—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 8, 1972
10
Across the
AHI Responds to FDA Proposed Policy
Antibiotics in Feeds Report
The Animal Health Institute (AHI)
declared that “we cannot associate our
selves with the premises" of the Food and
Drug Administration’s Antibiotics in Feeds
Task Force Report. “In fact,” the Institute
said, "we emphatically disagree with most
of their conclusions.”
AHl’s comments were submitted in a
letter to the Hearing Clerk for the
Department of Health, Education and
Welfare, in response to the FDA’s February
1, 1972 proposed statement of policy
concerning antibiotics in feeds. In the
letter, AHI Executive Vice President Fred
H. Holt continued that “members of the
AHI are prepared to answer legitimate
questions raised by the Task Force and are
confident that research now being for
mulated and now under way will answer
many of these questions "
Institute member companies
manufacture more than 90 per cent of all
the veterinary pharmaceuticals,
biologicals, and feed additives sold in the
United States
FDA Minority Report Cited-
The AHI letter drew heavily upon a
report filed separately be seven of the FDA
Task Force members. These separate
views refuted sections of the complete
Task Force Report dealing with the alleged
human hazard “We are not alone in our
view that antibiotics pose no demonstrable
human health hazard and provide a
clearcut consumer benefit," Holt's letter
continued. “Seven of the 15 members of
the Task Force felt compelled to issue a
statement titled, "Views of the Report of
the Task Force on the Use of Antibiotics for
Food Animals . .
The FDA "Minority Report,” AHI pointed
out, begins witht the statement "It is not
unusual for individuals with scientific
backgrounds to review the same set of
data, particularly when the evidence is not
clear-cut, and come up with difference
conclusions based on those data.” It was
Combination Health Plan Is Better
Coming up in Congress are new ideas for
expanding health care—almost 80
separate bills. The most extreme plan
would establish a single massive Federal
program costing an estimated $7O billion
annually Another of the major proposals
would rely primarily on private insurance
carriers and cost approximately $8 billion a
year
The first would require a tremendous
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this significant lack of consensus among
the Task Force scientists themselves that
led AHI to immediately question the full
Report's scientific validity.
Prophylactic Drug
Usage Defended-
Following a pomt-by-pomt refutation of
parts or all of the Task Force’s five
premises and five conclusion, Holt asked
FDA for clarification concerning its stance
on prophylactic usage of animal drugs. He
noted the FDA Report’s logic on such
usage appeared to the Institute to be
contradictory.
“If one accepts the Task Force premise
that the presence of resistant bacteria in
animals constitutes a potential human
health hazard," reasoned Holt, "then the
removal of recognized effective
prophylactic use of antibacterial agents
creates a real potential human health
hazard, since it follows logically that such
removal will lead to an increase in in
cidence of various animal bacterial
diseases.”
However, AHI emphasized, there is little
proven correlation between certain kinds
of bacterial infections arising from animal
bacteria and those infections arising from
human bacteria. Moreover, the potential
reduction of available meat, milk and eggs
resulting from loss of antibacterials and
the attendent drop in production efficiency
must be seriously considered.
Holt concluded that, “a careful re
examination will disclose that this
regulation (restriction of prophylactic
usage of animal drugs) would not serve the
public interest. On the contrary, it could
contribute to the creation of a public health
hazard.”
In closing AH I reiterated its position that
“certain legitimate questions do exist, and
that AHI will participate m their scientific
resolution.” Further, “AHI requests an
opportunity to comment once criteria for
research have been completed . . and
made available to industry."
additional bureaucracy to handle millions
of claims, plus a large “police department”
to monitor hospital, physician, and
laboratory fees and charges.
The other is a three-step proposal which
would 1) mandate a minimum standard of
health insurance for each employer to
provide for his employees and their
dependents, 2) create a pool which would
pay the health insurance premiums for
those who could not afford such payments;
and 3) continue medicare for the aged,
blind, and the disabled
, At the other extreme the least expensive
plan is one which would cover catastrophic
illnesses only. While this plan is easier on
the pocketbook, it does not treat the root
causes of skyrocketing health-care costs,
but prescribes only for one of the factors.
The best buy is not always the cheapest
nor the most expensive.
It makes good sense to weld the benefits
of existing private medical care and private
health insurance plans with a government
program to assure that everyone will be
eligible for adequate medical treatment.
Under a total government take-over, the
cure for runaway health expenses might be
worse then the admitted ills of rising costs
and insufficient facilities which now exist.
NOW IS
THE TIME . .
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
To Plage Fertilizer Carefully
I’d like to repeat the word of
caution about the possibility of
burning plant roots and seeds by
placing any nitrogen or potash
fertilizer directly in contact with
the plant or seed. In many cases
the fertilizer may stop ger
mination or burn the sprout to the
extent that it will be stunted and
not produce a normal crop. In
most cases the fertilizer should
be placed into the soil prior to the
planting of the seeds or plants. In
the case of some planters the
fertilizer is safely placed to the
side and deeper than the seeds.
Home gardeners should be
careful and not put any complete
fertilizer in the bottom of a hole
before setting in the plant; it’s
best to put it to the side of the
plant and as deep or deeper than
the roots. Be careful with fer
tilizers so they may aid the plant
growth rather than destroy it.
To Clean Up Pastures
Solid waste disposal is such a
problem with many folks, that
they take it out into the country
and throw it over the fence into a
woodlot or pasture field.
Livestock producers that have
grazing land near a public high
way should first go over the area
and remove all junk in fear of
waste that may poison the
animals. Items such as paint
cans, glass, and pesticide con
tainers may be harmful to the
livestock. Don’t take the chance
of them not finding it, if it is
there.
WHAT GREATER
BLESSING?
Lesson for April 9,1972
Background Scripture Matthew 18 19-
20, John 4 19-24, Acts 2-41-47;
Colossians 3 14-17
Devotional Reading Revelation 19 5-10
(ending with ''worship God") *
Peter DeVries’ novel, THE
MACKERAL PLAZA, is about an
imaginary modern church. Un
fortunately, it is only partly
“imaginary” and “The People’s
Liberal Church” and its pastor,
the Rev. Andrew Mackeral, are
less an exagera
tion than most of
us would like to
think..
The church
building itself is
very contempor
ary. Five rooms
downstairs in-
elude a dining
area, kitchen and
three parlors for committee and
group meetings On the second
floor there is a large “all-purpose
interior, divisible into different
sized components by means of
sliding walls and convertible into
an auditorium for putting on
plays, a gymnasium for athletics,
and a ballroom for dances
There is a small worship area at
one end” (bold face mine).
The loss of worship
The “small worship area” is
significant in America these days,
for statistics tell us that worship
attendances are dropping yearly.
To Do Minimum Tillage
We’ve often heard the
statement that many farmers
prepare their soil too fine in this
part of the country. In the case of
a heavy clay soil it is inclined to
bake and get a very hard crust, if
the ground is pulverized too fine.
This has happened to some fields
and makes it difficult for seeds to
get through the ground. Many
farmers have found that the
ground will absorb water better
and grow just as good corn and
tobacco when it is not worked
down as fine as the garden might
be. When there are heavy rains
on a very finely worked clay soil,
the ground will form a heavy
crust that can prevent sprouts
from growing.
To Apply Dormant Sprays
The pest control program on
many trees and shrubs should
begin now with the dormant oil
spray; this is true with fruit trees
as well as many ornamentals.
The oil spray is very good for
various types of scale that seem
to be getting more severe each
year. The proper time to spray a
plant with the dormant oil spray
is when the buds begin to swell.
This spray, followed by several
other sprays later in the summer,
will do a lot to control the insects
on most trees and shrubs. Rates
should be followed according to
the instructions in order to
prevent burning. Spray operators
should be careful not to get the oil
spray on evergreens or on the
paint of nearby buildings because
it may bum the evergreens and
dis-color the building.
Some time ago an unchurched
man observed, “The decline in
worship attendance is certainly
‘bad news’ for the churches.” He
was right, of course, but he didn’t
go far enough, for the decline of
worship in this country will ad
versely affect not only churches,
but the country as well.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once
said, “And what greater calamity
can fall upon a nation than the
loss of worship ” Individuals and
congregations are enriched by
the practice of worship, but so
are our communities and our
nations Worship has an effect
upon our national character and
without it a nation soon slides
into decay.
Why we worship
Some people may attend wor
ship services out of habit, others
out of a sense of obilgation or
duty. But there are higher mo
tives than these We are told in
Mark T 35 that “. . . in the morn
ing, a great while before day, he
(Jesus) rose and went out to a
lonely place, and there he
prayed ” Clearly, this was no
mere feeling of duty or obliga
tion Jesus prayed in the early
morning hours because he needed
the Father’s help A five-second
praver would not do.
So it was in the early church,
too In Acts 2 41-47 we find peo
ple coming together to thank and
praise God This was not some
superficial exercise, for look what
it did to them it made them a
generous, sharing fellowship, a
devout people respected even by
those who opposed their Jesus
Christ It made them also a grow
ing fellowship, for, as the writer
of Acts says, “And the Lord
added to their number day by
day those who were being saved ’’
(lased on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.
Released by Community Press Service)