Calves Saved From Slaughter!

Click on picture to enlarge

Kamdhenu arrives

Kamdhenu (top photo) is setting foot on ISCOWP property for the first time. She is one of two calves saved from slaughter and brought by Hoy and Lillie Robinson to live a protected life at ISCOWP’s farm.

Click on picture to enlarge

New hay barn

Hay is Under Roof! Campaign a Success! Thank You!

The campaign started in 2002 has been a success with the completion of the hay storage building.

Electricity generated by cow manure and bullock (ox) power, a school bus driven by bullock power, and Panchakavya show some of the many ways these generous animals are useful and integrate within human society. Their offerings are an argument against their slaughter.

Inside This Issue

Letters: Inflaming Red Meat, Meat Flavors, Why Vegans were Right, Urine of Cow a Sure Cure

ISCOWP Update

Panchakavya, A Manual

The Story of "Pretty Girl" and "Little Girl"

Cows-A Mother’s Love-Part I

Bullock Electricity

Cow Power

Bull Powered School Bus

Letters

Inflaming Red Meat

Meat Flavors

Why Vegans were Right All Along

Urine of Cow is a Sure Cure for Most of the Diseases

From: Mark Middle Mountain, Madhava Gosh<gourdmad@ovnet.com>

To: Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow@pamho.net>

Date: 10/1/2003 1:20:02 AM

Subject: inflaming red meat

9/30/2003 -- A non-human, cellular molecule is absorbed into human tissues as a result of eating red meat and milk products, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, published online the week of September 29, 2003 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers also showed that the same foreign molecule generates an immune response that could potentially lead to inflammation in human tissues.

Several previous studies have linked ingestion of red meat to cancer and heart disease, and possibly to some disorders involving inflammation. However, that research has primarily focused on the role of red-meat saturated fats and on products that arise from cooking. The UCSD study is the first to investigate human dietary absorption of a cell-surface molecular sugar called N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), which is found in non-human mammals. Not produced in humans, Neu5Gc occurs naturally in lamb, pork and beef, the so-called "red meats". Levels are very low or undetectable in fruits, vegetables, hen's eggs, poultry and fish.

Conducting laboratory studies with human tissue, followed by tests in three adult subjects, the UCSD team provided the first proof that people who ingest Neu5Gc absorb some of it into their tissues. In addition, they demonstrated that many humans generate an immune response against the molecule, which the body sees as a foreign invader.

The study's senior author, Ajit Varki, M.D., UCSD professor of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine, and co-director of the UCSD Glycobiology Research and Training Center, said that although it is unlikely that the ingestion of Neu5Gc alone would be primarily responsible for any specific disease, "it is conceivable that gradual Neu5Gc incorporation into the cells of the body over a lifetime, with subsequent binding of the circulating antibodies against Neu5Gc (the immune response), could contribute to the inflammatory processes involved in various diseases."

He added that another potential medical barrier related to Neu5Gc might occur in organ transplantation.

"Over the past decade, the number of patients waiting for organ transplantation has more than tripled, with little increase in the number of donor organs. This has led to an exploration of using animal organs for transplantation into humans, a process called xenotransplantation," Varki said. "However, the leading donor candidate is the pig, an animal in which Neu5Gc happens to be very common. The current study raises the possibility that human antibodies against Neu5Gc might recognize the Neu5Gc in the pig organ and facilitate its rejection."

In describing the research approach taken by his team, Varki explained that humans do not produce Neu5Gc because they lack the gene responsible for its production. And yet, other researchers have reported small amounts of Neu5Gc in human cancer tissues.

To verify the existence of Neu5Gc in human cancers, Varki's collaborator, Elaine Muchmore, M.D., UCSD professor of medicine and associate chief of staff for education at the San Diego VA Health Care System, developed an

antibody that would be attracted by, and bind to Neu5Gc on tissue samples. The antibody was purified by Pam Tangvoranuntakul, B.S., the study's first author and a Ph.D. student in Varki's lab.

Working with Nissi Varki, M.D., UCSD professor of pathology and medicine, Tangvoranuntakul found that the antibody stained not only human cancers, but also some healthy human tissues. They found that small amounts of Neu5Gc were present in blood vessels and secretory cells, such as the mucous membranes. A further chemical analysis by Sandra Diaz, a Varki research associate, confirmed the presence of Neu5Gc in human tissue.

Meanwhile, an analysis of healthy human tissue by postdoctoral fellow Pascal Gagneux, Ph.D., and Tangvoranuntakul determined that most people had circulating antibodies in the blood that recognized Neu5Gc, and thus could potentially initiate an inflammatory immune response.

In the absence of any known molecular mechanism that would produce Neu5Gc in humans, the group reasoned that the small amounts of Neu5Gc found in human tissue could arise from human ingestion of Neu5Gc in dietary sources. Postdoctoral fellow Muriel Bardor, Ph.D., showed that when human cells in culture were exposed to Neu5Gc, they easily absorbed and incorporated it onto their own surfaces.

However, to study the possibility of dietary absorption, it was necessary to carry out an ingestion study in healthy people. Because the researchers were hesitant to give a potentially harmful substance to humans, Ajit Varki volunteered to be the first subject, followed by Muchmore and Gagneux.

When the three volunteers drank Neu5Gc purified from pork sources and dissolved in water, there were no immediate ill effects. An analysis of the volunteers' urine, blood, serum (the clear liquid that can be separated from

clotted blood), hair and saliva, both before ingestion and regularly for several days after, determined that the human body eliminates most of the Neu5Gc, but retains and metabolically absorbs small amounts of the foreign sugar. At approximately two days following ingestion, the Neu5Gc levels were two to three times the baseline level prior to ingestion. By four to eight days following ingestion, the levels had dropped nearly to baseline.

The authors cautioned that a causal relationship between Neu5Gc expression in human tissues with any human disease would be premature and scientifically speculative at best. Instead, they said their findings point to the need for population-level analyses of the presence of Neu5Gc in human tissues in relationship to disease incidence, and the mechanisms of human incorporation and antibody response against this sugar.

The study was supported by grants to Varki from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation. Some human studies were done in the UCSD General Clinical Research Center, which is also supported by the NIH.

Source: University of California, San Diego

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Did you know if a product has 'flavors' listed on the label that may include meat?

If not, read on:

your servant,

Krishna-kripa das

>Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 13:28:19 -0800 (PST)

>From: Supriya Kelkar <skelkar80@yahoo.com>

>Reply-To: skelkar@umich.edu

>Subject: meat in flavors

>To: bvi@afn.org

>To whom it may concern:

>I'm writing to inform you about a salient but well-hidden health issue that I think ISKCON would find very informative. I came across the subject when I was eating a store-bought item that had a very "meaty" taste to it. A strict vegetarian, I immediately checked the ingredients to make sure I hadn't made a mistake in my purchase. There was no meat listed under the ingredients, but there was a listing that I had always found very mysterious: "flavors."

>I called the company, and was told that there was meat in the product. I

asked why the meat wasn't listed in the ingredients. The company representative informed me that meat is often placed under the label "flavors," "natural flavors," or "artificial flavors," (an artificial flavor generally still has natural products in it, as only a certain percentage of it is artificial). I asked how this was possible. She told me that it was completely legal, and in checking with the FDA and other sources, it is. As long as the product being masked under "natural/artificial flavors" is not a common allergen, the company does not have to disclose that it is in the food item.

>I began to call other leading food companies only to find that a great majority of them including Lipton, Prego (which does not make a single vegetarian pasta sauce), and Campbell's (the parent company of Prego, itself making only two vegetarian soups out of its numerous lines of soup), have meat products under their "flavors." Most of the companies responded indifferently. They did not seem to find it a problem that they were misleading millions of American consumers on a daily basis as long as they followed FDA guidelines. Still others, like Kraft, replied that they do not even keep track of what's in their "flavors" because they change so often.

>As a representative of a socially conscious organization, I wanted to inform you of the issue, in hopes that you will be able to spread the word. Please feel free to contact me for responses from the companies and any other questions. Thank you for your time.

>Sincerely,

>Supriya Kelkar <skelkar@umich.edu>

(Text PAMHO:7481472) -----------------

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Why Vegans Were Right All Along

From: Nirguna <nirguna108@vsnl.com>

To: ANIMAL PEOPLE Kim Bartlett Publisher <anpeople@mail.whidbey.com>; ISCOWP (Balabhadra Dasa & Chaya Dasi - USA) <ISCOWP@pamho.net>; Purnima Toolsidass <animals@satyam.net.in>; Sharon Rahamim <SharonR@PETA.org>; SHIVDASANI <shivdasani1@vsnl.com>; <Jaljolly@aol.com>; <gopika81@hotmail.com>; Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow@pamho.net>

Subject: Why vegans were right all along

Date: Thursday, December 26, 2002 4:50 AM

Why vegans were right all along Famine can only be avoided if the rich give up meat, fish and dairy

George Monbiot

Tuesday December 24, 2002

The Guardian

The Christians stole the winter solstice from the pagans, and capitalism stole it from the Christians. But one feature of the celebrations has remained unchanged: the consumption of vast quantities of meat. The practice used to make sense. Livestock slaughtered in the autumn, before the grass ran out, would be about to decay, and fat-starved people would have to survive a further three months. Today we face the opposite problem: we spend the next three months trying to work it off.

Our seasonal excesses would be perfectly sustainable, if we weren't doing the same thing every other week of the year. But, because of the rich world's disproportionate purchasing power, many of us can feast every day. And this would also be fine, if we did not live in a finite world.

By comparison to most of the animals we eat, turkeys are relatively efficient converters: they produce about three times as much meat per pound of grain as feedlot cattle. But there are still plenty of reasons to feel uncomfortable about eating them. Most are reared in darkness, so tightly packed that they can scarcely move. Their beaks are removed with a hot knife to prevent them from hurting each other. As Christmas approaches, they become so heavy that their hips buckle. When you see the inside of a turkey broilerhouse, you begin to entertain grave doubts about European civilizations.

This is one of the reasons why many people have returned to eating red meat at Christmas. Beef cattle appear to be happier animals. But the improvement in animal welfare is offset by the loss in human welfare. The world produces enough food for its people and its livestock, though (largely because they are so poor) some 800 million are malnourished. But as the population rises, structural global famine will be avoided only if the rich start to eat less meat. The number of farm animals on earth has risen fivefold since 1950: humans are now outnumbered three to one. Livestock already consume half the world's grain, and their numbers are still growing almost exponentially.

This is why biotechnology - whose promoters claim that it will feed the world has been deployed to produce not food but feed: it allows farmers to switch from grains which keep people alive to the production of more lucrative crops for livestock. Within as little as 10 years, the world will be faced with a choice: arable farming either continues to feed the world's animals or it continues to feed the world's people. It cannot do both.

The impending crisis will be accelerated by the depletion of both phosphate fertilizer and the water used to grow crops. Every kilogram of beef we consume, according to research by the agronomists David Pimental and Robert Goodland, requires around 100,000 liters of water. Aquifers are beginning to run dry all over the world, largely because of abstraction by farmers.

Many of those who have begun to understand the finity of global grain production have responded by becoming vegetarians. But vegetarians who continue to consume milk and eggs scarcely reduce their impact on the ecosystem. The conversion efficiency of dairy and egg production is generally better than meat rearing, but even if everyone who now eats beef were to eat cheese instead, this would merely delay the global famine. As both dairy cattle and poultry are often fed with fishmeal (which means that no one can claim to eat cheese but not fish), it might, in one respect, even accelerate it. The shift would be accompanied too by a massive deterioration in animal welfare: with the possible exception of intensively reared broilers and pigs, battery chickens and dairy cows are the farm animals which appear to suffer most.

Click on picture to enlarge

We could eat pheasants, many of which are dumped in landfill after they've been shot, and whose price, at this time of the year, falls to around £2 a bird, but most people would feel uncomfortable about subsidizing the bloodlust of brandy-soaked hoorays. Eating pheasants, which are also fed on grain, is sustainable only up to the point at which demand meets supply. We can eat fish, but only if we are prepared to contribute to the collapse of marine ecosystems and - as the European fleet plunders the seas off West Africa - the starvation of some of the hungriest people on earth. It's impossible to avoid the conclusion that the only sustainable and socially just option is for the inhabitants of the rich world to become, like most of the earth's people, broadly vegan, eating meat only on special occasions like Christmas.

As a meat-eater, I've long found it convenient to categorize veganism as a response to animal suffering or a health fad. But, faced with these figures, it now seems plain that it's the only ethical response to what is arguably the world's most urgent social justice issue. We stuff ourselves, and the poor get stuffed.

www.monbiot.com

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Urine of Cow is a Sure Cure for Most of The Diseases

Text PAMHO:7445761 (9 lines) [W1]

From: Hrimati (dd) ACBSP (Mayapur - IN)

Date:08-Nov-03 11:02 (16:32 +0530)

To: Cow (Protection and related issues) [6216]

Cc:(Krsna) Katha [8056] (sender: Ganga (dd) IDS (CIS SysOp))

Subject: proof

Those who do not believe in the existence of the ocean of milk because they have experience only of the salty water in the ocean should know that the world is also called the go, which means the cow. The urine of a cow is salty, and according to Ayur-vedic medicine the cow's urine is very effective in treating patients suffering from liver trouble. Such patients may not have any experience of the cow's milk because milk is never given to liver patients. But the liver patient may know that the cow has milk also, although he has never tasted it.

Srila Prabhupada S.B. 3.3.2

(Text PAMHO:7445761) -----------------

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The campaign begun in 2002 has been successful in the completion of the hay storage building. This was a labor intensive project that involved moving all the stored supplies and equipment out of the old house, which stood where the new hay storage building now stands, into the new barn where new shelves were built. Then whatever building materials could be salvaged was removed from the old house. Only after a controlled fire, supervised by the local fire department, could the actual construction begin. Now the building is filled with hay protected from the weather. This should prevent waste from weather exposure as was the case in previous years and therefore cut the cost of hay. Special thanks to Bhisma das, Bhakta Dave Huntt, and Jimmy Devine for their help in completing the project.

Jimmy Devine is a professional painter and also painted the ISCOWP headquarters and secondary residence besides the new hay storage building. Both badly needed painting as the wood had been exposed to the weather for several years. He also helped Bhisma install the gutters from which a drainage system is now operating.

We thank all our members for their support of this campaign and its success. Our next issue will contain the annual report and will give recognition and thanks to all who donated to this construction.

As most of you know, Balabhadra (president of ISCOWP) works a night job off the farm to pay our personal bills. We do not take any funds from ISCOWP for ourselves. Balabhadra has been working a night job for 5 years and during that time he worked on the farm during the day. In May ISCOWP members visited us during a festival at the New Vrndavana temple. They told us of seasonal work in the malls that has proven successful for them. Since it would be only during the winter when farm work is greatly diminished, they thought it would be a good arrangement for us. They recommended us to the national company and we were accepted and hired for October through January. It appears that Balabhadra can make just as much at this seasonal job as he would at his full time night job. This will completely open up his time for the busy farm seasons and other activities.

He and our daughter Lakshmi quit their full-time jobs and are now working in Muncie, Indiana. So far everything is progressing nicely. Bhisma das and Chayadevi are taking care of the farm chores and the ISCOWP administration services. We will know the real outcome when the seasonal jobs end in late January.

Before Balabhadra and Lakshmi left for Indiana we were able to harvest much of the produce in the garden; sweet dumpling squash, butter nut squash, sunflower seeds, potatoes, zucchinis, and basil. We prepared 72, 3.5 ounce jars of comfrey salve. We also prepared 84 quart jars of tomato stew, 21 quart jars of tomato chunks, 96 quart jars and 24 pint jars of zucchini, tomato, and pepper vegetable preparation, 12 quart jars of salsa, and 42 quart jars and 42 pint jars of tomato chutney. The total is 393 jars canned of foodstuffs grown in our organic garden.

This year we prepared more dried goods for our members and ourselves;128 quart freezer baggies of dried tomatoes, 64 quart freezer baggies of dried bitter melon, 26 quart freezer baggies of oregano and basil, 14 quart baggies of peppers. The total is 624 quart baggies of foodstuffs.

All the foodstuffs are being stored in the root cellar which is part of the ISCOWP main house.

There are still kale, brussels sprouts, and lettuce for the fall garden. Balabhadra and Lakshmi took some of these dried, canned foodstuffs and root vegetables to the mall to cut down on the food bill and there is plenty left here to make the food bill here almost non existent.

We just received this book which contains some very moving and inspiring stories that convince the reader that animals have a soul. The author can be reached at: janananda@yahoo.com 

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by K. Natarajan

We recently received a fascinating booklet from Labangalatika dasi entitled Panchakavya, A Manual. Labangalatika, who is protecting a herd of cows on her farm in Raigad India, asked us to discuss this booklet in our newsletter for the benefit of our readers.

The author writes:

"Panchakavya consists of five products of the cow: dung, urine, milk, curd, and ghee. When suitably mixed and used, these have miraculous effects. Earthly beings are made up of five basic elements, viz. Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space, which are at non-equilibrium within themselves and also with each other. Indian wisdom says that these basic units are almost at equilibrium in the cells of a cow, which is why the cow has been accepted as near divine in Indian culture. It is called Kamdhenu, the giver of all riches to humanity.

According to ancient texts, all beneficent forces like gods, devas, sages, ogis and divine spirits are said to dwell in the body of the cow. The products of the cow have the ability to bring in the flow of cosmic energy, whenever and in whatever form they are used. Cosmic energy, even a speck of it, when made to pass through a living system, transforms the living being to wholesomeness, removing the imbalances in its physical, chemical, biological and physiological aspects, and harmonizes the basic elements which results in revitalization of the growth process."

The author has experimented with the formula for treating plants, agricultural fields, animals (including cows), and humans with recorded success.

The basic ingredients in the formula are: cow dung slurry, fresh cow dung, cow urine, cow’s milk, cow’s curd, cows’s ghee, sugarcane juice, tender coconut water, banana, toddy (if available). He details how to substitute for cow dung slurry and toddy.

Labangalatika dasi writes:

"We made it using gur (sugarcane is put through a grinder and the liquid is boiled till it becomes hard) with 3 liters of water instead of sugar cane juice and 100 grams of yeast in warm water instead of toddy and made on very small scale for trial. After 7 days I took 10 ml of Panchakavya with 5 ml of lemon juice and 10 ml of honey diluted in water 200 ml. I found this quite ok to drink and the manure like smell is not noticeable. But I stopped after a week as my health was fine. I have sprayed my Mango trees before flowering so the results will be seen in May."

Click on picture to enlarge

As mentioned on page 10 of this newsletter , there are many miraculous cures and treatments for human diseases with Panchakavya. Plant and animal treatments are the not so well known uses.

Some recorded results from the author:

Plants: Plants sprayed with Panchakavya produce bigger leaves and develop denser canopy. The trunk produces side shoots which are sturdy and capable of carrying maximum fruits to maturity. The rooting is profuse and dense.

Banana Farmer’s experience:

"I attempted Panchakavya by three different ways: first by adding to irrigation water; second by tying the solution in polybags at the terminal end of the bunch after removing the male bud; and third as a spray before and after bunch shooting. I was astonished to see the bunch with bright yellow color come to harvest 30 days earlier. The top and bottom hands were almost similar in size. The texture of the pulp was fine and sweetness was more. I was able to get 1100 bunches out of 1200 suckers planted in an acre." (V. Sadagopan, Kulithala)

Farmers like the one above have completely given up chemical fertilizers.

This booklet can be obtained from the Other India Press

Above Mapusa Clinic

Mapusa 403 507 Goa India

Phone 91-832-263306: 256479

Fax: 91-832-263305

e-mail: oib@goatele.com

http://www.goacom.com/oib/index.html

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The Story of "Pretty Girl" & "Little Girl"

A few months ago, Hoy Robinson contacted us about his two girls: Pretty Girl and Little Girl. He and his wife have been breeding Black Angus cows for breed stock since 1961. In all that time, they never had any calves like Pretty Girl and Little Girl. Both girls have genetic defects that make them impossible to sell for breed stock. Little Girl has a cleft pallet and was unable to get the proper nutrients from her mother while sucking her mother’s milk. They were uncertain what the problem was and gave her injections that she did not like. Since then, she hasn’t been friendly around people but started to improve after she started eating some grain. The Robinsons also made all efforts to give her attention so that she would gain trust in people. Pretty Girl was born with some defect in her hips that makes her wobbly on her legs. She gets around just fine but breeding her would be dangerous to her life. She was friendly from the beginning. Most everyone they knew said to sell the girls for slaughter, but they cared very much for the girls and could not sell them in that way. They also did not have enough acreage to keep them for their entire lives.

Hoy Robinson read an article about the International Society for Cow Protection (ISCOWP) in a local newspaper. He lives in Sutton, West Virginia, which is about 5 hours away from us. He decided to contact us in the hope that we could take the girls and they could live their lives out in a protected atmosphere. At first, we were hesitant to take them since we would have to find adopters who would be able to finance their protected lives as long as they may live. As you may know, cows can live up to 20 to 25 years. We then recommended some other organizations that might take the girls.

Before this time, Kamalesh Shah had been contacting us with the desire to save another cow from slaughter. Those of you who have been ISCOWP members for a while know that he saved two calves from slaughter about 7 years ago. They were Virendra and Jitendra. Virendra passed away in 2002 and Jitendra recently passed away a few months ago. We had not heard from him for over a month. Krishna Vijh was also contacting us through e-mail expressing her interest in adopting a cow. When Hoy Robinson contacted us a second time to tell us he had been unable to find a home for his girls, we contacted Kamalesh Shah and Krishna Vijh ended her inquiries with a decision to adopt. By Lord Krsna’s arrangement there were sufficient adopters to allow us to take the girls.

When all this was arranged, Balabhadra was about to leave in a week for a period of 3 ½ months (explained on page 6). The girls had to come right away since Balabhadra wanted to be here to see the girls through the transition of becoming adjusted to their new home. The girls were still nursing and had to be weaned immediately. They were both 6 months old.

In late September, Hoy Robinson and his wife brought the girls to the ISCOWP farm. Balabhadra went into the trailer, introduced himself to the girls, and then put halters on them. In case there was any problem they could be more easily controlled if they were wearing halters. They were let out of the trailer into a pasture adjacent to the herd. Soon the herd saw them and came down to the pasture. There was a lot of commotion with leaning over the fence and sniffing each other. Then Pretty Girl went right through the fence to be with the herd. Little Girl tried to do the same but could not manage it so we opened the fence for her to pass to the other side. We all thought this was a good sign.

Click on picture to enlarge

Pretty Girl and Bhima are saying hello while Kamdhenu, Big Shyam and others look on.

We watched them throughout the day. They were mooing a lot as they were missing their mothers. Later in the day they went through the fence and ran into the forest. We went down to the forest and Bhisma das brought up Pretty Girl but we could not find Little Girl. As it was getting dark, we became concerned. We went looking for her but there was no moon that night and she is black. Later in the evening, our daughter saw Little Girl strolling down the road to the temple. We can’t imagine how she got through the boxed wire fence that separates our forest from the neighbors. Our daughter Lakshmi came and got us so we could all bring her back; but once again we could not find her in the dark night.

The following morning Balabhadra and Lakshmi went looking again in the surrounding neighbor pastures. They could not find her. All the neighbors and the sheriff were notified. Later that day, Mrs. Logsdon saw her in front of her house which is right on the road and came back to our place on her three wheeler to notify us. We followed her in our truck equipped with grain and a rope. We all found her in the Logsdon’s back yard. As we approached she ran and we proceeded to follow her through several hilly pastures trying to block her in-between us.

At one point we got close enough for Balabhadra to catch her by the halter. She dragged him down the hillside and inadvertently kicked him in the head. He has a bad back, so we were concerned that injury would be done to it. Balabhadra let go and Little Girl kept on strolling through the pastures of more than one neighbor. We kept following. Since we had little time to get to know her, she looked upon us as complete strangers. It was getting dark and we did not have any flashlights in what would be very dark pastures. We decided the best we could do was to chase her into the forest that borders our property.

The whole time we were chasing her the mooing of Pretty Girl could be heard and Little Girl was mooing in response. It seemed that she was interested in finding Pretty Girl. We hoped the mooing would continue and eventually Little Girl would find Pretty Girl who was staying with the herd.

The next morning there was Little Girl and Pretty Girl with the herd.

From this time, there has been no mooing and no running away. Bhisma checks on them every day, gives them grain and makes sure they are getting water. Little Girl, who is now adopted by Krishna Vijh and renamed Kamdhenu, will let us pet her and does not run away from us when we approach her. Bhisma is very kind to the girls and we think that Kamdhenu will become friendlier each day she lives at our ISCOWP farm.

Now the herd has some new friends in Pretty Girl and Kamdhenu. The young ones are often frisky and can be seen running around instead of strolling like the older cows and oxen. Right now it is snowing and we have built an apartment inside the barn for the girls. We did this so they won’t have to compete with the older cows for feed and water, and Pretty Girl won’t have to risk slipping in the snowy and icy conditions since she is not that sure on her feet due to her hip problems. They seem to like their private area very much. We look forward to watching them grow up!

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Gentle mother of the human race, Gentle friend, who can take your place?

In the world's food chain we have found,

That your milk, liquid religion, must abound.

O doe eyed mother with your small calf,

Whom you lick and care for out of love,

As the little calf suckles you patiently wait,

Your motherly concerns, the little calf's fate.

On spindly legs the calf staggers about,

Bumping your sides as you eat your fresh grass,

Seeking to suckle and wanting her share,

Nuzzling your chin she basks in your care.

Houses and Barnes- Part 11

Innocently you stand with your calf in the barn,

While the outside world is filled with alarm,

While wars and riots and fighting roar on,

No one connects your plight to this storm,

Or that the causes of wars that humans must bear,

Could be settled, immediately, right here!

If the world could only see the connection so clear,

Between the death of their sons and daughters so dear,

Killed in a war that no one wanted to fight,

How this is connected to your own plight,

Could you really stop this fight?

What is it you are trying to speak?

I'll be your spokesmen, let your words say

The truth that's not spoken, that humans can't hear,

Because they are so frightened and live in such fear.

In your quiet barn, licking your calf,

Could you be the benefactor these suffering people need?

What can you do that would change the world's plight?

To ease the terror and fighting in their days and their nights.

These mothers and fathers have they made some mistake?

Do they take you to be killed for their own appetite?

Do they take away your calf to slaughter and death?

And leave you alone for the slaughter house net.

Is there a connection between your death and theirs?

With what 'ever you sew you reap' banging their ears.

Humans live in houses, you live in barns

And give everything you have to keep them from harm.

Oh mother cow, you are our true mother,

You shower mankind from your very own udder,

Milk, cheese and yogurt, butter, cream, curds and whey,

Are delivered from you to their tables each day,

What did you say?

"Humankind is not grateful", you feel in your heart,

"They take all they can to make their children smart,"

From your udder they drink and eat in delight,

Their children grow strong with good bones and teeth,

And enter a world in which they will have to compete.

They are not told of your contribution to them,

No acknowledgement is made of the barn and bull pen,

This father and mother are totally ignored,

"Arranging our slaughter is how we are thanked,

This is not fair!!", I understand your complaint.

But how does this connect to the wars the world's in,

Is there a principle here that we've overlooked?

Is killing your mother and father the way to proceed?

If a peaceful world is what everyone needs.

"Stop! the cow slaughter. Stop it now!! "you cry out.

From your barn, can they hear, what it is that you shout?

"Stop all the killing of the cows and the calves,

The bulls and the oxen, let them live and be free,

Shut down the slaughter houses and then they will see."

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From: "Robin Abraham" "<drrjabraham@yahoo.com>

To: "<iscowp@earthlink.net>

Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 12:43 AM

Subject: bullock electricity

Dear Sir/madam

I want to tell you about an invention which I saw in Kanpur. It is a bullock powered generator (you may have already heard about it) which can give 2 bulb electricity to 50 houses. It works on the priniciple of using a gear box which converts 2 RPM of bullock motion to 1500 RPM. I want this technology to be implemented in some remote village. I have contacted a funding agency called IDRF and they are interested. I am writing to ask if you fund projects regarding powering cow economy in india. The machine costs Rs 25,000/-. We are planning to implement it through an NGO called vikas Bharati in Jarkhand India.

Regards

Robin Abraham

From: iscowp "<iscowp@earthlink.net>"

To:"Robin Abraham" "<drrjabraham@yahoo.com>

Sent: 5/12/2003 7:13:56 PM

Subject: bullock electricity

Thank you for contacting us about the bullock powered generator and the development of a project to supply electricity in remote Indian villages. Currently we are not able to help with any funding but we would like to be kept in the information loop on the development of this project. Thank you for the attached photos. Keep up the good work. The more that can be accomplished with the bullocks the better. The cows and bulls are more valuable alive than dead. Cow protection means protection of both the cow and bull (ox). By showing their usefulness cow protection can become a reality

Could you give some background on youeself and also IDRF and Vikas Bharati?

From: "Robin Abraham" "<drrjabraham@yahoo.com>

To: "<iscowp@earthlink.net>

Sent: 5/13/2003 8:43:34 AM

Subject: bullock electricity

Dear ISCOWP,

Thank you for your encouraging letter. IDRF is a US based organisation which funds various projects in

India visit: (www.idrf.org).

Vikas Bharati is one of the NGOs it funds, visit: http://www.vikasbharti.org/.

Because of internet it is easy to pass information. Anyway I shall keep in touch regarding new developments.

Thank You

Robin Abraham

Cow manure is gaining popularity as one of Earth's greenest sources of electricity. Many United States farmers already know the meaning of "cow power." They collect the methane given off by fermenting cow manure and use it to generate electricity. The procedure is relatively simple: manure is stored in huge tanks - anaerobic digesters - which are deprived of oxygen and kept at temperatures of 100°F. The conditions are designed to let anaerobic bacteria thrive and do the work of breaking the manure down. The large volume of "biogas" released - which contains about 90% methane - is piped to an engine which burns the gas creating heat - thermal energy This thermal energy is used to heat a liquid which expands and builds up pressure, turning the turbine of a generator. The generator converts the kinetic energy of the rotating turbine into electrical energy. The leftover manure is compressed; fluid is drained away and used as fertilizer; and the solids are dried out and used as bedding for the herd and compost.

The method offers a neat solution to the manure waste problem. America's 100 million cattle produce their fair share of manure - on Tinedale Farm, in Milwaukee, the 1800 Holsteins produce about 48,000 pounds per day, much of which is processed to generate electricity. By using manure in this way, farmers are transforming problematic waste into new, useable commodities: electricity, compost, and fertilizer.

With a large enough operation, farms can produce enough electricity to meet their own needs — and generate a surplus which they can sell to local power providers. That's exactly what the Haubenschild family is doing on its dairy farm in Princeton, Minnesota. Their herd of 850 Holsteins produces enough manure to meet the farm's electricity needs and then some: the excess energy they generate serves some 78 homes in the area.

Every day, about 20,000 gallons of manure are pumped to collection flumes beneath two barns and then into the digester, a 400,000-gallon tank that looks like a small, oblong Metrodome.

The anaerobic digestion of the manure is accelerated by heating it for 20 days before it moves into a lagoon for later application as field fertilizer.

Before the Haubenschilds began using the digester in 1999, the smell of freshly mixed and spread manure would drift 2 or 3 miles and last four days. Now, a much milder smell from the digested effluent disappears overnight after spreading, said Marsha Haubenschild. She and husband Dennis own the 1,000-acre farm with their sons, Bryan and Tom.

In the silvery-colored digester, biogas builds up. It's routed to an engine and generator, which convert it to electricity and hot water. The electricity flows to a transformer and the water heats the digester and barn floors.

A third of the electricity returns to the farm to power the milking parlor and other operations. Two-thirds is sold to East Central Energy, a cooperative serving about 43,000 customers in east-central Minnesota. In January, the Haubenschilds earned $4,380 selling electricity.

The methodology of manure digesters has proved successful in disposing of cow manure, controlling odor and generating electricity in a cold climate, said Janet Streff, manager of the Energy Office of the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

Unfortunately, the digesters are expenisive. costing from $200,000 to $1,000,000 each, depending on the size of the herd. To encourage farmers to generate their own electricity, the state of California's Energy Commission is making $10 million in funding available to support farmers' initiatives. About a million small-scale digesters have been used in China and India for decades. However creating bio-gas in a cold climate presents greater challenges.

"It's an excellent example of sustainable agriculture," Henry Fischer, business and community development manager for East Central Energy, said. He serves on an advisory task force that prepared a report on the digester project."By using the digester, the Haubenschilds not only end up with high-quality compost -- a liquid slurry that they can use for fertilizer -- but from an environmental perspective, it eliminates all the odors associated with the fertilizer. The electricity is a bonus."

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FFLV has also developed a branch that maintains abandoned cows, bulls, retired oxen, and orphaned calves in Vrndavana which is known as Care For Cows. It consists of international volunteers who offer their talents and resources to tend to the neglected cows living in Krsna’s holyland. They provide stray cows hay, flour, fresh grass, medical attention and a place where they can recuperate from injuries. You may contact Kurma.Rupa.ACBSP@pamho.net for further information.

"Unless they are protected they are destined to subsist on refuse and become plagued by various debilitating and often terminal diseases, suffer injury from careless motorists, or worse, be abducted and transported in very inhumane ways to the growing number of modern slaughterhouses in India. " Quoted from the www.careforcows.org web site.