Those who frequent the Yahoo Helminthic Therapy forum will know that, in early November, 2009, the US Food and Drug Administrtation moved against Autoimmune Therapies, the company that supplies therapeutic doses of hookworm and whipworm to individuals who wish to use these organisms as a treatment for allergy and autoimmune disorders.
By declaring these natural ‘probiotics’ to be pharmaceuticals, the FDA effectively ended AIT’s production and shipping of helminths from within the US but, with no other company anywhere in the world able to supply these particular organisms to the scores of very sick individuals who need them, Jasper Lawrence and his colleagues were determined to continue to meet their obligations to customers, so Jasper was left with no option but to abandon his home, and leave family and friends in order to relocate in haste to another country.
Shortly after this event, I heard of two somewhat similar cases in which small companies selling completely natural products have been prosecuted by government agencies.
A small US farmer selling unadulterated, raw milk – as drunk by humans since animals were first domesticated – was prosecuted after a sting operation by a local Health Department, and a small UK firm selling a sleep-aid made solely from common grasses was prosecuted by local Trading Standards officials in Wales.
Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents, but just further examples of the steady – one might even say stealthy – erosion of the choices available to individuals who prefer alternative or natural approaches to healthcare. And, sadly, the vast majority of citizens in the US and Europe are blissfully unaware of what is taking place.
Those who are not already aware of the situation will find enlightenment in these two blogs by Jon Barron – Alternative Health – Now You See It, Now You Don’t and Nutritional Freedom, the Frog in the Water.
I feel sure that, one day, justice and common sense will prevail and consumers will assert their right to have whatever form of healing they choose for themselves, but it could be a long time yet before this happens and things may well get much more difficult in the meantime.
Those who ask what can be done about this situation might care to examine the work of Dr Joseph Mercola, whose website has been the most visited natural medicine site in the world for the last seven years, and is now also in the top ten most visited general health sites.
In the last year, mercola.com has been instrumental in educating the public about the truth behind the Swine Flu debacle. In partnership with the National Vaccine Information Centre, mercola.com helped avoid the use of squalene in the H1N1 vaccine in the US, as well as helping to prevent mandatory H1N1 vaccination, and saving the majority of US citizens from being duped by the massive PR media campaigns into accepting an unsafe and ineffective vaccine.
This is just one example of what can be achieved when individuals are appropriately informed and enabled by the internet to make a stand against scheming corporations and a clueless government, and I urge everyone who cares about maintaining freedom of choice in healthcare to join the Mercola online community and/or to bookmark the Mercola Natural Health Newsletter (or RSS link) and the Mercola Vital Votes Blog (or RSS link).
This will keep you up to date with the latest news on health and provide sound, impartial advice on how to maintain your well-being by the most natural means possible. It will also keep you abreast of the activities of those who would sacrifice your health for dubious motives. The latter are clearly stealing some of the skirmishes but, if they go on to win the war, it will be because we have let them!
As for the three companies mentioned above, the prosecution of the Bechard family by the Missouri State Milk Board and Attorney General for selling raw milk in contravention of state regulations is ongoing. The Welsh sleep-aid manufacturer is now getting back on its feet following its prosecution, and has already picked up an award for its reformulated product, Asphalia, which I can personally vouch for as a remarkably effective and side effect-free sleep aid. Autoimmune Therapies, meanwhile, have completed the relocation of their production department and should begin shipping hookworm again this week, with whipworm to follow in a few weeks time.
Update – January 2011
The small US farmer, mentioned above, who was prosecuted for selling unadulterated, raw milk, has had his day in court – and won a legal battle against Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster when a Greene County judge dismissed the charges against him. But the war is not over yet: Bechard still faces a further suit filed by Koster involving the same incident.
NB: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
