Guest Post: Globalization-What Were We Thinking

Once again I will be posting a Guest blog, another excellent piece by a fellow Flubie. This is by TomDVM, a Flubie that I highly respect, who is often kind enough to help me understand some scientific point or another in research papers released on H5N1.

I must say that when I read this piece my hair literally stood on end.

I am grateful to TomDVM for allowing me to post this as I feel it is very important information and professional assessment from someone who knows from whence he speaks.

 

 

The "Inconvenient Truth" about Health-Food Regulation in the Twenty-First Century

Or

Globalization – What were we thinking?

By: TomDVM



Dear Dr. Tom,

I've been chatting with Monotreme on the NY-City of Doom thread re WHY TPTB persist in NOT telling people the truth. M is of the opinion that they want to thin out the Little People (or maybe Asian, or illegal immigrant, or Democrat or ________) population and save only the HMFs.

I don't necessarily disagree. Here at The Farm, we call H5N1 "Mother Nature's Revenge". A high CFR plus starvation and other collateral damage (rioting, accidents, untreated chronic-to-acute disease like diabetes, heart disease, etc.) will certainly reduce the number of mouths left to feed, esp. among the poor, already sick, and disadvantaged populations.

Unfortunately for those "in charge," and I use the term loosely, they can't dictate who is going to die and who will survive, so just thinning the herd can't, IMO, be a logical goal in and of itself.

Another posit is that TPTB have already accepted the fact that, even with all the money and materiel at their disposal, they can barely make a dent in the wave of destruction, so bag it and let the chips fall where they may. Again, I fail to see what they gain by lying.

Can you help me figure out what the real (possibly evil, more likely just incredibly selfish) reason for not telling people the truth is? There has to be more than body count involved. I know I wouldn't go to all this trouble to lie and obfuscate without some hope of (pardon the pun) "making a killing" at the end.

If we understood their true motivation, then maybe we could counter it, but for now, to quote my personal hero, "We're screwed."

Saddletramp's excellent question


For those of you who would rather not read my 'blathergab', I will give the short answer first…

….Authorities act the way they act because they have concluded that:

1) It isn't going to happen…or

2) It isn't going to happen while they are in a position of authority.

If you want to know how and where authorities could have come up with such an idea…that this was an event that would certainly never happen and even if it did happen, it would be a very minor non-event in the end…you need look no farther than this official WHO statement of Sept 2005…

…and it was continually re-stated, over and over again for several months…

………………………………………………………………………………………………


A flu pandemic could happen at any time and kill between 5–150 million people, a UN health official has warned. David Nabarro, who is charged with co-ordinating responses to bird flu, said a mutation of the virus affecting Asia could trigger new outbreaks.

"It's like a combination of global warming and HIV/Aids 10 times faster than it's running at the moment," Dr Nabarro told the BBC.

But the World Health Organisation has distanced itself from the figure.

The WHO spokesman on influenza, Dick Thompson, told a news conference in Geneva that the WHO's official estimate of the number of people who could die was between two million and 7.4 million.

"There is obvious confusion, and I think that has to be straightened out. I don't think you will hear Dr Nabarro say the same sort of thing again," Mr Thompson said.

Bird flu has swept through poultry and wild birds in Asia since 2003. It has killed huge numbers of birds and led to more than 60 human deaths.

Prepared for worst

"The range of deaths could be anything between 5m and 150m," the UN's new co-ordinator for avian and human influenza said in his BBC interview.

Dr Nabarro said he stood by the figure drawn from the work of epidemiologists around the world.

"My reason for giving the higher figure is simply that I want to be sure that when this next flu pandemic does come along, that we are prepared for the worst as well as for the mildest," he said.

In an earlier interview with the BBC, he said the likelihood that the Asian virus could mutate and jump to humans was high.

"The consequences in terms of human life when the pandemic does start are going to be extraordinary and very damaging," he said.

Because it has moved to wild migratory birds there is a possibility "that the first outbreak could happen even in Africa or in the Middle East", he warned.

The comments came as agriculture ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) endorsed a three-year plan to combat the spread of the virus, and pledged $2m to fund research and training.

Dr Nabarro said the number of deaths from any future influenza pandemic would depend on where it started, how quickly it was discovered and the kind of response they got from governments. "I believe that the work we're doing over the next few months will make the difference between, for example, whether the next pandemic leads us in the direction of 150 or in the direction of five."

The appointment of Dr Nabarro is an indication of how seriously the UN is taking the threat, the BBC's UN correspondent Suzannah Price says.

In his new role, he is meant to ensure the UN has a co-ordinated response to bird flu and that it helps global efforts to prepare for any human flu pandemic, our correspondent says.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4292426.stm

Published: 2005/09/30 15:21:25 GMT
© BBC MMVI


Okay...I get it now… Doctor Nabarro was just confused?


Is this still the official position of the World Health Organization…no official retraction has ever been forthcoming?

…………………………………………………………………………………………..


The Long Answer

Preamble

First, I need to get a few things out of the way:

I was a mixed animal veterinarian (pets and farm animals) for two years and a farm animal veterinarian for approx. 15 years. I also received an additional accreditation as a Federal Regulatory Veterinarian that allowed me to work on behalf of Agriculture Canada-Animal Health Division in respect to reportable diseases and in certifying and preparing cattle for export to many countries around the world…

…Although I was working under the direct authority of the regulatory agency, the work was paid for by the exporter…so I guess that would make me a subcontractor or 'deputy' of sorts

Secondly, I have thought long and hard about the ethical considerations pertaining to…discussing the internal affairs of Canada in this way…as there is certainly no one prouder of their country than I am of mine.

However, in the end, I reasoned it this way…I went to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) with what I thought was an important food quality issue with long-term implications for Public Health. They not only refused to take any corrective action… more importantly, they refused to test the product to see if they might need to take corrective action at some point in the future.

As a result, a small but determined group of researchers paid for independent testing in a qualified laboratory and presented the very disturbing results to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency…they again repeatedly, categorically refused to test or take regulatory actions required under the Food and Drug Act, Canada's current legislation on the issue.

I tried to get front line officers to act…then I went to their supervisors…then to several presidents of the CFIA and then too several governments of Canada and four Ministers of Agriculture responsible for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Only after I exhausted every possible avenue to have the situation dealt with internally, I went to television-radio and print media in an attempt to disclose the facts to the public…

…Not one representative of the media f<script></script>elt that the topic deserved attention…or in at least one case, the reporter was over-ruled by an editor…

…I guess, much like pandemic influenza and hurricanes and tsunamis etc. etc. etc…. I and we were and are…just a little ahead of our time.


Being Nice Is Just Not Good Enough

A third issue I would like to discuss proactively is whether it is okay for members of regulatory agencies to remain silent. This is another issue I struggled with for a long time because I have colleagues and friends in these agencies…and let's throw in Friendly Governments as well…

…and we should remember that effective disciplinary actions can always be taken quietly but effectively, in a professional manner, behind the scenes...without the details ever having to become public.

So here, for what it's worth, is how I divide the moral issues inherent in whistle blowing…

…I don't expect that a secretary, without specific scientific training, should be ethically required to blow the whistle on colleagues with specific scientific training, authority and
responsibility…although some do.

Secondly, we can't expect someone with specific training and responsibility to act when they couldn't have known that corrective action was required in the first place…even if they knew there was an overall malaise and competence issue with the relevant agency…as was the case with both the CFIA and particularly Health Canada (HC) that has had an absolutely abysmal track record.

However, and it is a big however, if a scientist, knows of regulatory inconsistencies that have overriding consequences for public health, then I believe he or she has a professional-ethical obligation to act in a determined and decisive way…until the issue/s are dealt with…one way or another.

During the Second World War, was it okay to be nice and not say anything about the treatment of the Jews even with full knowledge…are we 'complicit' by our silence or just nice guys who didn't want to 'rock the boat'?

…In my opinion, nice doesn't cut it…Regulatory Medicine, by definition, is not nice…nice is a convenient excuse for stasis or inaction.

…as scientists, a profession I couldn't be more proud to be a member of… each of us has an obligation, a moral imperative to tell the scientific truth, the whole scientific truth and nothing but the scientific truth…even when it hurts…something that seems to have been lost in the past fifteen years.

…and if responsible authorities, with the power to make a difference, don't get the message despite repeated efforts then we all have an obligation to become 'reluctant' whistle blowers…as uncomfortable as that is…and I don't think it would be anyone's first choice as a hobby.

There were many opportunities in the 1930's for relatively small efforts to head off the oncoming catastrophe…and history will show that there were many opportunities to head off an imminent catastrophic pandemic, as well.

So for me the bottom line is that I no longer have sympathy for nice responsible authorities in these agencies and governments....because they didn't act…they can pick the 'nice' reason why for the inquiry…

…Therefore, at the end of the day, I believe that I have earned the right to discuss this situation with my colleagues on this forum, who I have learned to trust implicitly over the past two years.



What About the Competency of USA Regulators?


I strongly believe that I only have the right to comment on regulatory agencies that I support with my taxes…so that would be Health Canada, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada…as well as the United Nations and its subordinate…The World Health Organization.

One exception would be where there is a recorded-certified history of regulatory action/inaction as is the case in Britain, as you will see below.

I should not and will not comment on the CDC and the FDA and the USDA other than to say that once in the distant past (1982) the CDC helped save my life.

In addition, we should all remember that when I started my investigation, the produce was arriving in Seattle from China by ship transport, off-loaded and trucked across the USA to Pennsylvania and then shipped across the border into Canada…

…By the time my investigation was complete, several years later, the situation had reversed itself and I believe approx. 600,000 lbs per month was being off-loaded in the port of Vancouver British Columbia, Canada… being trucked across Canada and then exported to the United States…

…and as we have seen recently with the tainted wheat germ, corn gluten etc affair, products were going both ways across the US-Canadian border at the same time…which brings me to my next subject…globalization.


Globalization and Health Regulation.

In the early 1980's, world authorities began the process of globalization on the basis of the economy alone…I assume that their impression was that with globalization, Western countries could better exploit the Third World including China…and they were right...in the short term at least.

However, Food Regulation was not globalized until the late 1990's…

…When I worked for Agriculture Canada-Animal Health Division, I worked with a bunch of 'junk-yard' dogs. How mean were they? Well, I was certainly afraid of them…

…and it wasn't just the animal division but also the plant division as well…I heard many stories of Inspectors at the Toronto Food Terminal rejecting whole truckloads of produce because there wasn't the proper number of ventilation holes in the plastic film used to cover the packaging…and also deliveries of produce were routinely rejected because packages did not weight exactly what they were supposed to…

…They operated by the one strike rule…we catch you…and you are out…literally!!

In 1997, the Government of Canada decided to form the Canadian Food Inspection Agency…with a mixed mandate…

…in an attempt to globalize food inspection to the benefit of…I'm not quite sure really...

…certainly not Canadian Children or Canadian farmers.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency became responsible for both, Food Inspection and Food Promotion….and the food promotion side of the mandate became the 'perfect' excuse for inaction on the food inspection side…they couldn't do anything to hurt business interests and seemingly most importantly, the interest of food importers…whether meat or produce or inputs to processed foods, like wheat germ and corn gluten etc.

Before, 1997, sovereign countries were more or less self-sufficient in essentials, foods, syringes, needles, masks, healthcare equipment and pharmaceuticals…

…It has been a slippery slope since then… today, we are dependent on other countries for a wide variety of essentials including food and pharmaceuticals…all in the interest of corporate profit due to lower production costs…including paying 'slave' labour wage rates…

…but don't get me wrong…I am all for profit, just not profit that puts the life of my family and friends and country and worldwide colleagues and their families and friends at risk as well…which in my opinion, is exactly what has happened.


So…What does Globalization of Food Inspection and Regulation Look Like?

…here are a few quotes from my Summary Report in Dec 2004…my investigation began in Sept. 1998…


… Therefore, the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) had one domestic farm, one American farm and 90% of the Chinese mushrooms consistently testing positive over two years of testing. In response the CFIA with the direct involvement of HC (Health Canada) , stopped the investigation in midstream, bought the 'natural sulphites' argument and increased the allowable level of sulphites from 10 ppm to 50 ppm in direct contravention of the Food and Drug Act, and despite the fact that the Chinese test results dropped to negative post recall. The CFIA then informed the importer, consultants, and the Chinese Government of the exact enforcement level to avoid, took no action on the illegal labelling (also in contravention of the Food and Drug Act), and did not test one mushroom for the rest of 2001, all of 2002 and 2003.

Note: The illegal labeling issue mentioned above was the importing of Chinese Mushrooms…then relabeled and sold as …'Fresh Product of Canada'.


Conclusions – Health Canada – Health Risk Assessment- Formaldehyde


"While formaldehyde levels will increase in mushrooms once they are harvested due to the enzymatic degradation of lentinic acid, it appears that this should not necessarily result in excessive levels in shiitake mushrooms that are imported from overseas." Page 8

"It is impossible to differentiate between exogenous and endogenous formaldehyde. The presence of elevated levels of formaldehyde (in the concentration ranges found in CFIA samples) is not sufficient proof that mushroom samples have been treated with exogenous formaldehyde." Page 7


" There have been no known incidents related to acute exposures and no reported human health effects from consuming naturally present formaldehyde in shiitake mushrooms over long periods of time." Page 7

"Rather than a guideline level, it is suggested that attention be given to practises of mushroom growers or importers if exogenous application of formaldehyde is considered a real concern." Page 7

"For example, a certificate from the mushroom house grower or the importer could be required to ensure that no exogenous formaldehyde has been applied to the mushrooms." Page 7

"In addition, there are a large number of food commodities in which formaldehyde has been detected. If a guideline level for shiitake mushrooms were set based on the maximum natural level of formaldehyde that could be expected, would that require that similar guidelines be established for other foods containing formaldehyde?" page 8

"In short, it does not appear possible to provide a firm upper limit or "guidance level" for formaldehyde beyond which authorities could defensibly assert, based on an analytical result alone, that there was an illegal application (whether intentional or accidental) of formaldehyde to shiitake mushrooms. Rather, the knowledge that raw fresh shiitake mushrooms tend to contain below 80 ppm formaldehyde may allow the CFIA to flag mushroom growing houses, or exporters etc. whose practises may require scrutiny." Page 4 Appendix E



Analysis of Health Canada Conclusions


The HRA assessment in effect legalizes the use of formaldehyde (embalming fluid) as a food preservative in Canada, on any food product that has natural intracellular formaldehyde. All natural food products contain natural formaldehyde.

Natural formaldehyde is biologically bound and is not released during the cooking process and is not absorbed in the digestive system. Extraneous formaldehyde is not removed during the cooking process and is readily absorbed in the mouth and throughout the digestive tract or inhaled through the respiratory tract.

Health Risk Analyses do not consider total daily consumption of toxins from all available sources in determining health risk. There have been no identified acute diseases (less than one in one hundred food related illnesses are identified) because persons get cancer twenty years later when trace back to specific foods is impossible, making it easier and convenient for agencies to make such claims.

In the case of sulphites, Health Canada simply legalized the highest test result. In the case of formaldehyde, Health Canada simply legalized the highest test result; a very effective way to ensure that no future effort would have to be expended with respect to either toxin (no further testing in 2001,2002 and 2003). How many other dangerous food additives (ex. Acrylamide, PCB's, Dioxins etc) have received similar attention?


Here is one other comment from the report:

Pretty soon, questionable food in terms of quality, not allowed in other countries, ends up in Canadian Grocery Stores. Similarly, when wholesalers at the small food terminal in Toronto do not lay eyes on an inspector for several months at a time, despite the fact that there is a large CFIA office on premises, rules start being bent and broken.


What started as a small, inconsequential issue to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in Sept 1998 has ballooned to have far reaching implications today…

… and a culture of widespread malaise in Governments and Regulators to deal with such issues, I believe has led directly to the non-response to an H5N1 pandemic that we are collectively dealing presently.

In the end, I guess it doesn't really matter how we got here…we are here and at some point, we will have to deal the consequences.


Achilles' Heel – 'Future Trap'

Every aggressive war in history and every aggressive civilization in history have failed for the same basic reason…over-stretched supply lines…whether it was Hitler and Napoleon in Russia or the Roman Empire into the Middle East and Northern Europe.

In 1980, the world created globalization…in 1997, the world created an unintentional 'Future Trap', unseen by the economists of the time who had accurately predicted increased short-term relative profit without seeing the wider problem (tunnel vision - a common affliction).

We have consolidated and merged to the point where our supply lines are both stretched around the world and as a result of mergers (corporate mergers…also a function of globalization), we have very few sources left of many essentials including pharmaceuticals and food supplies…

…Most of our inherent domestic supply (redundancy) was sacrificed in the intervening time period so that we now would have a long lag period restarting much of this industry and especially, food and pharmaceutical supplies…if indeed they could even be re-started…both absolute essentials in a pandemic.

Rather than 'admit to our collective folly' and take immediate remedial measures…

…the Good Ship Lollipop, named 'Globalization' is in full flight…headed directly for a Shoal called H5N1…while all of the captains on deck are pronouncing 'full steam ahead'…and the unsuspecting sailors below decks, shovel coal as fast as they can for fear of being 'down-sized'.

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So the question I think was…why regulators do and governments do what they do…when it doesn't appear to make any sense?

Well, you might say… because authorities are 'entitled to their entitlements' or you might say that it is a recent but now 'entrenched mindset'…

…I may not be able to explain it fully but I can list some of the shocking (to me) discoveries, I made during the nine year investigation…especially since this type of behaviour appeared to started in 1997.


1) Governments are the tail…not the dog.

Politicians, contrary to popular belief, are 'the tail that wags the dog' rather than the other way around…

…If we decide that we don't like what our elected representatives then we have an opportunity to replace them every four years or so…

…On the other hand, Regulators are a law unto themselves… they are at 'arm's length' from Government….which means we don't vote them in and we can't replace them...they are untouchable.

…All of the power lies at the feet of the Public Service and they actually run the country, not the Government.

Government wants its citizens to believe it is in full control and certainly doesn't want to admit that it has no real control over its own regulatory agencies…so they become apologists every time their agencies screw up…beginning in the present era, with the Tainted Blood Scandal in the early 1980's.

When no individuals were found responsible either financially, legally or professionally for the thousands or hundreds of thousands who died, a clear message was sent…Regulators could act with impunity…

…and then to make matters even worse, Governments entrenched the 'immunity' in legislation.

Therefore, Government really is much like the 'Wizard of Oz'…in control, only as long as the illusion is in place and the curtain is pulled.…

…The World Health Organization even went one better…they have a form of 'diplomatic' immunity...

…I don't know about the USA and other countries except to say…I should give credit where credit is due…Europe was the only place where supervisors were found responsible for the Tainted Blood Scandal.


And at this point I might as well throw in the Mad Cow-BSE scandal as well…

…The fact is in my business…'shit happens'…it goes with the territory…and I guess you can't necessarily fault the British Government for starting to feed animal by-products back to animals during the Second World War because grain feeds were not available…despite the fact they had Scrapie in sheep and quite a bit was known about the transmissibility of Kuru…and maybe we can't find them at fault for allowing the renderers to drop their vat temperatures used in the preparation of the blood-bone meal in the late 1970's…

…But what I can fault them for is their actions after it was discovered that Mad Cow was transmissible…and instead of taking prompt action, they prevaricated and said that humans could not catch it and it was not transmissible.

The final insult was that while they banned the bone-blood meal from sale to British farmers, they did not care to ban the export of the contaminated product to other countries…and also to gardeners where contaminated bone meal is still being used, in my opinion…

…they have also said the risk is over when clearly, they have no idea what will happen to young children who will carry Mad Cow 'Prions' (the infectious agent) for a lifetime. I have very little doubt that we have not heard the end of this story…brain infections like childhood Polio have a bad habit of coming back to haunt us…unfortunately..

Note: For those who may be interested…a complete explanation is in the text…Deadly Feasts-The Prion Controversy and the Publics Health, by Richard Rhodes, Touchstone 1998.

As now, there was no accountability…Governments just wanted the problem to go away and excused all of the agencies actions.

In Britain, of course, this was quickly followed up with another completely preventable catastrophe, the Foot and Mouth outbreak of the late 1990's…and of course, again with no corrective action or censure of the regulatory agencies involved.

…and finally… we, in Canada, had our own 9 billion dollar catastrophe for farmers…the totally preventable Mad Cow Outbreak where you guessed it…no one was found responsible for the automatic import permits that led to the feeding of banned British blood-bone meal…

…That's right, since 1997 any food product, plant or animal could be imported to Canada on automatic permits with no oversight of any kind.

As we have seen with wheat gluten…tainted products at bargain basement prices always find a home…they follow the 'line of least resistance'…and 'automatic' import permits are the line of least resistance.

Given the historical record from 1980, it is not hard to see how and why regulatory agencies have became fat, bloated and complacent…all of this happening in a short, twenty-year time frame.

2) Confused Mandates…promotion and regulation in the same mandate

…a recent development as a direct result of globalization…the fear being that…each regulatory action causes an equal and opposite regulatory reaction against your country…this makes business upset with you…and we wouldn't want that…would we?

3) The status quo is comfortable…any variance away from the status quo creates unknowns…which are inconvenient.

4) Lazy…no accountability…no consequences…act with impunity-because they can.

5) Direct Regulatory action will only be taken if there is an airtight legal base from which to do so…there is no such thing as an airtight legal case in Health-Food Regulation.

…when it comes to food or feed adulteration, it can always be claimed that the adulteration occurred downwind so to speak… somewhere else in the many middleman who sell and re-sell the product before it reaches the end consumer …

…Therefore as the record clearly demonstrates, no real enforcement ever occurs…

…except of course, against small companies or individual farmers who do not have the messy complication of a lawyer.

This gives the regulators that always needed convenient example to pull out every once in a while.

Because imported food arrives at ports…where only 3 of 100 containers are even visually inspected…and transport networks are such that adulterated-contaminated products will be disseminated across all of North America in less than a week… today means that our Food Regulatory System is not an accident waiting to happen…it is a catastrophe waiting to happen…and if you fully understand food poisoning…this is no exaggeration.

6) He who pays the piper…picks the tune.

I guess we might say this next issue was an unintended consequence of 'User Pay' Theory developed as a part of de-regulation in the 1980's and 90's…

And I should make clear right now that I don't blame corporations like the Agri-Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Processed Food companies for their actions…Corporations by definition are out for one thing and one thing only…profit of their shareholders…it's really quite simple…they are not benevolent benefactors…they never were.

As a part of deregulation and globalization, two words that corporations love…Governments instituted a 'user pay' system for regulatory reviews and inspections etc.

In the end, companies skilfully turned this into an opportunity to buy favour within the agencies…and that is exactly what they did…'Whoever Pays the Piper, Picks the Tune'.

Divisions within regulatory agencies became profit centers that were run like…your guessed it…corporations…

….Regulatory Agency wages weren't paid by the taxpayer and it wasn't long until they started looking after those who did pay their wages…corporations…that's just the way it goes.

7) The Gravy Train

And of course, there is one last 'piece of the puzzle' to explain why things happen the way they do…retired senior supervisors-presidents etc. of these agencies are a hot commodity once they retire…they are scooped up by multinational companies and can demand big prices…

…for one reason really…to lobby their former employees…the ones they hired and promoted in the past…

…and if you are one of those employees and you …'nudge' 'nudge' 'wink' 'wink'…look after your former supervisor now working for agribusiness or pharmaceutical companies etc…then maybe you will get the golden handshake, and get hired when you retire…and so on…and so on.

There are also other issues like whether World Health Organization officials have stocks in antiviral or vaccine companies…in other words…trading on inside information…

…or are regulators allowed to have ownership in private companies that then do business with the regulatory agency etc. etc.

…and spouses of regulators who might find themselves working for…wait for it…corporations that do business with your sector of the agency.

Etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

…and even more important, are Regulators required to disclose such facts proactively…and the answer is of course…no…nudge nudge wink wink!!


I am all for free enterprise and corporation profit…that is what has made our democracies great…but Governments have always been the 'sober second thought'…the brakes used to control the corporation train that is always trying to run out of control.

For those who would say…Tom you are wrong…corporations are responsible, I would suggest a reading of the definition and origins of corporation…

…or better yet, there is a video documentary called 'The Corporation' that describes things pretty well.


8) The Cone of Silence… the "New Normal"

The following was the introduction to my summary report in Dec 2004.:

During preparations to conclude my investigation into the performance of Health Canada and the CFIA, I made an access to information request with respect to actions taken in 2004. This request was in part to asses the response to my meeting with the CFIA in January and in light of the fact that no mushrooms were sampled in 2002 or 2003.

As a scientist first and foremost, I find the CFIA response particularly disappointing. As I said in my previous communication, 1 in 40 children born today will develop life-threatening food allergies during their lifetimes. The largest component is due to sulphites, the most common cause of food allergies. I include the response as an addendum to this communication. I have long since concluded that responsible parties, including the present Government, do not have the will to act in this matter. However, response and analysis is required and is being submitted to you. Once again, it is unfortunate that steps could not be taken now to prevent inevitable suffering down the road.

I don't have the ability to put the response to my last access to information request in this document but basically, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has become Canada's new secret service…they came up with an 'innovative' way to avoid for example…access to information requests.

They no longer left a 'paper trail' of any kind…no emails, no minutes of meetings or teleconferences…no print…like the 'Mob' they were doing everything orally…

… It is unbeatable strategy…actually, an unbeatable strategy in the short term…and that is the point…because with this behaviour in the end…the inevitable result, like with the Tainted Blood Scandal, will be an inquiry…and also like the Tainted Blood Scandal, unfortunately only after a lot of needless suffering.

…and I am not the only person-professional in Canada who has noticed this 'new strategy'.



Conclusion:

In conclusion, you will meet very nice people in these agencies…in fact they will act like your best friend…When the public focus for whatever reason is turned onto a regulatory issue…the Regulators will jump through hoops to make it look like they are on top of things…

…the goal, it seems, is to make it look good until the public eye moves onto other issues…and then the pressure is off and its back to the old routine.

Farmers in Canada lost nine billion dollars as a result of the BSE-Mad Cow fiasco of 2003…and are still losing money today…four years later…I don't think I could describe adequately the suffering that this has caused…and remember, it is these exact farmers that in the end, you will depend on for food during a pandemic when the other sources dry up…it is a good thing that farmers are a 'compassionate' and 'civil' bunch…even when they have been treated unfairly.

… The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada did a lot of running around tracing the offspring of infected cows etc…but what they just happened to forget to disclose…is that they knew the permits had not been controlled…in fact, I heard that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was very worried about this in 2001…and I was told two years before the inevitable happened…just like H5N1 is inevitable at this point but no one is disclosing the fact

. ..They knew that the door was open for a decade for tainted animal by-products…and not only hid the fact but did not and have not closed the door since…

…and not once did they suggest that gardeners might not want to use bone meal as it too might be tainted and inhalation could cause the disease.


At the end of the day…like in all other times…this is an era…and being an era…it won't last.

We are at an interface…we have made some real blunders in the name of globalization…and unfortunately, we have now wandered into what could have been managed…but because of our mergers, and just in time supply systems and long supply chains with no redundancy…we have created the probability of a 'civilization breaker' if not a 'civilization buster'…

…I have great faith in our 'collective intelligence' and I hope we can now, at least in part, turn the Titanic in time to make a difference...only time will tell.

TomDVM