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| can't wait to try these!!! |
Desperate Farmers Turn to Feeding Their Cattle Candy Loaded with Corn Syrup
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes for Natural News (Original Source)
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and no question the current drought spanning much of the nation's mid-section has left many a farmer desperate. For some cattle; however, things are pretty sweet at the moment.
That's because as feed becomes harder to get and more expensive, some farmers are turning to an odd dietary supplement: Candy.
Struggling with spiking corn prices (corn is a major ingredient in cattle feed) due to the drought's devastation on this year's corn crop, ranchers have found it increasingly expensive to feed cattle that aren't necessarily worth their weight, so to speak.
So it's in that environment that one rancher has come up with a rather bizarre alternative.
Farmer Joseph Watson, at Mayfield's United Livestock Commodities in Mayfield, Ky., has tweaked a recipe for success. "Just to be able to survive, we have to look for other sources of nutrition," he told CNN.
'Sweet' deal for rancher, candy distributors
Watson, who has 1,400 head of cattle, is no longer feeding them corn. Grain prices are just too high to keep it on hand. So earlier this year, he started buying second-hand candy.
"It has a higher ratio of fat than actually feeding straight corn," Watson said. "It's hard to believe it will work but we've already seen the results of it now."
Which begs the question - do veterinarians practice dentistry? But we digress.
Here's how Watson pulls this off. He mixes candy with an ethanol byproduct and a mineral nutrient. And thus far, he says, cows haven't shown any health problems from consuming so much candy. In fact, he says, his cows are gaining weight - like they should.
"This ration is balanced to have not too much fat in it," he said.
What's more, he's paying well below premium prices for his new sweet "feed." Watson says he gets his candy at discounted rates because it's no longer fit to sell to the public. Also, in buying the candy, he is helping the candy distributors too.
"Salvage is a problem for a lot of these companies and they're proud to have a place to go with it," he said.
Speaking of ethanol...
The drought's impact on corn prices is affecting more than just cattle ranchers. It's also affecting consumers, because as corn prices go up, so do prices for the products in which corn is an ingredient. In fact, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, the drought has caused corn prices to jump 60 percent since June, to more than $8 a bushel.
And one such product is corn-based ethanol, which - via federal mandate - is blended into the gasoline we burn.
Farm consortiums have asked the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily waive part of the mandate requiring the corn-based ethanol blend, because, they argue, doing so will make more corn available for feed and other commodities, thereby lowering prices for those items.
"The range of impact of an [Renewable Fuel Standard] waiver goes from zero to $1.30 per bushel for corn," Wally Tyner, an energy policy specialist at Purdue University, said of a new study indicating corn prices could fall under certain conditions if the waiver was issued.
The EPA is said to be examining the issue. Under its normal schedule, the agency has until October "to gather information on the extent of any economic harm done by the original Renewable Fuel Standard level and to decide if it will issue a waiver," said a report in the Southwest Farm Press, an industry publication. "For consumers, the decision could affect what they pay for fuel and food."
And of course, anything that would lower prices consumers pay for commodities is sweet.
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| bibb lettuce is my absolute favorite lately |
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| this was me last night |
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| (Source) |
Decade-Long Feeding Study Reveals Significant Health Hazards of Genetically Engineered FoodsBy Dr. Mercola (Original Source)Scientists in Norway have released results from experimental feeding studies carried out over a 10-year period, and the verdict is in: If you want to avoid obesity, then avoid eating genetically engineered (GE) corn, corn-based products, and animals that are fed a diet of GE grain.As reported by Cornucopia.org1, the project also looked at the effects on organ changes, and researchers found significant changes that affected weight gain, eating behaviors, and immune function.
How Genetically Engineered Corn and Soy Can Wreak Havoc on Your HealthAccording to the featured article2:“The results show a positive link between GE corn and obesity. Animals fed a GE corn diet got fatter quicker and retained the weight compared to animals fed a non-GE grain diet. The studies were performed on rats, mice, pigs and salmon, achieving the same results.... Researchers found distinct changes to the intestines of animals fed GMOs compared to those fed non-GMOs. This confirms other studies done by US researchers. Significant changes occurred in the digestive systems of the test animals’ major organs including the liver, kidneys, pancreas, genitals and more.”Their findings (which were published July 11, 2012 in Norway by Forskning.no, an online news source devoted to Norwegian and international research3) showed that animals fed genetically engineered Bt corn ate more, got fatter, and were less able to digest proteins due to alterations in the micro-structure of their intestines.They also suffered immune system alterations. The impaired ability to digest proteins may be of particular concern as this can have far-reaching implications for your health. If your body cannot digest proteins, your body will be less able to produce amino acids, which are necessary building blocks for proper cell growth and function.As noted by Cornucopia.org:“This not only may relate to a rise in obesity, but to increases in many modern diseases. These diseases include diabetes, digestive disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ADD), autoimmune diseases, sexual dysfunction, sterility, asthma, COPD and many more....[Lead author] Professor Krogdahl explains: “It has often been claimed that the new genes in genetically modified foods can’t do any damage because all genes are broken down beyond recognition in the gut. Our results show the contrary; that genes can be taken up across the intestinal wall, is transferred to the blood and is left in the blood, muscle and liver in large chunks so that they can be easily recognized... The biological impact of this gene transfer is unknown.”
Bt Toxin Found in Blood of Women and FetusesThis is not the first time scientists have revealed significant biological impacts and related health problems as a result of eating a diet of genetically engineered foods. More often than not, unless the research is tainted by industry ties, studies into the effects of genetically engineered foods demonstrate that it is anything but safe. This isn’t so surprising when you consider that simple logic will tell you it’s probably not wise to consume a plant designed to produce its own pesticide, for example.So-called “Bt corn” is equipped with a gene from the soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which produces Bt-toxin—a pesticide that breaks open the stomach of certain insects and kills them. This pesticide-producing corn entered the food supply in the late 1990's, and over the past decade, the horror stories have started piling up.Monsanto and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) swore that the toxin would only affect insects munching on the crop. The Bt-toxin, they claimed, would be completely destroyed in the human digestive system and would not have any impact on animals and humans. The biotech companies have doggedly insisted that Bt-toxin doesn't bind or interact with the intestinal walls of mammals, and therefore humans.The featured research proves all such claims false.Prior findings have already shown that Bt corn is anything but innocuous to the human system. Just last year, doctors at Sherbrooke University Hospital in Quebec found Bt-toxin in the blood4 of:93 percent of pregnant women tested80 percent of umbilical blood in their babies, and67 percent of non-pregnant womenBt-toxin breaks open the stomach of insects. Could it similarly be damaging the integrity of your digestive tract? If Bt-toxins can damage the intestinal walls of newborns and young children, the passage of undigested foods and toxins into the blood from the digestive tract could be devastating to their future health. Scientists speculate that it may lead to autoimmune diseases and food allergies. Furthermore, since the blood-brain barrier is not developed in newborns, toxins may enter the brain causing serious cognitive problems. Some healthcare practitioners and scientists are convinced that this one mechanism for autism.If Bt genes are colonizing the bacteria living in the digestive tract of North Americans, we might expect to see an increase in gastrointestinal problems, autoimmune diseases, food allergies, and childhood learning disorders since the advent of Bt crops in 1996, and that’s exactly what’s being reported. For example, between 1997 and 2002 the number of hospitalizations related to allergic reactions to food increased by a whopping 265 percent. One out of 17 children now has some form of food allergy and allergy rates are rising.
Genetically Engineered Foods Trigger Adverse Immune System ResponsesThere’s plenty of evidence showing that the Bt-toxin produced in genetically modified Bt crops like corn and cotton plants is toxic to humans and mammals andtriggers immune system responses. For example, in government-sponsored research in Italy5, mice fed Monsanto's Bt corn showed a wide range of immune responses, such as:Elevated IgE and IgG antibodies, which are typically associated with allergies and infectionsAn increase in cytokines, which are associated with allergic and inflammatory responses. The specific cytokines (interleukins) that were found to be elevated are also higher in humans who suffer from a wide range of disorders, from arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, to MS and cancerElevated T cells (gamma delta), which are increased in people with asthma, and in children with food allergies, juvenile arthritis, and connective tissue diseases.Rats fed another of Monsanto's Bt corn varieties called MON 863, also experienced an activation of their immune systems, showing higher numbers of basophils, lymphocytes, and white blood cells6. These can indicate possible allergies, infections, toxins, and various disease states including cancer. There were also signs of liver and kidney toxicity.
Find the rest of the article here.
