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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Heron Breen <breen@fedcoseeds.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Snake Oil
  • Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 13:11:49 -0500


REgarding Phosmet (Imidan), apparently some years back in England there was
an
outbreak of, I believe, Bot-fly, obviously imported, severely infesting the
skin of
cows (and maybe other livestock, but the article I read was based on a cow
study).
Authorization was given to spray a Phosmet product directly onto the cows.
Years
later, evidence suggests (although not proven by any means) that this event
may
have been the trigger for the development of irregular proteins in the
nervous
systems of cows, ie prions and BSE. The British scientist doing this work
were
searching for the cause of BSE. Sheep 'scrappie' jumping species did not seem
to
fit after a few studies, and the eating of other uninfected cow parts
metabolically
leading to this disease eventually also was non-replicable. The 'clincher'
came
when comparing the health of a herd of 'conventionally' raised cows
to 'organically' raised cows pre- and post- the years ago Phosmet usage.
Except (if
I am getting this right) the conventionally raised cows in question did not
eat
feed with animal protein supplements. Organic cattle were exempt from the
required
phosmet treatment, with another option being used. In short the conventional
cattle
got BSE. The organic cows did not. The elaborating hypthesis is that these
intitially treated herds then became part of the food supply and cows eating
infected cow protein were put at risk. This last bit is/was speculation. This
report was run about 3-4 years ago as a blurb in the Maine Organic Farmer and
Gardener quarterly paper. The report did not give an exact scientific
explanation
of how the Phosmet caused the problem, only an overview. Folks may want to
look
deeper into this. Maybe not. Why have no follow-up reports been issued? I
figure
either a long-term study is in progress or worse. I find any research
indicating
problems with a profitable food or chemical is usually downplayed or
discouraged.
It would be an economic disaster if this research was legitimate and folks
linked
phosmet and fruit production, even if its usage on fruit did not have any
health
risks. It would most likely cause a Alar-type scare.
Again, and not in reference to the above "speculations", snake oils to
my mind
are products which do more harm than good, either in the short or long run.
Or
harbor unknown or unacknowledged (by the seller) side effects. Products that
don't
work are called something else: a waste of time.
Weather is perfect,
Heron Breen
zone 4, Maine






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