Cell Phone Radiation Rendered 30 Calves Blind in Switzerland

As with humans in other contexts, 'mistakes were made', and little to no accounting or change has emerged since this happened over 20 years ago

Prelim: this is a two-part investigation; ‘more’ forthcoming tomorrow.

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Today, I’ll have a particular rabbit hole for you, dear readers: it all started when, a few days ago, I found a photograph from a Swiss Farmer’s newspaper from last year. The story was about a cell phone tower renders 30 calves blind, and despite days of looking here and there, the URL was apparently scrubbed from the internet.

So, here’s a screenshot from that piece by Susanne Meier, which appeared in Der Schweizer Bauer on 25 Oct. 2023 and bore the title ‘30 Blind Calves after Cell Tower was Built’

Now, you could say, well, I’ve known about the dangers of cell phone radiation for some time; or that you’re carefully protecting yourself etc.

Remember: these things are everywhere, and esp. if you’re in cities, 5G is built whether you like it or not.

And, lest we forget, cattle are also mammals, and just because we’ve yet to see such stories about humans (also mammals), doesn’t mean 5G won’t have negative consequences for humans either.

All non-English text comes to you in my translation and with emphases added (as well as my snark).

Near Cell Towers, Up to 30% of Swiss Cattle are Blind

Here’s a few choice excerpts from Susanne Meier’s article, which starts with the following long quote by Prof. Michael Hässig, a now-retired faculty member of the University of Zurich’s veterinary medical school:

Back in the year 2000 [!!!] a farmer complained to us. After a cell tower was built on his farmstead, he witnessed a growing amount of calves who were born blind. I was tasked by the Federal Veterinary Office and the Veterinary Office of the Canton [state] of Zurich to investigate the matter. Upon their slaughter, we examined the eyes of the calves and found out that the lens was cloudy.

Problem is, as Prof. Hässig explains, that there exists no test that proves that cell phone radiation is bad for you (ahem: ever checked your iPhone / Settings / General / Legal & Regulatory / RF Exposure?). Hence, the professor went and looked empirically.

He arranged for 280 calves from all over Switzerland to tested—and learned that, on average, ‘three percent were blind’. Yet:

On the farmstead with the cell tower, however, 30 percent of livestock was blind. Moreover, blindness among cattle only became a problem after the cell tower was erected. Other contributing factors could therefore be ruled out.

The article by Ms. Meier then describes how this event changed Prof. Hässig’s research interest. He followed up on these first forays and conducted another empirical test: placing a cell tower antenna into a barn and switching it on, he then took blood samples and analysed them:

The enzymes controlling the blood’s pH value had changed. Cell phone radiation did not only affect the body’s exterior (e.g., burnt skin) but also the interior. As the calves were blinded in utero, cell phone radiation must have been involved.

‘Our hypothesis is that cell phone radiation changes the enzymes’ activities in the body’, notes Michael Hässig, adding ‘likely compounded by other environmental factors, thus leading to grave damages, such as blindness.’

By now, there are many diverse studies about this, the expert notes further. Some of these show that ionising cell phone radiation influences the charges of the body’s magnetic field, although it is unclear if all livestock [read: that should probably incl. humans, too] reacts in the same manner to radiation.

‘These enzymes and their activities are found in all living creatures, and they are essential in all of them. Therefore we can deduce that radiation can affect all living beings. What we cannot predict, however, is the exact reaction of the enzymes upon being exposed to radiation.’

So, what about the spatial distance to the source of radiation and the kind of exposure that triggers health problems? Here’s the pertinent bit from Ms. Meier’s article with the header ‘Impulses with 5G’:

Michael Hässig makes a comparison to humans that hold the source of radiation—the cell phone—next to their heads:

‘Calves are kept in a bay [in a barn] or in an igloo [those little plastic huts outdoors] and thus permanently in close proximity to an emitting cell phone antenna. By contrast, humans don’t, and the cell phone isn’t always held up next to the head.’

The big debate right now is the introduction of 5G.

‘Radiation intensity varies widely, with magnetic fields pulsing. Research indicates that these impulses can be troublesome.’

In the final analysis, Prof. Hässig then indicates that ‘a lot remains unclear, and it’s equally unclear if farmers will receive assistance of compensation. As regards the case-precedent of the blinded calves, at least the cell tower was moves.’

There is a small ‘info box’ in the piece about ‘non-ionising radiation’ explaining that there are ‘various forms’ of this kind of exposure, including ‘transmission lines, electrified railroad lines, transformers, or high-frequency electromagnetic radiation from cell phone networks, and, albeit stationary, MRI machines’. Physically, these radiation sources would ‘differ with respect to frequency and the kinds of emitted signals’. Moreover, it is noted that their diffusion is ‘contingent on their frequency’.

Bottom Lines

This is all quite…bad, isn’t it?

Tomorrow we’ll look into the science Prof. Hässig has done—turns out, he published one (!) paper in 2014 about this (see here, if you cannot wait), and he’s also involved with a federal-level reporting system for cell phone radiation problems among livestock.

One does wonder, though, as to why Prof. Hässig calls the above-related case so important for his research interests—and publishes but one study.

Then there’s the scrubbing of the URL (website) of the above article.

And, finally, let’s not forget that the regulatory framework for cell phone radiation exposure is now over thirty years old.

If you’re ‘new’ to these things, you might want to spend some 50 minutes with Dr. Devra Davis:

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s venture further down this particular rabbit hole.

In the meantime, please consider using wired headphones when using your cell phone.