04/05/07 Pet Food Scare & Turkey`s Destroyed

During a routine inspection of a West Virginia flock of turkeys a strain of low path bird flu was discovered. According to Sherrie Rosenblatt with the National Turkey Federation says there is no need for concern. ROSENBLATT: It was contained, eradicated working with the government and it really was a good indication that we have all of our safeguards in place to make sure that these things are found and eradicated as soon as possible. That flock was nearly 25-thousand birds so how might that affect turkey prices at the store. ROSENBLATT: It should have nothing to do with turkey prices at all. This was not the strain that you've hear about in other countries. This was a low path strain. As the pet food scare continues to make pet owners nervous about feeding their animals canned food from the shelf, many are turning to making their own pet foods. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Certified Chiropractor, Dr. Charles Coleman says there are some concerns about preparing foods yourself. COLEMAN: If the commercial products are not trustworthy then they're going to turn to doing it themselves. Of course then the situation with that is they need to do it right for the health of the pet. Dr. Coleman adds that there is not a problem with feeding table foods as long as: COLEMAN: It's okay to feed from the table if you feed good healthy foods to them and things that you know are not toxic. Leftovers from people are often times just that, they're leftover things we don't want to eat may not be nutritionally complete for them. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. Don't let them fool you, environmental groups are elitists, they are! In fact the past president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, Mark Van Patten practically admitted the same thing, although he didn't exactly use my words when he wrote in an essay that the environmental movement was "socially isolated". Do ya think? The major green groups in the United States, of which the National Wildlife Foundation boasts the largest membership, are predominantly white upper class and target those demographics. How many Sierra Club mailings address minorities? Where are the "Do Not litter commercials" in Spanish? Non-existent! We will pay dearly for this oversight especially in the here in our pristine Northwest where the majority of the Hispanic immigrant population arrives from several regions in Mexico that are culturally isolated from environmental issues. Who will teach care and concern for our wild lands and wildlife when our most influential environmental groups are dropping the ball because their focus is more on wooing rich donors. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.