Riversdell OpEd

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This page is where we post our mostly-farm-related news, opinions, and observations. We welcome your opinions and observations and feedback, too, so drop us a line.

You may also wish to read accounts of our visits to various local farms.

PLEASE NOTE: All of our links to other sites open in a new window. We do this since most of the time the sites are so content-rich that you may end up spending some time exploring, and we are selfish enough that we want to make it easy for you to return to our site!

E. Coli in You Salad? Just Nuke It! [January 2007]

There have been several recent incidents of contaminated produce in fast-food restaurants and grocery stores. What is the real solution to this probem? Click here for Kirsten's view.

Clostridium Difficile Colitis Update [October 2006]

Clostridium difficile colitis is no longer confined to elderly and infirm nursing home or hospitalized patients. Since the year 2000, mortality per case of C. difficile has been rising. Click here to read Kirsten's Pharmacist Monograph with her analysis of the situation.

The Real Culture Of Life [April 2006]

Medical science often uses the analogy of “waging war” when dealing with microbes. The arsenal for this war includes antibiotics, literally meaning against life. This is an example of competition. However, from time immemorial, humans have been using probiotic (literally for life) cultures of microorganisms in a cooperative alliance for good health. Since humans are so clearly outnumbered, it would be in our best interest to forge a cooperative relationship with the microbial world. Click here for more ...

The Coming H5N1 Flu Pandemic [August 2005; Updated January 2006]

We have been following news of H5N1 influenza (avian flu) in Asia since January of this year, and it is our belief that a worldwide flu pandemic has begun in southeast asia.

Click here to visit a special page we have set up with links to information about the coming influenza pandemic and what you can (or cannot) do to prepare for it. This is serious, folks, please listen up.

Coxicity [May 2005]

Celebrex and Vioxx are in a class of drugs called COX-2 inhibitors. There is evidence that these drugs cause gastro-intestinal promplem in many patients, especially those also taking warfarin (Coumadin). Click here to read Kirsten's Pharmacist Monograph on the the facts about COX-2 inhibtors.

Crohn's Disease and Johne's Disease - Is There a Connection? [March 2004]

Johne's disease is an increasingly prevalant disease of livestock worldwide. Crohn's disease occurs in humans, and has symptoms very similar to Johne's disease. Click here to read Kirsten's analysis of the current scientific literature on the possible connection between the two.

Cacapon River Flow [April 2003]

April showers bring ... thoughts of flooding. We live on a river so we are keenly aware of the effects of heavy rains. Click here for a chart Eric whipped up showing the historic levels of the Cacapon River.

Dare to Eat Fat [December 2002]

Many people do not realize that some kinds of fat are necessary. These are aptly called the Essential Fatty Acids, or EFA's. Click here for a discussion of EFA's, including CLA, and how they effect your health.

Farmer + Pharmacist = Farmercist [November 2002]

Kirsten gave a presentation at the Middle School on Career Day. Click here for her handout, plus a picture -- she took one of our Toggenburg goats to pique their interest!

Shale Quarry Blues, revisited [April 2002]

Our small slice of Almost Heaven, West Virginia is marred by one annoying problem: a shale quarry just across the dirt road that is just past the barn. Click here for the gory details of our efforts to shut down what we consider an illegal quarrying operation.

Channel One [September 2001]

Does your local middle or high school show Channel One? Don't know? Until recently, we were only vaguely aware that our middle school had it. It came up during our recent discussions about homeschooling our children so we checked into it. We were pretty disgusted by what we found. Here are some links if you're interested:

• Our Letter to the Editor of our local paper
• Channel One - The Most Controversial Show On Television
• Education Reporter: Channel One Still Plays to Captive Audiences
• Channel One's website

How much is cheap food really costing you? Click here for our take on it.

Foot and Mouth

Did you keep up with the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) crisis in Britain in 2001? Did you know that 4,206,000 animals (583,000 cattle, 3,474,000 sheep, 145,000 pigs, 3,000 goats, 1,000 deer, and 1,000 other animals) were slaughtered? Did you know that the vast majority of these slaughtered animals did not have FMD and were perfectly healthy? Did you know that FMD is rarely fatal and that animals usually fully recover within 2 - 3 weeks? Did you know that there is a vaccination against FMD? If this weren't so tragic it'd be funny.

Two good sites that collect news and information on FMD -- not to mention "Mad Cow" disease, vCJD, genetically-modified (GM) foods, etc. -- are www.OrganicConsumers.org and www.mad-cow.org -- the second one is run by a molecular biologist in the Pacific Northwest and we like his occasional pithy comments that he interjects in some of his articles, though, unfortunately it is not being kept up to date. As you peruse these sites you most likely experience a powerful cocktail of emotions: scepticism, sorrow, disbelief, rage, and disgust, to name just a few. A few interesting articles from these and other sites:

• 'Killing by stealth' hides true scale of slaughter May 20, 2001 BBC by Christopher Booker
• Remarks of Jonathan Miller Sunday Times Mean Fields columnist 10 April 2001

And, from the "It couldn't happen here, could it?" files:

• Vermont: Did the Sheep Really Have Scrapie? Various news reports March 2001

Small Farmer's Journal

SFJ is a wonderfully unique quarterly publication. Lynn R. Miller is the editor/publisher/founder of SFJ, "Serving Independent Family Farmers and Craftsmanship in Agriculture Since 1976". If you are starting out in small-scale agriculture or any-scale animal-powered farming you will find SFJ to be wholly informative and inspiring. The SFJ website is a little sparse but you can subscribe to the Journal, plus it has examples of Mr. Miller's writing and editting.