Happy Cows.........
You might remember a couple weeks ago I wrote a post about switching to an all Organic diet? Well, someone left a comment that raised some very interesting ethical questions regarding the treatment of sick organic dairy animals. Because I’m fairly new to the whole organic food thing, I decided to contact one of the better known organic dairy companies, the Straus Family Creamery, for their thoughts on this subject.
Here’s the comment that was left on my blog:
“I’m a fan of locally grown, and prefer to grow my own when I can. I’m also a huge fan of grass-fed meat and free-range chickens. The one thing I will not buy organically however, is milk and dairy products. My educational background is agriculture. For me, I have the ethical dilemma knowing that often instead of a dairyman treating a sick cow because that would make her no longer “organic”, they allow her to continue to be ill with “name your favorite dairy cattle ailment here” and often feeling pain. I know a few dairymen in the Central Valley who run both organic and conventional dairies so that if a cow needs to be treated, she can be, then moved to the conventional dairy. Without that caveat I don’t feel organic animal products are ethical or healthier (who wants products from a sick animal?) and quite honestly, most organic producers don’t go to those lengths. I feel that the product from an healthy animal who, perhaps some time ago was treated with approved drugs, is still healthier than possibly sick animals producing a product entering the food chain. Just food for thought…”
And here is the Straus Family Creamery’s response to that comment:
“Hello Stephen
Thank you for your email, we appreciate your inquiry. Well, all organic dairies are not all the same. Some do actually care about their health and well-being while wanting to provide the best possible milk for customers.
In general, medical treatment guidelines on an organic dairy are as follows: vaccinations are allowed; antibiotics and hormones are not allowed.
Aspirin is allowed for use on organic dairies and is given to cows to reduce fever and inflammation. In addition, we use homeopathy to treat our cows when they get sick. Homeopathy is essentially diluted herbs.
Albert Straus originally heard about homeopathic remedies on cows in 1992 when he met one of only two large animal vets in North America who were using homeopathic medicines. Albert then began administering homeopathic remedies on our family’s own herd with good results.
On an organic dairy, cows are not given antibiotics unless it is the only way to save a cow’s life. At that point an organic dairy is allowed to keep the cow, but withhold its milk from sale for a period of 90 days. At any of the Straus Family Creamery dairies, if a cow is given antibiotics to save its life, it will then be removed permanently from the organic milking herd.
The most important aspect of keeping cows healthy is to minimize their stress. We accomplish this by providing clean bedding (we add clean rice hulls regularly), room to move (our cows graze from Spring through Fall when the fields are dry), a balanced diet, plenty of space wherever they are, a cooler climate (which is more comfortable for cows since they don’t sweat) and individual bedded stalls for each cow. It’s a pretty good life for a cow.”
I’m not really heavy into eating a lot dairy or beef in the first place, but I thought that both the question posed by the commenter and the response from Straus Family Creamery were enlightening. I definitely learned something.
What do y’all think ?
Photos courtesy of Straus Creamery
It’s been almost a year since Ive updated my asthma status. Here’s the latest report card. For the year, I give myself a C +
In general my lung function has only declined a couple percent which is good. The problem of course, is that when you’re down in the lower ranges like I am, even the slightest change can have a huge impact on the way you feel. My baseline FEV1 now ranges from 33-42%, compared to 36-47% a year ago.
Probably the most noticeable change, and my biggest complaint by far, is that I get short of breath much faster now when engaging in even physical activity. Magnify that 3 or 4 fold when I do activities like racewalking or marathon walking.
My dependence on opiates and anxiolytics to quell my breathlessness keeps growing. Where I used to only take these drugs occasionally, I now take them on a daily basis.
The good news is that they do help and have probably kept me out of the hospital on more than on occasion.
My medical establishment labels are unchanged ( no big surprise there). Under the GINA guidelines, I’m still labeled a severe persistent asthmatic. Under the brand new SARP phenotypes for severe asthmatics, I’m labeled a Catagory/Cluster 5, Childhood onset asthmatic. ( Thank you Dr Wenzel)
Symptoms
- I’m pretty much short of breath to some degree all the time now (even when I’m in my green zone). Most of the time it doesn’t bother me because I’m used to it. But in addition to the low level chronic breathlessness, I’ve also been getting these short, but very intense bouts of dyspnea which seem to spring out of nowhere. The sensation is like that of sudden suffocation. It’s like someone put a bag over my head. It feels like my respiratory muscles are too weak to expand my lungs when I take a breath in. The sensation makes me anxious, which then perpetuates this viscous cycle of not being able to catch my breath. It’s awful. This video ,which Ive used before in my blog posts, does a great job of depicting what these intense mini attacks kinda feel like. The only difference is that I don’t struggle the way the actor does in the clip.
Thankfully these bouts only last an hour or two and are usually relieved with meditative breathing, multiple back to back neb treatments and sometimes opiates. Unfortunately, these intense flares seem to be occurring more frequent now….almost daily. They’re probably a result of declining lung volumes and increased sensitivity to air-trapping.
- For the last 6 months I’ve also noticed a slight, but persistent audible insp wheeze when I breath. Hence, the “Inhaler voice” It’s more annoying than anything else, but I hate the way it makes my voice sound. ENT actually checked my vocal cords and they look fine ( no stenosis)
- It’s becoming increasingly more difficult for me to sleep laying flat. I now have to pretty much sleep with my back propped up, almost to a sitting position. Last year I switched from a conventional bed to a foam bed, which helped ease my lower back pain.
- A noticeable decreasing tolerance to exercise and physical exertion in general. I get winded much easier now when I do any type of exercise or walks.
Incarcerations
- 2 hospital admissions so far this year, totaling 12 days. 8 of those in the ICU, and 2 of those on a ventiltor.
- Ive had one intubation this year, bringing my lifetime total to 16 ( we’re talking Ripleys Believe it or not stuff)
Fitness and Diet
- Despite my worsening dyspnea, I still force myself to walk at least 4 days a week ( 4-6 miles per walk) and even farther when I’m training for a race.
- Earlier this month, I switched to an all organic diet. Additionally, Ive cut my sugar intake in half and eliminated HFCS almost completely. It’s way too soon to see how much of an impact this new way of eating will have on my health in general, but I suspect it will eventually be a positive one. How could it not.
New Treatment Options
- Bronchial Thermoplasty is no longer an option for me. My asthma is too severe, my lungs are too scarred. (* Speaking of Bronchial Thermoplasty, this is one of better articles Ive read on the subject. It’s objective, factual and well written)
- I’m waiting for clinical trials to begin ( hopefully by this time next year) on some new Th2 (IL-4/IL-13) blocking drugs.
Th2 blocking drugs (if they turn out to work), block protein factors related to, but not the same thing as, allergy. These blockers are believed to work “higher up” on the immune inflammatory cascade (where things are getting started) so that they “could” block more things of relevance to asthma. I have a problem with mucus blocking my tiniest airways, which causes me to air trap. (air trapping is the number 1 cause of my suffering). We’re hoping that this new class of drugs might help with that. ( per Dr Sally Wenzel)
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