Howard Lyman rolled into the Worcester area as the Labor Day Weekend was winding down. With a thirty six minute DVD in hand and years of first-hand global knowledge at his recall, Lyman engaged and motivated audiences of people ranging from animal advocates and organic farmers to students and legislators. He left most empowered with a realization of their ability-- their power, to make choices that will encourage sustainable agriculture, empathy for others, and ensure a healthful human self.

Howard Lyman, a fourth-generation dairy farmer and cattle rancher from Montana knows intimately how cattle are raised and how meat is produced in this country. Howard, having served for 5 years in Washington, DC for the National Farmers Union is keenly aware of how D.C. is not serving the public interests that our founding fathers had envisioned.

"We the People," begins the Constitution, but somehow our government has become entwined in the special concerns of protecting the commercial interests of the meat and dairy industry rather than the concerns of the people.

With the travesty in plain sight of the federal government's lackluster preparation for a hurricane like Katrina in New Orleans, despite a study sitting in D.C. that cites the spending necessary for infrastructural repairs and public security, Howard Lyman likened the calamity of Katrina to the impending calamity of our unsustainable agricultural system. Lyman has stated that with our present agricultural system we are riding on a freight train that is running at 200 mph toward a cliff, the federal government is standing at the bottom of that cliff offering support to the few who may survive the fall over the cliff rather than being up at the top of the cliff redirecting the train.

The federal government has studied and knows the disastrous health effects and the personal financial burdens of the standard American diet--a diet which consists of excessive protein, excessive cholesterol, excessive fat, and low fiber, yet it has done little to improve that diet. The government knows the disastrous environmental effects of the widespread use of pesticides, pharmaceuticals and chemicals used in factory farming--effects which result in poisonous water, unhealthy air, topsoil loss, and carcinogens, yet has done nothing to limit or reverse those effects.

Howard Lyman began his series of presentations in Massachusetts on Monday afternoon at the Peace Abbey in Sherborn. Howard had some former familiarity with the Peace Abbey. When he was last there he spent time with many of the animals at Peace Abbey, including Emily the cow. Both had up-beat, friendly personalities, so it was not surprising that Emily and Howard would form a friendship. Emily was a unique cow in that she truly enjoyed human company as much as she enjoyed the company of her barnyard buddies. She liked having her picture taken; greeting small children with her big, slimy-rough tongue; and greeting people when they came to visit the sanctuary. Emily had come to the Peace Abbey after escaping from a slaughterhouse at the young age of two by jumping over a gate and escaping into the woods where she befriended a herd of deer and survived the cold days of November and December by learning to eat what the deer ate. Lewis and Meg Randa of the Peace Abbey befriended Emily in the wild and eventually encouraged Emily to come with them to the safety of the Peace Abbey on Christmas Eve. Emily flourished at the Peace Abbey. In time, however, the disease that had probably caused her to be sent to the slaughterhouse at the young age of two (the onset of ovarian cancer most likely prevented her from being able to produce milk) eventually overcame her and caused her to die.

Upon Howard's return to the Peace Abbey after so many years, he was greeted by the life-sized bronze statue of Emily that stands over her gravesite on a granite pedestal. Encircling the Statue of Emily are granite stone markers upon which are mounted bronze plaques that hold the quotes of individuals who have recognized and been outspoken about the rights and justice owed to animals. Among the plaques, immortalized, is one upon which is written the words of Howard Lyman.

Despite the passing of his friend Emily, Howard seemed enthusiastic after seeing Emily's legacy--the Peace Abbey's Animal Rights Memorial. He was also grateful that he was considered as part of it.

Pumped up by the crowd that gathered to welcome him to Massachusetts and by the extra-ordinarily good vegan feast provided by the members and friends of the Boston Vegetarian Society, Howard presented the 36-minute version of his longer Mad Cowboy DVD inside the overflowing auditorium of the Peace Abbey. After the showing, everyone moved outside to a gloriously sunny day and gathered around the Statue of Emily in the Animal Rights Memorial to hear the rest of Howard Lyman's presentation. Howard spoke about the need for people to be a "billboard not a loudspeaker." He said we must live our lives as a model of what we want to promote in life rather than tell others how they should be living their lives compassionately, environmentally, healthfully, or peacefully.

Howard spoke about sustainable agriculture, the environment, animal cruelty, and how people unknowingly support cruelty, environmental degradation, and unsustainable agriculture through their daily purchases. He raised awareness about Mad Cow Disease and other brain-wasting diseases among people and animals in the United States.

Mildly chastising the vegetarian community, Howard spoke of poor health habits among junk-food vegetarians, about needing to help the environmental community to see the big picture with regard to meat consumption, and about the great strides he sees the animal community and peace community making together to create a more peaceful and sustainable future for all creatures.

The morning of the next day, Tuesday morning, Howard Lyman was in the Worcester Cable Access studio chatting with Lynn Simonds on her "Flip-Side" show. In conversation, Howard relayed to the "Flip-Side" audience how Mad Cow Disease is in this country. He spoke about cows that are fine the night-before and downers or dead the next morning. On the subject, he cited research by Richard Marsh who in the State of Wisconsin had transferred brain tissue from mink who had acted erratically, and were confirmed infected with a brain disease, into the brain tissue of cows. Those cows, about two years later, were fine one evening but were downers or dead the next morning. Lyman stated that downer cows happen in the USA at the rate of about 100,000 cows per year. He expressed his concern that we in the USA have a different version of Mad Cow disease than the British, whereas our cows do not display the typical erratic behavior that the British cows do. Our Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) afflicted cows just fall over dead in the USA just like what Marsh observed in his laboratory when his infected cows just fell over dead without experiencing any erratic behavior.

Lyman revealed that our government has allowed these downed cows to be ground up and fed back to other cows. Many farmers are still not aware that they have fed the slaughterhouse floor remains of cows to their cows. They aren‚t aware that when the bag of feed lists ingredients such as "by-pass protein" on the label they are feeding ground up cows to their cows and barnyard animals.

Further, Lyman pointed out that euthanized dogs and cats, along with roadkill, are being ground up and put into livestock feed and pet food. He cited that in the city of Los Angeles tons of rendered pets are processed into pet food regularly.

As an aside, Lyman mentioned how some hunters had made a feast of a deer who unbeknown to them was found to have chronic wasting disease (CWD)--a spongiform encephalopathy that affects deer like Mad Cow Disease affects cows. It is anticipated that all of those hunters are not believed to be long in this world. One of the greater dangers of CWD, Lyman points out, is that CWD is so contagious among deer that they need only touch noses or lick the same salt block to pass the disease on. Can you imagine if Cruetzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD)--the human form of Mad Cow Disease--was passed on like CWD by the mere act of kissing.

With regard to the amount of infected material required to infect a person, Lyman pointed out that it takes about a sand-grain sized amount of Mad Cow infected meat to infect a human with CJD. He also mentioned that in a typical hamburger resides the DNA from some 2000 plus cows all mixed together. If any one of those cows was harboring BSE, can you image how many burgers that cow might be in.

Unfortunately, the USDA does not look for BSE in cows younger than 30 months old because they tend not to exhibit the disease, although they may be carriers. Moreover, the USDA has been inefficient in detecting infected cows. This fact has made the USA the laughing stock of many European countries and Japan.

Lyman reflected about his years in Washington, D.C. stating that the federal government runs by the "golden rule." Says Lyman, "Those that have the gold make the rules." Not pleased by what he found in Washington, D.C., Lyman said he has taken his message to the people. No matter the issue, said Lyman, "if the people lead, the leaders will follow."

Lyman asks every person to take control of their own health care by putting down the #1 implement in the arsenal of human destruction --the fork, and to start choosing to eat foods such as organic vegetables, organic fruits, organic nuts, and organic grains. These foods promote personal health and environmental health. Meat, fish, and dairy do not contribute to sustainable health. Lyman drove the issue home by stating that the savings in your health costs from eating organic vegan food will outweigh the cost of health care. Furthermore, people who can no longer afford the cost of health care are best insured against exposure to health problems by an organic vegan diet. Additionally, Lyman feels that the upsurge in organic consumers will create more local jobs and cause the price of organic foods to drop.

Next Howard Lyman gave a lunchtime address to the future veterinarians studying at Tufts College of Veterinarian Science in North Grafton. The school received a pep talk from Howard on prion diseases the students would have to deal with in the future. He told students about the transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in deer and the populations it is affecting between Colorado and upper state New York. He relayed the futility of the plan that is now underway to exterminate all the deer in Wisconsin in the attempt to contain the disease. He also told the students to be aware of the connections between the different varieties of prion diseases mentioning that Cruetzfeld-Jacob Disease in humans has been misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's Disease in an average of ten percent of patients according to two studies--one of which was performed at Yale University.

Howard Lyman's last presentation of the day was in the Barre Town Hall. Sponsoring the presentation were EQUA--the East Quabbin Alliance, NOFA--Northeast Organic Farming Association, and Earthlands. Present were people from the medical community, organic farmers, and environmental advocates.

Howard showed the 36 minute version of his DVD which explained his origins on the farm, his unintended destruction of the land through the chemicals he was trained to use in agricultural college, the transition in perspective he went through as a result of a spinal tumor that almost left him paralyzed, and his promise to bring the land back to health.

In the process of his transition he came to the realization that it was not just the environment that caused his malady, but equally so was his buying into the lies the government had fed him about meat and dairy consumption.

After extensive research, Lyman explains, he learned that a vegan diet--a diet of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains was the most healthful diet he could consume. Many of his medical problems disappeared as a result.

Lyman documented the impending disaster that is presently being magnified in this country by the government's lack of openness about Mad Cow Disease, and their negligence in taking steps to do much about protecting the consumer. Lyman firmly iterated the need for people to support their local organic Community Sponsored Agriculture or CSA's.

Following Lyman's talk an organic pig farmer asked a question about organic meat. Lyman agreed that if you are going to eat meat and animal products, organic is better. But Lyman continued by stating that organic meat and dairy products suffer the same problem as conventionally produced meat and dairy--excessive protein, excessive cholesterol, excessive fat, and zero fiber. Lyman followed up mentioning excessive protein leads to kidney disease, osteoporosis, and the build-up of plaques in arteries; excessive cholesterol leads to clogged arteries and heart disease, and low fiber contributes to the build-up of cancers in the body.

A woman from Worcester approached Howard after his talk and stated that her mom had CJD. The woman said she had a tough time determining that her mom had died of CJD because doctors were evasive about performing the autopsy and the CDC had lost the spinal fluid. For the sake of her children, she persisted and eventually got the death record changed from dementia to CJD in order reflect the correct cause of death.

The next morning, Wednesday morning, Howard Lyman was presenting his background and research in the Massachusetts State House to legislators, their aides, and the public. Lyman encouraged the legislature to take a leadership role in wrestling back control of the State's public health from the economic forces that are short-changing the public. Lyman proposed that the legislature consider encouraging a local organic agriculture as a mean of creating jobs, reducing health care costs, and protecting the environment. He outlined how the federal government was being held hostage by big money interests that were hiding the amplification of the Mad Cow Disease epidemic. He noted that sporadic CJD supposedly affects only 1 in 100,000 people --which translates into 300 people nationwide, yet according to autopsies performed on a portion of the 450,000 people who supposedly died of Alzheimer's Disease, roughly 10% died of CJD. That implies that roughly 45,000 people have died of CJD. Moreover, Lyman states that before the 1900's, incidences of Alzheimer's Disease did not exist, but that presently we have hundreds of thousands of cases in this country. "Something has gone terribly wrong," Says Lyman.

Lyman encouraged the people of Massachusetts to do their own research. He likened the present situation to a freight train traveling at 200 miles per hour toward a cliff. He urged legislators to understand the warning signs of a disaster that was becoming more evident, but harkened to them to take action before the "train had gone over the cliff." He paraphrased the President by saying let's not tell people to "just hang in there." He urged legislators and the public to act now to "redirect the train before it goes over the cliff."

During a period of questions after Lyman's talk, Lyman was asked about his understanding of the upcoming "Foie Gras Bill" and the "Sow Crate Bill."

Lyman plainly and directly responded by stating that the idiotic concept of forcing a pipe down the throat of a goose in order to feed a goose till his liver would explode and then make a profit off the serving of bits of that liver as an hors d‚oeuvre is pure stupidity.

Lyman also lambasted the concept of depriving female pigs, sows, animals which possess a higher intelligence than dogs, of their desire to tend to their young and of the movement they need to keep their joints free from arthritic inducing conditions as when they are left immobilized as they are on the hard concrete floor. Lyman also mentioned that the air in factory farms is so acrid and unhealthful to the pigs that they commonly incubate and contract respiratory diseases. Those diseases are being passed onto humans.

After the State House Howard Lyman spoke with students who were searching for answers to questions that centered around how students can talk to their parents about healthy eating, and questions about how students could relay information safely to their friends who just don't seem to understand why the organic vegan lifestyle is socially just, environmentally sustainable, and personally healthful. Howard did not leave a stone unturned with the students.

With one more TV station interview and a computer podcast interview rounding out Howard Lyman's time in the area, Howard Lyman may very well have inched the run-away train of life away from brink of destruction. The next move ultimately is up to each one of us. Buy organic. Eat vegan.