Page 11 - Autumn 14

IAVH Newsletter
President’s Letter
Dear friends,
It seems so long ago that we have almost forgotten the World Cup already but I feel we must congratulate Germany on winning – a great achievement, especially on a distant continent. USA and Colombia can also feel proud of their achievements, as can Holland and Belgium – much to be cheerful about for a member of the IAVH! But the less we say about England and Brazil the better – you can’t win them all! And after all ‘it’s only a game’.
Unfortunately homeopathy is not so easily dismissed – it is far too important – not just for us as practitioners, or even for our patients; I truly believe homeopathy is a force for the good, which has important consequences for the wellbeing of our planet, our ecosystem and its inhabitants. It is therefore of immense importance that we do not let it disappear under the wave of propaganda, lobbying and sheer commercial strength, which conventional drug companies exhibit. Add the vociferousness and obsession of our opponents and it is easy to feel overwhelmed. At such
IMPRO is an EU funded project, with partners in six European countries, that will lead to more effective management of the health of cows in organic dairy herds.
Expected outcomes of the project
The approach of the IMPRO project integrates information and knowledge gained from different sources into a coherent concept, striving for a high level of matching accuracy at different levels to the specific health problems and farm-specific conditions and limitations. The objective is to achieve a high level of matching accuracy at different levels following the key-lock-principle.
The IMPRO project will combine a number of methodological approaches for character- ising the health status profile of dairy farms. It will identify and validate related variables and specific risk factors in order to assess and implement appropriate measures to achieve an improved health status.
Additionally, new farming techniques associated with preventive and proactive measures will be tested in well-defined organic farming systems.
IMPRO partners
• University of Kassel, Germany
• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,
Sweden
times an organisation like ours can be vital in giving us support. For me, just knowing I have 500 friends around the world, who share my experiences and who believe in the same form of medicine, is an enormous comfort. Having contact with them increases that feeling. But we can do more than just give moral support. One of the cries of our opponents has long been ‘there is no evidence’, an accusation which we can increasingly show is simply wrong; nevertheless the ‘Evidence based medicine’ movement has taken hold of out profession and we must respond. Firstly of course we have Mark Elliott’s sterling work on the research database, but we now have an added possibility: The first International Conference on Evidence Based Medicine takes place in Windsor, UK on 23rd and 24th October and Edward de Beukelaer has prepared a paper describing 4 cases of high blood pressure treated successfully with homeopathy [see this mag page 12]. It has been accepted as a poster session. So homeopathy will be included right from the start. IAVH has sponsored Edward’s costs and will be acknowledged, with our logo on the poster. So we have a ‘foot in the door’!
• Nantes Atlantic College of Veterinary Medicine,
• Food Science and Engineering, France
• Wageningen University, The Netherlands
• Institute of Agriculture and Food Research
and
• Technology, Spain
• Data Service Paretz GMBH, Germany • University of Reading, United Kingdom
IAVH as subcontractor of the University of Kassel
• development of protocols of using
homeopathy as a lege artis standard for mastitis and fertility in cattle stocks (work package 4)
• Visit and examination of 60 farms in France, Germany and Spain (work package 4)
• Investigating legal and factual conditions for the use of homeopathy in Europe (work package 4)
• contribution and discussion to a report on research projects in the field of homeopathy/phytotherapy (work package 9)
Thanks to Dr. Andreas Striezel that he proposed IAVH for these duties in 2012. Members of our team are Cristina Iglesias Hidalgo (Spain), Dr. Bernhard Hornig (Germany) and Loïc Guiouillier (France) supported by
This is an event of international importance,, so we wish Edward good luck and say Thank you for representing us at such a prestigious event. Perhaps just as important is the IMPRO research project being run by Professor Sundrum of University of Kassel in Germany. This will investigate the use of homeopathy in farm animals in 3 countries: Germany, France and Spain. Markus Mayer has almost singlehandedly organised this project on our behalf, so I say Thank you Markus’ and I will leave him to describe the details [see report below.].
So I hope you are happy with the way we are running your organisation, and I hope you are achieving success with your patients. If not, ask our experts on the forum! Today I have received a text to say one of my patients with a chronic skin problem has responded really well to the latest homeopathic prescription. What a joy homeopathy can be for us! In addition, the sun is shining today, so if my two favourite football teams win, the weekend will be perfect! Wishing you love and peace
Peter
Markus Mayer (IAVH-Office). Thanks to Edward de Beukelaer, Jacques Millemann, Isabel Serrano, Coral Mateo, Jose Ramón Torre Blazquez and Stefan Kohlrausch for support in our search for homeopathic vets in France and in Spain.
IMPRO – Impact matrix analysis and cost-benefit calculations to improve management practices regarding health status in organic dairy farming by Marcus Mayer, Germany
Aims of IMPRO
People who buy organic dairy products expect cows to be healthy and kept to very high welfare standards. Keeping dairy cows healthy in an organic system is a challenge. Multiple factors affect the health status. Bacteria and viruses are of course partly to blame but many other factors – including nutrition, conditions in the field and barn, housing, the skill and motivation of the farmer – are also influential.
Current strategies to manage dairy cow health deal with single causes and solutions, which is particularly inappropriate and prove to be insufficient in organic systems where the use of veterinary drugs is highly restricted. We need diagnostic tools, which can identify the complex of factors at farm level that affect cow health on each individual farm, which can lead to appropriate management and treatment. This is, what IMPRO is working towards.
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