| A British organic farmer turned scientific researcher, who has travelled around the world trying to prove his alternative theory about the origins of mad cow disease (BSE), shared his controversial findings in Calgary this week.
Mark Purdey does not believe that BSE is caused by cows eating feed contaminated by BSE infected cattle. Instead he says BSE is caused by a copper deficiency in the brain, along with high levels of toxic manganese metal or other "rogue metals" such as silver, barium and strontium. Purdey also believes shock waves from flight paths are also factors of the disease.
While Purdey’s theory is not believed by the majority of scientists and governments around the world, he is gaining a growing level of support from ranchers and farmers on the Canadian prairies.
Les and Kathy Czar drove all the way from Hanna to hear Purdey speak. The cattle farmers first started looking into Purdey’s theory a year ago. They now have every scientific paper Purdey has ever published, which Kathy estimates to be 19. Kathy says they started to question the accepted theory of BSE transmission after learning that cows in Britain, born after a ban was imposed on feeding cattle meat and bonemeal to other cows, were still getting BSE. The couple has now devoted many months to studying the issue.
"We believe Mark is on a very clear path," says Kathy.
Kathy says it’s crucial that the true cause of BSE is discovered so that the disease can be eradicated and people in the industry can move on.
"I see a whole industry being set on its ass over one or two cows with one disease," she says. "It’s our livelihood."
Kathy says she gets angry when accepted experts in the BSE field refuse to consider Purdey’s theory.
"Science has to be the answer. We have scientists who are afraid to come out and support Mark because they’re worried they won’t get any research funding," she says.
Fred Maloff, a feedlot owner from Cowley, has had his own alternative theory about the cause of BSE since 1997. He says it’s important for everyone involved in resolving the BSE crisis to keep an open mind.
"There is one correct answer out there. Mark might have part of it," says Maloff. "If you approach (all theories) with an open mind there will be a correct solution and there’ll no longer be a problem… It’s up to individuals like me and Mark to convince the public."
Purdey hasn’t just investigated cases of BSE. He has also studied cases of TSE (transmissible spongiform encephalopathy) that are related to BSE, including chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. His research has taken him to Sicily, Slovakia, Australia, Colorado, Iceland, all over the U.K., and he’s recently been conducting research in Saskatchewan and Alberta. He says in every part of the world he’s been to, he’s found lower levels of copper in the soil and vegetation and high levels of manganese. As well, he’s noticed that the areas where BSE cases crop up tend to be in major flight paths of military jets or the former Concorde. Purdey pointed out in his Calgary talk that the two cases of BSE in Canada occurred within a corridor between the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range and the Camp Wainwright Tank Range.
"One of the most successful things about modern science is it’s very good about shutting down debate," he says. "On the surface (the accepted theory of BSE transmission) seems a feasible hypothesis, but when you study the science it’s totally and utterly flawed." |
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