DEAR READERS: Consumers and producers of farmed animal products -- meats, eggs and dairy -- are responding to the documented threats to public health, animal welfare and the environment associated with intensive factory farm systems: the so-called CAFOs (confined/concentrated animal feeding operations).

Regarding the environmental effects of these facilities, writer Devatha P. Nair recently posted an article on SentientMedia.org entitled, "Most Factory Farms Have 'Free Pass' to Pollute the Environment." An excerpt:

"Emissions from factory farms in the United States now cause more deaths than traditional polluting industries such as coal-fired plants, with air pollution coming from agriculture accounting for 17,900 deaths every year," writes Nair. (Source: scientific journal PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "Air quality-related health damages of food," Nina G.G. Domingo et al, May 10, 2021)

"And yet," continues Nair, "factory farming is one of the least regulated industries by the Environmental Protection Agency. Most farms are currently protected by an amnesty deal that protects the industry's biggest players from any meaningful enforcement of environmental protection laws. The inability of the EPA to regulate the livestock industry led to 24 advocacy organizations filing a legal petition to enforce federal air pollution laws against high-polluting farms, which the agency has refused to do for nearly two decades. The groups are asking the EPA to stop giving factory farms a free pass to pollute and start doing more to protect communities and the environment."

Another new report, this one from the Center for Biological Diversity and World Animal Protection, also addresses this issue. The report analyzes the use of six pesticides commonly sprayed on crops that are ultimately used to feed factory-farmed pigs, poultry and cattle. According to the report, 235 million pounds of pesticides were used on corn and soybean crops in 2018. The authors assert that all of the pesticides and herbicides listed in the report threaten the flora and fauna of the ecosystems surrounding the crops they are used on. (Source: "Collateral Damage: How Factory Farming Drives Up the Use of Toxic Agricultural Pesticides," reports.worldanimalprotection.org/US/Pesticides)

On the animal welfare front, factory-farmed animals suffer from inherited health problems as a consequence of genetic selection for very rapid growth (for more flesh/meat and fat) and productivity (of eggs and milk). And things get even worse when illnesses strike: As avian flu spreads through the poultry industry, millions of broiler chickens, laying hens and turkeys are being culled en masse. Veterinarians are among those demanding an end to some of the cruelest killing methods, such as ventilation shutdown, causing death by suffocation and hyperthermia. (Source: "'They're Cooking Them Alive': Calls to Ban 'Cruel' Killing Methods on U.S. Farms," The Guardian, March 8)

Though some laws are in place, they are limited in their reach. The Animal Welfare Act, which sets minimum standards for animals used in zoos or research or sold as pets, specifically exempts animals raised for food. The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the 28-Hour Law (the latter of which covers farmed animals in transport) are weakly enforced, and both exempt poultry, which make up 98% of U.S. land animals raised for food.

These issues, which I raised in my 1984 book "Farm Animals: Husbandry, Behavior, and Veterinary Practice (Viewpoints of a Critic)," are at last beginning to be addressed. Animal welfare and health should take precedence over productivity and profitability.

LOOK FOR THIS 'ANIMAL WELFARE' LABEL

The Global Animal Partnership (globalanimalpartnership.org) is one of the largest animal welfare food-labeling programs in North America. Seek their "Animal Welfare Certified" label on any animal products you purchase. Also look for it on pet foods, such as veterinarian Dr. Bob Goldstein's Wisdom dog foods and treats (earthanimal.com). Our dog relished his turkey kibble recipe, which smells delectable and which I can feed him in good conscience.

DEAR DR. FOX: My 8-year-old cat, Mia, got sick after eating food from Evanger's Organics (the Turkey and Butternut Squash variety) last week. She began drinking copious amounts of water and urinating heavily. At first, I didn't connect it to the food, and thought she might be going into renal failure. But Mia set me straight when I tried to feed her the same food again. She seemed to say to me, "ARE YOU CRAZY?"

She seems to have improved now; her energy has been pretty good since yesterday.

I informed the store where I obtained the "food." They asked if I wanted to return it, and I said, "For now, I'm keeping it as evidence." Is there a lab that can test this cat food for toxins?

For now, I will start using your cat food recipe. Can I substitute quinoa for the rice, since rice has arsenic in it? Can I substitute sesame seeds for calcium carbonate/bone meal? Bone meal contains lead, and calcium carbonate is inorganic rock. -- D.W., Ashland, Oregon

DEAR D.W.: I am glad your cat rejected a second serving of the cat food that made her sick. I would suspect endotoxins from degraded/contaminated meat.

I believe that this company had some serious issues a few years back with a batch of their food being contaminated with pentobarbital (a drug used to euthanize animals). This was originally discovered by a pet owner in Washington state when her dog died. Oregon State University performed some lab work in this case, in partnership with the FDA. I would start by contacting the vet college at Oregon State.

As to feeding your cat my basic home-prepared recipe, I have a new version that no longer includes rice (see my website, drfoxonehealth.com). You will also find safer sources of calcium in the recipe.

Keep me posted if you do get toxicity tests done.

(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.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Amid staff shortages and a slowdown in adoption rates, the number of dogs and cats at U.S. animal shelters is higher than usual, animal advocacy groups say. People who want to help can foster, adopt, volunteer and/or donate. Also, try to find the owner of stray animals in your area instead of calling animal control departments or shelters. Help rehome animals if necessary.

Journalist Jen Reeder writes: "When the onset of the coronavirus pandemic forced animal shelters across the country to close their doors, Americans answered the desperate calls for help by adopting and fostering pets. Now as we head into the third year of the pandemic, a new crisis looms -- so rescue advocates are hoping Americans will step up to help once again. Adoptions have slowed, and there are 100,000 more dogs and cats in shelters than this time last year, which puts them at risk of euthanasia, according to Best Friends Animal Society. The nonprofit also found in a study last summer that 87% of shelters surveyed reported being understaffed -- and the omicron variant just made the situation even worse." (Full story: nbcdfw.com, March 11)

Adoptions rose dramatically during the pandemic, especially to provide companionship and fun for children stuck at home. But many of these animals are now being returned to the shelters. This is a perpetual, tragic cycle of cats, dogs, puppies and kittens being treated as disposable objects or toys, and must be rectified. Would-be adopters must become better informed about responsible pet care and the costs involved.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am told my cat is a Bombay. (I got her from a rescue organization when she was 4 months old, so I don't know anything more about her background.) She has suffered from dermatologic problems most of her life. She has terrible itchiness, and what looks like dandruff.

About once a year she gets a steroid shot, which gives her some relief for a while. She also has a prescription shampoo, which seems to help, but is of course temporary.

Recently, she has begun shedding even more than she used to, almost in clumps. In addition to her regular vet, I took her to a naturopathic vet a couple of times. She gave her some herbs, and she did acupuncture at the first visit, but not the second. Just more herbs, which are marked simply "dermal support." Although my cat was willing to eat them mixed in with her food the first time, this time she is turning up her nose at them. So no matter what these herbs are, they don't help.

I am at my wits' end. I brush her as much as possible, which she loves, as it apparently gives her some relief. But I feel so helpless as everything is temporary. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? She refuses to eat anything except Fancy Feast, which I know is not good for her, but I have tried every brand on the market and she won't touch anything else except sometimes Science Diet Sensitive Stomach kibble. She doesn't like people food. -- J.W., Ashbury Park, New Jersey

DEAR J.W.: I am sorry to hear about the ordeal you and your cat are having with a skin problem for which you have found no solution. I would be highly suspect of food allergies/intolerances and, if your cat is not young, possibly hyperactive thyroid.

I know of one cat with symptoms like yours who recovered given a manufactured diet containing no rice. The most common foods to which cats are allergic or intolerant are beef, fish, dairy and in some instances, chicken.

Fancy Feast is one of the more acceptable canned cat foods. You might try The Honest Kitchen's freeze-dried varieties of cat foods, or cook up some of my own cat food recipe with known ingredients, as posted at drfoxonehealth.com.

(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.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: While Americans decry the climate consequences of Amazon rainforest destruction, which ecologists report has reached a grave state of regenerative impairment, they should take the log out of their own eyes and look at the legacy of the bison exterminators and "sod busters" who continue to destroy the magnificent prairies and high plains.

These landscapes were once home to vast herds of nutrient-cycling bison and antelope, as well as the now-endangered swift fox and other mammals and birds. After the genocide of prairie and plains American Indian tribes who lived sustainably with the bison and other wildlife, the U.S. government subsidized cattle ranchers, who turned millions of acres of grasslands into semidesert public "rangelands" from grazing too many livestock, further decimating biodiversity by the relentless extermination of predators.

The rewilding of grasslands would help restore the vast, now-depleted and chemically contaminated Ogallala Aquifer. Reduction in agricultural fertilizer and pesticide use would help reduce contamination of the Great Lakes, where fish now pose a health risk to consumers, especially indigenous communities.

Efforts must be made to restore these ecosystems. All states must support the North American Grasslands Act. See landtrustalliance.org for details. Also, read about the Big River Connectivity rewilding project: projectcoyote.org/programs/carnivore-conservation-coexistence/big-river-connectivity.

My late friend Wes Jackson's dedicated research led to the development of a perennial wheat he named Kernza, which offers a valuable food and fodder crop to help with prairie soil and habitat restoration and carbon-sequestration. See modernfarmer.com/2017/03/wes-jackson-the-land-institute-kernza.

Tearing up grasslands and using arable land to produce crops for biofuels is not a "green" energy source since production releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. Likewise, the collection of peat from wetlands and the draining of wetlands for crop production on peat soils turns a major carbon sink into a methane and carbon dioxide emitter. Significant progress has been made in protecting all wetlands, which in turn sustains natural biodiversity and helps control flooding and droughts, but more is needed. For details, see ducks.org/conservation/public-policy/nawca-north-american-wetlands-conservation-act.

The rewilding movement to restore natural terrestrial and aquatic habitats is an essential part of the One Health, One Earth and One Economy paradigm, which connects the security and well-being of our own species with that of others that help sustain our collective planetary community.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 5-year-old Shih Tzu who, when he was 1 year old, reacted badly to his second set of shots and developed a raging case of panniculitis. (His littermate also had a bad reaction to the shots, but it did not result in a chronic autoimmune disease.) The condition is so rare that the two vet practices I took him to had never seen a case in their 30+ years of practice.

A biopsy sample was removed and sent to the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, which made the diagnosis. Vets immediately gave him prednisone, and although it cured his symptoms, it was only temporary.

When my dog was 3 years old, still suffering mightily from deep, volcanic wounds all over his body, it occurred to me to take him to a veterinary dermatology specialist. This vet had not only seen panniculitis before, he had treated it in multiple pets. He prescribed Atopica, which was invented for atopic dermatitis.

My dog has been on it since December 2020, and his one-year checkup (including blood work) indicates that he is in fine health. I tell you this because S.D. from Erie, Pennsylvania, should look into this drug for their Shih Tzu who had been on Apoquel for a long time with no healing. -- N.E., South Bend, Indiana

DEAR N.E.: I am aware of the benefits of Atopica, the brand name of cyclosporine, which, like Apoquel, suppresses the immune system and must be used with all due caution and monitoring of the dog's health. Panniculitis -- inflammation of fatty tissues beneath the skin, with eruption of lumps that may ulcerate and bleed -- may be caused by several factors, including trauma, infections (bacterial or fungal), immune-mediated diseases, recent subcutaneous injections (corticosteroids, vaccines) and cancerous neoplasia (multicentric mast cell tumors, cutaneous lymphosarcoma).

The manufacturer's advisory on this product states, in part (from elanco.us): "Do not use Atopica in dogs with a history of neoplasia, with a hypersensitivity to cyclosporine, or in reproducing dogs. Atopica is a systemic immunosuppressant that may increase susceptibility to infection and development of neoplasia. Gastrointestinal problems and gingival hyperplasia may occur at the initial dose. ... The most common adverse events are vomiting and diarrhea."

Note that modified live vaccines should be avoided in general; in your dog's case, I would give no more vaccinations at all. I would advise closer attention to your dog's diet, with the inclusion of essential fatty acids and the avoidance of corn, soy and wheat. Provide him an organically certified, whole-food diet with probiotics and digestive enzymes (provided by a teaspoon of unsweetened pineapple daily). Then, with your veterinarian's guidance and supervision, I would slowly take your dog off the Atopica and see how he responds.

As I have pointed out in my review of vaccinations in dogs (posted on my website), adverse vaccine reactions include autoimmune diseases, as per your dog's. I am not opposed to vaccinations, nor to the use of corticosteroids and immunosuppressant drugs, but a cavalier approach to their use is ill-advised.

(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.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)