I hate to get involved in this again, but Sukie just brought up a good
point that needs to be elaborated on.

So, in the same spirit, some facts should be pointed out. I'm not
pointing fingers at anyone. (Unless you're guilty. ;> )

>2. A certain few raw feeding people have been repeatedly demanding
>more and more references and vet statements and these have been
>supplied. Those same people have not themselves supplied any expert
>references recently if memory serves correctly. In fact, until Amy's
>link pointing to a study yesterday, I think the only one mentioning
>raw food who has ever supplied references is Shirley,

Though this is the ideal, and having been raised in the sciences, is of
course, the most reliable way to go, I can also tell you that you won't
find many studies on raw feeding because it does not profit the mass
food manufacturers to do these studies.

Sadly, it is a simple matter of money and interest. The *exact* same
situation exists in the pharmacetuical industry in the USA. The FDA
specifically has a "law" or "article" if you will stating right off the
bat that no company can derive any profit from a natural substance -
herbs, etc. The only groups of people with enough money to fund
research are the pharmaceutical companies. Hence, since there is no
profit for them to investigate natural medicines/sources, they're not
going to waste their money on it. This situation has existed for years
and over that time, many doctors have complained about it, most
recently regarding menopause:

Menopause Therapy Sparks Controversy NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2006 (CBS)

On the other hand, the effectiveness of many herbal remedies backed by
scientific studies exist in many other countries, especially in China
and Japan, where such studies are not blocked but encouraged as a
resource for the general welfare.

So my point is, you can request "proof" all you want. It's perfectly
reasonable to do so, but before you deride others for not having that
proof, temper those comments and feelings with the understanding that
you're not going to find any hard studies, and also consider the
reason why you're not going to find them.

Right now, For English speaking countries, the best we have to go on
is large body of long-term anedotal evidence from other countries,
specifically Europe. Many scientific studies are borne from such
humble roots. Please let us respect that.

And that's it for me too.

Dooks,
MD


  ----------------------------------------------------------
  Go FUZZ!
  http://nippynihon.blogspot.com/
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Mahatma Gandhi: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can
be judged by the way its animals are treated."

[Posted in FML 5429]