Today I’m expressing my opposition to what’s going on in the State of North Carolina. A blogger named Steve Cooksey of Diabetes Warrior maintains a chronicle of his health journey, detailing how how he’s managed his disease.
The North Carolina State Board of Dietetics (members of the American Dietetics Association) has formally objected to his blogging activities, and he is now facing 120 days jail time. For what, you may ask. Writing about how he is healing himself without drugs and conventional approaches to his diagnosis of Diabetes.
When he was originally diagnosed, he was recommended to take insulin and consume the Standard American Diet of government recommendations, including My Plate (formerly the Food Pyramid) and a regimen of pharmaceutical drugs. Since then, he has been in the process of reversing his condition by not taking conventional advice.
If you read his blog and you don’t agree with his recommendations, then you certainly don’t have to take them. He’s not a doctor, nor does he claim to be. Steve is merely sharing his experience in the hopes that it may benefit others.
That should be just fine, right? Not really.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Here’s the biggest problem with the ADA or any other large entity giving out health recommendations. Their information is based on corporate sponsorship, which everyone should boycott and disapprove. We are supposed to get sound, unbiased health advice from doctors. But we all know doctors receive kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies, and incentives to push one drug over another (name brands over generics).
The ADA is no different. If you look at their sponsor list, it’s full of companies selling toxic, harmful products. If you have ever attended any of their conventions, you’ll know that the booths and sessions there represent corporations like Nestle, Coca-Cola, foods with chemicals, pesticides, hormones, and everything else. Basically, junk food aplenty and then some. If state Dietetic Boards are objecting to this, you had better believe it’s only a matter of time before other states follow suit.
Two years ago, I wrote a post about how the ADA wouldn’t admit that organic foods are more nutritious than conventional. This post has a link to the ADA site with specific information about annual amounts donated by sponsors. The only information now available is on this link showing annual report information, but with no specific annual amounts from each sponsor listed. I contacted the ADA today with a phone call to obtain that information, and I was told that I could send an e-mail and request it. We’ll see what happens.
In a nation with an increasing population of overweight, heart-disease ridden, cancer developing individuals, we don’t need to be told to eat more chemicals, artificial foods, and toxins. For many years, the standard advice has been to maintain a low-fat diet which encourages the heavy consumption of plants and grains, but cautions against consumption of fats and animal products.
These companies, who sell many of these products being recommended by health authorities to the general population to “manage” disease, have absolutely no business sponsoring any activity or information where health advice is being delved out. EXCEPT that this type of activity IS big business to them.
How else do you think these companies are controlling most the food in this country? Don’t believe me? Take a look at this diagram:
At least 5 of the companies in this diagram are major ADA sponsors: Coca Cola, Pepsi Co, Unilever, Kellogg’s, and General Mills.
So why should the ADA or any other entity care that Steve Cooksey is blogging about how he healed himself with natural means? Because ultimately, Steve didn’t follow their dietary and medical advice. Instead, he did his own research and learned ways to heal himself.
He chose to follow a diet that is low-carb and high in protein and fat. Steve eliminated the use of all medications – insulin, cholesterol, and blood pressure in one month.This is a direct threat to the information the ADA or any other large, powerful entity gives out about health and nutrition.
This is a violation of Freedom of Speech. We have the right to “furnish nutrition information on food, food materials, or dietary supplements” (section 9) and to “furnish nonfraudulent specific nutritional information and counseling about the reported or historical use of herbs, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, carbohydrates, sugars, enzymes, food concentrates, or other foods” (section 10).
How can you make your voice heard about this?
Sign the Petition. All petitions need 10,000 signatures before they will be looked at by anyone in Washington, so PLEASE. Take a moment and sign this petition to protect our health freedoms and rights – to make sure that in the future, you and anyone else can buy a book that doesn’t tow the party line on conventional health, to be able to write or blog about your own health experiences for others to read, to be able to look up information online which can someone the answers they so desperately need, or to allow yourself or anyone else to be able to receive counsel from someone who is not a doctor or RD/LD (Registered Dietitian or Licensed Dietitian).
In your message, make a respectful request to review the limits and boundaries of the law and the § 90-368: Persons and practices not affected, regarding sharing nutritional information with the public. The N.C. Board of Dietetics “Guidelines” and “interpretations”, and that this movement oversteps the limits of the law. Here’s a good template letter on the Heal Thyself web site.
Or, call Toll Free: (800) 849-2936.
By making contact with one of these entities, you are helping to ensure a future where we have choice and freedom to obtain health information or share information with others. Don’t allow our basic freedom to be able to have these choices to be placed in jeopardy. Blog about it, post on social media networks, and make your voice heard!
Want to learn about an exciting series coming to Public Television which provides great information about health and nutrition awareness, from experts in the field? Visit the Health Quest web site for more details.
The extreme conditions in our food supply today call for the application of conscientious awareness and purchasing habits on behalf of the consumer public. Avoiding GMOs is not necessarily easy, but to ensure good health and a clean environment, it’s an absolutely necessity.
Given what’s at stake with regard to current contamination issues of the food supply from the presence of GMOs, I want to focus on ways to make finding sustainable foods as easy as possible, and promoting these buying habits which support more local farmers and producers who use sustainable methods in their food growing practices.
Many farmers have realized the importance of sustainable methods in farming. There are some wonderful organic and sustainable farmers who take careful stewardship of our land. Many farmers and food growers have challenges becoming certified organic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask around and find out which ones are certified organic or who are using “organic practices”.
From the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM): “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. Their conclusion: “There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation,” from recognized scientific criteria. “The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.”
Children are especially vulnerable since their bodies are growing and developing, and they are susceptible to the many impacts of eating foods with GMOs in them – liver damage, food allergies, and others. Jeffery Smith from The Institute for Responsible Technology and author of Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods, explains why babies and children are more susceptible to the effects of these harmful organisms. “Children consume a large amount of products that may be genetically engineered. They eat a higher percentage of corn in their diet compared to adults, and allergic children often rely on corn as a source of protein.”
Dr. Donald Huber, PhD., professor of plant biology (formerly of Purdue University) is trained in microbiology, plant physiology and pathology, and has a background in genetics. He is a seasoned expert in soil-born diseases and host-parasite relationships, and has researched, written, and spoken about the dangers of GMOs to our environment and our bodies.
Please watch Part I of this informative video interview with Dr. Joseph Mercola interviewing Dr. Huber:
Now that you understand the inherent dangers in these organisms, let’s go over 4 ways we as consumers can send powerful messages to farmers and companies using these organisms to produce food. That means we not only have to educate ourselves, but be mindful about where we put our dollars in buying food and other products that could contain GMOs. Practicing what we preach is critical.
1. If you must shop at a store, always research where the food or product you want to buy comes from.
This can be tricky to navigate because so much of what is sold in stores is highly processed and suspect, making this the least preferred way to avoid GMOs. If you have no local farmers nearby from which to purchase food, download the Non-GMO Shopping Guide, prepared by theInstitute for Responsible Technology. Get in the habit of asking store employees questions. If they don’t have the answer, ask the store manager. If he or she doesn’t have the answer, contact the company personally. Many companies which sell products in stores are not sustainable and do used GMO-sourced ingredients.
Never assume a product is GMO-free because it says “natural” or that the meat is not from a feedlot because it says “free-range”. Many of these labels are meaningless and there are no laws in place requiring those terms to be backed by anything.
Buy as many organic products as your budget allows, but be aware that due to loosening of FDA regulations and requirements, organic products are now commonly made with ingredients you might not want or are trying to avoid, so read labels whenever you buy. One example is the sweetener neotame (developed by Monsanto), a chemical derivative of aspartame. Highly concentrated, this neurotoxic sweetener is 7,000-13,000 times sweeter than sugar. According to Dr. Mercola: “In 1998, Monsanto applied for FDA approval for neotame, “based on the aspartame formula” with one critical addition: 3-dimethylbutyl, which just happens to be listed on the EPA’s most hazardous chemical list.“ It often doesn’t appear on the label at all, or can sometimes be listed as some other ingredient that is unrecognizable.
If something doesn’t seem right about a product you’ve been buying for a period of time, make inquiries again because sometimes things change.
2. Avoid chain/commercial store shopping as much as possible, and keep to smaller, independent health food stores and co-operatives.
Last month, I wrote a post discussing 8 reasons I won’t shop at Whole Foods Market when they come to Boise, ID where I live. My friend Sarah Pope, author of The Healthy Home Economist also wrote a similar post about this topic, and why she won’t be shopping at Whole Foods, which will be opening in her area soon.
Both of us feel strongly about avoiding corporate chains that claim to sell local, sustainable foods because we understand how sketchy marketing claims can be and how powerful the lobbying interests of big corporations like Monsanto are to get GMOs in the food supply. In both of our areas, there is really no reason to shop at Whole Foods. In Boise, ID where I live, we have a wonderful health food store here called The Boise Co-op, which has been in our community for decades and heavily supports local sustainable and organic farmers and food growers, as well as merchants who produce other safe, local products.
In Boise, people complain that the Co-op is too expensive. But Whole Foods won’t be any cheaper and there is no guarantee that the products you buy which might be labeled as “natural” (as one example, their 365 line) are free from GMOs, that their meats are 100% grassfed (the USDA only requires that the labeled meat be from animals that are 30% grassfed), or that their products are actually local. This is one of my biggest gripes about labeling and marketing. Just because it says “all-natural” doesn’t mean it is, and large corporations like Whole Foods are in the habit of letting you assume something is non-GMO just because the label says “natural”.
There are certainly GMO products in other stores besides Whole Foods, so don’t worry, I’m not being naive. But why switch to a large corporation which is putting farmers and other local companies out of business, when you can support your local farmers by buying direct or by shopping at the businesses that stock the same products and you can actually find out whether these farmers use practices you can trust? Even though Whole Foods has signs everywhere saying they carry local products, the reality is, these stores ship in products from all over the country and the world – such as from China. They stock much less local food product than bigger name products shipped in from who knows where. And, it’s guaranteed they stock a lot of GMO products.
3. Buy from local farmers and ask questions about how your food is produced.
Because labeling laws are so permissive and we really can’t trust big corporations at all, the single most powerful way to make a statement about GMOs and to assure your food is clean and sustainable is to buy from local farmers. You have complete control this way, and can keep looking until you find what you want. If you decide to settle for something that’s less than what you are looking for because you are just guessing or you haven’t really made an inquiry, you get what you get.
I don’t live in Amish farmer country, but we do have a fantastic community of farmers that produce sustainable food here in the Boise area. I’ve managed to find several good sources of raw milk that are grass-fed. In our area, grass-feeding year round is not always possible. At least I know that these raw milk farmers feed either grass or non-GMO alfalfa hay since I’ve personally talked to them about it. These producers are not organic, so they are not “perfect”, but they are good in many other ways as they do use “organic” practices.
In our climate, it’s difficult to have cows on pasture all year round. However, there is one farm, Saint John’s Organic Farm, in Emmett, ID which does keep their cows on pasture all during the year, and they are grass-fed and organic. During the winter months, they supplement with non-GMO, organic, alfalfa hay.
4. Learn all you can about GMOs and what to expect, and share with those you know and love.
Spread the word to people around you. Get involved in your own community to help keep local, sustainable farmers in business.
In Europe, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, France, Germany, Greece, and Luxemborg have put a ban on GMOs. To get GMOs removed from the U.S., the first and most important thing to do is change your buying habits, and get in the habit of avoiding them everywhere you go.
Next, put pressure on legislators to vote for legislation requiring labeling on all GMO products. New technologies, marketing campaigns, and other emerging activities which can easily fool consumers are always on the horizon. Don’t be fooled!
From The Institute for Responsible Technology site:
“By avoiding GMOs, you contribute to the coming tipping point of consumer rejection, forcing them out of our food supply.”
Truer words were never spoken. We as consumers have POWER to take back our food supply and put our health in our own hands. Are we up for the challenge? Are we dedicated to protecting our food freedom, our health, and our future? I am, and I hope you are too!
If we don’t take back our food supply, who will? If we don’t do it now, then when? The time is now, and the situation is fervent. So please, I humbly ask you to reconsider the impact these organisms have on our health, our planet, and the future of our children. Let’s get serious and change our buying habits for a healthy future.
Millions Against Monsanto Campaign (project of Organic Consumer’s Association). Find out how you can become involved and stop bio-terrorist bullies like Monsanto from spreading their poison seed across the earth.
The Non-GMO project - non-profit multi-stakeholder collaboration committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices.
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