Cat/dog poisonings take over the deaths of our U.S. troops

[Erika]

In importance. Think about it.

[graywarrior]

1. I know.

It's the only thing that riles us up as a country.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. So who says they are more important?

[Erika]

4. the posts n/t

[Bonobo]

10. What we can say that is new about military deaths? You draw a false dichotomy.

[Erika]

12. www.icasulaties.org It gives new stats daily n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Nobody is suggesting this incident is "more important"

than the deaths of troops in Iraq. But it's a very big deal because it reveals the vulnerability of our food supply. This time it was rat poison in some wheat from China that got into a lot of pet food. How can we be sure that next time tainted wheat, or something else, won't turn up in a lot of baby food or breakfast cereal, and sicken or kill a lot of people?

Yeah, it's a damned important story.

And I think it's a bit insulting to suggest that anybody who is concerned about this poisoned pet food therefore must not care "enough" about troop deaths.

[emilyg]

new story

attention is being paid to it because it's fairly new.

[emilyg]

new story

attention is being paid to it because it's fairly new.

[Erika]

16. The story about harm to the pets got more press coverage

How about the depleted uranium and our troops lives?

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. false dichotomy as he explained to you

this story is truly about the safety of the food supply (and globalization)

Yes, I am concerned about the troops... but this story reveals a huge hole in our food supply.

I know when you are so committed to one cause, and you are, it is hard to see other stories for where they may rank

And on the short term, this one is up there.

For food supply reasons, and for pet owners who's pets have or have the potential of being affected

For once I am so glad the parrots eat what I eat, but if this was in the human food supply, due their size, they would be affected faster than I would, the proverbial canary in the mine, if you know what I mean... and given that CDC has received a notice from the AG department, to send to hospitals, something is telling me that this wheat meal didn't only get confined to oh... animal feed.

For that Countdown covered that

[cgrindley]

3. I know my pet

he never takes off his fursuit, and he sleeps jammed up in my crotch every night. I can't name a single Marine who does the same.

[Jamastiene]

18. Precisely.

Well said.

[Contrary1]

50. You have that special sleeping arrangement with your pet too?

I thought my BT was the only one to do that.

[murielm99]

5. It's not JUST about

a bunch of cats and dogs. I don't condemn people who treat their pets like family members. We do, too.

It is about more than that. It is about free trade, the gutting of the FDA, the potential lack of safety in the human food supply, and a few other things that I have forgotten.

[Elwood P Dowd]

6. Bingo!

We're next.

[Lorien]

7. Yep. Just watch the DVD "the future of food"

http://www.thefutureoffood.com/trailer.htm

:scared:

[SeattleGirl]

8. Exactly, muriel

We are seeing more consequences of the deterioration of oversight, responsibility, etc.

[rumpel]

30. FDA - media did not cover this item:

Former FDA chief fined, sentenced to three years' probation

front page at American Veterinary Association

Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Lester M. Crawford received three years' supervised probation and was fined nearly $90,000 Feb. 27 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of failing to inform government ethics officers he owned stock in companies with products regulated by his agency.

Dr. Crawford was spared jail time, but the sentence imposed by Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson was tougher than the $50,000 fine agreed to by federal prosecutors and Dr. Crawford's attorney, Barbara Van Gelder.

"While the total fine exceeds what the parties agreed to, the fine is well below the maximum under the statute," Robinson said during the sentencing hearing. She also ordered Dr. Crawford to complete 50 hours of community service and to pay the costs of his supervised probation.

Two months after the Senate had approved his nomination to head the agency, Dr. Crawford, the first veterinarian to hold the position, abruptly resigned in September 2005, touching off speculation and calls for an investigation.

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/apr07/070401d.asp

[kath]

9. well, for one thing the media is giving this BIG play, whereas they have always tried to sweep the

deaths of our troops under the rug.

[Erika]

11. As have some DU posters

Pets dying is a big thing. U.S. troops deaths? At www.icasualties.org I love my animals also. I'll do everything I can to protect them, Now about our troops.

[SeattleGirl]

14. I think what this points out, kath, is the disconnect so many people

have with the war. People are very connected to their pets, and even people who don't have them usually know people who do.

Where the war is concerned, as has been discussed here and elsewhere, there is a disconnect; for many, many people, it's not personal. Lots of people don't have someone over in Iraq; lots of people don't personally know someone who does. Bush told us to go shopping, not sacrifice in any way meaningful that is connected to the war (and I am referring here to those who don't have that personal connection to someone fighting in Iraq).

I know a lot of people are paying attention to the war, even if the MSM doles out coverage of it bit by bit, and not as much as many of us would like.

I'm certainly not saying it's right; I'm also not saying that the dog/cat food story isn't important. What I am saying is that there should be more coverage of the war, and of what's actually going on in Iraq (and Afghanistan). Unfortunately, the MSM doesn't seem capable of covering more than one thing at a time with any substance.

[Erika]

15. Thank you Seattle Girl

The public connects to their pets but not our troops.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. You just made the point as to why any war

we fight, NEEDS a draft, universal, no exceptions

[SeattleGirl]

35. That's not really the point I was trying to make, but I can see

how it could be taken that way, given what I said about most people not having a personal connection to the war. The draft, after all, was one of the biggest reasons so many college students protested the Vietnam war. THEY knew their butts could very well be on the line.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. and why to this day people have an almost

mythical memory of WW II.

Not only was a good cause (the closest we ever came to a just war in this country)

but godamit, everybody was involved and hsd some skin in the game.

It is amazing but more and more people are saying publicly what I have been saying here for three years... we need a draft...

If the war needs to be fought, we need to fight with a draftee force representing all of the US...

[SeattleGirl]

38. With no special "outs" for the likes of Bush and Cheney.

You get called, you serve, unless you a) seek asylum in another country, or b) go through the regular channels if you are, say, a conscientious objector. No getting out of service just because you, or your daddy, has a lot of money. That shit pisses me off.

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. Precisely and no cushy assignments either

the only exception I can see is... you are in college, they tell you

Either join as enlisted at the end of the semester, let them finish the semester

Or we pick up the tab... you go through ROTC and you owe us double the time as enlisted... so an enlisted does three years an ROTC graduate does six.

Fair enough? We will need officers after all

[SeattleGirl]

41. Fair enough.

You know, during the Vietnam War, my age group was too young to be drafted, but there were so many of us who had older brothers, or had friends with older brothers who were drafted and sent over there (I was in the latter group, as I am the oldest in my family). It was more personal. The town has a memorial to those from that town (Springfield, Oregon) who served and died in Vietnam. I know a lot of the names on that memorial.

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. Yet people today rarely know troops

or their families, especially in larger cities.

Of cousre I have qutie another idea, leaders of nations have to perosnally lead the troops at the front lines... as in the first man into the breach

That would have kept our chickenhawk in chief from even declaring war

[SeattleGirl]

47. I've had the same thought, many times.

Especially where Bush is concerned. He'd probably crap his pants if he thought he'd actually have to go fight in a war. Though I wouldn't want to be a soldier who had to follow him into battle.

[nadinbrzezinski]

51. True, friendly fire and fraging

come to mind

[uppityperson]

37. Taking it a step further also, or perhaps a different step here.

I have such little active control over the Iraq occupation. I have friends there and returning there again. I can help, support their families, send them stuff, but have little true active control. Having been involved with the USA debacle of katrina non-recovery, I feel I have little control there also, though more direct input to a few people. However, I can chose what to feed my cats and dog. Every day I get to chose this. I get to go to the store and chose something and chose how much of what to give them when. I have more control over my pets food than my government's actions.

Also, this is new. The Iraq occupation and maltreatment of people has gone on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.

So, newness and control. Be patient. Perhaps next week another celebrity will do something stupid and off (some of) DU will go on it.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. So Going By Your Standards Then, Over 10,000 Of Your Posts Have Taken Over The Deaths Of Our Troops

since the war began.

So what exactly is it you're trying to say?

[OnyxCollie]

19. I thought about it.

People don't expect their pets to drop dead after being fed dinner. People don't expect food to contain rat poison.

War kills people. What did you expect?

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. There is a valid reason, believe it or not

given that this happened from wheat that was poluted with rat poison

Here is the question boys and girls...

IS MY FOOD SUPPLY SAFE?

Once you start asking that question, which is valid... you will see that story disapear so fast it ain't even funny

[kath]

24. You bet your ass, nadin. The PowersThatBe sure as hell don't want the rabble asking no hard

questions 'bout NOTHIN'. As soon as the "IS MY FOOD SUPPLY SAFE" question starts getting asked with any frequency, the story will drop like a two-ton rock.

[OnyxCollie]

29. I've already asked that question.

I work in a grocery/pharmacy that carries a lot of off brands. I noticed a bottle of pomegranite juce with "PRODUCT OF AZERBAIJAN" on the label. What does Azerbaijan have to offer? According to the CIA World Factbook:

Local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil spills, from the use of DDT as a pesticide, and from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton.

Oh, yeah. They also offer cheap pomegranite juice.

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. That's not a question most folks want to ask though

hell I am keeping an eye on the birds.. they eat what I eat...

[Dastard Stepchild]

21. I've thought about it.

I am aware of the situation in Iraq (as are the vast majority of people). I was not aware of a potentially lethal new development that could affect my 4 cats and 1 dog. I think this is newsworthy information for those of us that work hard to protect the health and welfare of our companions.

New things make the news in a big way. Particularly stories like this one since it is actually a much greater issue than just a few dogs and cats dying. Food safety and consumer protection is hardly on par with a news story about Britney Spears entering rehab, for example, so I could agree with your frustration if it was that type of story. But this one does not seem irrelevant in that way.

[Erika]

25. Yep People connect with their pets but not our troops.

How very sad. Maybe they should look at www.icasualties.org for more info.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. Easy

I lived with both a troop and pets,

I am in that five percent of the population that has been directly affected by this war.

You want people to connect more with the troops? Once again yuo just made a good argument for a universal draft every time the nation goes to war, no exceptions

[MonkeyFunk]

40. Sorry,

that's a nonsensical accusation.

The numerous reasons why have been pointed out here.

[freeplessinseattle]

54. would you be complaining about an abundance of compassion

if it was humans that were sickened?

what would you say then. "people connect with their freinds and family but not the troops"

what kind of person can only care about one thing at a time?

I haven't done a count, but my impression is there have been more threads about the War bill today than the pets deaths. if you are measuring caring that way.

[Miss Chybil]

27. I doubt anyone thinks the pet deaths are "more important," but

they are important. If I were a troop, serving in Iraq and somebody back home killed my dog, I'd be pissed. See, you can relate everything to the troops.

My son just came home from his third tour in Afghanistan. His wife was in Iraq. (They're no longer married. Considering they've spent very little time together since the war started, I think you can call their marriage a casualty of war.) I spent nine years in the Army. My husband spent 20 years. My best friend's nephew just left for Iraq. My cousin is on a ship somewhere over there. My grandfather fought in WWII and every generation I can trace back in my family has had someone serving this country since the time it was founded. I have been against the war on Iraq from before it began. I cannot stomach what is happening to our country, or Iraq, under King George and, believe it or not, I'm a Democrat. As such, mother of a troop, myself an ex-troop, married to a retired troop, I think there is room on the 24/7 psuedo-news channels for information regarding the murders of our pets.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. Thank you for your service

as a wife of a recently retired troop, who shared my house for only eight months during our first five years of marriage, I fully identify with you.

But very well said

Oh and thank you for your service

[jannyk]

31. I had the same thought Erika

as much as I adore my pets - they are my children - I too have wondered about our priorities.

[flvegan]

32. Increase your compassion bandwidth.

It makes it easier to care about more.

[pnwmom]

33. And who's to know that a lot of people -- in China and elsewhere --

haven't consumed this poisoned wheat?

Food safety is an important issue.

[Truthiness Inspector]

42. Two things can exist at the same time

In fact, more than two sad things often exist simultaneously. It is life.

It's amazing how it's inevitable that when other news exists, someone here feels compelled to post that whatever the news of the day/week is overshadows other news.

It really gets tiresome. I'm sorry, but please, some of of this shit really gets TIRESOME.

[MonkeyFunk]

43. And you know....

in the last few years, by orders of magnitude, greater numbers of people have died in Darfur. Your selfish obsession with US soldiers must mean you don't care about dying Africans. Shame.

[nadinbrzezinski]

45. If we are going to go there

lets not forget Somalia... or the Hutu Tribesmen

;-)

[rumpel]

46. It is something we have direct control over -

we are in charge of making a decision every day as to what food we feed our animals and family.

The fact that one company has contaminated pretty much the majority of available brands is an incredible fact of the system, as a whole, being disingenuous to the consumer.

The same thing can happen to any food supply.

as for the war in Iraq - we have delegated our voices to our representatives in congress. How long have we been fighting now to have our reps finally hear our wishes - we voted - we have no direct control.

To me - it is a completely different subject - and yet another scandal of a grand scale, how these handful of corporations monopolize the market. This is why Mom and Pop stores disappear - this is why small business can no longer compete. This is the result of a government beholden to corporations.

I do not understand how this dog food problem can remotely be compared with the catastrophe W brought on to our Armed Services.

Would you feel the same way if this was baby food? The problem is the same.

The media has not done justice to their profession now for many years - it is not called journalism anymore, with the exception of a few true journalists - the majority is just talking heads...
they don't even bother researching the facts behind any story - and all those who are putting their lives on the line to report from the frontlines - headquarters i.e. corporations decide what gets aired and how it is presented.

just my 2 cents

[Withywindle]

49. That's it right there.

I have a very direct personal responsibility to our cat. That's the responsibility you take on when you adopt a pet. He can't make his own decisions about his diet. He can't read ingredient labels or follow the news for the latest food scandals. He just expects us to feed him every day, and he expects that his food won't have fucking RAT POISON in it. Frankly, I don't think that's too much to ask.

So yes, learning that the trust implicit in buying a food product (human or animal) has been broken is a damn big story. How the OP goes from this to not caring about the troops...well, that's a hell of a leap, IMO. This isn't exactly a "John Edwards's house" or "Obama smokes cigarettes" kind of bullshit distraction. This has serious implications for everyone with a pet...or frankly, everyone who likes to eat.

[fujiyama]

48. I can't help but saying

this is a stupid thread.

I don't even have a pet, but they often provide a lot of joy for their owners. I find the title a bit insensitive actually.

Plus as a bunch of others have pointed out, it's worth questioning how safe our own food supply is. This is an important story and points out how poor safety standards are for pet food. I doubt the standards are much better for humans (hell, they may just as well be worse).

[piesRsquare]

52. Don't EVEN go there

with that bullshit!

DAMNED STRAIGHT I give a shit about the troops! I stay informed, I've been to protests, signed petitions, written letters, spoken to others, and spent hundreds of dollars of my own money (even though I'm in serious debt) to send supplies such as soap, shampoo, toilet paper, sanitary napkins (for the women, whose supplies had been depleted and weren't being replenished), pain relief (aspirin/tylenol), toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc etc directly to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan!

Ignoring the pet food recall and allowing thousands of animals to die does NOT make one more concerned about the troops!

I'm a Veterinary Technician, blogger, and educator, and have a fucking duty to assist the public with this matter!

I was also deployed to New Orleans post-Katrina (day after Rita) by HSUS for a week to assist with the animal rescue efforts! So I guess according to YOU, I REALLY don't give a shit about the troops (spending all my time and effort looking after Fluffy and Fido!)

Some of us on this planet actually have the ability to multitask, and to care about multiple issues at once!

The idiocy around here astounds me sometimes!

:mad: :grr:

[faithnotgreed]

53. get it pies - thank you

for your passion and involvement in all these areas

this should never be seen as a competition but perhaps the OP is just expressing overwhelming frustration
many are feeling this and is so very understandable

it is just beyond tragic that so many feel betrayed and angry and a loss of control over these horrific situations

all best wishes pies and thank you again for all you do

[TZ]

58. If it makes you feel better piesRsquared

I think people like you are as wonderful as anyone who is working to bring the troops home. Compassion for any and all living creaturss is good. I explained downstream that to many pets are family but as someone who has a family memeber who is a good person but hates animals, some people just can't understand, and I don't mean that as an insult.

[Skittles]

59. I am with piesRsquare

I send postcards to the troops overseas EVERY DAY - but I have two cats who are MY FAMILY - I see them EVERY DAY and their welfare is very important to me - there's no prioritizing here - I can multi-task my fear and compassion

[rainbow4321]

55. Yeah, well, wait til Monday..

Anna Nicole's autopsy results are reportedly going to be released...then it will be "pet food? Is there a pet food problem?"

Any new cover up/scandal info on the chimp regime will probably be released on Monday, also, I imagine, since his MSM lapdogs will be covering ANS shit 24/7 all weeklong.

[Hekate]

56. The contamination of our food supply is systemic and very important

A huge number of questions arise when it turns out that an ingredient common to both human and animal foods is tainted.

Erika, I'll bet you dollars to holes in donuts that this wheat-derived ingredient is in everything from Cream of Mushroom Soup to Gerber's Toddler Meals.

And the CDC knows it too. But their response? They'll wait to see if any humans develop kidney failure. Swell.

It's just dumb luck if it didn't make it into the human food supply this time. I hope to gods SOMEone in the government is planning action.

As for the death toll in Iraq -- most of us are able to hold more than one thought at a time. Tonight I watched the news on PBS, Countdown, and skipped around between ABC and CBS. All of them devoted time to a number of other subjects -- such as the supplemental bill that Pelosi got passed in the House -- as well as the tainted pet food. The News Hour with Jim Lehrer (PBS) did its usual "honor roll" at the end of the broadcast: photos of 12 more American troops killed in this war.

Hekate

[TZ]

57. Its about personal relevance

I am just as upset about troops dying in Iraq. But I don't have family members over there. I do however have two cats that because I am single and childless (and likely to remain that way) they are my children. Its incredibly disturbing to wonder if by just feeding my cats I might kill them. The press coverage of this actually is LESS than the other stories Iraq, Gonzlaes-Ag firings to me. Would you feel that the stories were too distracting if it were children being poisoned? I don't think so. Our pets are family. Thats why there is such passion and anger here.

[LisaL]

60. You are talking about rat poison found in food supply.

For pets, but what is to say this couldn't have had happened to human food supply? Think about it.