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To: Ahda who wrote (72225)	6/22/2001 3:58:41 PM
From: marek_wojna	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116780

<<Gold does not do what technology can do for man kind>> Does anybody knows a better store of value which if left alone is constant? Technology with the power of computer becoming cheap commodity, value of it can be erased overnight. It have to be guarded better and more expensive ways than vaults of Fort Knox and the moment it is released to the public the value becoming nil.

To: Ahda who wrote (72225)	6/25/2001 5:22:17 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116780

(Even yet) Higher hog belly prices coming? Thestar.com > News > World Jun. 24, 2001. 08:58 PM Printer friendly version Mail this story to a friend Study links superbugs to livestock antibiotics Transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes from farm to environment found WINNIPEG (CP) - Another link has been added to the chain researchers are forging between the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the widespread use of the drugs in large-scale livestock operations. ''It seems that the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is increasing and also the number of these confinement livestock facilities are increasing,'' says Darrin Qualman, executive secretary of the National Farmers Union. ''It looks like the problem is getting worse, not better.'' Researchers at the University of Illinois have documented the transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes from large-scale hog facilities to surrounding water and soil. It's proof, they say, of how resistant genes can enter the food chain. It's also the kind of evidence researchers say is lacking to tie antibiotic resistance in human beings - and the creation of so-called superbugs - to widespread use of antibiotics in the livestock industry. That final link is elusive but Rustam Aminov, one of the Illinois scientists, says it's not an unreasonable conclusion with 75 per cent of antibiotics in the United States finding their way into meat and poultry. ''It is just a question of the scale,'' he says. ''It's incredible in this industry.'' Using DNA, Aminov and a team of scientists connected tetracycline-resistant genes from two hog facilities to bacteria in surrounding soil and groundwater. ''We tried to uncover these processes using the fingerprinting technique we developed here, so we can confirm the identity of antibiotic-resistant genes which reside in the animal.'' Although it wasn't part of their published findings, Aminov said in an interview they found some evidence the genes had already been transferred to E. coli bacteria. It was the same strain of E. coli, likely from a livestock operation, that was responsible for seven deaths in Walkerton, Ont., last year. Antibiotics have traditionally been used to treat sick animals. But another and increasingly controversial use is as a regular part of an animal's diet, to spur growth and prevent illness rather than cure it. In particular, they are used by intensive livestock operations where thousands of animals are kept in fairly confined spaces. ''Antibiotics compensate for bad agricultural practices,'' charges Aminov. Martin Rice, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council, disagrees strongly. He says modern hog operations actually reduce exposure to disease. But he acknowledges the increasing controversy over the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics and says it's an issue every farmer has to consider carefully. At the same time, Rice says there isn't enough evidence to warrant any ban at this time on the use of antibiotics to stimulate growth. The European Union has already decided to phase out the use of antibiotics as growth agents. In Canada, the federal government has talked about taking some sort of action but so far little has happened. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is working on regulations which would at least require producers of medicated feed to be licensed. Those are still perhaps a year away. Health Canada has also commissioned an advisory committee of experts to look at the issue. Chairman Scott McEwen of the University of Guelph says it will be at least Christmas before they submit any recommendations. And he notes there is still a lack of clear evidence of a threat to human health. ''Finding resistance in some E. coli or other bacteria in the soil or water doesn't mean that people are going to get sick because of that,'' he says. ''It's hard to link that to a human health outcome and that's what's confounded this issue for decades.'' Meanwhile, those who live near some of the hog ''mega-barns'' that dot Western Canada's landscape grow increasingly worried. Some members of the farmers union in Alberta, for example, want the provincial government to use DNA testing to examine bacteria near a large hog barn near Bells Hill Lake, southeast of Edmonton. Edward Davidson runs a 400-head cow-calf operation near Bells Hill Lake. He says he doesn't use non-therapeutic antibiotics or hormones - another controversial aid to help cattle grow - and is concerned about the impact of some practices of so-called modern agriculture. ''I think it could be done with a little less strain on the environment,'' he says. thestar.com