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- Denis Giles
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By Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
When my husband died I was 23 years old. The next few years were stressful, to put it mildly, and by the time I was 27 my hair had started turning white. I started dyeing when I was in my early thirties. Every month I have a battle with myself. I want to let my hair grow out white - and yet I am scared of the interim two years in which the half white/black hair looks unkempt.
A study by the Northern Illinois University and Colorado State University, and published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, shows that stress has the same effect on dogs. Researchers met 400 owners who answered a 42 item questionnaire on their dog’s behaviour, age and health. These were the findings: Dogs that go through tough times go grey. Young dogs between 1-4, whose owners rated them as very anxious and impulsive, were far more likely to have prematurely grey muzzles than calmer, better treated dogs.
To gauge anxiety levels, researchers asked questions about behaviour, including whether the dog destroyed things when left alone, whether the dog had hair loss during vet exams, or when it entered new places, and whether the dog cringed or cowered in response to groups of people.
To rate impulsivity, the researchers asked whether the dogs jumped on people, whether they could be calmed, if they had a loss of focus and whether they were hyperactive after exercise. Researchers, who had never met the dogs, graded them on a scale of 0 to 3, with 0 indicating no muzzle greyness and 3 indicating full muzzle greyness. Female dogs had higher levels of greyness than males, researchers found. Moreover, dogs that showed fearfulness toward loud noises, and unfamiliar animals and people, tended to have increased greyness.
Other studies published in Experimental Dermatology have shown that stress changes hair colour in mice by accelerating aging. (Political leaders move rapidly to white hair within a few months of taking office.)
Colour changes take place all the time in dogs.White dogs tend to develop a rust-coloured stain beneath their eyes, because the tears wet the hair and encourage the growth of a red-tinted yeast which darkens to a brownish colour over time. Stains, from dyes and minerals in a dog's food and water, show up in dogs with white coats. Minerals found in tap or well water also can stain the hair around his mouth; plastic feeding bowls may harbour tiny cracks that house bacteria which grow in the hair, causing discoloration as they multiply. Artificial colouring in food can transfer to his hair as he eats, leaving him with a stained ring around the mouth.
Dogs lick themselves clean during grooming, but this can result in unsightly stains in an otherwise clean coat. Bacteria present in saliva can grow and multiply in the dog’s hair, causing a stain to appear and darken over time. The most common problem areas for licking-caused stains are the legs, paws and nether-regions.
The most frequent reason for a dog to persistently lick himself is allergies. The fur is stained brown. It eventually goes away once the allergies clear up. But, many dogs need prescription medications to help with the itching. The most effective medicines are steroids such as prednisone.
Black dogs often develop dark brown patches and this is sometimes due to the sun which bleaches the coat to make it lighter. However, colour patches are also due to malnutrition. Sometimes steroids, antifungals, chlorambucil, or antacids change the coat colour.
A deficiency of copper or tyrosine in the food can also cause the colour of the coat to change. Copper-rich foods are shellfish, beans, nuts, kidney & liver, whole grains, sesame seeds, barley, turnip greens, and molasses and tyrosine-rich foods-- tofu, lima beans, yogurt, cheese, chicken, bananas.
An excess of zinc then interferes with copper absorption . Zinc-rich foods include legumes, cereals, meat. If the dog is getting more zinc-rich foods than copper-rich foods an imbalance causes a black coat to lighten. Milk and eggs interfere with copper absorption. The dog needs a varied diet. Black hair fading to brown is another example of how important food is to pet health.
Excessive or harsh shampoos also affect Dobermans, Dachshunds, Great Danes, Yorkshire Terriers, Whippets, and Greyhounds and cause their coats to change colour.
There are a number of medical conditions that can cause hair loss, or changes in pigmentation, in dogs. These range from infectious skin conditions, such as mange and flea dermatitis, to hormonal deficiencies such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's disease, to more serious illnesses such as cancer.
Cushing's disease is a hormonal defect that causes changes in coat colour in dogs. There is an increase in corticosteroids in the body in this disease - either due to increased production by the body, or as a side effect of high doses, or prolonged therapy with corticosteroids. Hair loss, thinning of skin, hyperpigmentation, easy bruising, seborrhea, black heads, lethargy, increased thirst and urination and pot-bellied appearance, are common signs of this.
Hypothyroidism, resulting from decreased production of thyroid hormone, is another hormonal disorder that affects the skin and hair in dogs. Hair loss, dry and brittle hair, seborrhea; secondary bacterial and yeast infections and changes in skin pigmentation may occur.
Malassezia pachydermatis is a yeast found on the skin and ears of dogs. Though a normal inhabitant of these regions, an abnormal overgrowth of the yeast can cause dermatitis, or inflammation of the skin. Patches of skin becoming darker and epidermal thickening, irritation of skin and loss of hair are common signs in this disease. Malassezia dermatitis can affect any breed of dog, but these breeds are more prone: poodles, basset hounds, cocker spaniels, and dachshunds.
Sometimes the nose colour of a dog changes. Black noses turn chocolate brown to light pink; more common in Yellow Labs, Golden Retrievers, Poodles, and Dobermans. There is no known cause and no remedy.
Lentigo is inherited in pugs and involves circular brownish-black areas of coloration.
Dachshunds have an inherited problem called Acanthosis in which the skin darkens. Puppies sometimes change colour as they mature. For instance, Dalmatians and Australian cattle dogs start off pale and get their markings as they age. Great Dane puppies start mostly black and get more tan as they mature. Beagles do the same. Finally, some breeds do change colour over their lifetimes. Bearded Collies have a dominant greying gene. Born jet black, the coat turns to light silver in a year and then grey as the dog grows. Old English Sheepdogs also have this gene.
The ravages of time affect everyone who is lucky enough to age. Skin and hair are especially susceptible to changes relating to maturing. As an individual goes through life, hair changes. It may grow thinner, coarser. It may change colour. It is especially common for darkly pigmented hair to become lighter. Pigment takes a great deal of energy for the body to make. Bodies are prone to directing resources towards other needs. Like people, dogs tend to lose pigmentation in their fur as they get older. Generally, white or greying fur on an elderly or middle-aged dog is most noticeable around the muzzle, although white or grey hairs can spring up throughout the dog's entire coat. If your dog is advanced in years but otherwise healthy, then greying or thinning hair is most likely nothing to worry about.
Dogs are incredibly sensitive beings who pick up on our emotions and energy very quickly. They do not deal at all well with anxiety, stress and negative energy. Too much stress, such as constant arguing and fighting in the house, can cause dogs to suddenly lose their fur or get white hair. They can be disturbed by changes in routines, new homes or loud noises, travelling, and going to the vet. After removing the source of the stress from the dog's environment, or removing the dog from the stressful situation, its fur will most likely grow back in time – but the white hair will remain.
Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
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- Denis Giles
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By Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
The trouble with China’s new found wealth and middle class is that they are not only eating every animal and fish in their own country, but they are sucking in and killing almost all species from all over the world to satisfy their insatiable lust. Donkeys in Africa have suddenly been turned into meat for the Chinese. We, of course, are losing everything – from seahorses, porcupines, dogs, sharks, tigers, rhinos, bears, every species of fish and wild cat and even insects.
The Chinese kill rare species simply for social prestige. Their local medicine is rubbish, but they continue to kill every animal for it. They use our rhino horns – which are just made of keratin, the same as our toenails – for everything, from headaches to cancer. Does that make sense? Likewise, shark fins are just lumps of flesh with no food value. But they have become a symbol of riches and so India loses millions of its sharks for this valueless soup. But, because their government has no laws and no intention of controlling the trade, the illegal market thrives
Like shark fin, fish swim bladders are an ingrained part of traditional Chinese culture, used to signal wealth and opulence.
A swim bladder is an air sac which enables fish to maintain depth without floating or sinking. The swim bladder is inflated when the fish wants to move up and deflated when it wants to return to the depths. The swim bladder is also used as an echo chamber to produce or receive sound. Fish can find mates, signal danger, sense vibrations, and find food / prey, by sensing sound under water. Fish make a range of sounds, from grunts and clicks, to honks, whistles, and hums. They use muscles located near their swim bladder to make drumming sounds.
Unfortunately, this swim bladder is what a lot of fish are killed for.
The bladders are extracted, dried and turned into a product called isinglass, which is a collagen utilised in the refining of alcoholic drinks like beer and wine and foods. Beer is produced by fermenting starches, and a clarifying agent is used to get rid of the cloudy appearance. Non-animal products do exist – seaweed, bentonite or kaolin, diatomaceous earth, cellulose pads, micro-porous plastic films – but dead fish are cheaper and alcohol is much more important than fish.
On top of this come the Chinese demands.
The Chinese use fish bladders in – what else? – traditional medicine. Their own fish, the Bahaba, a resident of the Yangtse river estuaries, has been hunted to extinction because of the immense monetary value placed on its swim bladders – costing more than gold.
Now the Chinese have targeted the Totoaba fish of the Gulf of California – 13,000 kms away.
The Totoaba fish stomach, or “maw”, is valued for its high collagen content, and the Chinese believe its swim bladders can boost fertility, improve circulation and skin vitality.
The Totoaba grows up to two metres in length and 100 kg in weight. Individuals may live up to fifteen years. As Totoaba spawn only once a year, the population growth is very slow. The Totoaba spawn in the Colorado River delta and then the young fish swim out to the Gulf.
The Totoaba is an endangered fish, protected against fishing by law. But, that makes no difference to the Chinese.
Fishermen get thousands of dollars for a totoaba bladder. So they bring in the fish, cut out its stomach and leave the carcass to rot. The demand is so high that cartels of Mexicans have formed, and one Mexican fisherman can make more than a month’s salary if he sells just one to a trafficker who then sells it, for more than the price of pure heroin, to the Chinese.
The Environmental Investigation Agency found totoaba bladders openly for sale in markets in Guangzhou, China, and Hong Kong. Most sellers knew it was illegal. Online, researchers found traffickers sharing tips about the best routes to smuggle them in.
A totoaba fish bladder sells between $7,000 and $14,000 - and soup containing the organ may go for $25,000 in China, according to a Mexicali Digital report. Both, Mexican drug cartels and US smugglers, transport the fish.
Mexican regulators seized illegal totoaba bladders worth an estimated $2.25million in 2013 alone.
Jason Xie of Sacramento was accused last year of taking delivery of 169 bladders on March 30, 2013 in a hotel parking lot in Calexico. Xie told investigators he was paid $1,500 to $1,800 for each of 100 bladders in February.
Anthony Sanchez Bueno of Imperial was charged with the same crime, after authorities said he drove the 169 bladders across the downtown Calexico border crossing in three coolers. He told investigators he was to be paid $700.
In Mexico, Samuel Gallardo Castro was murdered in June due to an outstanding $1million fish payment. Four traffickers were caught.
“It's aquatic cocaine,” Jay Barlow, a marine mammal expert at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Associated Press.
The Totoaba isn’t the only casualty of the Chinese bladder boom. The vaquita is a porpoise that lives only in one patch of the upper Gulf of California. It is the smallest member of the dolphin, whale, and porpoise family, growing to five feet and 55 kg. It avoids boats and is very evasive. Vaquitas are usually alone, unless they are accompanied by a calf.
Vaquitas are easily tangled and killed in gillnets used to catch Totoabas, because the mesh is about the same size as a vaquita’s head. Acoustic monitoring data shows a 67% drop in vaquita activity between 2011 and 2014. Fewer than 60 are left, making them the most endangered marine mammal in the world. The Mexican government has banned gillnet fishing throughout the vaquita’s reported range, as well as given subsidies for fishermen who stay within the law. But no one chasing the Totoaba is listening.
India is also selling huge amounts of fish maw from Kolkata, Mumbai, Veraval, Porbandar, Chennai and Puducherry. We export dried fish maws, of Eel / Vilanku / Vam, Jew fish / Kathalai / Ghol, Thread fish / Kala / Dara, Giant croaker / Panna / Kote / Kooth, Cat fish / Kelru / Petara / Singala, Bekti / Giarto perch / Waigeu sea perch, and Lizard fish, to Hong Kong and other countries. Many of these fish will be extinct in the next twenty years.
What is the world doing about China?
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- Denis Giles
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By Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
In all the recent sound and fury about Jallikattu, many people from Tamil Nadu quoted the Thirukkural to justify their support to this horrendous cruelty to helpless animals. In fact, after it was forcibly restarted by a very strange notification by the state governor, who overrode two judgements of the Supreme Court, thereby weakening the very fabric of India’s administration, hundreds of people have been wounded and some have died in these so called peaceful games that only demonstrate the “Tamil love for the bull”. Many of the maimed and injured bulls have subsequently been sent to slaughter in Kerala.
In any case, quoting the poet Thiruvalluvar to support violence is literally twisting everything the Thirukkural stands for. While the book of verses is revered all over the world and translated into 82 languages (the treatise has earned the title "Ulaga Podhu Marai" the universal scripture or Potumaṟai – "The Universal Veda" or "Book for All"), it is little known in India and it is time we learnt some of its wisdom.
The Thirukkural is the Bible of Tamil Nadu. Meaning Sacred/Respected Couplets it was authored by the poet Thiruvalluvar (of whom nothing is known. The first instance of the author's name is found centuries later in a song of praise called the Garland of Thiruvalluvar in Thiruvalluva Malai) and has 1,330 couplets or kurals dealing with morality, ethics and virtue. It is a truly sage and beautiful work and is one of the finest, non-religious, works of philosophy. Written in Old Tamil, it is a palm leaf manuscript of the 4th to 1st century BC. It was printed for the first time in 1812. The first complete English translation of the Kural was the one by George Uglow Pope in 1886, which brought the Tirukkural to the western world.
It has 133 chapters of ten couplets each. Tirukkural was originally known as 'Muppaal', meaning three-sectioned book. There are three parts that the Tirukkural is divided into, namely, aram /dharma (virtue), porul /artha(wealth) and inbam/kama (love). He has left out moksha as he felt if a person followed the first three doctrines diligently in life, he or she would automatically attain it.
What is different about the treatise is that it expounds a moral and practical attitude towards life. It makes no promises of heaven beyond earth. It speaks of the ways of behaving to achieve bliss in the present life itself. The ideas of the poet are luminous, humane: humility, charity, nonviolence, forgiveness, asceticism, good administration. It is a perfect guide to live your life at the highest and purest level so that you are happy and make everyone around you happy. Thirukkural deals with dilemmas that normal people face every day - over morals, politics, economy, love and domestic life, providing practical solutions to these problems.
Albert Schweitzer said "there hardly exists in the literature of the world a collection of maxims in which we find so much of lofty wisdom. Like the Buddha and the Bhagavad Gita, the Kural desires inner freedom from the world and a mind free from hatred. Like them it stands for the commandment not to kill and not to damage. There appears in the Kural the living ethic of love." Leo Tolstoy was inspired by its concept of non-violence. "What are wanted for the Indian as for the Englishman, the Frenchman, the German, and the Russian, are not Constitutions and Revolutions: the knowledge of the simple and clear truth which finds place in every soul that is not stupefied by religious and scientific superstitions – the truth that for our life one law is valid – the law of love, which brings the highest happiness to every individual as well as to all mankind." Mahatma Gandhi studied Tirukkural in prison and called it "a textbook of indispensable authority on moral life" and went on to say, "The maxims of Valluvar have touched my soul. There is none who has given such a treasure of wisdom like him”.
Here is the heart of the work :
“Mannuyir ompi arulaalvaarkku illenpa thannuyir anjum vinai”
For he who treats other living beings with kindness, In his own soul the dreaded guilt of sin shall never feel — 244th verse. Another translation of the same verse is “The compassionate, who care for all other lives, do not fear for their own lives.”
This week let me give you the Thirukural verses on not eating the flesh of animals.
How can someone possess kindness, if one eats meat
from another body to grow one’s own body? 251
One, who doesn’t value money can’t be wealthy; one, who eats meat, can’t be compassionate. 252
The heart of one who has eaten and relished flesh, is like the heart of one leading an army: it cannot be compassionate. 253
The heart of one who has eaten and relished flesh, is like the heart of one holding a deadly weapon: it cannot be compassionate. 253 V2
What is compassion, and the lack of it : not killing and killing; it is not virtuous to eat meat got by killing. 254
Compassion is exemplified by not killing; and the lack of it, by killing: to eat meat so obtained, is not virtuous. 254 V2
Kural 254 is structured very interestingly, allowing another interpretation: “Lack of compassion is exemplified by straying from the value of ‘not killing’; to eat meat so obtained, is not virtuous. 254 V3
Survival of species, depends on not being eaten; those who eat them…hell will not split its mouth to spit them out. 255
The rationalist in Kalaignar, finds another interpretation (literally more accurate, but contextually not quite convincing) for Kural 255: “Even a swamp will not swallow a life; survival of species is ensured by presence of vegetarians. 255 V2
There won’t be anyone selling meat for the sake of earning, if the world stops killing for the sake of eating. 256
Meat is the wound of some body; if one gets this realization, stop eating it. 257
Those who have wisdom, free of flaws, would not eat a body, freed of its life. 258
To desist from killing a life and eating it, is better than doing a thousand rituals, offering oblation. 259
To one who doesn’t kill and refuses meat, all lives will fold their arms and pay obeisance.
More next week.
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- Denis Giles
- Hits: 1378
By Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
Most people who follow a religion never read its holy books. They simply follow social customs that pretend to be part of the religion. For instance, the Prophet Mohammed’s eating habits were very frugal and he espoused vegetarianism by his actions and teachings, but every Muslim will swear that eating meat is part of his/her religion. The Sikhs do the same with eating meat even though all their Gurus are vegetarian. So do the Buddhists.
The Tamilians grow up thinking they know the teachings of Thiruvalluvar, the poet who wrote one of the world’s finest treatises on practical morality, Thirukkural. But, like all proponents of religions and philosophies, they take selectively and out of context what they need to bolster a way of life that suits them – whether drinking, gambling, eating meat or bigamy, whether beating women, stealing or whoring.
During the recent mob violence in Tamil Nadu, that pushed the local government into a frontal attack on the Supreme Court, many people quoted Thirukkural as giving the sanctions for the annual assault on bulls that leaves many dead and maimed. There any many savageries on animals in India and this is one of the worst. Unfortunately, since the mob got away with it, many other states are now demanding that the Supreme Court allow their people to be equally savage – cockfighting, bullfighting, cow racing, bulbul fighting, all this is now being pushed along with the appropriate Hindu scriptures.
How sad to see the descendants of Thiruvalluvar pushing for permissions to be cruel to bulls and quoting his immortal Thirukkural as a reason. Give alcohol to a bull so that his liver is permanently damaged, tear out bits of his skin so that he is in agony, cut of his tail, put lime juice in his eyes and chillies on his genitals and then jump all over him till he falls and dies. This is not the sport that the poet advocated – it has become a furious, mad violence unleashed on an animal victim.
The Thirukkural is composed of 1,330 couplets in Old Tamil. Each kural, or couplet, contains exactly seven words, known as cirs, with four cirs on the first line and three on the second. Each one teaches you how to live life at its purest level in a way that makes you enjoy being alive.
What does the Thirukkural say about compassion?
Wicked men do not fear, but worthy men dread : The arrogance of sinful deeds. - 201
Only the forgetful plot another's ruin; others remember : That virtue itself devises a plotter's downfall. - 204
Let him who wishes to be free from afflictions' pain:Avoid inflicting harm on others.- 206
One can escape from hate-filled enemies : But one's own hateful acts will relentlessly pursue and destroy him. -207
Among the wealthy, compassionate men claim the richest wealth : For material wealth is possessed by even contemptible men.- 241
Find and follow the good path and be ruled by compassion : For if the various ways are examined, compassion will prove the means to liberation. - 242
Those whose hearts are drawn toward compassion : Will never be drawn into the woeful world of darkness. - 243
Evil deeds dreaded by the soul will not afflict : The compassionate who foster and protect all life. - 244
This wide and wind-swept fertile earth is witness to the truth : That misery is not for men who keep compassion. 245
They say those who act cruelly by forsaking compassion : Must have forgotten what it means to forsake morality.- 246
As this world is not for the penniless : So is that world not for the pitiless! - 247
Those without wealth may one day prosper : but those without Kindness are utterly forever doomed. -248
Practicing charity without compassion is as inconceivable : As realizing Truth without clarity of mind. -249
Before advancing against those weaker than yourself : Ponder when you stood before those more powerful. -250
The face's smile and the heart's joy are slain by anger : Does there exist a greater enemy than one's own anger? 304
If a man would be his own guard, let him guard against anger : Left unguarded, his own wrath will slay him. -305
Drawing near it, men are engulfed in fury's fire : Which burns even rescuing friends and family. -306
If hurting others would bring princely riches : The pure in heart would still refuse. - 311
It is the principle of the pure in heart never to injure others : Even when they themselves have been hatefully injured. - 312
To harm even those who antagonize us unprovoked:Will bring boundless suffering. - 313
What good is a man's knowledge unless it prompts him to : Prevent the pain of others as if it were his own pain? - 315
Any actions which a man knows would harm himself:He should not inflict on others.- 316
The supreme principle is this : Never knowingly Harm anyone at any time in any way.- 317
Why does one hurt other lives : Doing what he knows can hurt oneself? - 318
If a man inflicts sorrow on another in the morning : Sorrow will come to him unbidden in the afternoon.- 319
Harm descends on those who harm others : Hence, those who wish not to be harmed, do no harm. -320
What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life : For killing leads to every other sin. -321
Of all the virtues summed by ancient sages the foremost are these : To partake of food one has shared and to protect all living creatures.- 322
Not killing is the first and foremost good: The virtue of not lying comes next. - 323
What is the good way? It is the path that reflects on : How it may avoid killing any living creature. - 324
Among all who disown the world out of dismay, the foremost are : They who, dismayed with death-dealing, embrace non-killing.- 325
Life-devouring death will not assail the living days : Of one whose code of conduct is to never kill. - 326
Refrain from taking precious life from any living being: Even to save your own life. - 327
By sacrifice of life some gain great wealth and benefits : But wise men scorn such gains. -328
The savages whose trade is killing creatures are defiled : Wise men know the defiling nature of being mean. -329
The beggar who suffers a sore ridden body and destitute life must have : Once deprived another's body of life.- 330
All of you who believe that an animal, or even a human being, who has less power than you, is simply a being to be hurt and used, read these immortal verses and think about the quality of your own mind and life. Are you happy?
Did you get any happier when you were hurting someone weaker than you?
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- Denis Giles
- Hits: 1920
By Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
In the “modern” slaughterhouses in this country, live cattle, pigs and chickens are hung upside down by one leg, breaking the pelvis bone immediately. They are sent down the assembly line, which takes hours. Boiling water is poured on them to loosen their skins. Then their throats are slit so that blood comes out steadily before they die. The blood is accumulated in troughs.
The quantity is vast. It is stored in huge vats until tankers come to collect it. It is taken to rendering plants with blood processing facilities, or disposed of in sewers (which lead into the nearest water body), in landfills or spread over land. Some amount is used to make human food and animal feed.
According to the FAO, approximately 304 million cattle, 959 million sheep and goats, and 1374 million pigs were killed for their meat in 2010. By 2016 this has increased by 10%. 15 litres of blood from each cattle and 2 to 3 litres per pig. 4.56 billion litres of bloodfrom cattle annually.In just one month, 9 million pigs are slaughtered in the USA alone - 114.79 million pints of blood going down the drains.China produces150 thousand tons of porcine blood yearly.The world is soaked in blood every day.
The food industry uses about 30% of this blood. It is used in food as an emulsifier (an agent that mixes different liquids), a stabilizer to prevent oil and water from separating in the finished food product, a clarifier, a colour additive, and as nutrition.
Blood from slaughterhouse animals is collected in two ways. The first is open draining, where blood from the animal is collected in buckets or trays. The second is via a closed draining system, where a hollow knife is stuck in the animal’s throat and this is connected to vacuum piping. The animal is, by the way, alive through both these processes so that the blood can continue to be pumped by its heart.
The rendering plant is a unit that processes every bit of what comes into a slaughterhouse in order to maximise profit. What does it do with the blood?
The bulk of the blood goes to feed animals themselves. Whole blood from cow, sheep, pig, or chicken is added to pet food and fish food as a cheap protein source.In some cases, the plasma is separated from the red blood cells and used as a protein supplement for piglets, who are taken away from their mothers and need a substitute for mother’s milk. Spray dried blood and porcine plasma is used as growth enhancers in animal feed, and haemoglobin is used to feed carnivorous fish and shrimp.
Blood is used in livestock feed as a protein supplement. These vegetarian animals are fed the blood of their own kin. The British have accused India of being the originators of Mad Cow Disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy) which destroys the brain. Apparently, the soya bean that we sent for their cattle feed was made into blocks by using blood as a glue. So the cows ate blood and developed the disease which they passed on to humans. Over 30 lakh cows were killed in the UK alone to put an end to the disease, but it is still found all over the world and is a direct result of animals being fed blood. We have just had one Mad Cow death in Dehradun. It kills one person per million.
Dried blood-meal is also used as fertiliser.
Some blood is used in both animal and human medicines. Purified bovine albumin is used to replenish blood or fluid loss in animals. It is used in testing for the Rh factor in human beings, and as a stabilizer for vaccines. It is also used in antibiotic sensitivity tests.
Porcine plasma is used to dissolve blood clots in heart attack patients. Bovine thrombin is used to promote blood coagulation in humans, treat wounds and hold skin grafts in place. Bovine plasma is used as a medium in laboratories to grow probiotic lactobacilli, and for human medicines like porphyrin. Blood products are used as nutrients for tissue culture media.
Even people who eat meat find the thought of eating blood distasteful (unless you are an African Masai tribesman, who drinks it directly from the neck of his animal). But, industry is working to use the blood in different ways.
Plasma proteins from pigs and chickens are used in the making of surimi, a form of fish gel. Surimi products usually are imitation seafood products, such as crab, abalone, shrimp, calamari, and scallop. Several companies produce surimi sausages, luncheon meats, hams and burgers.
Porcine blood enzymes and proteins - transglutaminase, fibrinogen, and thrombin - have been used as binders in restructured meat products.These are used to rearrange bits of left over low value meat, so that it appears to be a product of higher value, that resembles intact meat like steaks, chops or roasts. While many companies in the US have been caught for their fraudulent use of using blood plasma, instead of real meat, to increase their profits and upgrade their meat product, no action has been taken so far. In May 2010, the EU voted to ban the use of Fibrimex®, which is a blood protein used to reconstitute meat, as the EU believes the product has no proven benefit and its usage carries a high risk of misleading consumers – meaning that Fibrimex® reconstituted meat products would find their way into meat dishes served in restaurants, given the higher prices that can be obtained for leftover pieces of meat glued together and sold as a single meat product. The ban, however, never took effect.
In recent years, much attention has been paid to the extraction of peptides from animal blood. These are short chains of amino acids linked together. They are sold as tonics. For instance, many companies sell Heme iron polypeptide tonics, made from animal haemoglobin, to treat iron deficiency. (Side effects include upset stomachs and allergic reactions, like swelling of the face and throat). Other bio-peptide tonics claim to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, enhance mineral absorption, increase immunity, and as opioids. Animal blood derivative peptides are used in commercial food and nutraceuticals (non-medicinal nutrients used as supplements). Some companies admit that their dietary supplement is derived from bovine serum, but many still hide it.
Haemoglobin powders from cow and pig blood are used as meat colorants.
Blood plasma has the ability to form a gel, and looks like cooked egg whites. Cooked ham pate, minced meats and hot dogs often have this added to them.
Among the uses being considered for blood plasma is for it to replace egg whites in the commercial baking industry, as it is much cheaper
Several countries use whole blood to make popular foods, like blood sausages, black puddings, or blood tofu. Blood pudding is popular in Italy – coagulated blood that is baked like a cake and served in slices. Czarnina isa Polish duck soup made of duck’s blood, and nam tok is a soup from Thailand made from cow and pig's blood.
Efforts are on to persuade developing countries, with malnourished children, to mix blood proteins in cereal in diets that are used to supplement breast feeding during the transition from exclusive breast feeding to a mixed diet (between the ages of 6 to 8 months), and thereafter as a major breakfast meal (between age 1 to 6 years). Government and international bodies have till now used plant protein in the formulation of weaning diets. However, research (and pressure) is on to put blood proteins into infant formula by labelling them abundant, cheap, readily available, with a proven track record in animal nutrition. Another area that has been selected for commercial use is targeting anaemia (iron deficiency) in developing countries, by adding bovine blood iron supplements to staple foods. If I am not mistaken, our Health Ministry has just passed an order asking for grains to be fortified with iron.
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