Every little group or organization relies on a secretary or someone volunteers or is appointed at the beginning of a meeting to take notes.
During my many years of being involved in organizations, I have had the pleasure of being supported by some note takers that were much more than secretaries. They could have been a CEO and ran the entire meeting because they were very organized and took very precise notes of what happened, who was there and important items that should be discussed many times over.
Many of our farmers have kept notes of . . .
dates when animals were born, who their mother and father was, when they received their vaccinations and with what, the amount of milk each cow gave each day, the variety of seed planted on what day in which field, each day that it rained or froze, dates of harvest and quantity harvested, even which weeds grew in which field. The price received for animals sold was always recorded.
Tuberculosis was one of the first dreaded diseases in the world and Brucellosis detected in animals was suspected. It was suspected of being transferred to humans through the milk. For many years after WWII our dairy herd was blood tested every year for TB and vaccinated for Brucellosis. Although some cattle in north America tested positive for TB, our farm never had a cow test positive. Every cow that received a vaccination for Brucellosis also was tagged with a permanent metal ear tag, and the number on the tag was permanently recorded by Ag-Canada, on the cow’s pedigree paper and in the herd book.
By the mid1950s, all tests and vaccinations ceased in Canada because no more positive tests were found in Canada. Milk pasteurization was introduced in the 1940s and pasteurization killed all bacteria so these dreaded diseases were not transmitted to people or pets. All milk is tested for bacteria before entering the bottling plant. Fermenting also kills bacteria so even unpasteurized cheese is safe.
Our health industry has also gone through some very notable changes since grandpa’s day. Our little town used to have only one drugstore for over the counter drugs, and even animal remedies. All the medications were distributed directly by one of the two doctors in town. So, what’s happened and who’s taking notes?
Tobacco has been under surveillance for many years and has been linked to cancer. Heavy taxes put on tobacco products and a large campaign to reduce tobacco use has greatly reduced deaths related to lung and throat cancer. So, what about the cancer and other diseases of the digestive tract? Who’s been keeping notes on frequency and severity of these deadly diseases?
What about the increased use of chemicals used in our food industry? Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and bactericides are all supposed to be tested and approved prior to being released for use. Some of these chemicals use chelation of specific elements to deprive certain plants of life. Some of these elements that are tied up are necessary for animal and human health. The people that apply these chemicals are also trained and licensed. Not all countries agree that all these chemicals should be used. Residues from some of these chemicals can be found in foods that we eat. The parts per billion residue of these chemicals remaining in our food is not the same in all countries.
Residues of some of these chemicals can be found in soils, ground water, ponds and rivers. The amounts of residue and the number of years that they remain is not consistent from country to country. Who’s taking notes? Are the notes taken by totally independent bodies or by people who have links to the companies that make profits from the sale of these same chemicals in question?
It’s a fast-moving world that we live in now. It’s many years since we lined up daily at school to get our cod liver oil capsule. Grandma used to serve fried liver every week to give us iron. She used to serve fish every week to supply iodine. We take for granted that all food for sale, whether it’s from a farm that you know or made in a factory is safe. Who’s taking notes?
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
gladcrest@gmail.com
