International Society for Cow Protection Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 ISCOWP News
Page 2: Letters Page 8: Remove the Mud Campaign a Page 12: Jaya’s Fight Against Cancer RIDDLE: Vegans in Hummers Vs. Biking Car- Success! Page 13: Pesticides: The Real Pest nivores, Saving an African Child’s Life with Page 6: Garden Needs YOUR Help! Cow Dung, etc.
e would like to thank all of you for contributing to the Remove the Mud Campaign. Without your help the project would have not been completed. Together we have made a more comfortable and safe situation for the cows. We are ex- tremely grateful to you for your help. Please read more about this campaign and how your donations were put to work on page eight.
Another challenge has arisen in which we need your help. The garden is being destroyed by deer for the first time in 11 years. We need to protect it from the deer and develop the garden as a sus- tainable project. Read the back page and page six to find out why the garden is an important project and what is needed to protect it.
We are amazed at how we are being continually challenged by the environmental changes around us. Due to the warmer winters, the barn area had become muddy with potholes. In previous winters the earth remained frozen under the heavy feet of the cows. Hence the Remove the Mud Campaign. Now, due to increased deer population and their environmentally induced hunger, we once again request your help to do what is needed to maintain the garden. The gentle spiritual balance of life with the cows and land is once again being challenged. Again, your help will be greatly appreciated. Remove the Mud Campaign a Success! ISCOWP Profile tonnage of fish than all the world's ISCOWP was incorporated in the state of Letters sharks, dolphins and seals com- Pennsylvania, USA, March 1990, as a non- bined. Domestic housecats consume profit educational organization. William RIDDLE: Vegans in Hummers Vs. more fish, especially tuna, than all and Irene Dove (Balabhadra das and the world's seals. Chayadevi dasi) are its managing directors. Biking Carnivores
They are disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the From: [email protected] So why is it that all the world's large Founder Acharya of the International To: [email protected] environmental and conservation Society for Krsna Consciousness (ISKCON). Sent: 7/22/2007 9:39:22 AM groups are not campaigning against Through their spiritual master's teachings, Subject: RIDDLE: Vegans in Hummers the meat industry? Why did Al they have imbibed the practices and Vs. Biking Carnivores Gore's film Inconvenient Truth not benefits, both spiritual and material, of mention the inconvenient truth that lifetime cow pro-tection. The tenets of cow the slaughter industry creates more According to Paul Watson, a vegan protection and ox-power are universal and greenhouse gases than the nonsectarian, available to all regardless of driving a Hummer would be automobile industry? race, creed, or nationality. contributing less greenhouse gas
carbon emissions than a meat The Greenpeace ships serve meat ISCOWP Mailing Address eater riding a bicycle. ISCOWP and fish to their crews everyday. The
RD 1 Box 322 A World Wildlife Fund does not say a By far, the best SPEAKER I have ever Moundsville, WV, USA, 26041 word about the threat that meat heard is Captain Paul Watson of the eating poses for the survival of wild- Sea Sheperd. Paul is a 21st century ISCOWP Phone life, the habitat destroyed, the Phone:1.304.843.1658 pirate. He rams and sinks whaling wild competitors for land elimi- ships as his life's work. Here is a nated, or the predators destroyed to ISCOWP Internet transcript of a recent talk given by save their precious livestock. [email protected] Paul. It is a fascinating. iscowp.org iscowp.blogspot.com When I was a Sierra Club director A Very Inconvenient Truth - by Capt for three years, everyone looked Paul Watson To Give a Donation amused when I brought up the issue The USA tax deductible number: of vegetarianism. At each of our 23-2604082. http://tinyurl.com/2lmbp9 Board meeting dinners, the Directors By credit or paypal: were served meat and only after iscowp.org/Donate.htm The meat industry is one of the most much prodding and complaining By check: ISCOWP destructive ecological industries on RD 1 Box 322 A, Moundsville, WV, 26041 did the couple of vegetarian direc- the planet. The raising and slaughter- tors manage to get a vegetarian op- ing of pigs, cows, sheep, turkeys and ISCOWP News 3x yr Subscription tion. At our meeting in Montana we chickens not only utilizes vast areas of 1) iscowp.org/Membership/ were served Buffalo and antelope, land and vast quantities of water, but Membership.htm lobsters in Boston, crabs in 2) Within USA: $21 check, Foreign: $25 it is a greater contributor to green- Charleston, steak in Albuquerque bank draft or money order house gas emissions than the etc. But what else can we expect automobile industry. from a "conservation" group that ISCOWP T-shirts, videos, iscowp.org/T-shirts/T-Shirts.htm endorses trophy hunting. The seafood industry is literally plun-
dering the ocean of life and some fifty Adopt A Cow As far as I know and I may be percent of fish caught from the oceans iscowp.org/AAC/Adopt%20A%20Cow% wrong, but my organization, the Sea is fed to cows, pigs, sheep, chickens 20Today.htm Shepherd Conservation Society is the etc in the form of fish meal. It also only conservation organization Inquiry or any non-internet purchase takes about fifty fish caught from the in the world that endorses and prac- Use any of the contacts given above. sea to raise one farm raised salmon. tices vegetarianism. My ships do
ISCOWP Editors note not serve meat or fish ever, nor do We have turned the domestic cow into Details in non-editorial articles and quoted we serve dairy products. We've the largest marine predator on comments by those other than the editors had a strictly vegan menu for years the planet. The hundreds of millions do not necessarily represent the viewpoint and no one has died of scurvy or of cows grazing the land and of the editors. malnutrition. farting methane consume more
2 ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 The price we pay for this is to be accused destruction of life in our oceans. A few years ago I attended a dinner by other conservation organizations of In a world fast losing resources of meeting of the American Oceans being animal rights. Like it's a bad word. fresh water, it is sheer lunacy to have Campaign hosted by Ted Danson. They say it with the same disdain that hundreds of millions of cows consum- He opened the dinner by saying that Americans used to utter the word ing over 1,000 gallons of water for the choice he had to make was communist in the Fifties. every pound of beef produced. between fish and chicken for the dinner, and what was the point of The Sea Shepherd Conservation And the pig farms in North Carolina saving fish if you can't eat them? Society is not an animal rights produce so much waste that it has organization. We are exclusively contaminated the entire ground Guest speaker, Oceanographer involved in interventions against water reserves of the entire state. Sylvia Earle put Ted in his place by illegal activities that threaten and North Carolinians drink pig shit with saying she did not think that he was exploit marine wildlife and habitat. their water but its okay they say, being very funny. She said that she We are involved in ocean wildlife they just neutralize it with considered fish to be her friends and conservation activities. chemicals like chlorine. she did not believe in eating her friends. So neither Sylvia nor I ate Yet because we operate our ships as Most people don't want to see where dinner that night. vegan vessels, other groups, and their meat comes from. They also now the media dismiss us as an don't want to know what the impact I met Sylvia again at another animal rights organization. of their meat has on the ecology. meeting, this time of Conservation They would rather just deny the International held at some ritzy Now first of all I don't see being whole thing and pretend that meat is resort in the Dominican Republic. accused of as an animal rights something that comes in packages Harrison Ford was there and the organization to be an insult. PETA from the store. buzz was what could be done to was co-founded by one of my save the oceans. I was invited as an crew-members and many of my But because there is this underlying advisor. I sat on a barstool in an volunteers come from the animal guilt always present, it manifests itself open beachfront dining plaza as the rights movement. But it is not as anger and ridicule towards people conservationists approached accurate to refer to Sea Shepherd as who live the most environmentally tables literally bending from the animal rights when our organization positive life styles on the planet -- the weight of fish and exotic seafood pushes a strict conservation vegans and the vegetarians. including caviar. I looked at Sylvia enforcement policy. Earle and she just shook her This is demonstrated through constant head and rolled her eyes. And secondly we do not promote marginalization especially in the media. veganism on our ships because of Any organization, like Sea Shepherd for The problem is that people like Carl animal rights. We promote veganism example, that points out the ecological Pope, the Executive Director of as a means of practicing what we contradictions of eating meat is imme- the Sierra Club, or the heads of preach which is ocean conservation. diately dismissed as some wacko ani- Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, mal rights organization. Conservation International and There is not enough fish in the world's many other big groups just refuse to oceans to feed 6.6 billion human beings I did not set the Sea Shepherd Conser- accept that their eating habits may and another 10 billion domestic vation Society up as an animal rights be just as much a part of the animals. That is why all the world's organization and we have never problem as all those things they are commercial fisheries are collapsing. promoted animal rights in the organi- trying to oppose. That is why whales, seals, dolphins zation. What we have promoted and and seabirds are starving. The sand eel what we do is oceanic wildlife and I remember one Greenpeacer for example, the primary source of habitat conservation work. defending his meat eating by saying food for the comical and beautiful that he was a carnivore and that puffin is being wiped out by Danish And the truth is that you can't predators have their place and he fishermen solely to provide fish meal practice solid and constructive was proud to be one. to Danish factory farmed chickens. conservation work without promoting veganism and/or vegetarianism as Now the word predator in This is a solid conservation connec- something that promotes the relationship to human beings has a tion between eating meat and the conservation of resources. rather scary connotation having
ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 3 nothing to do with eating habits, but for The problem is that we choose to see efforts with your financial any human being to describe themselves our contradictions when it is coven- support, here is his email address: as a carnivore is just plain ridiculous. ient for us to see them and when it is not we simply go into a state of [email protected] Humans are not and have never been suspended disbelief and we eat that carnivores. A lion is a carnivore steak anyway because, hey we like the as is a wolf, as is a tiger, or a shark. taste of rotting flesh in the evening. Ox Power Currency Carnivores eat live animals. They From: Noma Petroff (Hare Krishna stalk them, they run them down, they Have you ever thought why it is that dd) pounce, they kill, and they eat, blood with a person, it's an abortion but when it To: Cow (Protection and related dripping, meat at body temperature. comes to a chicken, it's an omelette? issues) Nature, brutal red in tooth and claw. Sent: 11/29/2006 3:03:14 PM Does anyone really know what's in a Subject: Ox Power Currency I've never met a human that can do hot dog? We do know that the that. Yes we found ways to run down government health department allows The State of Nebraska can be added animals and kill them. In fact we've for an acceptable percentage of to locations which feature oxen on come to be rather efficient at the bug parts, rodent droppings and other their currency killing part. But we can't eat the prey assorted filth to go into the mix. until we cut it up and cook it and that The second commemorative quarter- usually involves some time between And now tuna fish comes with a dollar coin released in 2006 honors kill and eating. It could be an hour or health warming saying it should not Nebraska, and is the 37th coin in the it could be years. be eaten by pregnant women or small United States Mint's 50 State children because of high levels of Quarters® Program. Nebraska, You see our meat eating habits are mercury. Does that mean mercury is nicknamed the "Cornhusker State," more closely related to the vulture, good for adults and non-pregnant was admitted into the Union on the jackal or other carrion eaters. This women? What are they telling us here? March 1, 1867, becoming our means that we can't be described as Nation's 37th state. Nebraska's carnivores. We are better described as Eating meat and fish is not only bad quarter depicts an ox-drawn covered necrovores or eaters of rotting flesh. for the environment it's also un- wagon carrying pioneers in the healthy. Yet even when it comes to our foreground and Chimney Rock, the Consider that some of the beef that own health we slip into denial mode natural wonder that rises from the people eat has been dead for months and order the whopper. valley of North Platte River, and in some cases for years. Dead and measuring 445 feet from base to tip. hanging in freezers, full of uritic acid The bottom line is that to be a conser- The sun is in full view behind the and bacteria. It's a corpse in a state of vationist and an environmentalist, you wagon. The coin also bears the decomposition. Not much that can be must practice and promote vegetari- inscriptions "Nebraska," "Chimney said to be noble about eating a cadaver. anism or better yet veganism. Rock" and "1867."
But a little dose of denial allows us to It is the lifestyle that leaves the shal- bite into that Big Mac or cut into that lowest ecological footprint, uses prime rib. fewer resources and produces less greenhouse gas emissions, it's But that one 16 ounce cut of prime rib is healthier and it means you're not a equal to a thousand gallons of fresh hypocrite. water, a few acres of grass, a few fish, a quarter acre of corn etc. What's the point In fact a vegan driving a hummer of taking a shorter shower to conserve would be contributing less green- water as Greenpeace is preaching if you house gas carbon emissions than a can sit down and consume a 1000 gallons meat eater riding a bicycle. of water at a single meal? Capt Paul Watson And that single cut of meat would have The only other examples I know of cost as much in vegetable resources If you've enjoyed what you just read, are in Rwanda. There is the 100 franc, equivalent to what could be fed to an and wish to volunteer as a and the 1000 franc. entire African village for a week. member of Paul's crew, or assist his
4 ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 Saving an African Child's Life to the women that Indians have for SUV's. How appropriate that the big With Cow Dung centuries mixed dung with straw and meat packers like Tyson are dried it to create an everlasting supply planning to use it to power their From:
ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 5 The Garden Needs YOUR Help!
We bought some chicken wire and made a fence around 1/3 of the garden. We have seen that the plants in this area are doing better and are once again flowering. Therefore, we know that a fence around the garden will make a big difference.
10 Foot Deer Fence
What we need to do is build a 10 foot fence around the garden since the deer cannot jump over it to get in the garden. The garden would then be fully protected from the deer.
As far as the rabbits and groundhogs, Rudra has decreased the population of groundhogs tremendously and has caught five rabbits this year. By digging the fence into the ground, it will also deter the rabbits and groundhogs.
We already have a fence around the garden to prevent the cows from eating the garden. This is made of four foot high fence posts and high Rudra protects the garden against the groundhogs, deer, and rabbits. However, the deer tensile wire. We would extend the are so numerous this year, he can’t chase all of them away from the garden. Here he is posts that are there to 10 feet in checking out the area between the Jerusalem artichokes and the squash. The four foot height and add 12 1/2 gauge, class fence, that keeps the cows out, is in the background. three, zinc coated, chain link fencing with two strands of high tensile his growing season has been The result is that deer are attacking wire at the top. The bottom would be plagued by lack of rain. As a our garden. Since 1998, our resident dug into the ground about a foot. result, there are absolutely no dogs have been able to chase the deer Currently we have 150 four foot high apples or berries this year. Most of the away and keep them out of the fence posts. garden is growing very slowly and garden. However, this season, our some plants may not fructify by the current dog Rudra cannot keep up The plan is to use 10 foot high 4”x4” end of the season. with the numbers in addition to the pressure treated posts and to secure increased number of rabbits. It is no them to the existing fence posts. The In addition, there are more deer and fault of his as he has performed well fencing material we are going to rabbits than ever. We believe the deer in the past as the garden protector. He order will last many years because of are very hungry because the forest is has the battle scars of fights with its heavy-duty construction. With not as plentiful due to the lack of rain. groundhogs and raccoons. The present proper care, we can expect it to last We also heard there are more deer garden is about an acre and he has a at least 25 years. A good deer fence because of more human development lot of territory to cover. In addition to will insure we are able to grow first in the area limiting the deer to smaller Rudra, we have tried various methods class produce for you. areas for food. The local news reported to keep the deer away. All of them but five times more deer this season. one has not been fully effective.
6 ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 Here is the cost breakdown: the earth filled tires is so great, the which will also give a fair amount of insulation value is greatly enhanced insulation to the greenhouse. The 10 FOOT DEER FENCE when used to build a house. Each dirt panels come in a width of 48” or 72” Wire $4, 150.00 filled tire weighs over 300 pounds. and we will be using lengths of six, Posts 1, 495.50 eight, and 10 feet. We will be using We started building the foundation of Lumber and hardware 728.50 the 48” wide panels. There is a 10 Gates 200.00 the greenhouse by pounding dirt into year warranty on the panels. old tires that were on hand instead of Labor 2, 500.00 putting them into a landfill. Since we The hardware for these panels will 2 rolls high tensile fence wire 360.00 only used one level of filled tires, we also be purchased from the same TOTAL 9, 434.00 gained some insulation value but we company so that the maximum shelf
mostly gained a very strong, heavy life of the panels can be realized by It has been a very discouraging season foundation for the greenhouse. proper installation. There will be a for us with planting some plants two door on each end of the greenhouse and three times. Every year we cage A “J” bolt was cemented into the to allow ease of materials coming each tomato plant as it helps it grow middle of each tire to which the bottom into the greenhouse and seedlings nicely. It is heartbreaking to see the sill plate was attached. The wall frame and larger plants to exit the green- tomato cages knocked down, and was attached to the bottom sill plate. house on their way to the cold tomatoes, budding tomatoes, and frames in early spring for the process branches eaten. of “hardening off.”
As a result, it looks like we will have We will be installing proper venting very few tomatoes this year from 400 for incoming fresh air and automatic plants. The deer never bothered the vent openers in the roof to allow air tomato plants before. As many of you to escape when the greenhouse gets know, the dried tomatoes are our most too hot. The greenhouse will popular premium for you, our donors. measure 32’x18’. Other plants are also being eaten, mostly their leaves and flowers which Here is the breakdown of what we must be more tasty to the deer than need to finish the greenhouse. the forest leaves. Even the Bitter
Melon is being eaten and it has a bitter GREENHOUSE taste that they usually do not like. We Siding $2,166. 34 transplanted the Bitter Melon to the Insulation 80.00 area that has been encaged in chicken Hardware 274.24 wire. They are now doing better. Roof support system 1, 440.00 Labor 1, 000.00 Greenhouse The greenhouse foundation consists of tires Packing/shipping 500.00 Another garden challenge is planting and ramed earth. Automatic vent openers 119.50 enough seedlings and starting them TOTAL 5, 579.84 early enough so that the garden gets We made the wall frame of salvaged as early a start as possible and the full 2”x 4”s from an old house. Since these Our goal is to build the 10 foot deer growing season is utilized. At present, 2”x 4”s were from an old house, they fence and greenhouse before the we use the living room to grow were actually full 2”x 4”s and not spring of next year to be ready for seedlings, which provides neither today’s cut down version. the next growing season. The total enough room nor sufficient warmth needed for both projects would be That is as far as we got. The roof rafters and light. The ISCOWP office is $15, 013.84. If we collect the needed will be 2”x 6”s x 18’ long. Upon these already in this area. We need to build funds soon, we could begin now. 2”x 6” x 18’ rafters, we will attach 1’ x a greenhouse to facilitate a sustainable Please refer to the enclosed form to 4’ hickory nail boards to which the roof garden operation. find out how you can help. We thank will be attached. you so much for your support! There is a book called Earthship by We have researched different glazing Michael Reynolds, which explains options for the greenhouse roof and how entire houses are made from walls and have decided to use a twin earth filled tires. Because the mass of wall polycarbonate glazing material,
ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 7 Remove the Mud Campaign a Success!
History of the Remove the Mud Campaign
he Remove the Mud Campaign began in the year 2000 when the difficulty in feeding out hay in the barn yard resulted in the tractor getting stuck in deep mud on Christmas day. We had to stop all activity and wait for Balabhadra to go and get another four wheel drive tractor to pull the tractor out of the mud. The previous years we had gotten stuck a few times but we were always able to get out of the mud eventually without the help of another machine. Each year the situation had been getting progressively worse. It was then and there that we decided to start the Remove the Mud Campaign to make a more efficient and safe barn and barnyard environment. Top: This photo was taken on the morning of 7/26/07 as we prepared to start pouring With the funds that came in from the the concrete slab which would finish the Remove The Mud Campaign. The boom/pump first phase of the campaign we were truck is in place in the left hand side of the photo. The boom had a reach of 110 feet able to excavate the barn yard, and before adding extra hose. On the right hand side we were able to get the first two con- pour a concrete cement floor with poles crete trucks close enough to finish the ramp on that side of the barn and the next 44 feet in place for a roof structure. The goal of the barn slab itself. was to have a dry place to feed the cows during the winter months. We Bottom: Finally, after 6 weeks of preparation the concrete is running down the chute of finished the roof in 2001 which created the truck, We have just poured the first entry ramp and are heading into the first curve a new barn connected to the old barn. of the barn floor. We hired a local crew headed by George Haught who is maning the It took two years to complete this phase chute and signaling the truck driver to pull forward. The job was finished with 76 1/2 of the project. yards of cement being poured.
8 ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 In 2002 we fundraised for a hay barn and the big barn. Once again the because our round bales of hay were continuing warmer winters created out in the weather and therefore we mud problems for the cows where continued to lose hay. The hay barn before the earth remained frozen was built in 2003. under their feet.
In 2004, due to global warming, the In 2005 the area between the Geriatric winters began to get warmer. Where Barn and the big barn was com- once the ground remained frozen and pleted. In 2006 the gutters were safe for the cows, it now became mud, installed. Now in 20007, the cement- and with the cows heavy foot traffic, ing of the long area in front of the deep pot holes appeared in the Loafing barn, the last phase of Remove the Shed area where there was very little Mud Cam•paign, was completed. It concrete floor. Remove the Mud took ap•proximately seven years to Campaign Phase 2 was begun in 2004 complete the Remove the Mud Cam- to remove this new mud problem in paign. We are most thankful to you the Loafing Shed area. Because of this our donors for this accomplishment campaign, in 2004 we were able to and the nice facilities for the cows. pour concrete in this area and widen the loafing shed by 40 feet. The The Last Phase of the Remove the widening allowed for a hay storage Mud Campaign area, a 500 gallon water trough, and This last phase began on June 19, two separate areas for the cows with 2007. I had contacted John separate feeding areas. The whole Blakemore, a local excavation con• barn was put under roof with electric- tractor, to do the excavation and site ity and lights for any night time work. preparation for the project. John is a The loafing shed was now a barn local fellow who works by himself capable of housing sick and infirm which helps to keep costs down, as animals. Our Vet, Dr. Todd Moores, nicknamed it the Geriatric Barn. he doesn’t have to pay an equipment operator on top of his fees. John In 2005 we continued the campaign to brought his backhoe, small bulldozer Top photos: Barn in 1996 provide gutters on the big barn and and dump truck to do the job. Bottom photo: Barn in 2007 concrete between the Geriatric Barn The first part of the job was to dig down to virgin soil or clay, whichever came first. It took all of the first day just to push aside all of the years and years of accumulated manure. The original barn that we have been trying to salvage and build onto was built some time in the 1960s when the property was owned by the Rominick family. They owned the property from 1954-1974 when it was purchased by ISKCON. We pur- chased the property from ISKCON in 1996 and have been gradually fixing the barn and fences.
Because of the heat and humidity we would start no later than 7 AM and work straight through until around 7 PM. in the evening. Because we were having very dry weather we wanted to get the excavation and back fill
ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 9 work completed. If we had to deal with rain then the project would become very difficult because of mud. During the two weeks of the excavation and back fill phase of the job it only rained once.
Before we reached clay, to give a good foundation for the project, we had to remove over three feet of manure. Next phase was hauling into the site good fill dirt or shale to give a good stable bed for the concrete to be poured onto.
We have an area just past the hay barn that we used as a source of dirt for back fill. By the time the backfill phase was completed we had dug back into the hill about 30 feet deep and 75 feet long and the top of the hill being about 15 feet high. After the backhoe filled the truck with dirt it was driven to the barn and dumped. Then the bulldozer would spread it out and pack the dirt down into a nice hard surface. All in all we hauled in about 100 loads of Collecting the dirt fill from this area on the farm created a new dirt from our little quarry to bring the barn floor to the space for future equipment storage. appropriate level to pour the new concrete floor.
Because of the hot weather, the cows would usually come into the barn just after we started work in the morning. We could tell how hot the day would be by how early in the morning they would come to seek the shade of the barn. They like to spend the evening on the hill top because of the cool breezes. As the sun rose and the heat started to rise they would rise and graze their way to the barn for water and shade. Because of the lack of rain here, the pastures are very poor this year. We had hay available in the barn for them also as a free choice feed if they were so inclined.
As the truck would dump the dirt, it was not uncommon for at least one of the cows to come and play in the dirt. They would roll their faces in the dirt and also kick some of the dirt in the air so it would land on their backs. They were using the dirt on their bodies to help ward off the Dumping and spreading the dirt fill in front of the barn before flies. Sometimes they would jump and kick up their rear laying wire mesh and then pouring concrete. feet and just make a big mess of the new pile of dirt. They were just like little kids coming to the playground to play in the sandbox.
When we finally got enough dirt back into the barn and packed down good and hard, we had to start determining grade. We were going to pour a four inch thick slab of concrete but it needed to have a three inch drop away from the barn so water would run away from the barn when it rains. Slowly but surely with a string and line level we moved from section to section with the bulldozer and determined grade. Sometimes having to add some fresh dirt and sometimes having to scrape out dirt in areas that were too high. This part of the project took almost three days as it needed to be done just right.
10 ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 The length of the barn is 185 feet. We Because we needed dirt for back fill have installed a six inch wide gutter from a certain location we had to system to carry away the rain water take down some old fence line. from the roof which measures 185 feet After the job site was finally long by 65 feet wide. Because of the prepared we again had to rebuild size of the roof we have installed two this fence line . Again holes were six inch downspouts which are buried dug and Locust posts placed and approximately 400 to a gulch which will tamped into place. On this fence line channel the water to the already existing we built a gate which allows us creek which runs into Birche’s Run. access to the pasture above and behind our house. We also built a After the final touches on the site gate allowing vehicle traffic out to preparation were completed we began our house. This fence is of high to make two new fences. The top tensile wire on Locust posts. fence has 6x6 pressure treated up• rights with 2x6 rough cut oak hori• Now the cows could be turned out zontal boards. We rented a two man to pasture on that side of the farm, gas powered auger and drilled 44 which they were very happy to visit holes three feet deep to set the posts. again for some fresh grazing, slim as Some holes drilled easily but some we it was due to lack of rain. had to do by hand digging. After the Laying the drain pipe for the gutters. posts were placed in the holes the dirt At this point, almost everything was was slowly replaced and tamped firm ready for the concrete. We made it so that the posts were firmly secured. impossible for the cows to get to the After all of the posts on this fence barn and laid wire mesh panels that were in place we moved to the lower were five feet wide and 10 feet long. part of the job site and again drilled These will act as reinforcement holes. The upper fence is to keep the agents for the concrete. I had cows from going from the barn down estimated that we needed 116 pieces the hill. The lower fence will keep the of this mesh and we used only 100 cows from going up the hill into the pieces. Every thing was checked and barn. The lower fence is con•structed double checked to make sure we of well seasoned Locust posts from the were ready for the concrete pour. forest and strung with high tensile We were ready. wire. We hired several local boys and several boys from the temple to help Installing fence line and new barn poles. The crew and boom/pump truck with the fencing. Not only was it an were scheduled and the concrete company was contacted and the economic benefit for them but they learned how to build two types of order placed. The boom/pump fences. These young men learned truck arrived at 6:45 AM. and the what a project of this size re•quires to first concrete truck rolled in at 7:30. go from start to finish. They worked The weather forecast was for a 50% chance of rain, but the weather hard in the heat and when the last of the concrete was poured they had a turned out to be only in the high 80’s sense of accomplishment and felt like with a breeze. The concrete started it was more than just a job, it was an to fill the forms we had laid out as truck by truck the Remove the Mud educational process. Campaign was coming to a Two of the uprights on the leading wonderful and fulfilling conclusion. edge of the barn needed to be replaced We poured 76 1/2 yards of concrete so we used old utility poles to shore in great weather. The next day it up the roof and ensure strong long term rained on a finished job. support for those sections of roof. Because of their weight we used the backhoe to lift them into place.
ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 11 On Tuesday, June 5, she came and picked us up. My daughter Lakshmi, Jaya, and I were off to the Ohio State University hospital. It was a three hour drive. During the drive, Valerie and Lakshmi talked about caring for animals with love.
When we got there, Jaya was unloaded from the trailer and taken into his operating room. The first evaluation was that there was a tumor behind the eye as well. In order to get as much of the cancer as possible, it would be necessary to remove his eye. Of course, we were hoping that this would not be the case. Then the experts from the optical department were called for consultation and after a hands-on evaluation, they also concluded that After his surgery, a rainbow appeared over Jaya in order to remove the cancer the eye would also have to be removed. All doctors evaluated the other eye as cancer free. He was then given Jaya’s Fight Against Cancer general anesthesia and then local anesthesia in a 360 degree pattern t has been 3 ½ years now since Jaya and even the growth on his eyeball around his eye. was diagnosed with cancerous disappeared. In early spring 2007, the growths in both eyes. We called our growth on his eyelid started again. It The operation was performed and during the operation, the doctor and local vet back then and he came and di- was growing slowly and then started student interns were all talking to agnosed the growths as cancer on the to accelerate. It was again time to call Jaya and addressing him by his third eyelid. Upon diagnosis, we im- Dr. Moore for an evaluation and mediately took Jaya into the barn and possible surgery. The cancer was now Dr. Moore surgically removed both growing and pushing the eyeball back growths. Due to the location of the into his skull. Dr Moore recom- growths, Dr. Moore felt there was no mended that we should go to Ohio guarantee that he removed every can- State University Veterinary hospital. cer cell. Everything was fine for two They could either laser or freeze the years until we again noticed some cancer and save Jaya’s eye. Dr Moore growth in the eye that previously had contacted the hospital and made the the larger growth. In September 2006, arrangements for us to go there. Dr. Moore again came and surgically removed as much of the growth as he Although we have a trailer, we do not could. The other eye remained clear. At have a truck road worthy enough to that point, Jaya also had a spot of can- pull the trailer on a long trip with cerous growth on his eyeball. Again, Jaya in it. Dr. Moore called one of his Dr. Moore told us he might not have friends, Valerie McDonnell who hauls gotten all the cancer, and he would horses, to take us and Jaya. Valerie most likely lose his eye in 6 months. told us later that she was afraid to take the job because we were Hare Over the winter months, we used Krishna’s. She decided to take us after Jaya after his first surgery. The cancer homeopathic remedies to see if we Dr. Moore informed her we were came back after two years. could minimize and hopefully kill the good people. growth. Everything was going nicely (Continued on page 15)
12 ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 Some pesticides labeled "bio- degradable" degrade into com- Pesticides: The Real Pest pounds more dangerous than the original. Examples include BY CHAND PRASAD, PH.D. Mancozeb, which degrades into a substance that is an EPA-classified trong growth in global pesticide Some pesticides remain active for probable carcinogen.[6] usage has propelled annual years after application. DDT is still sales to a level of 30 billion showing up in higher rates in Researchers at the Harvard School of dollars, with Asia accounting for about women's breast milk than the Public Health have shown that twenty-five percent of these expendi- government permits in cow's milk [4]. individuals reporting exposure to tures. Multinationals such as Bayer, pesticides had a 70 percent higher Cyanamid, Dow AgroSciences, Pesticides drift and settle during incidence of Parkinsons Disease than DuPont, Novartis and Zeneca maintain application. In the Antarctic ice pack those not reporting exposure. that their pesticide products reduce alone there are 2.4 million pounds of famine by protecting crops from insect DDT and its metabolites from years Although the Green Revolution may damage. This article focuses on a past [7]. have been well intentioned in that it number of key factors influencing the sought to avert food shortages and costs and benefits of pesticide use. starvation by raising agricultural productivity, it proved to be a highly Conditions in most developing coun- profitable, lucrative boon to the pesti- tries make it practically impossible to cide industry. After 30 years of guarantee appropriate pesticide use. intensive use on Asian rice farms and Moreover, according to the National subsequent damage to the environ- Academy of Sciences at least one out of ment, the International Rice Research seven people in the United States are Institute recognized that “most insec- significantly harmed by pesticide ticide use on rice is a waste of the exposure each year [3]. Although the farmers' time and money” [9]. Pesti- pesticide industry maintains that their cides kill friendly insects, therefore chemicals are heavily diluted, they are helping the pests they would still extremely dangerous in small otherwise help control. The result is amounts. Many pesticide ingredients that pesticide use becomes self- are listed as inert, which allows them perpetuating, implying that farmers to be kept hidden from the public and become more dependent on these not listed on product labels. Far from chemical inputs. This dependence being inactive fillers, these inert com- provides a steady flow of revenues pounds such as benzene and xylene, and profits for the pesticide industry. are more toxic than listed chemicals [1,2]. The listed chemicals, which in- There is little or no corporate support clude components of wartime defoli- for safer organic alternatives to chemical pesticides, although the ants like Agent Orange, nerve-gas type Mixing cow urine and herbs to make safe pesticide industry has indeed insecticides, and artificial hormones, organic pesticide. are also extremely hazardous: detected a growing backlash. How- Fat soluble pesticides accumulate over ever, instead of developing truly Many pesticides are not safe when dry. time in our bodies, then are released at organic alternatives, companies Water evaporates, but most pesticides potentially toxic levels when illness or sometimes label their chemical inputs remain and continue to release often stress results in our fat reserves being as "organic", knowing that the term odorless and invisible toxic vapors. metabolised. A large portion of a legally may be applied to any com- They accumulate in toxic smog woman's lifetime exposure to such pound containing carbon and hydro- throughout the entire season. pesticides is released in the breast gen. Additionally, some pesticide milk for her firstborn child [8]. companies have expanded into the Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are seed industry and genetic engineer- becoming some of the worst water It is a violation of U.S.Federal law to ing. The industry now advertises the pollutants in America. claim pesticides are "safe when used as directed" since nothing can assure (Continued on page 15) safety [2,3,5].
ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 13 (Continued from page 5) produces about 2.3 billion pounds of Having a massive new source of fuel Letters: Animal Fat Becomes Key chicken fat annually from its poultry stock is a welcome development for Biodiesel Ingredient plants. That's about 300 million gallons the biodiesel industry, said Amber that could be converted to fuel. Thurlo Pearson, a spokeswoman for it has established a renewable energy the National Biodiesel Board. division that will be up and running The market for biodiesel and ethanol this year. Competitors Perdue Farms Inc. really started to boom in August 2005, "More biodiesel in the marketplace and Smithfield Foods Inc. are making after passage of the federal Energy could help make biodiesel's cost similar moves. Policy Act, experts say. The bill set a even more competitive with diesel new standard requiring the U.S. to use fuel," Pearson said. As meatpackers enter the field, they 7 billion gallons of renewable fuels by bring massive amounts of fuel stock 2012. The board estimates that U.S. that could make biodiesel cheaper and biodiesel production is tripling more plentiful. Increasing demand for soybean oil as a annually, going to 75 million gallons fuel and as a food is making the price in 2005 from 25 million gallons in The shift to animal fat as a fuel stock creep up for biodiesel. It now makes 2004. The final tally for 2006 should could be key to making the budding biodiesel industry a reliable fuel source for U.S. trucking fleets, said Vernon Eidman, a professor of economics at the University of Minnesota who has extensively studied the biofuels industry.
Eidman estimates that within five years, the U.S. will produce 1 billion gallons of biodiesel, and half of it will be made from animal fat. By that time, soybean-based biodiesel will account for about 20 percent of the total, he said.
For fuel refiners like Bagby, the allure of animal fat is clear. Soybean oil costs 33 cents a pound, while chicken fat costs 19 cents. He plans to include soybean oil in his blend only because it adds necessary lubrication for engine parts.
"Soybean oil is more expensive than Gita likes to be rubbed behind his horns other products, so we just use enough of it to make the system run clean," economic sense to invest in new be between 150 and 225 million. Bagby said, gesturing toward a row of technology to process animal fat into Biodiesel costs about $1 a gallon pipes and vats being installed in his usable form as a fuel stock. more to produce than conventional new refinery. diesel, but federal tax breaks for fuel Tyson and Perdue already are distributors help hide that cost from For companies like Tyson, the attrac- experimenting with biodiesel. Both consumers. tion is simple. Being the nation's companies have started using biodiesel Bagby said his plant will be running biggest meat company, Tyson is also in their trucking fleets. by the end of January. His equip- the biggest producer of leftover fat ment can refine soybean oil, cotton from chicken, cattle and hogs. Perdue, of Salisbury, Md., also is selling soybean oil as a biodiesel fuel seed oil and animal fat. That gives Tyson is keeping the specifics of its stock through the company's Grain him flexibility to use whatever's cheapest. His first batches will be renewable fuels division under tight and Oilseed Division. The company wraps. But Tyson Vice President Jeff also said last summer that it's studying made from soybean oil because it's Webster told a recent investment plans to build its own biofuels plants easiest to calibrate the equipment. conference the potential is clear. Tyson or invest in others.
14 ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 (Continued from page 12) us this was a very favorable sign and by-products include milk, manure Jaya’s Fight Against Cancer the end of successful journey to the which adds nutrients to the soil, and name. Jaya is 13 years old, two Ohio State Veterinary hospital. We urine which acts as both a fertilizer thousand pounds, and quite a humbly request everyone to pray for and pesticide. ISCOWP properly distinguishes between the objective handsome fellow. Nobody could Jaya’s speedy and full recovery. believe that he was 13 years old and in and the by-products, and furthermore Editors note: It is now August and such great shape. The operation took practices cow protection in a larger Jaya’s eye area has healed beautifully. spiritual context based on the little over an hour and after the operation, The vet took out the stitches and said teachings of Srila Prabhupada. we spoke with the doctor and the interns he could go out on pasture. His mood and gave them some ISCOWP literature. was joyous as he joined the herd. We References: Everyone was very happy to meet us and are giving him some homeopathic to be able to be of service to Jaya. They all medicine with the hope of preventing 1. New York State Attorney General's remarked how well behaved he was. any further cancer growth. Office. "The Secret Hazards Of Law Pesticides: Inert Ingredients." New The doctors told us that this kind of York State Department Of Law, tumor is not uncommon amongst 1994. white-faced cattle. By nature, the tumor has branches, and they thought (Continued from page 13) 2. New York State Attorney General's there was a good chance they got it all. Pesticides: The Real Pest Office. "Pesticides In The Schools: When the tumor was removed, it was hazards of pesticides as part of a Reducing The Risks." New York the size of a softball about 3 inches in marketing strategy to replace insecti- State Department Of Law, 1994. diameter. It apparently was causing a cides with genetically modified crops. lot of pressure behind his eye. 3. American Defender Network, Fortunately, farmers themselves are "Lawn Chemical Dangers." 1989. On the way home, Jaya sat down in the accurate observers that have trailer for the whole ride. When we got demonstrated a willingness to 4. Davidson, Osha Gray. "Pesticides: back to the farm, he was quite happy to experiment. For example, in Tamil The Killing Fields." Woman's Day be home. We put him in the Geriatric Nadu, India, more than 8,000 farmers 20 September 1994. Barn with special cutting hay. Unfortu- in 10 districts have been using herbal 5. The S.T.A.T.E. Foundation nately, we have not allowed the other pest repellents. A Karikali-based (Sensitive To A Toxic cows to come into contact with him for group in Tamil Nadu, Vazhviyal Environment), 4 Hazel Court, West fear that his healing eye will get Multiversity, has produced an herbal Seneca, NY 14224. bumped. He is quite content in the pest repellent from knowledge derived geriatric barn and eating well. We will from Vriksha Ayurveda. The repellent 6. Begley, Sharon & Hager, Mary. keep him there for the next three is prepared from the leaves of five weeks until the time we can remove "Please Don't Eat The Daisies." plant species not eaten by cattle. These Newsweek 16 May 1988. the stitches. In the barn, it is very cool can vary from place to place, but and there are considerably less flies. ideally the repellent contains neem, 7. Rudd, Robert C. "Pesticides." The big concern now is to keep tulsi, and datura. The leaves are Encyclopedia Americana 1990. everything clean and the flies away collected, cut into pieces and pounded. from the wound. We were given a It is then put in an earthen pot filled 8. International Joint Commission on special spray to spray on his face to with cow urine and allowed to ferment the Great Lakes. "Selected keep flies away. Valerie read the entire in a compost pit for 10 days. The Persistent Toxic Substances in ISCOWP memorial issue for the fermented solution is filtered with a Human Breast Milk in the Great passing of Vraja and decided to give us cotton cloth, and water is added. This Lakes Basin". March 1990. a discount for her services. She now solution can be used as an herbal wants to visit Prabhupada’s Palace and spray, but it should be used before the 9. Devinder Sharma, "Is modern temple to understand more about the insects appear [9]. scence the real pest?" Wednesday, Hare Krishna philosophy. May 14, 2003, Business Line The value of cow urine-based pesti- After we had gotten Jaya secured in the cides provides further evidence of the Geriatric Barn, there was a five minute utility of cow protection. The objective downpour of rain followed by a of breeding cows is to provide a team beautiful rainbow which ended right of oxen for every family farm. Valuable above the Geriatric Barn and Jaya. To
ISCOWP News Volume 17 Issue 2 2007 15 Non-Profit U.S. Postage RD 1 Box 322 A PAID Moundsville, W.V. Moundsville WV 26041 Permit No. 15 [email protected] iscowp.org iscowp.blogspot.com CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
The Garden Needs YOUR Help!
You may ask what does the garden Two years a go we started selling have to do with protecting cows? As produce locally. Our produce was many of you know, we use dried well received and helped us pay our organic produce from our garden as personal bills so that we could devote premiums for your donations to cow most of our time to our cow protection. Not only are these premi- protection endeavors. The garden ums well liked by you, our donors, but saves us money at the grocery store. they represent Srila Prabhupada’s vision of a lifestyle centered around the We are very much concerned to establish a means of income separate from our 4 month winter job in the There is not much produce this mall. We could get more accom- year because the garden is be- plished on the farm if we need not be ing attacked by deer. Read away from the farm for so long. A about it on page six. successful garden is essential to accomplishing this goal. cows and land. By offering you organic You can attain more information produce grown on land fertilized with about what is needed to save the the cow dung from the cows you are garden and develop it as a sustainable helping to protect, we are both coming garden project on page six and seven. full circle with the practice of cow pro- Please give generously to “The Gar- tection. We are showing how the cows den Needs Your Help!” campaign by are useful even if old. using the form and envelope enclosed on page six. Thank you so much! The garden also provides produce for our own consumption so we can be as self sufficient as possible from the supermarket throughout the year. We The top photo is of a tomato grown this are able to accomplish this by canning year in our garden that was beginning garden produce during harvest time. to be eaten by deer. Most of the tomatoes Some of you may remember us sending never got this big as they were totally you some canned produce. We had to eaten at an earlier stage of development. stop that because of the increased The second photo shows the tomatoes postal rates. growing in last year's deer free garden.