DEAR READERS: A recent study noted an increase in diabetes risk associated with certain common emulsifiers. Reposting from everything-healthy.com:

“Emulsifiers are chemicals added to processed foods to stabilize mixtures that would not naturally blend, such as oil and water. They improve texture, extend shelf life and enhance appearance -- but at what cost?

“The study followed 104,139 adults over 14 years, tracking their diets through biannual food logs. The findings were alarming ... These additives don’t just disrupt blood sugar -- they wreak havoc on the gut microbiome, the delicate ecosystem of bacteria in your stomach that are crucial for digestion, immunity and metabolic health.

“Emulsifiers can strip away the protective mucus layer in the gut, leaving the intestinal lining vulnerable to inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a key driver of insulin resistance, disrupting insulin signaling pathways and impairing the body’s ability to properly utilize glucose, which leads to elevated blood sugar levels. This is why insulin resistance is recognized as the precursor to Type 2 diabetes.”

(See the study “Food additive emulsifiers and the risk of type 2 diabetes: Analysis of data from the NutriNet-Sante prospective cohort study” by Clara Salame et al., published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2025.)

Emulsifiers are also of concern due to their use in many moist pet foods. For details, see drfoxonehealth.com/post/carrageenan-other-emulsifiers-in-human-pet-foods-cause-health-problems.

DEAR DR. FOX: I recently sent a letter to my local paper in support of your work. Here is an abbreviated version:

“I hope he keeps writing columns standing up for science ... But I also know the Post may get some letters complaining about the 'woke' writer, so I want to weigh in early with my energetic support for Dr. Fox, his column and other advocates of science, facts and 'wokeness.'" -- P.B., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR P.B.: Your words of support in these challenging times of misinformation and disinformation are much appreciated. Without facts and science-based ethics, we cannot make informed decisions on many fronts.

AVIAN INFLUENZA's EFFECT ON POULTRY INDUSTRY

According to the CDC, since the start of the H5N1 outbreak in February 2022, the disease has led to the direct deaths or culling of 181.7 million poultry. Most infected flocks are culled by switching off the ventilation, which leads to death from suffocation and overheating.

In 2020, a new variant of H5N1, referred to as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, was detected in wild birds in Europe; it was first seen in North America in 2021, and has since been found in wild bird species in all 50 states. According to the CDC, dairy cows have been infected, as well as some farm workers and veterinarians, plus a variety of wildlife including bears, bobcats, mink, mountain lions, raccoons and skunks. For details, see: aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/mammals.

CALIFORNIA BANS DECLAWING OF CATS

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed AB 867 into law, effectively banning the cruel procedure of declawing cats in the state. This is good news, and I wish all states would follow suit. Meanwhile, the American Veterinary Medical Association still does not support local or statewide declaw bans.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: There should be no doubt that there is currently a war raging against science. The nonprofit Global Witness (globalwitness.org) reports that, since 2012, it has “documented more than 2,200 killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders worldwide,” including 146 in 2024 alone. These people stood up for their rights and for the Earth, peacefully, and were met with violence.

Science is also being attacked by vested interests, as documented in the new book “Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World” by climatologist and geophysicist Michael E. Mann and pediatrician and epidemiologist Peter J. Hotzen. The book is described as “a road map for dismantling the forces of anti-science.” For further reading, see Sen. Bernie Sanders’ new book, “Fight Oligarchy,” about the oligarchs currently controlling the government.

How did we get here? We once listened to influential people such as Francis Bacon, who opened the door to the so-called Enlightenment or Age of Reason. His famous saying, “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed,” implies that the only way to “command” nature is through a thorough understanding of it. Rational materialism, inductive reasoning, and science in the service of industry flourished under the ethos of Baconian philosophy -- but now, we are frying our bacon.

A CENTURY AFTER THE ‘SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL’

It has now been 100 years since the “Scopes monkey trial,” in which a Tennessee science teacher, who had informed his students about biological evolution, was opposed by moral fundamentalists who believed God created man in his own image and that we did not descend from animals. This is highly relevant today as the scientific community and academia are under attack for being “woke.”

Beyond compassion and respect for all life, there are no moral absolutes. The hallmark of democratic society is moral pluralism -- the antidote to authoritarianism. There is no contradiction in the acceptance of biological evolution (backed by fossil evidence) and the belief in God or a higher power of creation. Those who believe that only man was made in God’s image cannot deny our inhumanity. What kind of God would condone human violence and animal cruelty and exploitation?

There are millions of people who experience divinity, or a sense of the sacred, in nature and in the presence of other species, wild and domesticated. Our destruction of nature and cruelty to animals is, theologically, our separation from God. We are part of nature and nature is part of us: When we harm one, we harm the other.

ALASKA’S WILDLIFE AND WILDERNESS AREAS NOW AT RISK

From the Sierra Club (sierraclub.org): “On Oct. 23, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced a series of decisions that increase threats to Alaska landscapes, wildlife, and local communities. In a brief ceremony with members of Alaska’s congressional delegation and governor, Burgum announced a decision opening vast swaths of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, along with formal approvals for two controversial road-building proposals, one cutting across one of our most well-preserved national parks and one through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The department transferred nearly 23,600 acres of national public lands to the state of Alaska as part of the Ambler Road decision.”

While conservation organizations mount opposition, we face the backdrop of President Trump cutting federal funds for safer, “green” energy development that would also boost local employment. All in all, these climate change-exacerbating initiatives amount to crimes against humanity and nature, and should be opposed by every means.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: I hope readers will consider sending a donation to Veterinarians Without Borders International. This highly reputable organization helps animals in parallel with Doctors Without Borders.

One of the group's recent online posts underscores the urgency of the need. From vsf-international.org: "The recent USAID funding cuts sent shockwaves through humanitarian and development efforts worldwide. For families already struggling to rebuild from conflict, food insecurity and disease, these sudden cuts are not just a policy shift -- they are a devastating reality."

For more, go to vsf-international.org/crisis-for-global-livelihoods-and-health.

PREVENTING POULTRY VIRUS SPREAD

The current H5N1 avian influenza virus that is decimating laying hen and turkey populations in factory farms across the country is a challenge to public health and biocontainment. While the media has focused on migratory birds as the main vectors, the dust from one poultry farm could infect another -- and many species of wildlife in between. This virus can survive in the air while attached to dried and particulate bird excrement matter, as well as food.

According to one study, “Viral RNA (vRNA) and infectious viruses were detected in air samples collected from inside and outside (but in close proximity to) infected houses ... (However,) other factors, including indirect contact with wild birds and the efficiency of biosecurity, represent greater importance in disease incursion.” (See the study "The Role of Airborne Particles in the Epidemiology of Clade ..." by Joe James et al., published in Viruses, 2023.)

Close contact with wildlife is evident around most chicken, turkey and duck farms. Ventilation fans blow various potential pathogens outdoors, where wild birds and rodents forage for leftover feed. Many farm and barn cats have died from this virus, and may have helped spread it.

BEEF PRICING RACKET BROKEN

From meatingplace.com: "Tyson Foods and Cargill have agreed to pay a combined $87.5 million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit alleging they conspired to inflate U.S. beef prices by limiting supply.

"According to court filings (Oct. 6) in the U.S. District Court for Minnesota, Tyson will pay $55 million and Cargill $32.5 million under preliminary settlements that still require a judge’s approval. The agreements mark the first consumer settlements in the beef price-fixing litigation, which began in 2019. ...

"Under the settlement terms, Tyson and Cargill agreed to cooperate with consumers pursuing claims against the remaining defendants, JBS USA and National Beef Packing, which have denied wrongdoing. An expert for the plaintiffs estimated total consumer damages at $1.9 billion.

"The beef settlement follows Tyson’s separate $85 million deal (earlier this fall) resolving similar allegations in the pork industry. Tyson, Cargill, and JBS have each denied participating in price-fixing schemes."

The beef industry is a major contributor to climate change, exterminating wolves and cougars and other predators and ruining natural biodiversity. Much beef is contaminated with growth-stimulating, estrogen-mimicking and endocrine-disrupting pharmaceuticals, some of which may cause cancer. My companion animals do not eat beef, and neither do I.

HELPING HORSES GRIEVE

Horses that spend time with deceased companions’ bodies are less likely to show behavior changes, such as movement or vocalization, say researchers. They note that access to the body might allow horses to better understand and cope with a death.

The study of 325 horses reports that animals that witness a death show a stress response through increased vigilance and reduced eating and sleeping. But behavior changes are less likely to endure if animals see the body, whether or not they witness the death. (See the study "Grief-like distress responses in horses after the death of a conspecific" by Claire Ricci-Bonot et al., published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2025.)

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)