permaculture

["neilb" <neilb@infoxchange.net.au>]

I would be interested in any other references to improvement in soils as a
result of grazing animals-
Neil Barraclough

----------
> "Mother Nature never farms without animals" - Albert Howard
> "Unholy mess: Britain should take lessons from India on how to deal with
> the
> problem of foot and mouth disease, argues Vandana Shiva
> By Vandana Shiva
> Manchester Guardian
> Wednesday April 4, 2001
> 
> In Britain, we see the army mobilised to kill a million or more farm
> animals and bury them in mass graves merely because of a suspicion that
> they might be carrying a disease that is neither fatal to humans nor
> animals. In India, the cow is held sacred, and from my philosophical and
> 
> religious perspective, parallels can be drawn with ethnic cleansing in
> Serbia and the blowing up of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in
> Afghanistan. This war against farm animals reflects the insanity of
> those
> who promote globalised, industrialised food systems which create,
> promote
> and spread disease, but who simultaneously want a "disease free national
> 
> herd".
> 
> This zero tolerance for disease has led to a zero tolerance for animals.
> 
> Farm animals and farmers have been made the "endemic" enemy. The
> countryside has been turned into a war zone. Just as the silent Buddhas
> had
> to be demolished for a false sense of security and pride by the Taliban,
> so
> our hoofed neighbours are being slaughtered and burnt for a false sense
> of
> security and safety by the British government. Animals are killed on the
> 
> basis of unjustified exaggeration of the impact of foot and mouth
> disease,
> which has been called a "fearful plague", "a demon", "a serial killer"
> and
> a predator at large.
> 
> But, as we know, FMD is actually quite harmless, though highly
> contagious.
> It does not harm humans, and it only rarely kills animals. The virus
> takes
> a toll on productivity, but not generally of life. The disease lowers
> milk
> production and reduces the working ability of animals. In a month they
> recover. Animals can, however, die of other diseases like haemorrhagic
> septicaemia when their immunity has been lowered by FMD. In India, 400
> animals have died in the past couple of months not of FMD but
> haemorrhagic
> septicaemia, which infects the throat and blocks the respiratory tract.
> 
> FMD is endemic to India, and used to be in Europe. It has been
> traditionally treated through indigenous veterinary medicine. Vaccines
> are
> also available and have been used. Nowhere in the world have entire
> herds
> been exterminated.
> 
> In India, we hold cattle sacred, because without them we could not renew
> 
> our soil fertility.
> 
> Ecologically, the cow has been central to Indian civilisation. Both
> materially and conceptually, Indian agriculture has built its
> sustainability on maintaining the integrity of the cow, considering her
> inviolable and sacred, seeing her as the mother of the prosperity of
> food
> systems.
> 
> The integration of livestock with farming has been the secret of
> sustainable agriculture. Livestock perform a critical function in the
> food
> chain by converting organic matter into a form that can be easily used
> by
> plants. Can you imagine a British agricultural minister saying, as KM
> Munshi, India's first agriculture minister after independence, did: "The
> 
> mother cow and the Nandi are not worshipped in vain. They are the
> primeval
> agents who enrich the soil -nature's great land transformers - who
> supply
> organic matter which, after treatment, becomes nutrient matter of the
> greatest importance. In India, tradition, religious sentiment and
> economic
> needs have tried to maintain a cattle population large enough to
> maintain
> the cycle, only if we know it."
> 
> The sanctity of the cow as a source of prosperity in agriculture was
> linked
> to the need for conserving its integration with crop production. By
> using
> crop wastes and uncultivated land, indigenous cattle do not compete with
> 
> man for food; rather, they provide organic fertiliser for fields and
> thus
> enhance food productivity. Within the sacredness of the cow therefore,
> lies
> this ecological rationale and conservation imperative.
> 
> There are three aspects to the reaction of the FMD epidemic that make me
> 
> terribly uneasy.
> 
> First, while it is clear that globalisation of trade and increased
> movement
> of animals has spread the disease, the UK government continues to
> support
> increased liberalisation of agricultural trade in the World Trade
> Organisation. The half million livestock being killed are a ritual
> sacrifice to the gods of global markets. Shutting the countryside down
> while keeping borders open to trade will not prevent spread of disease -
> 
> either coming in through imports or going out through exports.
> 
> Second, the export obsession that is an intrinsic part of globalisation
> also leads to a blindness to the welfare of animals and farmers.
> Thousands
> of livestock can be annihilated, hundreds of farmers ruined to maintain
> the
> "vaccine free" status of exports. Neither the farmers nor farm animals
> count in the calculus of free trade. That is why farmers are committing
> suicide in thousands in India, and animals are being killed in thousands
> in
> the UK.
> 
> Third, the same agencies that refuse to act in the public interest on
> issues of food safety related to GMOs are willing to cull farm animals
> infected by a non-fatal disease.
> 
> These are double standards. On the basis of the precautionary principle,
> 
> the UK government should ban GMOs instead of killing harmless animals if
> it
> is concerned about safety of food and agriculture.
> 
> The crisis in the UK should make us all think more seriously about
> globalisation of food and agriculture. We need to explore what is the
> most
> reliable way to produce safe food, protect human and animal health,
> 
> build
> immunity and resilience in our farming. The crisis needs a systems
> response, not military operations.
> 
> The problem is not the occurrence of disease and infection, but
> vulnerability to it. The very idea of disease-free animals and
> disease-free
> people fuels the appetite for genetic engineering. It decreases our
> levels
> of tolerance and resilience. It breeds fear, anxiety and paranoia - the
> kind of fear that is moving the military might of Britain to declare a
> war
> against its hoofed inhabitants.
> 
> This paranoia suits the genetic engineering industry perfectly. By
> exterminating farm animals, the option of small organic farms is eroded.
> By
> creating a fear of disease, a new market is created for Dolly, and Polly
> 
> and Tracy and all their clones.
> 
> We should stop this war against farm animals. Without them we will never
> be
> able to build a sustainable farming future.
> 
> Dr Vandana Shiva, a physicist and ecologist, has in India established
> Navdanya, a movement for biodiversity conservation and farmers' rights.
> 
> --
> 
>                        *******************************
> Jeffrey Newman
> 
> JN Web Design
> http://www.jnweb.com/
> Phone: 1 250 791-9206
> Fax:   1 250 791-9207
> E-Mail: jn@jnweb.com
> ICQ: 9879310
> 
> 
> 
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