BENEFITS OF SOY PROTEIN
Animal studies have generally shown that soy protein has a beneficial effect on hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. Results in human studies have been inconsistent. A meta-analysis of 38 published studies, however, found that soy "significantly reduced serum total cholesterol and tryglycerides".(Nutrition Close-Up Vol 12 Nr 3)                                                                                  home
A study of 43 women, 45-55, led by Dr. Gregory L. Burke of Winston-Salem NC, found tht 20 grams of soy protein reduced the severity of hot flashes and night sweats, problems rare in Asia where soy is a staple food. A larger study is planned. A study at Manchester University (UK) suggests that soy can reduce frequency as well as intensity. These results are attributed to phytoestrogen, the plant form of the female hormone (The Evening Tribune, November 11, 1996).
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NEWS FROM GERMANY
by Dennis B. Stuart
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Pesticides in German Wine
The Green Party in Bonn issued a warning in September 1995: As a result of vineyards being sprayed with fungicides some German wines contain seven thousand times as much pesticide residue as permitted under the European Community's (EC) new drinking water regulations. A still higher pesticide level has been found in freshly pressed juice.

No action can be taken, however, as no official safety levels have been fixed for wine.

Even spokesmen for the chemical giant BASF have warned of the health risks, pointing out that the chemicals involved can affect human reproduction and injure the unborn children of pregnant vineyard workers.

The tests which led to the Green Party's warning revealed high residues of Iprodion and Procymion, both used to combat mould growth. BASF's sales of these two chemicals total more than 50 million D-marks (c.$35 million) per year.


More universities vivisection free
The German Doctors Against Vivisection Association and SATIS (National Association of Student Working Groups Against the Misuse of Animals in Universities) report growing opposition by medical, biology, and veterinary students to the use of animal experiments in their studies. Some of them have fought and won court cases for the right to study without harming animals.

Altough many universities still insist on vivisection and dissection for training purposes, an increasing number of them now accept that animal experiments are NOT necessary for studying these disciplines. The Universities of Hanover, Marburg, and Saarbrucken, for example, no longer use animals for medical students' practical work in biology or physiology, while others - such as Essen, Freiburg, Magdeburg, and Leipzig - allow students who object to using animals to opt for other study methods.

SATIS is a member of EuroNICHE (European Network for Individuals and Campaigns for Humane Education) which coordinates the efforts of students in 20 European countries and operates a data-bank detailing several thousand methods of study not involving animals. SATIS holds a conference each year in one of the member countries.

"Chicken Baron" convicted of cruelty
Anton Pohlmann, who had already been banned from keeping animals by the Agriculture Minister of Lower Saxony in 1994, was sentenced to a second lifetime ban by the District Court of Oldenburg on 11th June 1996 after being found guilty of cruelty to animals and various offences against the Medicines and Foods Act.

The 56-year-old farmer - formerly Europe's largest egg producer, owning several million hens producing 1.5 billion battery eggs annually - was taken to court by the Public Prosecutor for having used the banned toxic chemicals, Virkon S and Nicotine Sulphate, on hens for pest control purposes, thereby, in the words of Judge Hugo Sponer,"causing his hens protracted pain and suffering" and putting onto the market millions of eggs which had been contaminated with nicotine. Some hens had been fed with disinfectant. He was also found guilty of failing to give assistance when one of his employees became seriously ill as a result of spraying hens with the poisonous chemicals. The farmer had delayed the man being taken to hospital and given false information to cover up the cause of his life-threatening illness.

The ban against keeping animals only applies in Germany, however. His family runs battery egg and pig-breeding businesses in the USA.

In a verdict which a Green Party politician described as"a milestone in the battle against factory farming", Herr Pohlmann was given a 2-year suspended sentence, banned for life from keeping animals, and fined a total amount of DM 3,100,000 (over $2 million) over half of which was to be paid to animal welfare causes.

CANCER FRAUD IN FRANCE
American political parties are not alone in receiving questionable donations. ARC, a French cancer charity (no relation to American Red Cross) admitted giving $2.6 million worth of donations people had given to fight cancer to an advertising agency that supplied Socialist party politicians with campaign funds. Founder and president Jacques Crozemarie resigned in disgrace after auditors found that little more than a quarter of the funds received by ARC were used for cancer research.

INDIA SUES FOR PHARMACEUTICAL THEFT
Turmeric (haldi) has been used in India for centuries to heal wounds, particularly childhood scrapes. It is easy, therefore, to understand the outrage that followed after a patent granting exclusive rights to market the product for the treament of wounds in the U.S. was awarded to two American scientists at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Suman Das and Hari Har Cohly.

The Indian Government is suing the U.S. Patent Office for allowing them to expropriate Indian knowledge.

In order to prove its case, India has to produce evidence in a scientific paper predating the patent application that turmeric was used specifically to treat wounds. The Indian Journal of Medical Research stated in 1982 that turmeric had long been used as a traditional medicine to treat sprains and inflammation. Indian officials claim they can produce other articles to prove their case, but other officials think it would be wiser to spend the $300,000 it will cost to contest the patent on cataloging other natural remedies for future protection.

Multinational chemical companies already have 37 patents for products, mostly insecticides, derived from India's neem tree.

Ecuador recently refused to ratify a treaty that would have obligated it to observe American patent rights.

The Philippines has a law regulating biological prospecting which requires that indigenous peoples be compensated from the proceeds of discoveries made from their plants (New Scientist,  26 October 1996).

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