tanks went uncleaned for three days; the company and the FSA say it was only two and that tests were conducted for bacteria counts before production was allowed to continue.
It is understood, however, that these tests were only for salmonella, not for campylobacter contamination.
The three new sources were all employed as quality controllers until 2012 at the Scunthorpe site. Roy Stevenson was in charge of a team of quality assurance technicians and worked at the factory for more than a decade until being made redundant at the end of 2012.
“On the day of the audit, all the lines would be slowed to a minimum where it was pristine,” he claimed. “There would be no birds dropping on to the floor, an auditor would walk round and everything would look lovely, unlike any other day.”
Richard Lingard worked at the factory as a quality controller for a few weeks in 2012 before moving on because he said it was impossible to do the job correctly. A third former quality controller with several years’ experience at Scunthorpe in the recent past, who asked for anonymity, described being regularly undermined and bypassed when trying to enforce hygiene rules.
All three claimed birds fell on the floor regularly because the line speeds were too fast for workers to keep up, and they would then be recycled back into the food chain in breach of company policy. They allege that their efforts to stop this happening were undermined by production staff.
Sources say the atmosphere at the Llangefni plant since the Guardian’s revelations had appeared “chaotic” at times, with a stream of supermarket audits and “100% concentration” on cleaning and “getting everything clean and done right”.
Following a surprise 4.30am check shortly after the first reports, during which workers were told a number of failings had been found, Tesco is understood to have returned to the Welsh plant last week for follow-up inspections. Marks & Spencer has also audited but found no breaches, and Sainsbury’s audited Scunthorpe and suggested “improvements”.
At crisis meetings at Llangefni after the original Tesco visit, senior management told staff of measures being taken to clean up the factory and change the way it had been working, according to sources.
They said these included bringing in extra cleaners, slowing production lines; ensuring production stopped more promptly at night so there was sufficient time for cleaning, and stopping slaughter when breakdowns occurred.

The Smiths song “Meat is Murder”

meat is murderThis is whole entire ‘The Smiths’ song “Meat is Murder”

“Heifer whines could be human cries
Closer comes the screaming knife
This beautiful creature must die
This beautiful creature must die
A death for no reason
And death for no reason is murder

And the flesh you so fancifully fry
Is not succulent, tasty or kind
Its death for no reason
And death for no reason is murder

And the calf that you carve with a smile
Is murder
And the turkey you festively slice
Is murder
Do you know how animals die ?

Kitchen aromas aren’t very homely
Its not comforting, cheery or kind
Its sizzling blood and the unholy stench
Of murder

Its not natural, normal or kind
The flesh you so fancifully fry
The meat in your mouth
As you savour the flavour
Of murder

No, no, no, its murder
No, no, no, its murder
Oh … and who hears when animals cry ?”

The real cost of GM animal feed

Much of our meat and dairy produce is made from animals raised on GM feeds. Alarming new claims suggest that the GM diet is affecting animal health – prompting fears over human safety.

At first glance the frozen bundles could be mistaken for conventional joints of meat. But as Ib Pedersen, a Danish pig farmer, lifts them carefully out of the freezer it becomes apparent they are in fact whole piglets – some horribly deformed, with growths or other abnormalities, others stunted.

This is the result, Pedersen claims, of feeding the animals a diet containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Or more specifically, he believes, feed made from GM soya and sprayed with the controversial herbicide glyphosate.

Pedersen, who produces 13,000 pigs a year and supplies Europe’s largest pork company Danish Crown, says he became so alarmed at the apparent levels of deformity, sickness, deaths, and poor productivity he was witnessing in his animals that he decided to experiment by changing their diet from GM to non-GM feed.

The results, he says, were remarkable: “When using GM feed I saw symptoms of bloat, stomach ulcers, high rates of diarrhoea, pigs born with the deformities … but when I switched [to non GM feed] these problems went away, some within a matter of days.”

The farmer says that not only has the switch in diet improved the visible health of the pigs, it has made the farm more profitable, with less medicine use and higher productivity. “Less abortions, more piglets born in each litter, and breeding animals living longer.” He also maintains that man hours have been reduced, with less cleaning needed and fewer complications with the animals.

Inside the farmhouse, piles of paperwork are laid out across a vast table; print outs, reports, statistics, scientific research, correspondence. Pedersen shows me photos he says are of animals adversely affected by the GM feed – there’s more piglets with spinal deformities, their back legs dragging on the ground; others have visible problems with their faces, limbs or tails. There’s even a siamese twin – two animals joined at the head.

Pedersen believes these abnormalities, and the other problems, were caused – at least in part – by the presence of the herbicide glyphosate in his GM pig feed. Glyphosate is routinely sprayed on many soya and cereal crops to kill weeds and maximise yields.

Although it is used on conventional crops, its usage on GM soya and maize is particularly prevalent as the crops are engineered to be resistant to the chemical, killing the weeds but leaving the crop plants unaffected.

The introduction of GM crops resistant to glyphosate allowed crops to be sprayed with the herbicide to control weeds – often many times over a growing season – without killing the crop. But this also led to much higher levels of glyphosate in the plants and seeds.

After glyphosate-resistant strains of soy were introduced in 1996, EU regulators raised the allowed maximum residue limit (MRL) for glyphosate in imported soy 200-fold, from 0.1 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg.

Glyphosate use has become increasingly controversial in recent years, with a growing body of research, say campaigners, suggesting that exposure, even at low levels, can be harmful to animals and humans.

Studies have also suggested, claim critics, that the herbicide may disrupt the human endocrine system, which regulates the body’s biological processes, meaning that any level of exposure could pose a significant risk to health.

Such claims are vigorously refuted by the agro-chemical industry, who state the herbicide is safe and who accuse campaigners of touting flawed research, or manipulating the findings to suit their own agenda.

Pedersen claims that independent testing revealed all of his deformed pigs had glyphosate in their organs. He shows me a chart he suggests shows a clear correlation between the volume of glyphosate found in pig feed and higher numbers of cranial and spinal deformities. “The more glyphosate, the more deformities,” he says, bluntly.

Outside, along a muddy track through a number of arable fields – in addition to pigs, Pedersen produces strawberries, peas and potatoes – we come to the main pig house. It’s vast and crowded, efficient and noisy, with the unmistakable stink of pig waste. A factory farm.

Pedersen shows me the farrowing crates, the large bodies of the nursing sows squeezed under metal bars, surrounded by up to a dozen weaning piglets. He points out his best animals – the most productive, the veterans – and stops to check on those he has concerns about, examining a swollen joint here or an inflamed nipple there. Antibiotics are administered to one.

In the main hall the pigs move more freely, as they do in a series of smaller rooms where younger animals are kept as they grow. The farmer manually throws down handfuls of sandy-looking feed to supplement that available in the conical feed troughs. The feed mix, he explains, contains soya, fishmeal and other ingredients – but nothing of GM origin.

Pederson admits his work isn’t scientific but says the results should alarm people. He’s worried that many farmers have no idea of the potential impact of GM feed, and that the same is true for consumers: when using GM feed, he says, “Everything was down in the quagmire … We had eleven pigs die in one day.”

Deformities and deaths “the new normal”

The farmer’s research, and outspoken stance, provoked a storm of controversy in Danish agricultural circles after the respected farming publication Effektivt Landbrug featured the story, interviewing Pedersen in detail and referring to the pig farmers’ suggestion that DDT and thalidomide – linked to deformities in up to 10,000 babies – could be regarded as trivial compared to the potential risks from GM and glyphosate.

Critics accused him of scaremongering and slammed the findings as unscientific and “without merit” – pointing out that if the claims were true, thousands of other farmers using GM feed would be recording similar problems.

Despite this, Pedersen’s work has prompted the Danish Pig Research Centre (VSP) to announce an in-depth study to test the effects of GM and non-GM soya on animal health. The findings of the research have yet to be published.

And Pedersen’s findings are beginning to spread well beyond Denmark; earlier this month the German television channel ARD broadcast a documentary featuring the farmer’s claims, and Pedersen himself recently travelled to the UK to address a packed symposium at the House of Commons, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group On Agroecology.

Anti-GM campaigners say the findings are particularly compelling as the observations were made in a real farm setting, not a laboratory. Claire Robinson of GM Watch told The Ecologist.

“The findings are worrying and consistent with reports from some farmers and vets in the US, who noticed a downturn in the health and reproductive performance in pigs and cattle after GM feed became common.”

“Farmers who have worked to exclude GM ingredients from their feed report dramatic improvements in herd health. Farmers should be worried and should not settle for what some scientists are calling a ‘new norm’ of increased rates of malformations, deaths and digestive and reproductive problems, as GM feed becomes more common.”

Peter Melchett, of the Soil Association, says: “Farmers in countries as far apart as Denmark and India have been saying for many years that they have noticed serious ill-health in their animals when feeding GM feed … practical research on pigs has shown significant impact of GM compared to non-GM feed.

The Danish farmer’s claims have also been supported by veterinary experts. Professor Monika Kruger, of Leipzig University, says there is growing evidence showing that glyphosate is dangerous for both animals and people:

“A lot of livestock are ill and nobody is interested. In most cases the highest concentrations come from GM products like soya, rapeseed and corn. We [have] also found glyphosate in meat.”

Professor Kruger, who’s own research suggested that glyphosate may be toxic to dairy cows, and apparently linked to cases of botulism in cattle, says farmers – and the wider food industry including supermarkets – should be “very concerned” about the claims, and believes that glyphosate should be “eliminated” from farming.

Her comments follow the publication last year of controversial research by Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, an expert in molecular biology at Caen University in France, which claimed that rats fed a diet of GM maize, or exposed to glyphosate, for two years, developed higher levels of cancers and died earlier than controls.

The study, published in the peer reviewed publication Food and Chemical Toxicology, was the first of its kind to test the impact of GM, and glyphosate, over such a long period – many previous experiments lasted 90 days. The findings led Seralini to argue that glyphosate’s apparent endocrine disrupting effects might be responsible.

The study was criticised by the agribusiness industry and academics however, who said it contained methodological flaws, was scientifically substandard, and its findings sensationalised.

review by the European Food Safety Authority later concluded that Seralini’s research could not be regarded as scientifically sound because of inadequacies in the design, reporting and analysis of the study. This has been challenged by the research team.

More recently, research led by Dr. Judy Carman, Associate Professor at Flinders University, Adelaide, claimed that pig health could be harmed by the consumption of feed containing GM crops.

Carmen studied two sets of pigs – one fed a GM diet, one a non-GM diet – from a US piggery over a period of more than five months. Each group was farmed identically in terms of housing and feeding conditions, before being slaughtered and autopsied.

The researchers found that the GM-fed females had, on average, a 25 per cent heavier uterus than non-GM-fed females, ‘a possible indicator of disease’ according to the study team. The level of severe inflammation in stomachs was also reportedly higher in pigs fed on the GM diet.

Howard Vlieger, an Iowa-based farmer and one of the co-ordinators of Carman’s study, told The Ecologist:

“There is little doubt based on the results of putting GM feed into a livestock ration and based on results of removing GM feed from a ration that animal health is better on conventional feed and grain.”

Vlieger, when launching the study, said: “In my experience, farmers have found increased production costs and escalating antibiotic use when feeding GM crops. In some operations, the livestock death loss is high, and there are unexplained problems including spontaneous abortions, deformities of new-born animals, and an overall listlessness and lack of contentment in the animals.”

As with Seralini’s study, Carmen’s work was criticised by some academics who accused the researchers of picking out a few “statistically significant” results from a large number of tests, and for using poor statistical methodology for assessing differences in inflammation.

GM “being forced onto farmers”

About 30 million tonnes of GM animal feed is now thought to be imported into Europe each year to feed pigs, poultry, dairy and beef cattle, as well as farmed fish. The UK imports an estimated 140,000 tonnes of GM soya and as much as 300,000 tonnes of GM maize annually for use as animal feed.

In reality, say campaigners, this means that much of the meat and dairy products on sale are now produced from animals fed a GM diet. Much of the soya and maize used is grown in South America, including Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

In the UK, foods containing GM material for human consumption are currently required by law to be labelled. However, human foods derived from GM fed animals – meat, fish, milk and dairy products – do not need to be labelled. This represents a loophole, claim activists, which means consumers could inadvertently be eating be GM products.

Peter Melchett comments: “Labelling of all products from animals fed on GM should be legally required throughout the EU. Supermarkets in many European countries are now starting to label products from animals fed on GM.”

“It is a scandal that UK supermarkets refuse to give this information to their customers, and instead deliberately keep them in the dark, with, at best, information on their websites and confusing answers to people who call their helplines. We know that people want accurate labelling, and at the moment supermarkets are betraying their customers on this issue.”

The Soil Association cites a Food Standards Agency-published poll which found 67 per cent of the public thought it was important for products made from animals fed GM diets to be labelled.

In France, retail giant Carrefour in 2010 launched a labelling scheme to inform customers that animals used to produce foodstuffs have not been fed genetically-modified feed. More than 300 products now come with a ‘free from GM feed’ label after the supermarket giant said polls had found that more than 60 per cent of customers would stop buying products if they knew they were made from animals given GM feed.

Similar schemes are being adopted by other major European food retailers.

In Britain, tensions over the issue were heightened following the announcement earlier this year by four British supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsburys, the Co-op and Marks and Spencer – that they could no longer guarantee that the feed used in their poultry lines would be non-GM, citing their suppliers’ apparently increasing difficulties in sourcing non-GM feed.

All said customers would continue to have non-GM options, including organic and certain premium ranges. Waitrose has continued to guarantee a non GM diet for its poultry, stating that it wants customers to have “choice”.

British farmers are facing a dilemma – accept GM feed or go organic – according to some industry sources, who agree that conventional feed is increasingly becoming more difficult to source at an economically viable price.

They say that although the availability of non GM feed is disputed (producers organisations in Brazil maintain there is an ample supply of conventionally grown soya but say poor infrastructure at ports has held some shipments up) some major feed supply companies are now only offering their customers GM options, or organic.

“It’s a nightmare trying to source non GM feed,” a supermarket source said. “The reality is that trying to source it on the scale needed [by large retailers] is very difficult. The feed companies own the boats, the mills, they control the supply chain.”

One UK feed merchant told The Ecologist that GM is now effectively being forced onto farmers: “As a farmer you are constantly under pressure, you are busy, you’ve got to be good at finance, a good production manager, so when someone offers [GM] feed that’s cheaper, it’s easy to say yes.”

“Not having an option is not good. But when you’ve got an importer saying GM is fine and that he’s not going to bring in [non GM] a farmer is not likely to go out and source his own.”

The merchant said that not all farmers were aware about GM ingredients, and admitted some were not concerned anyway. He said some believed they were the victims of double standards: “‘Why can we import GM from the USA or wherever, but are not allowed to grow it here’ they say.”

One Welsh organic dairy farmer agrees opinions are split: “I’ve got farming neighbours who are conventional; some are accepting GM with open arms, some don’t want it. One milk supplier is not happy at all about GM feed,” he says.

Michael Hart, a beef and lamb farmer from Cornwall, and the founder of the Small and Family Farms Alliance, says that he believes there is still demand for non GM feed but that it is becoming prohibitively expensive. “My local feed merchant says he can get organic, but for conventional non GM he’ll demand more money.”

Hart, a prominent anti-GM campaigner, says that since the BSE crisis farmers have become more sceptical about science and about what they are told, and that many have concerns about GM:

“Since 1996 farmers are more market aware and [more aware] of public opinion towards what we do. Is this GM stuff safe to feed my cows? Why do the public say they don’t want it? Trust of science, trust of big business has gone.”

Although not addressing the GM feed issue specifically, a poll conducted earlier this year by Farmers Weekly and Barclays Bank found that more than 60 per cent of British farmers would grow GM crops if it were legal to do so. The survey tested the opinions of more than 600 farmers across the UK.

Farm evidence “without merit”

Unofficially, one supermarket source admitted that “no one knows” when it comes to the potential health implications of using GM feed. As for whether GM is potentially risky or not, he says, “No-one can really put their hand on heart and say that one or the other is the case.”

However, in formal replies to questions from The Ecologist retailers defended their position. A spokesperson for the Co-operative Group said:

“Since 2003, we have been working with suppliers to achieve greater availability of products from animals fed a non-GM diet. Unfortunately, this position is proving to be increasingly difficult to deliver.

“This is because the amount of non-GM soya being produced is decreasing, there are increasing difficulties in segregating through the soya supply chain and there is an increasing cost to farmers and potentially to customers for non-GM soya.”

“All of this has meant that our previously stated position of increasing availability of products from animals fed a non-GM diet is no longer tenable.”

The spokesperson said the company will continue to monitor the animal feed supply situation and added: “since this issue broke in the news we have had very few individual complaints and queries, and there has been no impact on sales.”

Marks & Spencer said in a statement: “Alongside other retailers, we have written to our suppliers to tell them that we will no longer stipulate the use of non-GM feed in our fresh meat supply chain. This change in policy is absolutely necessary because there is now a much reduced supply of non-GM feed available to UK farmers. As such we can now no longer guarantee that our fresh meat has been fed on a non-GM diet.”

Josephine Simmons from Sainsbury’s said: “Whilst the latest scientific research and current Government advice is that GM ingredients do not present any risks to human health, we acknowledge the concerns of our customers and do not permit the use of GM crops, ingredients, additives or derivatives in any Sainsbury’s own label food, drink, pet food, dietary supplements or floral products, this remains the case.”

“We know that some people also have concerns about products from animals whose feed may contain GM ingredients. We therefore offer a choice of products from livestock fed a non-GM diet.”

Tesco declined to comment.

The Food Standards Agency said it is “aware of anecdotal reports that pigs in Denmark perform much better when fed with non-GM than GM ingredients. These claims are unproven and they are currently being assessed by the Danish authorities. We look forward to their conclusions, and to the results of formal experiments that are under way in the Danish pig research centre (VSP).”

It added: “Every new GM crop must go through a detailed evaluation and be specifically authorised before it can be marketed. The evaluation covers safety and nutritional quality and is carried out at EU level by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). FSA is confident in the rigour of EFSA’s assessments. As a result, the FSA can confirm that any GM food or feed that is authorised in the EU is as safe as its non-GM equivalent.”

The body highlighted criticisms of both the Seralini and Carman research.

In a detailed statement, Tom Helscher from the agribusiness giant Monsanto – one of the world’s largest producers of GM crops and suppliers of glyphosate, marketed under their well-known Roundup brand – said:

“Product safety and stewardship is a high priority for us and we routinely review studies that relate to our products and technologies. There is a large body of evidence that supports the food and feed safety of commercial GM crops and derived food and feedstuffs.”

Helscher said the company were aware of Pedersen’s claims but said that “if the allegations had merit, pigs all over Denmark and the US would be having diarrhoea problems, which isn’t the case. There is a very robust collection of recent publications that found no negative effect of GM feed on pig health or performance.”

He said Carmen’s study and its results “are at odds with the long safety records of glyphosate and GM, and contrary to the weight of evidence substantiated by a large body of credible, peer reviewed literature.”

“For over a decade, millions of pigs have been fed GM corn and soybean meal without negative impacts on health, reproduction, and growth. To date, there has been no scientific evidence confirming any detrimental impact on the animals or on the products – that is the meat, milk and eggs derived from animals fed GM crops.

“Therefore, the long history of safe use of GM feed is at direct odds with the author’s allegations and suggests their findings are without merit.

Helsher said the Seralini study “does not meet minimum acceptable standards for this type of scientific research, the findings are not supported by the data presented, and the conclusions are not relevant for the purpose of safety assessment. Major flaws in the Seralini research have been reported by many reviewers.”

Back in Denmark, Ib Pedersen’s farm manager informs him that one of his pigs has unexpectedly died – the carcass has been carried out and lies behind the farm buildings, still warm.

Pedersen takes a sharp knife and slices the animal open, blood pouring onto the concrete floor. The intestines and other internal organs, including the stomach – it’s full, the feed consumed just hours before is still visible – are pulled out and individually checked for signs of inflammation or other abnormalities.

Nothing unusual, the farmer says. Not this time.

Source – Sarah Stirk, Louisa Michel  and Andrew Wasley of The Ecologist

Horsemeat Scandal: ‘Prepare For More Cases’

thCAY3V95AMore cases of contaminated meat may be revealed within days, the Government has warned as it raised fears that an international criminal conspiracy was behind the horse meat scandal.

The warning comes as The Independent newspaper claims up to one in 30 horses being exported to Europe for consumption could contain traces of a drug, known as Bute, which is harmful to humans.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said the next set of results on all retailers’ and manufacturers’ processed beef products could reveal further traces of horse meat.

“There may well be more bad results coming through, that’s the point of doing this random analysis,” Mr Paterson said.

The results, ordered by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), are due on Friday.

But David Clarke, chief executive of Red Tractor Assurance, a food guarantee scheme that covers British production standards, urged people to put the scandal into perspective.

Paterson: ‘Prepare for more bad news’
He told Sky News: “The news in the last three weeks has been of great concern to consumers. But to get it in perspective it is only affected a small part of the food that is in the shops.

“I would hope that all of the fresh meat that people are eating for Sunday lunch today should not be affected by this.”

Mr Clarke added that the food industry had learnt lessons from the last few weeks, namely that “this very cheap processed meat produced with raw materials that are traded all across the world, all across Europe, is potentially a problem”.

Meanwhile, one of the food companies at the centre of the horsemeat scandal has said it is considering taking legal action against its suppliers.

Frozen foods firm Findus, which has taken its beef lasagnes off shelves after some were found to have up to 100% horse meat in them, said it was looking into legal action as an internal investigation “strongly suggests” that the contamination “was not accidental”.

The Ministry of Agriculture in Romania – to where the horsemeat has been traced – has launched an inquiry after two of its abattoirs were implicated in the scandal.

The Environment Secretary also revealed retailers have agreed plans to improved their food testing, adding that they hold the “ultimate responsibility” for making sure their products do not contain horse meat.

Mr Paterson was speaking after attending an emergency meeting with bosses from leading supermarkets, trade bodies and the FSA on Saturday to discuss the scandal which has seen chains including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland withdraw some products.

He said supermarkets and trade bodies have already begun plans to carry out more testing and report their results on a quarterly basis.

Aldi has withdrawn products containing horsemeat
They had also agreed that consumers should be compensated if they have bought withdrawn products with no questions asked, he said.

Mr Paterson added: “It’s a question of either gross incompetence, but as I’ve said publicly and I’ll repeat again, I’m more concerned there’s actually an international criminal conspiracy here, and we’ve really got to get to the bottom of it.”

Scotland Yard have met representatives from the FSA, although there is currently no official police investigation.

Prime Minister David Cameron has described the scandal as “shocking” and “completely unacceptable”, while Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was “appalling”.

The Trading Standards Institute has said the discovery of such high levels of horse meat suggests “deliberate fraudulent activity”.

Food safety experts have said there is no risk to public health.

Tesco and Aldi have also withdrawn a range of ready meals produced by Comigel over fears that they contained contaminated meat.

The GMB union said all hospitals, schools and meals-on-wheels services should verify that horse meat had not been served to vulnerable people.

Responding to fears that school dinners might be contaminated with horsemeat, the Department for Education said schools and councils were responsible for their food contracts.

‘Horsemeat beefburgers’ investigated in UK and Ireland

thCAY3V95AInvestigations are under way to try to find out how beefburgers on sale in UK and Irish Republic supermarkets became contaminated with horsemeat.

Irish food safety officials, who carried out tests two months ago, said the products had been stocked by a number of chains including Tesco and Iceland stores in the UK.

They said there was no human health risk and the burgers had been removed.

Tesco said it was “working… to ensure it does not happen again”.

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to “urgently investigate” how the products came to contain horsemeat.

The investigation will trace the meat back to its source to “find the cause of the contamination”.

The FSA has also called a meeting of food industry representatives.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), which is conducting similar inquiries, said the meat had come from two processing plants in the Irish Republic – Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods – and the Dalepak Hambleton plant in North Yorkshire.

The burgers had been on sale in Tesco and Iceland in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, where they were also on sale in Dunnes Stores, Lidl and Aldi.

A total of 27 burger products were analysed, with 10 of them containing traces of horse DNA and 23 containing pig DNA.

‘Extremely serious’

Horsemeat accounted for approximately 29% of the meat content in one sample from Tesco, which had two frozen beefburger products sold in both the UK and Ireland contaminated with horse DNA.

In addition, 31 beef meal products, including cottage pie, beef curry pie and lasagne, were analysed, of which 21 tested positive for pig DNA.

FSAI director of consumer protection Raymond Ellard said several investigations would now need to take place.

He said: “The companies have taken a very responsible attitude. On a voluntary basis they have withdrawn products from sale, so have the retailers.

Irish Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney: ”There is no food safety risk”

“They are co-operating completely with the authorities here to investigate how this could have happened. A long chain of inquiry has to take place now to look at all the raw ingredients that we use for these productions, where they came from and how the cross-contamination could have occurred.”

Tesco group technical director Tim Smith stressed the company “immediately withdrew from sale all products from the supplier in question” after receiving the test results on Tuesday.

In a statement, Mr Smith said food safety and quality was “of the highest importance to Tesco” and “the presence of illegal meat in our products is extremely serious”.

He added Tesco was “working with the authorities in Ireland and the UK, and with the supplier concerned, to urgently understand how this has happened and how to ensure it does not happen again”.

FSAI chief executive Prof Alan Reilly said there was “a plausible explanation for the presence of pig DNA in these products, due to the fact that meat from different animals is processed in the same meat plants”.

But he added: “There is no clear explanation at this time for the presence of horse DNA in products emanating from meat plants that do not use horsemeat in their production process.

“In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and, therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger.

“Likewise, for some religious groups, or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable.”

‘Quality and integrity’

Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney reassured the public that the burgers posed no health risk, adding that the Republic of Ireland “probably has the best traceability and food safety in the world”.

Iceland said the FSAI’s findings were concerning, stressing the company had “withdrawn from sale the two Iceland brand quarter pounder burger lines implicated in the study”.

It said it “would be working closely with its suppliers to investigate this issue and to ensure that all Iceland brand products meet the high standards of quality and integrity that we specify and which our customers are entitled to expect”.

Aldi said only one of its products – the Oakhurst Beef Burgers (8 pack), which was on sale only in the Republic of Ireland – had been affected.

In a statement, Aldi Stores (Ireland) said it had “immediately removed the product from sale and have launched an investigation into the matter”.

The company said it “takes the quality of all its products extremely seriously and demands the highest standards from its suppliers”.

Lidl was not available for comment when contacted by the BBC.

Meanwhile, Silvercrest Foods and Dalepak both said they had never bought or traded in horse product and have launched an investigation into two continental European third-party suppliers.

Source –

Can Antibiotics Make You Fat?

fat_425x320Like hospital patients, US farm animals tend to be confined to tight spaces and dosed with antibiotics. But that’s where the similarities end. Hospitals dole out antibiotics to save lives. On America’s factory-scale meat farms, the goal is to fatten animals for their date at the slaughterhouse.

And it turns out that antibiotics help with the fattening process. Back in the 1940s, scientists discovered that regular low doses of antibiotics increased “feed efficiency”—that is, they caused animals to put on more weight per pound of feed. No one understood why, but farmers seized on this unexpected benefit. By the 1980s, feed laced with small amounts of the drugs became de rigueur as US meat production shifted increasingly to factory farms. In 2009, an estimated 80 percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States went to livestock.

This year, scientists may have finally figured out why small doses of antibiotics “promote growth,” as the industry puts it: They make subtle changes to what’s known as the “gut microbiome,” the teeming universe populated by billions of microbes that live within the digestive tracts of animals. In recent research, the microbiome has been emerging as a key regulator of health, from immune-related disorders like allergies and asthma to the ability to fight off pathogens.

In an August study published in Nature, a team of New York University researchers subjected mice to regular low doses of antibiotics—just like cows, pigs, and chickens get on factory farms. The result: After seven weeks, the drugged mice had a different composition of microbiota in their guts than the control group—and they had gained 10 to 15 percent more fat mass.

Why? “Microbes in our gut are able to digest certain carbohydrates that we’re not able to,” says NYU researcher and study coauthor Ilseung Cho. Antibiotics seem to increase those bugs’ ability to break down carbs—and ultimately convert them to body fat. As a result, the antibiotic-fed mice “actually extracted more energy from the same diet” as the control mice, he says. That’s great if you’re trying to fatten a giant barn full of hogs. But what about that two-legged species that’s often exposed to antibiotics?

Interestingly, the NYU team has produced another recent paper looking at just that question. They analyzed data from a UK study in the early ’90s to see if they could find a correlation between antibiotic exposure and kids’ weight. The study involved more than 11,000 kids, about a third of whom had been prescribed antibiotics to treat an infection before the age of six months. The results: The babies who had been exposed to antibiotics had a 22 percent higher chance of being overweight at age three than those who hadn’t (though by age seven the effect had worn off).

The connection raises another obvious question: Are we being exposed to tiny levels of antibiotics through residues in the meat we eat—and are they altering our gut flora? It turns out that the Food and Drug Administration maintains tolerance limits for antibiotic residue levels, above which meat isn’t supposed to be released to the public (PDF). But Keeve Nachman, who researches antibiotic use in the meat industry for the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, told me that the FDA sets these limits based solely on research financed and conducted by industry—and it refuses to release the complete data to the public or consider independent research.

“We may not understand the biological relevance of exposures through consuming meat at those levels,” he says. Indeed, a recent European study showed that tiny levels of antibiotics could have an effect on microorganisms. The researchers took some meat, subjected it to antibiotic residues near the US limit, and used a traditional technique to turn it into sausage, inoculating it with lactic-acid-producing bacteria. In normal sausage making, the lactic acid from the starter bacteria spreads through the meat and kills pathogens like E. coli. The researchers found, though, that the antibiotic traces were strong enough to impede the starter bacteria, while still letting the E. coli flourish. In other words, even at very low levels, antibiotics can blast “good” bacteria—and promote deadly germs.

Nachman stressed that we simply don’t have sufficient information to tell whether the meat we eat is messing with our gut microbiome. But, he adds, “It’s not an unreasonable suspicion.” If that’s not enough to churn your stomach, there’s also the fact that drug-resistant bugs—which often emerge in antibiotic-dosed livestock on factory farms—are increasingly common: Remember the super-salmonella that caused Cargill to recall 36 million pounds of ground turkey last year? Luckily for me, it’s unlikely that drug-laced meat will mess with my gut. I think I’ve lost my appetite.


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Happy geese on the pond
May 3, 2012, 8:29 am
Filed under: Duck, Geese, Goose, Homesteading, Organic, Permaculture, Pond | Tags: , ,

Well, it looks like our local ducks and geese approve of the pond! Not only were they practicing their “touch and go” landings, but our pair of geese from last year are back and enjoy weeding our lawn. They brought some friends too. More pics to come…once we can catch then in the act!

And the saga continues
March 31, 2012, 8:15 am
Filed under: brush, bush, Cat, Farming, Homesteading, Pond | Tags: , , ,

So…apparently tracks are pretty tough…. Sledge hammer wouldn’t budge the pin. Grinder made some progress cutting through the bushing…and pretty sparks…. Today the welder comes to cut it out completely, and the new parts “should” be here next week….

At least the beaver enjoys the pond. So long as he only swims and doesn’t build…he can stay! The water level has certainly improve too!

Trouble in the dirt
March 29, 2012, 4:22 pm
Filed under: brush, bush, Cat, Gardening, Homesteading | Tags: , ,

Uh oh…threw a track off mid-job. That is definitely not a good sign…. Time to fix and keep going I guess!

Wordless Wednesday – still more digging
March 28, 2012, 3:21 pm
Filed under: Animals, Cat, Farming, Homesteading | Tags: , , ,

The major digging is pretty much done…now to make shorelines.

Pond progress
March 25, 2012, 7:57 am
Filed under: Animals, brush, bush, Cat, Farming, Gardening, Homesteading, tractor, work | Tags: , , , ,

Half-way there now…new pond coming soon and it is filling-up almost as quickly as we dig it, which is perfect!

Once there was only a choked-bog
March 13, 2012, 11:59 am
Filed under: Animals, brush, bush, Homesteading, Organic | Tags: , , , , ,

Today…may be the last day for these boggy expanses. Soon we will transform them into deeper ponds with edge bogs, to provide more room for the ducks, geese, and other critters that frequent. At the same time, we will be creating a year-round water source for all. Stay tuned!

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Embracing Imperfection (or Not).

I’ve been working on a baby blanket, the babysquared pattern in particular, designed and shared by WifeMomKnitter. Last night I noticed that over the last 30 rows or so I had messed up the pattern. It was all my fault – I was decreasing at the wrong spot. I took a close look at the blanket and thought hard.

The pattern is a scallop-lace style in a rainbow-striping yarn. The mistakes were sort of hidden in a darker part of the rainbow. The mom-to-be is a non-knitter, would she even notice? For two or three rows I thought it over – the blanket would not be cast aside for such a silly reason (I hope), the baby is not going to mind (I hope – though maybe it will help with pattern recognition later on in life? That’s thinking it over too much!) – and decided to leave it. But then, I no longer saw the pretty scallop-lace pattern and the lovely rainbow stripes! My eye went straight to the mistakes. Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiipppppppppppppp. I was able to insert a lifeline and that was a huge help. This pattern is quite enjoyable to knit, so I do not mind having to redo a section. After I got going again I noticed something else, do you see it?
One side of the blanket has a 5 stitch border, the other side has a 7 stitch border. Again, all user error. At least I’m consistent and that error bothers me less.

For today’s thing-a-day, since I am working on re-doing some of the blanket, I’m going to share someone else’s creative endeavors, go check out the Attention!Employees blog, especially today’s post – you will see someone I work with.
And a little silly story: A few weeks back the Lorax and I went to visit Dan at work. We said hello to a few people, checked out where his cube is, etc. After we went out to eat. In the car on the way to eat, the Lorax piped up “Mommy, that was fun to see Daddy’s work. Tomorrow Mommy can we see where you work?” Ummmm, my work is currently in the kitchen and great room and bathrooms – you’re there every day!! 🙂

2 thoughts on “Embracing Imperfection (or Not).

  1. The Boy once asked me what I do to make money. He knows Dadd goes to work to make money, he knows Mommy is at home, but he can't figure out how I get money. I tell him Daddy shares his money with everyone in the house. He thought for a minute and said, "You should have a job. And not just looking at Jamie all day."I wish.

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INTERVIEW – Emerging market money will bypass London – RenCap

Reuters | Sat Jun 26, 2010 | 4:50am IST

Russian, Indian and Chinese companies snap up African natural resource assets. Kazakh and African companies seek capital in Asia. Middle Eastern money eyes opportunities in Russia. The way Russia’s top investment bank sees the world, Europe and North America are fading into the background as emerging markets increasingly invest in each other and bypass the traditional centres of banking in London and New York. "The big theme is the huge movement of capital towards these regions and away from the West," Renaissance Capital CEO Stephen Jennings told Reuters in an interview. "We see an enormous amount of M&A happening now between and within those (emerging) countries. On the financial side, we very much believe the capital markets are going to move into the emerging markets and away from London in particular."

Jennings points out that Hong Kong last year had more IPOs than London or New York and rattles off a string of deals that RenCap has done across Africa and the former Soviet Union. The $955 million sale last year of Congolese copper miner CAMEC to Kazakhstan’s ENRC, Rwanda’s first-ever IPO, a Brazilian iron ore sector transaction in Guinea and Russian aluminium giant RUSAL’s IPO in Hong Kong are among recent RenCap deals. Jennings sees Africa as the hottest investment destination now for companies looking to build natural resource assets quickly. He says Renaissance has multiple mandates from Indian and Russian investors who want more exposure there. "Three-quarters of the meetings I’m having with oligarchs and state companies have an African element," he said. "In terms of being able to get big resources very quickly, African is in a class of its own at the moment."

Speaking from the bank’s headquarters on the 48th floor of a sleek, newly built tower in Moscow’s emerging financial district, Jennings was critical of higher taxation and tighter regulation in London, saying this will only accelerate the City’s inevitable demise as a financial centre. "At the end of the day, the majority of savings and

the majority of investment opportunities will be in Asia," he said. "Now the end of the day may be about 10 years away but each week we get a bit closer to that point." RenCap now plans to move out from its established franchise in the former Soviet Union and in Africa into Turkey and Egypt. In addition to organic growth in the ex-Soviet Union and Africa, RenCap has bought South African broker BJM Securities, allied with India’s Kotek for cross-border M&A, and joined forces with Macquarie Securities Korea to pursue Korea-CIS M&A.

RenCap’s structure, with hubs in Moscow and Johannesburg, and offices in the ex-Soviet Union and Africa, reflects a desire to profit as emerging markets invest in each other. "The same team that is working with a Russian state oil company on a rouble bond here … is advising them on their expansion strategy in Africa," he said. "The same team doing RUSAL’s Hong Kong IPO is talking to the Africans about their first Hong Kong IPOs and that’s a very powerful thing." A long-term bull on Russia, Jennings believes that investors are undervaluing the country’s growth potential at this stage of the cycle and should remember its positive track record. "From 1999 to 2007, GDP went from $200 billion to $1.7 trillion, so in dollar terms it was the fastest-growing of the BRICs," he said. "If you’d lined up 100 forecasters in 2000, maybe one would’ve been as optimistic as the actual outcome."

Jennings believes that pundits pay too much attention to Russia’s politics ("who sits in what seat and whether they smiled or frowned – I think it’s a bit irrelevant") and thinks the country’s government will change little in the near term. "We have a set of arrangements, to put it politely, that are very stable," he says. "They are entrenched and they are convenient for a lot of players including, whether the West likes it or not, the majority of Russians." Russia, he says, will see some more gradual privatisation and a big redistribution of assets as owners who survived the crisis and saw the value of their assets recover decide it is time to sell out to acquisitive, cash-rich rivals. Many Russian players are ready to go to market with IPOs and $5-10 billion of issuance could come in the third quarter if market conditions improve, Jennings says. Despite its rapid expansion, RenCap is not hungry for cash. Jennings, who along with his original partners owns 50 percent plus one share of the firm, says the bank is if anything over-capitalised. He says he is "very very happy" with its other big stakeholder, Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov, who bought a 50 percent stake for $500 million in the depths of the crisis.

  1. navanavonmilita

    I am Glad that you are glad.

    Water under the bridge. Please read my intro to my blog. It says clearly that this is an illusion, “maayaa.” Adi Sankara is my Guru, “sadguru,” the true Guru. He said that about “brahman,” the creator, “prakR^ti,” female part and “purusha,” the male part of creation. They got together, for the fun of it and created “sR^shti,” all that can be and cannot be fathomed by human beings. Such as the entire universe of matter, antimatter, quarks and quacks like you and your’s truly. Just having good time in celestial heavens, God only knows where that would be.

    My own take about the Big Bang theory is that some unidentified and also unidentifiable forces collied. It can be further explained by the expansion of our universe. It expands and when, like a balloon filled with air, bursts into pieces, sort of contracts. It is what our sages considered as “brahma’s” breathing. The expansion has a name, a technical nomenclature, “Entropy,” The opposite of it is “Distropy.” It can be explained, further by Thermodynamic Law II. Max Planck, the famous scientist, invented that. He was puzzled by Einstein’s universal Law: e= mcsquared.
    Well, I am getting nowhere with my argument. Enough is said about physics and philosophy, origins of universe and heavens.

    …and I am Sid Harth

  2. navanavonmilita

    My dear V Sekhar,

    Never disclose you true feelings. Your comment has branded you as a Commie. If not a Commie loving fellow traveller. I am truly saddened by my words. They are simply bunch of words. You did not bother to read in between lines. The message was not directed to you. Neither was it directed to honorable Jennings, may his tribe increase.

    The message was addressed to all those idiots who take what is printed, in this case, posted on the internet. “Caveat Emptor,” Let Buyer Beware.” I consider honorable Jennigs as a huckster of self serving information. He is not the first, nor would he be the last.

    I have commented, rather severely on other fake Gurus. Including but not limited to, in such respected newspapers as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Globe of Boston, The Guardian of London, The New York Times, Forbes, Deccan Chronicle of Bangalore, Marathi newspapers such as, Loksatta, Lokmat, Los Angeles Tines, Chicago Tribune, and many more who accepted my posts, either without editing or with severe editing.

    You can curb the sarcastic comments of mine by deleting them. I would, rather, you not do it. The simple reason is that you chose to offer honorable Jennings’ propaganda. That means you became a target as much as honorable Jennings. Guil by association. Accessory to the crime, after the fact.

    Why don’t you e-mail this discussion, either to Reuter or to honorable Jennings. let them enjoy this and abstain from such obviously planted stories in future for their own good.

    You my friend, came in crossfire. Not intended, on my part.

    …and I am Sid Harth

    • V SEKHAR

      Hi Sid Harth,

      Thank you for quick reply.

      I want to clarify that I do not think your comment is directed to me. If I bother with your comment I would have edited it without replying. I intended to keep it as it is in order to make our conversation develop further. I’m glad to read that you have been saddened (truly). With that, topic of ‘bunch of words’ is closed unless you say more about it.

      Bolshevik Party became the great one not because only it is commie, but it proved for the first time how people’s power could be established. My love towards people may reflect as love on those who gratify the people. Maybe one cannot always hide behind a veil. I think I’m not bothered about disclosing. From my point of view it’s not disclosing or hiding. It’s just testing my views by giving them exposure to an open arena where people like you can polish. Polished views may further brighten my mind. That’s what my blogging is meant for.

      By pointing out your ‘bunch of words’ I came to know more about you. Isn’t it guruji? Anyway. I want to confirm that I did bother to read in between lines also. Actually I didn’t offer particularly the propaganda of Jennings. I collected a view on a particular issue. It may be accepted or denied. My collection may not be taken as my acceptance. As you noted in your comment on my ‘about blog’ it’s already there. OK. Thanks again.

  3. navanavonmilita

    Bah, Humbug! Sid Harth

    Russian economy is in the hands few hoodlums and Russian mafia. This idiot, Stephen Jennings, CEO Renaissance Capital, is no good, mirror and smoke screen voodoo medicine man. I wonder if honorable Jennings can find his capitalistic ass with his own two hands without the help of Reuters. I suggest to honorable Jennings to go suck a lemon, perhaps, better yet, go suck up his mamma’s tits.

    …and I am Sid Harth

    • V SEKHAR

      Hi Sid Harth!
      Are you really Sid Harth? I got this doubt after reading this comment. I remind myself about you as placing powerful, thought provoking and historically sensitive comments as well as posts on my blog and your blog respectively.

      No doubt the Russian economy is in the hands of few hoodlums and mafia. But it’s still a nation and an economy where people live. For now it may be a place as you told but people may change their country once again as per their wishes, as once happened under the leadership of V I Lenin and the great Bolshevik Party. It was the country which heroically checked the advance of Nazi Germany in WW II. We can reject the forecast of Jennings but we can not underestimate a nation.

      What disappointed me is your choice of words to reject a thought. I think well knowledged people like you can’t do this. In general, as far as I know, western people that too American people choose such words irrespective of the subject in question. I wonder if you are an Americanized Indian?

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Holloway suspect Joran Van Der Sloot arrested in connection with Peru murder

He was the last person to see two young women alive — one in Aruba, one in Peru exactly five years later, police say. Joran van der Sloot was caught in a taxi Thursday, several days drive and a country away from the Lima hotel room where the second woman was found face down with a broken neck.

A fixture on TV true-crime shows after Natalee Holloway’s disappearance in Aruba, the 22-year-old Dutchman did not speak or even turn his head when photographers shouted his name as Chilean police officers escorted him, without handcuffs, into a Santiago police office for questioning.

Aruban authorities didn’t prosecute van der Sloot even after he was caught on video saying he had asked a friend to dump Holloway’s body. The Alabama woman’s family was outraged by how Aruban authorities handled the case, and now the family of another young woman wants to make sure they get justice.

“This isn’t a coincidence, this murder,” Stephany Flores’ anguished father, Lima entertainment impresario Ricardo Flores, told reporters after van der Sloot’s arrest.

Van der Sloot was arrested the same day he was charged in Alabama with trying to extort $250,000 in return for giving the location of Holloway’s body and describing the circumstances of Holloway’s death. Federal prosecutors did not say who was allegedly extorted, but filed a sworn statement saying that van der Sloot got a partial payment of $15,000 wired to a Netherlands bank.

His daughter’s neck was broken Sunday in a hotel room registered to van der Sloot, who police believe met the 21-year-old University of Lima business student for the first time the previous night at a nearby casino. Her body was found by a maid late Tuesday.

Flores, a 48-year-old former race car driver and sometime politician, called on authorities to immediately bring van der Sloot to Peru to face justice.

“It’s not just about my daughter,” he said. “There’s a matter pending in Aruba and we don’t know how many more remain unpunished.”

Stephany Flores was fully clothed and there were no signs she had been sexually abused, the chief of Peru’s criminal police, Gen. Cesar Guardia, told The Associated Press.

“The room was a complete mess,” he said in an interview. He added that no potential murder weapon was found.

“It’s probable they had drunken alcohol,” said Guardia. No alcohol was found in Flores’ blood, he said, but he added that it could have dissipated in the more than two days it took to find her body.

Guardia added that police are investigating why it took until Tuesday night for hotel staff to discover the body.

Van der Sloot remains the prime suspect in the disappearance of Holloway, an 18-year-old who was celebrating her high school graduation on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba when she disappeared May 30, 2005. He told investigators he left her on a beach, drunk. That’s the last anyone saw of her. Van der Sloot was twice arrested in her disappearance — and twice released for insufficient evidence.

“If they have enough proof that he committed the crime in Peru, maybe, just maybe that might help to get him to confess in Natalee’s case. It just might crack him,” a Holloway family lawyer, Vinda de Souza, told the AP.

A spokeswoman for Holloway’s mother, Beth, issued a statement saying she “extends her deepest sympathy” to the Flores family “and prays for swift and sure justice.”

Holloway’s family has blamed Aruban authorities’ inaction on the influence of van der Sloot’s father, a judge there who died in February.

Van der Sloot put up no resistance when he was detained Thursday about halfway to the Pacific coast from Santiago, said deputy Chilean investigative police spokesman Fernando Ovalle. When brought in for questioning in Santiago, he was unshaven with closely cropped hair, khaki pants, and a gray hooded sweat shirt.

Ovalle said it was likely van der Sloot would be expelled to Peru. Peruvian authorities issued an arrest warrant for him through Interpol after learning van der Sloot had crossed into northern Chile on Monday.

Van der Sloot checked into the room where Flores’ body was found May 14 after arriving on a flight from Colombia, Guardia said. He was in Peru for a poker tournament and it appears he and Flores met Saturday evening at Atlantic City, the Lima casino hosting the tourney, Guardia said.

The police chief said Flores was killed between 5 a.m. Sunday, when the victim and suspect were seen entering his room by a hotel employee, and about 8:45 a.m., when he said two people saw van der Sloot leave.

“Various things aren’t very clear,” Guardia said, among them the killer’s motive.

It certainly wasn’t money, he said. Van der Sloot had no problem paying for his escape to Chile.

He gave a truck driver 1,500 Peruvian soles ($525) to take him from Ica, a town south of Lima, to the Chilean border, the driver, Luis Aparcana, said in a TV interview. He said van der Sloot didn’t speak very good Spanish and carried two suitcases.

Aparcana said van der Sloot “was worried because he kept smoking cigarettes. He didn’t have a cell phone but he had a laptop that he would take out, handle and then put back.”

Lawyers for van der Sloot could not immediately be reached for comment. On Wednesday, a lawyer in New York who has represented him, Joe Tacopina, cautioned against a rush to judgment.

“Joran van der Sloot has been falsely accused of murder once before. The fact is he wears a bull’s-eye on his back now and he is a quote-unquote usual suspect when it comes to allegations of foul play,” Tacopina said.

The Holloway case has followed many twists and turns.

Two years ago, a Dutch television crime reporter captured hidden-camera footage of van der Sloot saying he was with Holloway when she collapsed on a beach from being drunk. He said he believed she was dead and asked a friend to dump her body in the sea. Judges subsequently refused to arrest van der Sloot on the basis of the tape.

Aruba’s attorney general, Taco Stein, said Thursday that the island would offer assistance to investigators in Peru when van der Sloot arrives there.

He said van der Sloot remains the only suspect in the Holloway case. “There is always hope,” he said.


text:
Italian white truffles auctioned off for over $85K

Who needs gold when you can have fungus.

A trio of white truffles weighing a total of 1.9 pounds, sold at an auction in Italy Sunday for $85,600.

The highly prized fungi — which were sniffed out of the Italian countryside by a specially trained dog named Lady just two days ago — were bought by Hong Kong billionaire Eugene Fung as part of a charity event.

“We’re very happy to get such a big figure in this poor season,” Marco Scuderi, organizer of the 18th annual World Alba White Truffle Auction, said yesterday.

Italy is in the midst of its worst truffle season on record, due to an unseasonally dry Summer and Fall which has led to an extreme shortage of the exotic mushroom – and caused prices to skyrocket.

“It was a very strange season without rain,” said the president of Alba’s annual White Truffle Fair, Liliana Allena. “This is not normal to have such a low quantity of white truffle.”

The scarcity of truffles have not hurt quality, but they have driven prices to about $3,000 to $4,000 per pound for average versions of the alba delicacy.

Getty Images

The price of the 1.9-pound lot was apparently driven higher because the proceeds were going to be given to charity, said Isabelle Gianicolo of the National Truffle Study Centre.

The star fungus of Sunday’s auction was found by truffle hunter Mario Aarile.

He said Lady found the rare fungus near a cluster of oak trees, buried 16 inches underground.

It was among the biggest discovered in the hills of Alba in Italy’s northern region of Piedmont this year.

Before bidding began, an Italian model paraded the giant truffles to a wide-eyed audience, carrying the cluster on a red velvet pillow.

Bidding, which was linked by satellite between Hong Kong, Dubai and Italy, started at 10,000 euro but quickly jumped to 50,000 euro. Eight minutes later the hammer came down at 75,000 euro. ($87,500).

Unlike the common and low cost black truffle which is used in cooking to flavor dishes, the white truffle should be eaten raw, shaved over a simple bowl of pasta or eggs.

Yet despite the elevated price, the global appetite for white truffle is unrelenting.

“The white truffle is something magic. Everyone is in love with it,” Liliana Allena said.

With Post Wire Services

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text:
"I remember feeling really scared that he could be around any corner, because we weren’t sure exactly where he was."

Anna Almendrala
(Autumn Parry for HuffPost)

Chelsea Sobolik, 29, Fort Collins, Colorado. Aurora theater shooting, July 20, 2012.

Chelsea Sobolik had just come off a double shift at a Red Robin restaurant when she decided, at the last minute, to join a group of friends for a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colorado. After the shooting, Sobolik took a year off to rest and recover, something that would not have been possible without Red Robin’s Giving Fund ― a charitable donation her colleagues made with every check to support workers during tough times. Between this fund, the free mental health care she received from the Aurora Mental Health Center and help from her family and friends, Sobolik feels grateful for all the support that has helped her cope, but she considers recovery a lifelong process.

It was really scary when we walked outside [the theater], because we weren’t sure if he was still around. I remember feeling really scared that he could be around any corner, because we weren’t sure exactly where he was. We ran out of the theater, and the entire vicinity was surrounded by police cars with their lights.

Police lights were actually a trigger for me for a long time. Whenever I would see police lights, I would flash to that moment and it would give me a lot of anxiety.

My mind had a hard time getting pulled out of everything that I had seen and experienced in the theater, and I was having severe PTSD symptoms.

I didn’t feel like it was safe to drive for me to drive for a few weeks, so my mom, who lived in Colorado Springs, came up with my brother and she drove me wherever I needed to go. And she drove me back home to the Springs, because I didn’t want to sleep alone.

It was also really hard for me to be in crowds or with large amounts of people. I was really emotionally exhausted. I had a hard time going out and doing things. I was in a lot of fear of something else happening, which made me not want to partake in certain things.

The only people I kind of wanted to be around were my really close friends and my family, but mostly my survivor friends -- people that experienced it with me or were closely linked to everything -- because they just understood. I think without their strength I probably would have maybe collapsed, and maybe not have gotten back up for a while.

(Autumn Parry for HuffPost)

I took about a nine-month leave from work. Luckily Red Robin had our backs with that too. We have something called the Giving Fund, where employees and CEOs and managers and stuff basically donate a very small portion of each check that they get. So everybody that couldn’t return back to work actually [was] able to live off of that for a while, which was super helpful for me.

As a survivor who wasn’t physically injured or didn’t lose a family member, I wasn’t included in a lot of the community fundraising. All of that went to people that were physically injured and spent time in the hospital, as well as families of people who died. People who experienced just psychological trauma, or didn’t have any physical injuries, weren’t included in that at all.

Without Red Robin’s Giving Fund, I don’t know what I would have done. I was still able to receive checks and take a lot of time to heal. I mean, it took almost a year to heal. I went back to work for about three months after that, and then found a different job that was a lot more therapeutic for me.

I actually started therapy in August, which was I think was a solid month after everything happened. Luckily we were provided with resources through [the Aurora Mental Health Center]. So anybody that had survived the shooting, or had a family member who was there, or was closely tied to what happened at the theater, [we] were able to receive free mental health care for as long as we need. So it’s basically lifelong free mental health services.

(Autumn Parry for HuffPost)

I still don’t know where I’d be without that. That was a huge, huge thing for our recovery. Some of my friends didn’t get into therapy until much later ― particularly my friends who were physically injured, because they were dealing with their physical injuries, healing from those, and doing check-ins with hospitals to make sure everything was OK. So their mental and psychological health kind of got put on hold because of their physical injuries.

But because I didn’t have any physical injuries, I was able to get in right away and take advantage of the resources that were available. And I’m still in therapy. Not as frequently, but I still see a therapist when I feel like I need to.

As told to Anna Almendrala. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

  • This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

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Of what political value is Emeka Ojukwu jr?

His presence in APC is a mere public relations deodorant without the grassroot odour! He does not command a voter catching and mobilization charism and will end up as another index in the statistical chart of the Igbos in the APC led federal Government Payroll.

An adult Igbo first son who openly asserts that his father’s wife was in control of his father is not worthy to be taken seriously. One of Gen. Odimegwu Emeka Ojukwus greatest foible was his dabbling into partisan politics. In 1983 he got his hand burnt terribly when he went against the popular Igbo tide in the NPP and pitched his tent with NPN. His defeat at the senatorial polls by Dr Edwin Onwudiwe was one of the highlights of the Second Republic.

For the Ojukwus to swim against popular Igbo sentiment had become a tragic flaw.Their attraction to the centre is a political hari-kari .A political suicide. A sort of immolation.

Ojukwu jr does not command the presence of his father and pales in a distant comparison to his father’s wife Bianca! Whereas Ojukwu Sr was an acknowledged leader and commander of men and Bianca his delectable wife, a Queen befiting a warrior with the attendant brain, beauty and physical presence, Emeka Ojukwu jr brings nothing to the political table except a tale of family scandals. He is the son of our leader and not a leader. His greatest weapon and most potent armor should have been silence and a complete disdain from partisan politics. This way he will command the respect of both the left and right of the political divide befitting the son and Prince of the Peoples General.

Prince Ene Okechukwu Ahmed

Bier Collage Abuja.

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Rounding up the best Christmas + holiday PJs for the whole family

Holiday jammies are a tradition in our house, and were a tradition for me growing up as well. It is the only time of year we can get all of our kids (and our spouses!) to dress alike without eye rolls — because everyone loves Christmas pjs 🙂 And if you celebrate a different holiday, you can still get in on the cuteness by choosing a winter pattern or matching grey or blue stripes. The only thing I don’t love about holiday pajamas are that they  can be pretty pricey. My kids do wear them beyond the holiday, but since they grow out of things so fast, While my absolute favorite pajamas are from this brand, some families can’t spend that much on pajamas, or aren’t looking for long lasting quality so much as just wearing them a couple of times and are looking for a more budget-friendly option. In case you’re in the same boat I thought I would round up some of my favorite affordable matching holiday pajamas for the whole family.

  1. Black & White winter fair isle pajamas.
  2. Red & white candy stripe pajamas.
  3. Christmas lights pajamas.
  4. Christmas stripe pajamas.
  5. Snowflake pajamas.
  6. Family plaid pajamas.
  7. Elf stripe pajamas.
  8. Christmas tree pajamas.

Holiday Traditions: Matching Family Christmas pajamas with Hanna Andersson and Oh Lovely Day

And just because I can’t handle how much they’ve grown, here are the boys in their matching jammies from last year. You can find more of my boys in their matching pjs last here in this post and buy some yourself here. These are the best quality and fit pajamas I’ve found, although I do size up for my boys who are bigger than average.

Does your family do the matching jammies thing? Where are your favorites from? And what other family traditions do you love? You can find more of our family traditions in this post and also by following the #fredrickfamilyxmas feed on Instagram.

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Assembly on schedule for Sverdrup drilling modules

 Aibel expects to complete construction this summer of the modules for the Johan Sverdrup Phase 1 drilling platform.
The 10,800-ton main support frame, the largest ever undertaken at the company’s Laem Chabang yard in Thailand, is complete, 20 months after fabrication started.
Aibel also expects the drilling support module (DSM), under assembly in Haugesund, and the drilling equipment set (DES) in Grimstad, Norway, to both be delivered on schedule.
The DSM should be mechanically complete on Aug. 22, while the DES will leave Nymo three days later.
Assembly of all three modules will take place during the first half of September in Klosterfjorden. Afterwards, the barge carrying the modules will be towed to Haugesund where it will lie alongside the quay, awaiting the start of integration work at the yard on Sept. 25.
From November, and until the platform leaves the yard in Haugesund next June or July, Statoil staff will be testing the equipment on board.
Aibel has also finished construction drawings of the H25 module for DEA Norge’s Dvalin project in the Norwegian Sea, and fabrication is now under way.
On Oct. 17, construction of the second and largest Dvalin module, M40, will start in Haugesund. Prefabrication for the modification scope at the Heidrun complex has been ongoing since May.

Stay up to date with Oil and Gas Vision for all of the up to the minute Oil and Gas News.

Check out the Oil and Gas Membership to find out exactly whats going on. Just £10 per month.


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Antique Kitchenware Items for Sale in Oklahoma City, OK

1 item
I have Frankoma Pottery political mugs and Frankoma Pottery commemorative plates.Every piece is in EXCELLENT condition I have this lot price to sell quickly to the individual that sells online in venues such as Ebay Etsy etc.Price is for all pieces - . Photos and contact info on Advertigo website.
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arts and crafts · Craft Supplies · Crafting How To's · Distressed · Paper Crafts

Branding Your Business

I have an online shop with Etsy called Old Raven.  I sell my handmade altered art projects there as well as craft supplies and Vintage/Antique items that I find rummaging through Estate Sales where I love to find things to incorporate in to my altered art. Now Etsy has really been on a roll for… Continue reading Branding Your Business


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Latest posts

Lack of trust, not lack of cash

Inside Politics – The Policy Exchange newsletter (London), 25 January 2008

There are lots of interpretations of this week’s events in the international stock markets and the Fed’s surprise decision to cut interest rates by 75 basis points. Was it a wise step to calm the markets and avert an imminent recession? Or was it a sign of panic without a realistic prospect of having a beneficial effect on the economy?

Whatever it was, it was only a logical continuation of the Fed’s past policies. For the last decade, the US central bank has followed a strategy which regarded injecting liquidity as the best way to stimulate the economy. This had been the Fed’s reaction to 9/11 and to the end of the boom in the early years of this century. If this policy worked well then, so why not work now?

The answer is that today’s situation is very different. Indeed, much of the current mess the Fed is hoping to clear up now had been caused by its previous actions.

In 2003/04, US interest rates had been as low as 1 per cent, which fuelled the housing market and consumer demand. But when the US economy picked up again and interest rates had to be raised, this brought an end to that business model. The subprime crisis then revealed how much bad debt had accumulated in the years of cheap’n’easy credit.

As we know, the result was a remarkable loss of trust in the economy, especially between financial institutions. The bubble had burst. But it should not be forgotten that without the Fed’s low interest rates, it would have never developed in the first place.

Now that the markets are going through an – admittedly painful – recalibration, the Fed’s reaction of an emergency rate cut only shows that it has learnt nothing from its previous mistakes. It is like downing a bottle of whisky because you do not want to endure last night’s hangover.

The ‘cure’ is unlikely to work. The markets do not suffer from a lack of cash, but from a lack of trust. It is something which the Bank of England will have to consider, too, when making its rates decision on February 7.

In any case, there is no economic law that says that share prices should never fall. It would be wiser if central bankers stepped back and let the markets clear up the mess that was first and foremost caused by loose monetary policies.

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Tag Archives: routine

There is power in the practice of regularly doing reps in workouts. I always had the mentality of “one and done” when I exercised. Now as I think about it, that is just silly. Doing a hard routine is supposed to be difficult that is why you should do it again during the same workout. You can only get stronger if you know your limits and push them. Also as I mature my exercises I do multiple reps throughout the day to push the limits again. If you can do 5 push ups in the morning you can certainly do 5 push ups at night. You’re only going to get stronger.


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Certificate of Need New Rule Invalidated by Supreme Court

The Washington Supreme Court unanimously agreed with the Washington State Hospital Association that the new expanded Certificate of Need rule defining the “sale, purchase or lease” of a hospital exceeded the Department of Health’s authority.  WSHA successfully argued that the new definition, promulgated by the Department of Health’s Certificate of Need Program, which expanded its jurisdiction to include “any transaction in which the control, either directly or indirectly, of part or all of any existing hospital changes to a different person, including, but not limited to, by contract, affiliation, corporate membership restructuring, or any other transaction,” was overly expansive.

The Supreme Court agreed that pursuant to the wording of the new rule, Certificate of Need approval would be required for any change in control of a hospital, including those changes that commonly occur, for example a change in the composition of the board of directors of a hospital.  The Supreme Court held that the new rule interprets “sale, purchase, or lease” in RCW 70.38.105(4)(b) too broadly and “departs too far from the plain meaning of those terms.”

For more information regarding the Certificate of Need rules please contact Elana Zana.

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Sony SAL100M28 Macro Lens

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Details & Highlights

Details from Sony

    Sharp Macro Focusing: You can get closer to your subject to capture low-angle shots of insects, flowers and other natural wonders -- and broad depth of field lets you keep backgrounds in focus too.
    Bright f2.8 Aperture: In conjunction with the Super SteadyShot(R) image stabilization system of the Sony  (alpha) DSLR-A100 camera, this lens captures bright, steady images even working with hand-held camera in low light.
    High Contrast and Resolution: Excellent optical precision gives your shots greater visual accuracy for close analysis of your subject.
    Focus Range Limiter: Speeds auto-focus response by limiting the range of distances that are brought into focus -- Close-up Range, or Telephoto Range.
    Focus HOLD Button: For full creative control, a focus HOLD Button located on the lens can lock auto-focusing.
    Auto Clutch: In auto-focus mode, the Manual Focus ring does not rotate -- which improves handling ease.
    Circular Aperture: Because aperture blades form a near circle at the wide openings used for low-light shots, spot-light sources have a pleasing circular defocused effect.

Features & Specs

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Category ID: 206 | $798.00


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“Lonely Boy” – Black Keys

The Black Keys is an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001.  Guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney first met when they were eight or nine years old while living in the same neighborhood.  While attending high school, they became friends, though they were part of different crowds—Auerbach was captain of the high school soccer team, while Carney was a social outcast.  Encouraged by a mutual friend,the duo jammed together, as Auerbach was learning guitar at the time and Carney owned a four-track recorder and a drum set.  After graduating, both briefly attended University of Akron before dropping out.  Auerbach attempted to make a living from performing at small bars in town, but realized he would not be able to book shows in other cities without a demo. To record one, he asked for help from Carney, who agreed to provide recording equipment and allow his basement to be used, while Auerbach would recruit the other musicians.  However, none of Auerbach’s backing band showed up on the recording date, as they preferred to “get stoned and play video games [rather] than come to rehearsal”.  Instead, Carney and Auerbach jammed, eventually leading to the duo forming a band and recording a six-song demo consisting of “old blues rip-offs and words made up on the spot”.  After soliciting the demo to a dozen record labels, they received and accepted an offer from a small indie label in Los Angeles called Alive, as it was “the only label that would sign [them] without having to see [them] first”.

Since then the Black Keys have had an extremely successful career, producing 7 studio albums, been nominated for 6 Grammy’s and won 4 of them, and have had 2 albums racked in the top 50 on Rolling Stones annual list.

El Camino, the bands most recent release is no exception to The Black Keys record of excellence.  Many publications, such as Rolling Stone and Time ranked El Camino among the best albums of the year, despite its late release.  “Lonely Boy,” is the only single from the album, and its October release was a huge success.  The music video has over 15 million views on youtube and El Camino sold 206,000 copies in its first week, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200.

“Lonely Boy,” is a simple love song about a man stuck with a woman who treats him badly.  She apparently (as is said in 11 lines of the song) keeps the singer waiting.  For what we don’t know, but he certainly doesn’t seem too bummed about it!  Why be bummed when you can rock like these guys do?

Lyrics here.

More about the Black Keys here.

Lonely Boy - El Camino