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What??
Did you perhaps misread the title of my post?
No, you didn’t.
And it isn’t me who is giving you this advice.
It is your government.
And what does this have to do with chickens? Read on.
Basically, for a long time, but seemingly at a much more feverish pace over the past few weeks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been in the news for
- threatening companies that sell natural products
- seizing natural products from manufacturers and
- threatening natural care practitioners with seizure, injunction, and financial penalties.
And at the same time, this same FDA is encouraging us to continue eating arsenic-laced chicken.
Yes, you heard right.
I could write a whole bunch about all of this, but I am going to try to just give you a summary and a link to the sources so you can go read them for yourself. Hang on through the whole post. It’s quite a ride!
What the FDA Says is Unsafe
1. Elderberry Juice – The FDA seized elderberry juice from Wyldewood Cellars in Peck, Kansas since they claim that the company markets the product as being able to cure or treat disease. And why is elderberry juice so dangerous?:
Products with unapproved disease claims are dangerous because they may cause consumers to delay or avoid legitimate treatments,” said Dara A. Corrigan, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.
I don’t know about you, but just because someone tells me that elderberry juice might help me with an ailment doesn’t mean that I won’t seek out another treatment if I feel that I should. What is the FDA going to do next? Make me take medicine that I don’t want? You can read more about the situation on this ABC affiliate’s website.
2. Probiotics – U.S. Marshals went into the UAS Laboratories‘ (manufacturer of probiotics) plant and seized probiotics and labels. I spoke to UAS’ owner’s wife (Mrs. S.K. Dash) directly and she told me that there was no advance warning, no phone call, no letter. Just a warrant and the seizure. And why are probiotics so dangerous? According to Natural Products Insider:
While an initial statement from FDA did not give the exact claims it takes issue with, FDA said the products claim to treat or prevent colds, flu, respiratory infections, urinary tract infections (UTIs), yeast infections, ulcers and high cholesterol.
3. Thermography – I am not a total Dr. Mercola fan, but this makes me mad. The FDA is threatening all sorts of things against Mercola, who is arguably one of the most successful alternative health practitioners in the U.S. The FDA explains the reason for these threats as being essentially the same as in the above case. Mercola states on his website that thermography is a good way to detect medical problems and may be better than traditional methods. (See the FDA’s warning letter.)
The article in Gaia-Health is informative and discusses what might be the Fed’s motivation in all of this.
What the FDA Says is Safe
Arsenic in Chickens, Arsenic in You and Arsenic-Laced Chicken Poop Being Fed to Cows - OK. I am so done with letting my family eat conventional meat now. I was being a bit lenient with it at potlucks until now, but no more.
The basics are that for years the FDA has known that arsenic-laced feed was being given to chickens. The argument was that the arsenic would all come out in their poop. Now they have discovered that it is not so.
The FDA and the National Chicken Council also say that the arsenic present in the tainted chicken is in such a small amount that it is safe to eat even though it is a carcinogen. Ugh.
To their credit, the company who manufactures the feed has agreed to pull the feed off the market, but there is no telling how much of it is left (still being fed to chickens on a farm near you??). In addition, according to the AP,:
Scott Brown of Pfizer Animal Health’s Veterinary Medicine Research and Development division said the company also sells the ingredient in about a dozen other countries. He said Pfizer is reaching out to regulatory authorities in those countries and will decide whether to sell it on an individual basis.” (http://www.usatoday.com/money/indus…)
Not good enough for us, but maybe good enough for others??
Here are a few more interesting (and troubling) facts:
Uh, I don’t know if you agree with me or not, but I think it’s possible that some natural things that God has provided us with in nature might actually cure and treat illness. And I would prefer that the government not tell me what I can and cannot take.
Check out my post on How Our Family Avoided Antibiotics to see one example of natural products and how they helped us.
Now, to be clear, all of this does not mean that I am:
- anti-pharmaceuticals or
- anti-government
I am, however, advocating that both should be held accountable for their actions. And we are the ones to do it.
Pharmaceuticals shouldn’t be dosed out willy-nilly to people. People need to change their lifestyles to impact their health; not depend on a drug to clean up a mess while they continue making the mess. For example, you can’t just eat tons of sugar and take diabetes drugs and call it even.
Seems to me that Pfizer and the FDA have their priorities mixed up. Arsenic in chicken feed is OK | Probiotics are not. Go figure.
Worse than that, the FDA is paid by you and me in the form of taxes. That being so, they work for us. So…
What can you do about it?
Here are some action points, recommended by Gaia-Health:
- Phone: 1-888-463-6332 (their main number)
- Direct Phone to FDA Director, Margaret Hamburg: 301-796-5000. The phone is answered by staff members, so you can tell her exactly what you think.
- Mail: Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
- E-mail: The FDA does not provide an e-mail address for contact.
- E-mail the Director: However, Gaia-Health has tracked down an AOL e-mail for her and it appears to be live. You might try contacting her at margaretahamburg@aol.com.
- You can also send comments to local and national newspapers or other news media.
For more on the government and our rights, check out my posts on
- Mothers in Jail | Parental Rights, the Government and Medicine
- FDA Poised to Ban Supplements in the US
- Mother Threatened with Jail for Planting Vegetables
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Please spread the word. If we do nothing, then we deserve the government that we get.
Shared at Monday Mania, Traditional Tuesdays, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Fresh Bites Friday, Homestead Barn Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Living Well Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, The 21st Century Housewife, The 21st Century Housewife, and Hearth and Soul Hop.
Really disconcerting information. Thanks for posting this.
WOW!! And people actually believe our government?!?! We try to eat things we make/raise ourselves, as store bought stuff is full of chemicals! And the whole thing with the probiotics….. they don’t want us to take it, cause it does cure over 75% of peoples health problems!!! The best probiotic out there….and 100% natural with the research to back it up is Shaklee! http://www.srkindred.myshaklee.com
What perfect timing in my life is your post. I have been getting more and more into herbs and growing our own things. Truly a few years ago I would have never thought I would be “one of those people” who want the chemicals out of the stuff my family eats….but now I am. LOL. My Inlaws are ones who take lots of med’s…..both are diabetic and eat all the crap they want and take their meds and don’t both checking their blood sugar except when we bug the crap out of them. Last Saturday my mil almost blacked out (thought she was in a long hallway, everything echoed and she felt weird), was out of breath, pounding headache, had a hard time using her leg when driving her car (she had convinced us she was fine…she hadn’t told us about the headache or the hallway feeling at that point). An hour or so later we were pushing her to go to the ER….my FIL just thought she was dehydrated and she should drink water and stay home. The dr in the ER just wanted to give her liquid and sent her on her way. Thankfully she went to her primary care a few days later and he took her off her blood pressure meds that she has been on for over 30 years. Her BP is going down and then going up. They are changing her diabeties meds and in a week (good grief I have no idea why it is taking so long for these tests) they are doing an echo and a cartoid artery sonogram. The cardiologist actually told her that all these meds she is on is not natural things for you to have in your body and aren’t good for you. Gee you think? My husband, daughter and I have tried telling them for years that the crap they eat is going to do serious damage to them that they will either die of a heart attack, stroke or it will make them not in a very bad shape for the rest of their years. It for sure has made me more and more interested in changing my ways….even thought we eat nothing like they do. Thanks for the post.
Wow. I have been dealing with my own health issues and my whole family’s for that matter. I highly recommend Theresa Vernon. You can find her info on my Links Page. Her specialty is toxic metals and chronic fatigue and mineral balancing. I am seeing really great results.
Thanks for stopping by!
Glad to hear you’re having good results with Theresa Vernon. I’m working with her too, but seem to be doing worse. And I just heard from another patient of hers who recommended her a few years ago, but is STILL having serious adrenal burnout issues FIVE-SIX years after she starting consulting with her.
That’s kind of scary.
Hi Kelly. Glad you stopped by to share. Hmmm…How long have you been working with Theresa? I am sure you have been corresponding with her, but are you sure you aren’t just dumping metals? I feel horrible when I dump. At least that seems quite likely to be what is going on. I’d be happy to correspond with you. And about the other patient as well. I am for sure no expert. I wonder what is going on. Please feel free to share either here or through my contact page or you can email me at wholenewmom at gmail dot com.
I don’t know of anyone in that situation. I have 3 local friends who are working with her. My son has gotten better (he wasn’t awful but had lots of headaches and growing pains), my husband has improved and I’ve had 3 conditions clear up so far. A friend of mine hasn’t dumped copper yet but it completely out of burnout and another acquaintance is out of burnout.
Take care and curious to hear more.
Great post, thanks.
I understand the FDA wants to regulate non-proven or “off-label” use of many products, but the shutdowns you mention here are just plain ridiculous.
As for the components of animal feed (and other aspects of their care,) I can only say – buy local, organic, humanely-raised-and-slaughtered meat. Just… just do. I read _Dominion_ in 2004 and it turned me into an overnight vegetarian. Factory farming is horrifying and unnatural. I was veggie until last year, when we found a local farm I was finally comfortable with.
The government should be protecting us, but instead, it’s in bed with all the wrong people – thanks to PACs and lobbyists. It’s nauseating. And it’s up to each of us to make sure we don’t get screwed as much s possible.
This is no new battle and has been going on far longer than most of us would like to admit. My father-in-law was one of the few who spoke out on behalf of alternative healthcare back in the 70′s. He paid the price by being arrested twice. The first time he was able to hire a good lawyer and was found innocent. The second time they could not afford a good lawyer. They even brought Betty Ford in to testify against him. He is a hero in my eyes and paved the way for the cause of health freedom.
HI Adrienne,
THis is a great post! I was going to do a post about this issue when I saw it in the news but you did such a wonderful job I think I will just tweet your post. It is truly disgusting what the “health” officials will allow and then disallow the things that are actually good for us!
Hi Jill!
Thanks for the encouragement. I too am disgusted. We all need to band together and try to tell these “public servants” that they are not doing their job. Thanks for the support!
I watched Food Inc, Supersize Me, The Corporation, and Manufacturing Consent all withing the past week (all for the purpose of helping to encourage myself to eat and live healthier and more sustainably)… Anyway, this post falls right in line with every message contained in those documentaries. We live in scary times, and changes need to happen.
I’m unsure of the finer points, but I’m assuming FDA regulations and US food companies have an impact on Canadian diet and health… especially with FTA.
What “action points” do you recommend for Canadians to help initiate a change/accountability at the FDA/Government level?
Hmmm…I don’t know, but in the sense that US policy affects Canada’s and vice versa, I would recommend that you contact the director of the FDA at the number that I gave in the post.
Also, I would just like to mention that you may wish to be careful on a vegetarian diet. I was an almost complete vegetarian for years and that, combined w/ other factors, lead to adrenal burnout and copper toxicity. We are trying to add high quality animal products from thoughtful farms to our diets.
Our family is full of avid hockey fans so glad to “meet” another Canadian!
Before you take “Supersie” too too seriously, you need to watch Tom Naughtons “Fathead”. Tom has a great blog as well.
We do this to ourselves. The only way to reclaim our freedom is stop consuming food produced by investor owned corporations – Strictly limit what we buy at the grocery store. Instead, aggressively look for local sources for nutrient dense foods. Join a food club, search out local farmers. Get a freezer for bulk purchases. Ferment all condiments and beverages.
If we can’t feed ourselves from our own kitchens, then it becomes hard to argue that we shouldn’t be treated like cattle. The struggle for freedom begins in the kitchen.
Very interesting perspective. I don’t say this to hold up some standard that others need to adhere to immediately, but merely to show that it can be done. Our family purchases no — and I mean no — processed food. The only thing that I should clarify this with is to say that we purchase maybe 1-2 bags of chips as a treat per year and on our recent trip to Chicago we bought 1 pint of a coconut milk frozen treat and a box of gluten free ice cream cones for the kiddos.
You would have thought we’d taken them on a fancy vacation – they enjoyed their treats so much.
We have made this transition one step at a time. It can be done. Thanks for stopping by and for sharing.
Well said!
I live in the UK, but we travel to the US at least five or six times a year, so I am concerned about the food we eat while we are there. I found the points you raised very interesting. Your post really does underscore the need to be aware of where your food comes from, and if you do eat meat, what the animals that become the meat eat before they get to your plate. You raise a lot of other very thought provoking points as well. Thank you for sharing this post with the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.
You are welcome! I don’t know where you travel to in the US when you come, but there are ways to find local, good sources of meat that I could try to point you to.
I wish I could travel to Europe as often as you come here! I was there a few times and we have quite a bit of family in Ireland.
I’m English and currently in the process of moving to America (my husband is American and in the USAF, stationed in America now) and for a long time the prospect of food over there has scared the hell out of me.
We’ve only ever eaten free range eggs at home and when I said this phrase to my husband he looked puzzled and I had to explain what it was. After much hunting around he says he thinks he’s found one place near our appartment that might sell them.
As for the meat… seeing “FDA APPROVED!” stamped on packaging made me ask “what does that mean?”. In England we have things like free range meat, freedom farmed, and I know what that means because they actually tell you – well informed public and all that. But FDA approved? So again I asked my husband, and other friends in America and none of them knew. There are products openly sold in America that are illegal (yep, illegal!) in Europe because they contain things that are deemed by the European Union to be hazardous to health.
I feel as though I’m going to move to a country where food is everywhere and end up starving to death :/
Thank you for sharing this link, it’s reinforced my thinking of NEEDING to find somewhere that has natural and free range products. The fact that a country’s own government would endanger it’s people’s food for profit just baffles me. “only in America” :/
Wow. Thanks for the comments. I know that all is not perfect in the UK, but the food situation sure sounds better.
There are some good resources here, though, and we will sure be happy to have you over here as part of the fight – and I think you should feel free to call the FDA whether you are in the UK or wherever you are. You can go ahead and tell them that you are moving here and what you think about their practices.
Feel free to tell me where you are moving to. I’ll be happy to help in anyway that I can and you can look for a Weston A. Price group near you as they will be able to help you for sure!
Thought I’d add (as I can’t contact the FDA myself due to not being moved there yet) that elderberries have undergone clinical trials and have been shown to cure 90% of flu infections in 3 days, which was half the time needed for the patients taking the placebo.
Laboratory studies have also shown than elderberries reduce excessive sinus mucus secretion.
Elderberries contain flavanoids, which are natural chemical substances and are proven to boost the immune system and give antioxident protection.
The thing that the FDA seems to be skipping over is that pharmaceutical companies got their knowledge and provide medications because of natural ingredients, studies of them and utilising their natural chemicals to begin with.
Perhaps someone needs to point out to the FDA that they need to get America out of the dark ages (and stop profiteering) and more up to date like the rest of the world who are open about health benefits coming from all number of places.
Here in England, companies who want to market natural products as being beneficial to health use the phrasing “CAN help..” rather than “WILL help..”, because (just as with normal medicine) nothing is 100% effective for everyone.
I agree with you 100%, but the key word here is “profiteering.” As long as the corporations are making their board of directors rich – as well as the people in government and lobbyists who stand to profit from supporting them – there won’t be any change on a federal level. Greed greed greed, money money money.
The only way we as citizens can hope to make any real change is to hurt them where it counts – in their profit margins. Refuse to buy their overpriced, overprocessed, toxic crap at the grocery stores.
Thanks for sharing this information with the Hearth n Soul.
I don’t even know where to begin!! WOW, and I thought the feeding of other chickens and the bleaching of the meat were bad enough! Thank you for posting this!
(here from Homestead Revival)
It’s really hard to wrap my mind around the fact that our government is corrupt – even though I know it’s true. This was an excellent post.
I was just watching this video today… It’s a long one but fascinating and very well done.
S.R. BURZINSKI VERSUS
THE CORRUPT, CRIMINAL CANCER INDU$$TRY
The cure for cancer is the immune system. A number of nutritional treatments have proven successful in clearing cancer by equipping a poor immune system with the tools it needs to fix the problem. Some of the more prominent modalities with which you will be familiar include Essiac, Vit C IV, Vit B17/Laetrile, Gerson, Hoxsey, the Rave Diet, and Stanislaw Burzinski MD’s antineoplaston therapy.
I would not normally bother you with another email until next Monday but I thought a number of you would want to see Eric Merola’s excellent film while it’s still available as a free online screening. It will cease to be so after 20th June. I’ll not tell you a thing about it. Just watch it all the way through if your blood pressure can take it. What an incredible social document.
Phillip Day
HTTP://WWW.BURZYNSKIMOVIE.COM/
While I agree that it is insane that the FDA allowed arsenic in chicken feed (and have allowed many other dangerous things to creep into our food and drugs), I think some of the other points in this blog are little misleading.
I don’t think that the FDA seizing juice from ONE shop in Kansas (out of the hundreds of thousands of other shops still permitted to sell it) is cause for concern. And if you research this case, one will find that the FDA will allow Wyldewood Cellars to continue marketing this juice as long as they change some of their outlandish claims/labels. The FDA is not attacking the juice; they’re defending the public from false advertising, which is one of their purposes. I certainly don’t appreciate when products make misleading claims, and I think the FDA needs to continue to stay on top of companies, demanding that they be 100% clear and honest while advertising.
The same goes for the thermogram. If Dr. Mercola really believes in this device, he should comply with the FDA by going through the required application process to use the thermogram in these ways. The FDA simply hasn’t approved it yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t once Dr. Mercola goes through the process of requesting approval.
I am certainly wary of our government, and the medical industry as well–they are FULL of corruption; but the points in this blog seem weak in promoting awareness of such corruption(and I mean no disrespect to the author, whose blogs I very much enjoy).
And while I myself have a healthy dose of suspicion towards the government, I balance that with a healthy dose of suspicion towards conspiratists (and I am not implying the author of this blog is a conspiratist). I do feel that there is danger in planting seeds of suspicion that are not based on truth (or are based on truth taken out of context), since truth is freedom. Sometimes truth leads us to defending the government, sometimes to accusing it.
Good day and God bless!
Kirsten,
First of all, thanks for your comment. I, like you, think it is important to think things out and look at sources, etc. That’s a lot of why posts with this amount of information can take a lot of time to write.
Clearly, I could have gone into a lot more detail. I did not look into the claims of Wyldewood Cellars, but it does seem from this article that the company has been working with the FDA to change their labeling and that the FDA is still not satisfied. Meanwhile, I can tell you that I, and numerous other people whom I know have taken “approved meds” and have suffered a great deal. And I did speak personally with the owner of UAS labs. She said that the FDA came in unannounced and that they had worked with them previously on changing their labels as well.
I think this is such a sticky mess, but it really perturbs me to see the government w/ all of their ties to the big pharmaceutical companies trying to squeeze everything out of these supplement companies, some of which do a really great job. While at the same time, they hide the fact that children have been seriously injured and killed by vaccines. The court cases wherein guilt is admitted by them is hidden so that most of us in the US don’t even know about them.
I really appreciate your being particularly careful in stating your case. I will say, however, that I have seen so much misinformation on both sides of the coin. I think it is important for people to be able to treat themselves as they would like to and then go seek allopathic care when necessary. It is for sure the case that almost everyone in our society is going for the quick pill, the antibiotics, the vaccine and the surgery rather than working on good nutrition, preventive care and lifestyle change. For example, how many commercials do you see for medicines to treat yeast infections, where what is really needed is a diet free of sugar and white flours?
Believe me, I do not mean this to be judgmental. It was really hard for me, for example, to get off of sugar and caffeine. I really had to work on it. Now that I am off of them, I can’t believe what they were doing to my body.
Hope that gives you a bit more of an idea of where I am coming from. I know that some natural products are not cures. But I do know that some are really powerful and I think that supplement companies should be allowed to write what they want. Consumers should be able to make their own decisions.
Thanks again! Feel free to comment again if you like!
Thanks for your quick response! I think we are very much alike in our views concerning health care in this country. It is tragic how quick people are to pop a pill. Ignorance runs rampant through this nation. I have a close family member through whom I’ve witnessed the danger of such ignorance. She suffers from chronic sinus infections, which for over ten years have been treated with steroids and different antibiotics, given out like candy by her doctors. She’s had multiple nasal surgeries. And she can’t seem to accept that she’s immune to these meds; the bacteria has mutated and become resistant. Now no antibiotics are effective, and she feels there’s nothing left she can do. But she won’t take the time to research natural treatment. Meanwhile, she’s sick all the time. In her mid-fifties, she allows her life to pass her by. Very sad.
I still think that our society is successfully maintaining its right to seek allopathic care. We have healiopathic doctors everywhere, and thousands of informative books/websites at our fingertips, thousands of supplements. But just as drug companies are required to state clearly all possible side effects and expected results of the drugs they market, I feel supplement companies should have to do the same. After all we are better able to make informed decisions when false advertising is kept out of the equation. (And those supplement companies are after money too. They’ll say whatever needs to be said for the $.) I say, don’t trust any of ‘em! Research it all!
I do not take your comment regarding lifestyle change to be judgemental. I agree with you completely about the need to change lifestyle for good health and as a preventative measure. I give you props for your commitment to your family’s well being. It is our God-given responsibility. I am slowly on the path to such changes for myself and my family, and have already made several (drinking distilled water, getting off Splenda *eek!*, and abstaining from red meat, to name a few). I have a loooong way to go, and hope to find further encouragement (and more good ideas) from your blog. I, like yourself, am a busy homeschooling mother, so finding time to research this stuff is a challenge. Your blog is a great help!
Kristen, Hi again.
I just wanted to mention a few things in response to your comment.
First of all, you may want to be careful about distilled water. There is evidence that it depletes the body of minerals. We opted for RO water with a re-mineralizing cartridge on the back end to add minerals back in. I have a post on water choices, but it needs reworking — some day
.
Also, just so you know, I am doing some more research (as I have time) on all of this FDA information. Some of what I am hearing is quite disturbing. It seems to me, at least for now, that the FDA is being quite heavy handed and unreasonable. There are some big ties between big companies, pharmaceuticals and the government coming out everyday. I agree with you that the supplement companies are trying to make money too, but with our government grabbing more and more power in all arenas (banking, car companies, etc.) it strikes me that our nation is looking more and more like a socialized nation everyday. We even had a woman from China in our home about 3 years ago. At that time she said to us, “In a lot of ways, China is more free than the U.S. now.” That is almost a direct quote.
I have heard numerous people from socialist and communist nations say that they are appalled at the way that our government is gradually (and quickly) taking away our freedoms. I am very concerned about this trend and hope that families around our country will wake up and see what is happening.
Take care and thanks again for stopping by!
“I think that supplement companies should be allowed to write what they want. Consumers should be able to make their own decisions.”
The problem is the contradictions of the corporate controlled FDA: Do not eat too much fish due to mercury, however, mercury is fine in your teeth and vaccinations. Do not make claims that mislead the public about elderberries however, no GMO labeling for the public.
“it strikes me that our nation is looking more and more like a socialized nation everyday”
Actually, the wedded relationship between for-profit interests and government is inherent to Fascism.
Really, when you compare socialism and fascism, they are really the same; extremely corrupt, and no freedom.
Adrienne, you forgot to add one thing to your “What can you do about it?” list: vote for Dr. Ron Paul!
I know what many of you are thinking, now… “Oh, boy, it’s one of those nutcases, again.” Seriously, though: if you’re not going to just accept everything the government tells you without research, why accept everything the mainstream media (an extention of the government) tells you? When you do REAL research on Dr. Paul, you find out what a consistent, honest, and freedom-loving person he is. I encourage you to continue to find things out for yourself!
Hi Ariel. Wow – so you went and opened up the political can of worms, eh? Yes, they are both corrupt and have no real freedom. And both are detestable.
When I wrote this post, Ron Paul wasn’t on the radar when I wrote this. And I do not think that you are a nutcase. Anyway, I really do like a lot that Ron Paul has to say (especially his stance on reforming the Fed and making gov’t smaller), but I am concerned about his libertarian leanings regarding world politics. I am not a “we are the world’s police” type, but I do think that we need to recognize the danger that some nations pose is quite serious and needs to be dealt with on some level. There are issues / concerns that I have with all of the candidates but I will say two things that I like about Santorum and Romney. It is that they both, especially Romney, have wives who partake of alternative health care. Romney’s wife has MS and just recovered from cancer and I know that she leans on alternative treatment. I have hopes that with someone like that in charge there will be less of a chance of over-regulating of supplements, et al. I also like that Romney is not for embryonic stem cell research despite his wife’s diagnosis.
So – there is a small portion of my two cents. Thanks for commenting!
AMEN!
It’s hard to just scratch the surface on this stuff, because the deeper you dig, the more unsettled you can feel. Especially about how “Free” we are..
BLessings!
LIB
http://bit.ly/obLcAH
Makes me even more thankful for my 25 new little meat chicks in my living room (they move out to the barn next week), and my BIG garden! Today for lunch we had chicken soup made from a home-grown chicken, and a salad that was picked right before lunch in my yard & garden. Doesn’t get any more fresh & local than that!
Thanks, I appreciate this post. I’ve been eating real-food beef and pork, but slacking on the chicken. Okay, this now too will change.
Here in the Midwest, Miller’s Chicken is a reasonably priced option that is safe. Now pastured, but safe. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for sharing this very timely and thought provoking post with the Gallery of Favorites.
wow, what a reminder that it is so important to know WHERE our food comes from and how it was raised/grown/etc.
You’re so right. It is hard to keep on top of all of this – but it’s important to try at least – and put pressure on the government to let us have freedom to choose our food!
I am struggling with sinus issues right now and thought I would research Grapefruit Seed Extract and found this article: http://www.terressentials.com/truthaboutgse.html Just wondering what your take is on it?
Hi Kim. I had another reader ask about this as well. I sent an inquiry to a candida protocol specialist who markets GSE but haven’t heard back yet. Maybe I will post on FB and see what readers think – looks like we need to do more research on this!
Interesting. I have been using GSE in homemade cleaning products for years, thinking it was a safe anti-microbial. Have you heard anything back yet from your source?
I haven’t. No idea where to go with this.
Adrienne,
Every time I come here I learn something.
This is just another reason we mix our own feed and raise chickens! Thanks for making us aware!
Hi Paula. I so wish we could raise our own chickens. As of now, it’s illegal in my city.
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So odd isn’t it? We’ve come a long way baby… in the wrong direction! In 1918, the government “expected” everyone to keep chickens, claiming that “Even the smallest back yard has room for a flock large enough to supply the house with eggs.” Check out this Mother Earth News article that displays the full photo of the original publication: http://www.motherearthnews.com/the-happy-homesteader/uncle-sam-wants-you-to-raise-chickens.aspx
Do you think you could make any headway with yourr local municipal government using this as an example of how such practices as raising chickens in one’s own yard was not only commonplace but encouraged? Especially in light of our dismal economic state?
Thanks! I have already contacted one of our city commissioners. (why do we need more than one??) And I have talked w/ an activist sort of group and they want to do something. Hoping we can get this done
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I am really enjoying reading through your blog! I found you on a link-up at Growing Home. I have an inside view on the medical field, as I have worked in a hospital for 17 years. I can say, without hesitation, that I believe it all comes down to the almighty dollar. Drug companies own both doctors and have powerful lobbies in government. Because medicine is run by insurance companies here-and much of it is medicare and medicaid, we are pretty much at the mercy of the government. It only stands to get worse with Obamacare. I have seen small glimmers of hope here and there–a handful of doctors who are well read on alternative treatments, but they are a very tiny minority. Thank you for all of the great information here. I am sure I will be referencing back to your blog regularly!
Lori recently posted..Mentors
Thanks, Lori. What a treat to have met you. I hope you’ll stay in touch. I am horrified at Obamacare. I do see a need to deal w/ uninsureds and “free loaders” (I used to be an insurance agent and couldn’t believe the people who wouldn’t buy insurance, despite being able to afford it). Anyway, something needs to be done. And fast.
The probiotics were not approved by the FDA to cure/treat any disease, and they were making claims about how it can treat a disease.
**expletive deleted***
I am not sure if I should respond to your comment or not since you obviously used a false name and added expletives to your comment. But…for the sake of educating my reader and yourself, your statement is wrong. Factually and in principle. I spoke w/ the owners of the probiotics company and they completely abided by everything that the FDA told them to do and they were still raided. We are becoming a police and nanny state and it’s ridiculous. On the principled end, I think supplement companies should be able to state what they think their product can treat and heal. The deaths and hard from Rxs is huge – whereas those from supplements is about nil.
I never really thought about how the FDA is payed. That just really irritates me that we pay them from our taxes and yet they are just doing as they please without consulting the public, and using scare tactics. I’m sure the big pay offs from pharma and prior pharma employees has a huge deal to do with it too. Well it might just come down to natural selection…and I’m sure those of us who eat healthy and avoid chemical laden FDA approved drugs will be the ones laughin in the end!
Of course, I’m sure we’ll all be long gone by then!! Thanks for all your great posts! I’m enjoying navigating around your site
(Oh and I meant that having prior pharma employees now working for the FDA has a big deal to do with all of this. If that wasn’t clear in my previous post.)
The FDA has a Facebook page too, that allows comments!
https://www.facebook.com/FDA?fref=ts
Thanks for the article…sharing!
I just have to interject on this post…..mainly because my man IS the FDA – a national expert, so, one of the top level experts in the industry. We definitely make “strange bed fellows” because I have always been a naturalist, alternative and holistic believer and hate doctors and drugs unless all the natural alternatives have failed me. SO, trust me….we’ve had YEARS of conversations about the crack down that I felt was all out attacks on alternative, herbal and natural ‘everything’! And to be quite plain here….he DOES believe and knows a great deal of natural and herbal stuff works much better than pharma. The companies they go after cry “poor pitiful me – the mean FDA guys assaulted me for no reason!!” But, in reality, those companies have been advertising medical claims with no clinical trials they can shove under the FDA investigators nose to PROVE their claims! And that folks is the entire reason for seizure! The natural supplement companies are making claims with no proof it works! There has to be clinical trials and those cost hundreds of thousands of dollars – even into the millions. What mom and pop shop is going to go to that expense before peddling their little herbal concoctions? NONE! So, my argument with him was shot down. He/They are right. As much as we all like to think no one selling herbal or alternative supplements would lie to us, trust me…..no one is in business for the fun of it. They are greedy, they lie and it’s still the almighty dollar that drives them to sell that product. People DIE from those lies. Which brings me to Big Pharma companies. Having been defeated on defending the natural supplement industry for doing stupid, non-clinical proven sales tactics, I just had to ask….so WHY don’t the Big Pharma companies sell it?? They CAN afford to do the clinical studies??? Simple reason is because Big Pharma can not patent natural. There is no money in “natural” – so, they won’t use it. Being kinda on the inside, I DO understand now the seizures and how/why this happens. It really isn’t FDA’s fault – it’s the stupid people making claims that can’t be backed up with clinical trials!! I still disagree about Big Phama and hate them. He doesn’t like them either for the most part. And trust me….the **** he sees in Big Pharma would shock you – and I do mean SHOCK YOU, no TERRIFY YOU! He and the entire industry are constantly seizing, taking to court, shutting down so many companies you never hear about that are/were doing very bad things! Problem FDA has is that most of those bad companies go running to their congressman/woman and whine, threaten etc. until the congress steps in and makes FDA back down. Lots of bad stuff still hits the market – after FDA has tried to keep it off the market. People have to die THEN the media and public attacks FDA for not doing their job, when all along, they did do their job and Congress stopped them dead in their tracks. Congress never takes the hit – they know FDA will get all the blame. Follow the money people…..it’s always…..follow the money.
Thanks for the info–I think
. (Oh – please watch language usage. Thanks!) You are an unusual couple. I will say that the one company whose owner I spoke to has a lot of good folks working with them and they said that they had complied with FDA requests but still had more stuff seized. And of course, they can’t afford the trials. Don’t you agree?
Yes, I agree they can’t afford the clinical trials, most small companies cant. And I’m sure if they just stopped making medical claims they wouldn’t have any more problems. The rules are very clear. If that company doesn’t have the clinical trials to back up their advertised claims, they can’t advertise it. It’s really not that hard. I’m sure there are nice people that work there. It’s just the lack of playing by the rules that got them in trouble. Seizure can not happen without very strong evidence of blatant disregard of numerous warnings. That’s the law. It’s not the Wild West…. I would guess there was more product that was still being marketed that caused action. I went thru the same thing in Herbalife. New product – lots of distributors with no training – we all new it worked and were out there saying all these medical claims. MAN were we shut down fast! A 3 month business boom was killed overnight and it took years to gain lost momentum. I’m sure they will recover and now know to play by the rules. Just know though, there are lots of people/companies out there saying their product is “pure” something and it cures “this” ….only it’s caplets or capsules of filler! So when you find out you were being scammed, or worse, they die…..who are you going to blame? Not a fun job is it? My guy just happens to feel he really is trying to protect the public from liars, thieves and greedy companies. If you heard the things I’ve heard you’d be stunned. I still rely on all my natural, holistic and herbal products. I just make sure I do my own research, then hope and pray what I’m purchasing is what they claim it is!!!
I would love to hear your stories
. One thing that I would like to know your thoughts on….you mention deaths. From the statistics that I have read, it is the allopathic medicines that are causing the deaths. Here is an article by Gaia Health (and there are many others like it) stating that there isn’t even one death from supplements, herbs, or vitamins, which is something that the mainstream medicine community can’t even come close to claiming.
One more thought (I hit the “reply” button too quickly) — I personally don’t have a problem with someone making claims like “almonds are good for cholesterol” or “probiotics can help immune system” or “probiotics help candida”. Do you? I mean, isn’t it a vicious circle – asking them to do clinical trials that they can’t afford? I am all for purity in the industry, however. So maybe you can address all of these things. Thanks.
Crazy – and as an extra special bonus- That arsenic is also contaminating rice crops:
Rice Farmers Suing Drug Company and Poultry Industry for Contaminating Their Crop with Arsenic
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/25/rice-farmers-sue-drug-companies.aspx
Arsenic in Rice: New Report Finds ‘Worrisome Levels’
http://gma.yahoo.com/arsenic-rice-report-finds-worrisome-levels-050450243–abc-news-health.html
Thanks. I was aware of the problem and hoped to do more research. I did talk w/ Lundberg and their rice isn’t as much of an issue since it is from CA – the southern US rice is more of a problem. Thank you.
Thanks I had wondered if there were any safer brands. Crazy world when he have to watch out for poisons in food – and the govt shuts down those helping and gives greenlight the poison!
I had a TMA test done and my arsenic levels were through the roof! I ate very little chicken and when I did it was always organic. No idea why till the rice/arsenic story broke.
What’s a TMA test?
TMA = Tissue Mineral Analysis” Sometimes called a HTMA for Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. I used a doctor who used the best one: http://doctorsdata.com
Here’s more info:
http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/HA%20INTRO.htm
You’re doing NB? So am I! But mine goes through a different lab. I am going to have to contact Lundberg again and find out how much arsenic is in theirs. Thanks!