Natural health under threat in the USA
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By:
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teamsuccess
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Mood:
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none
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Date:
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04/20/2007
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Imagine a world where natural herbs and supplements are OUTLAWED. Where natural vegetable juice is classed as a DRUG. Where health food stores are stripped of all their products and banned from selling anything stronger than a cup of water. Where naturopaths are FORBIDDEN to practise their craft... imprisoned or fined when they try to pass on their knowledge... Where
people with cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's aren't allowed to
seek out alternative remedies to ease their pain... where they aren't
deemed responsible or intelligent enough to look for their solutions to
their disease... however slight the chance of a cure. Where books that promote natural remedies are bulldozed into large piles and burned. Have I been watching too much Sci-fi on late night telly again? Okay, I realise this all sounds very Blade Runner. But stay with me on this one... This is a scenario that really COULD happen. And soon. The seeds are already being sown. We just need to take a look across the Atlantic. Yes, in the good old USA, some nasty things are afoot. Believe me, this is something you WON'T be reading about in your newspaper. But in my world it's front page news. And I reckon you're going to be just as horrified as I am... In 10 days this new law could destroy hope for millions In
the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is launching a quiet
attack on natural medicines... and all who practise, preach and supply
information about it. A new FDA "guidance" document has revealed
plans to reclassify all vitamins, supplements, herbs - and even
vegetable juices - as FDA-regulated drugs. Massage oils and
massage rocks will be classified as 'medical devices' and will require
FDA approval before anyone can use them. The document is
called Docket No. 2006D-0480, "Draft Guidance for Industry on
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by
the Food and Drug Administration." It's outrageous... It
means that the mega-corporations who run America are so frightened of
the rise of alternative therapies, they want to stamp them out
altogether. This is the 'Big Push' for greedy drug companies Basically,
it's an all-out attack on personal freedoms by greedy corporations. A
last-ditch attempt to save the conventional medical industry from a
huge shift towards natural medicine. According to Mike Adams of The Organics Consumer Association: If
the FDA gets its way, the United States will become a medical
wasteland, dominated by corporate drug company interests, where the
naturopaths are imprisoned and their products destroyed." Supplements
and herbs will become contraband, and gardeners who grow their own
medicinal herbs may be raided and arrested by DEA agents wielding
assault rifles. Simply selling dried broccoli sprouts
as being "good anti-cancer foods" may land you in prison, and running a
vitamin shop could result in you being arrested for "practicing
medicine." This will be the situation in the future... FDA
"experts" (the same guys who re-approved Vioxx after it killed over
50,000 Americans) will decide whether herbs, supplements, vitamins or
simple devices like massage stones are to be regulated as drugs and
medical devices. Of course, this is a horrifying proposal. So
rather than spark a proper national debate, it seems that the FDA and
its cronies tried to sneak this under the radar... keeping it rather
'schtum'. Now word has got out and the natural health community is up in arms. Not sure what good that will do in against the might of big business... But
the FDA is allowing public comments on this until an April 30th
deadline. This means that people can petition, argue, and so forth. Here's one of the petitions. www.democracyinaction.org The problem is, they've got 10 days and just an internet petition to arm themselves with. 'David vs. Goliath' springs to mind. Let's just say, I'm not hopeful. Why this matters to you and me You're probably thinking that this is all happening in the United States, so it means we're safe here in the UK and Europe. Well, no. What
happens in the USA invariably drifts across the water within the
decade. The same big businesses hold sway over our government. And the same attacks are ALREADY happening. If
you recall, last May, a letter was published in The Times slamming
Homoeopathy and other complementary therapies as "bogus" medicine. The letter, organised by Michael Baum, was sent to 467 acute and primary care trusts across the UK. Sue Croft, Director of Consumers for Health Choice (CHC said: The group of doctors are entrenched in the old philosophy that curing disease with drugs is the way to good health. This
one-size-fits-all approach is wrong and doesn't work. It completely
disregards the fact that we are all individuals with different anatomy
and physiology, as well as mental attitude and lifestyle. The
doctors say there is no proof that homoeopathy or even acupuncture
works (though it has been used for thousands of years). But lack of
evidence today should not be a barrier for the future. If these
alternative treatments are taken away - or blocked by just financial
considerations, we will never really know what they are capable of. I couldn't agree more! It's up to us to fight for our freedom You
and I are of a similar mind. We are open to ancient healing techniques
and the power of foods and natural medicines to help us fight disease. We
don't think conventional medicine is bad. Neither do we want to ban it,
as the FDA want to ban non-corporate alternative health treatments, We simply think we have a right to look for ways to supplement conventional medicine with alternatives. It's our right to choose. It's our planet. It's our food. It's our plant-life, vitamins and minerals. It NOT the government's... It's NOT the corporation's. It's OURS. I'll be keeping an eye open for all the latest developments as they happen. If you're interested in finding out more, check out the Consumers for Choice website here: www.healthchoice.o rg.uk
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