DEAR DR. FOX: I am a cattle farmer, and your readers might like to know what I have been facing with my animals and at the auctions.
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My Holsteins, and those belonging to other people, have been developing visible tumors on their bodies. The cows with tumors bring $.10 per pound, as opposed to $.50 to $.55 per pound for the good cows. A classmate of mine did NOT bid on or buy the cows with lymphoma. I asked him why anyone might buy those cows. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. I wonder what the going price is for meat for pet food?
The remarks below are from a consultant who was working with a particular dairy operation in the Midwest. The consultant sent feed samples to a Lab in Fairfield, Iowa, for glyphosate and AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid) residue analysis:
"The particular farm where I took these samples has had cows reach a poor peak, weaken and die for years. Once they had allowed me to start taking urine samples, which showed around 10 ppb of glyphosate/AMPA last spring, they promised to quit using Roundup on the crops that were to be fed to their cows and heifers.
"Three months ago, one of the owners asked me why the cows they are shipping are being 'tanked' (condemned): 'How are they getting lymphoma?'
"When I asked if he had heard about the lawsuit Monsanto lost in California and had to fork out (millions of dollars) to a groundskeeper who was exposed to Roundup and was dying of lymphoma, the owner looked at me in total bewilderment and didn't ask me another question!
"I've been begging them for six years to stop using the stuff!"
A high school classmate of mine is a pound cow buyer for a major cow and bull slaughter packer. He has been buying pound cows and bulls ("pound cows" is a term to describe a cow whose life of efficient production is over and now is headed for McDonald's or Burger King). I asked him if he was seeing much lymphoma in pound cows. His response was "YES, especially dairy cows." This is because the feedstuffs the dairy cows consume contain a constant level of glyphosate/AMPA residue, and glyphosate has been scientifically proven to cause lymphoma in certain cases. -- H.V., Maurice, Iowa
DEAR H.V.: I share your concerns about bovine lymphosarcoma, leukemia and malignant lymphoma. Lymphosarcoma in cattle may be sporadic or result from infection with bovine leukemia virus (BLV), the latter being often referred to as an enzootic bovine leukosis. Sporadic lymphosarcoma in cattle is unrelated to infection with BLV. It can significantly reduce animals' well-being and productivity. Why it is so prevalent today may be because of herbicide (glyphosate) residues in cattle feed, which may act as a co-factor in reducing animals' resistance to the virus or be a primary cause of a similar lymphatic cancer as seen in laboratory animal studies of glyphosate toxicity.
Lymphatic cancer is also an issue with dogs, and herbicide residues have been found in some dog foods. We have surely reached the point where the use of such chemicals in food production needs to be curtailed, since they are now being detected in drinking water as well as various foods, beer and wine. Organic farming practices need to be more widely adopted for the good of all.
DEAR DR. FOX: My 2-year-old Jack Russell has been potty box-trained since birth, and has been great about using his box in the middle of the night.
However, after moving to a new house two months ago, he refuses to use it. Twice, he has pooped on the floor. So we placed his box where he pooped on the floor, but nothing!
We don't understand this new behavior, and don't know how to get him to go in his box again. -- M.B., St Louis
DEAR M.B.: Most dogs do not like to defecate inside their homes, even though they can be trained to do so on a poop (and pee) pad when they are young. Your dog wants to keep the new home clean, perhaps? I do not condone this practice unless you live in a high-rise apartment, or are handicapped and unable to take the dog outdoors on a regular schedule.
Most dogs like a schedule of going outside about six times a day, with at least one long walk or some time off-leash in a safe area to run around and play.
An active terrier dog like yours needs lots of stimulation and activities, including sniffing and urine-marking around where you live. Regular physical activity is good for the mind and body, helping prevent obesity, bowel issues, and other health problems associated with a sedentary existence. Outdoor physical activity stimulates the digestive system, and is always best done before meals.
Your dog is probably trying to tell you enough is enough. He is not a litter box-using cat and needs to get outdoors as often as possible. Teaching a pup to get used to pooping indoors can make it difficult to later have the dog poop outdoors. How often does he get out? No healthy dog needs to poop in the middle of the night.
(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
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