Caustic Commentary, Winter 2024

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Sally Fallon Morell takes on the Diet Dictocrats

DISASTER SCENARIO BROUGHT TO YOU BY RAW MILK

During Covid, it was the unvaxxed who threatened all of humanity. According to the “Science” section of Slate, an online publication, the danger now comes from raw milk drinkers! “Bird flu just might have found a direct route to­ward infecting more humans,” begins the rant, “Experts are worried about this bird flu’s increasing capabilities in human hosts. . . Each time the virus infects a person is a chance to pick up frightening adaptations.. . . The more animals this virus goes through, the more people that it goes through— these mutations occur fairly rapidly, and eventually what will happen is it will mutate to a more serious form and more infectious form.” Because testing has been minimal, “less serious infections are spreading undetected, giving the virus even more chances to mutate into a more conta­gious and deadlier form.” And what’s the best way to “get a lot of people sick very quickly”? Why drink raw milk, of course! Imagine a person gulps down some bird flu virus in a glass of raw milk, and because they don’t get vaccinated, there’s already a seasonal flu kicking around in their system. Through a process of virus mutation called reassortment, that flu bug might pass on an aptitude for human-to-human transmission to the H5N1 virus. It may be that new virus could put everyone at risk of a pandemic. . . All because an anti-vaxxer drank a glass of raw milk!! “[E]very time someone swigs the raw milk, they’re taking that chance on everyone’s behalf—it’s like buying a lottery ticket for which the prize is a disaster, for everyone.” This is what passes for “Science” at slate.com.

EDIBLE PASSWORDS

Motorola has developed a tiny chip that can serve—so they claim—as a battery powered by stomach acids! Acting as electrolytes, your stomach acid could power the battery and turn the switch on and off in a sequence, resulting in an eighteen-bit ECG-like signal, which could be picked up by devices (such as phones or computers) and used as an identification method. The idea is to embed the chips in vitamin pills, turning you into a walking password, thereby “boosting your online security,” and making you traceable wherever you go. And smart pills could be used to transmit health information straight from your body to your doctor— and to make sure you have taken your medicine (wired.com May 30, 2013)! A chilling thought, but fortunately, a device predicated on a consistent pH of your stomach acid has no chance of working well enough to create a unique signature or track your pill-taking habits from cradle to grave. . . but never doubt the gullibility of those who believe that high tech will lead to unmitigated miracles.

WATERMELON WARNING

Just when we thought we had heard all the bad news about adulteration of the food supply, along comes watermelon! It turns out that a lot of watermelon is subject to adulteration and artificial ripening. Chemicals used include forchlorfenu­ron (a growth accelerator), erythrosine-B (Red-B, a dye to impart a bright red color); oxytocin (used for quick ripen­ing) and calcium carbide (which releases ethylene to hasten ripening). At least two of these can have serious side effects: oxytocin can cause stomachache and adversely affect the nervous system; calcium carbide can cause health hazards from headaches to cancer. Signs of adulteration and hastened ripening can include lack of taste, a change of juice color on slicing, premature decay, a green stalk and injection or puncture marks. A pale yellow patch indicates vine-ripened watermelon and web-like spots signify natural pollination by bees. Adulteration is more common in fruits available out of season (Agripedia, April 28, 2024).

SALT DEMONIZATION

Demonization of salt continues with a World Health Organi­zation (WHO) report lamenting that “the world is off-track to achieve its global target of reducing sodium intake by 30% by 2025.” Sodium increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death when eaten in excess, say these “experts.” “Implementing highly cost-effective sodium reduction policies could save an estimated 7 million lives globally by 2030.” Alas, only nine countries (Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Uruguay) have implemented policies to reduce sodium intake, which include limiting the amount of salt in processed foods and institutional meals, “front-of-package” labeling, and “behavior change communication and mass media campaigns” to get people to reduce their salt consump­tion. And just how much salt is too much salt? According to the WHO, it is anything that exceeds one teaspoon per day. More than that you are at risk of cancer, obesity, osteopo­rosis and kidney disease, they warn (www.who.int, March 9, 2023). Just a couple of problems with these efforts. First, the body needs more than one teaspoon of salt per day to satisfy its requirements for sodium and chlorine; we need at least one and one-half teaspoons per day minimum—many people need more. Second, there is no proof that too much salt increases our risk for chronic disease—in fact, we had less chronic disease in 1900 when salt consumption aver­aged three teaspoons per day. And finally, to make processed food taste good without plenty of salt (and sugar and MSG), manufacturers are adding a “flavor enhancer” called Seno­myx, which is not labeled and has never undergone safety testing. An obvious danger of low-salt, flavor-enhanced foods is that the body will just eat and eat and eat in order to get the sodium and chloride it needs.

SALT AND CANCER

While the WHO is railing against salt, researchers have found that salt may play a role in fighting cancer. One study found that increased salt levels can significantly enhance immune cells’ cancer-killing abilities. Salt improved the vigor, metabolism and killing function of immune cells. Another study showed that mice consuming a high-salt diet had reduced tumor sizes. Also, it turns out that sodium can significantly boost T-cell activity, increasing their longevity and cancer-killing abilities. Unfortunately, these researchers can’t come right out and tell their patients to eat more salt. . . because of the “consequences to the cardiovascular system.” Instead, they promote expensive therapies like exposing T-cells to high levels of salt and then transplanting them into the patients! But for the average person, the message of these studies is clear: for cancer protection, eat plenty of salt (medicalxpress.com, August 28, 2024).

A SOLUTION

We live in a world of problems created by technology, but in the end, it is technology that often provides a solution. The Industrial Revolution created stinking masses of humanity called cities, but then found a way to clean them up and make them livable. The advent of the car created air pollu­tion, but then we figured how to reconfigure gasoline, and smog layers are now a thing of the past (at least in Western cities). Herbicides and pesticides are poisoning the planet, but new technologies can make them unnecessary. These include robot laser weeders that can zap two hundred thou­sand weeds per hour and giant vacuum cleaners mounted on tractors that suck up bugs. Right now, expense limits their use to large producers, but this will change over time. The bug vacuums are already available in small sizes for home garden use (laserweeder.com).

OZEMPIC SIDE EFFECTS

First approved in 2017, semaglutide, the new injectable weight-loss drug (sold as Ozempic, Wegovy, Trulicity, Mounjaro and Byetta) has taken the world by storm, spurred on by none other than the FDA itself. In early 2023, phar­maceutical industry leaders and investors highlighted the drug at a private conference featuring FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf as keynote speaker. Califf stressed the lucrative opportunity investors could expect from these drugs; indeed the FDA had already approved semaglutide for obese children age twelve and older, while Novo Nordisk, Ozempic’s manufacturer, was paying civil rights groups to lobby for the drug, framing any opposition as racist. Indeed, the campaign to push these drugs quickly resulted in a widespread shortage. Unfortunately, there are no miracles; instead, there are side effects: unusual gastrointestinal complications, cachexia (muscle loss), eating disorders, a hollowed-out appearance (called “Ozempic Face”), rapid weight gain on withdrawal, increased risk of pancreatitis and bowel obstruction, headache, hypoglycemia and back pain. Now there’s another to add to the list: a potentially blinding eye condition, otherwise known as NAION (nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy). Joseph Rizzo, MD, director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology Service at Mass Eye and Ear, analyzed thousands of medical records of those tak­ing drugs for diabetes or overweight. Those on semaglutide (rather than other drugs) had significant risk increases (drugs. com, July 3, 2024). But meanwhile, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is urging Big Pharma to slash the price of the drugs; there’s also a move to require Medicare to reimburse those taking weight loss drugs, something that could total billions per year and bankrupt the Medicare system.

ANTIFREEZE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate activists have made cows the enemy in the current climate change scenario, blaming the methane in their farts for warming up the atmosphere. Never mind that wetlands are the biggest producer of methane on the planet, and that there were almost as many flatulent buffalo roaming the prairies before European settlement as there are cows today, technicians have fixated on reducing methane emis­sions from the backsides of bovines. They are doing this with a product called Bovaer, which is made using silicon dioxide, propylene glycol and an “organic” compound 3-nitrooxypropanol (known as 3-NOP). 3-NOP is an enzyme inhibitor that spe­cifically targets methyl co­enzyme M reductase (MCR), the enzyme that catalyzes the final step of methano­genesis in microbes living in the digestive system of ruminants. Silicon dioxide is an extremely irritating fine compound and propylene glycol is antifreeze. The additive “should be considered corrosive to the eyes, a skin irritant, and potentially harm­ful by inhalation” to humans handling it. But not to worry, according to USDA, the chemicals in Bovaer can’t get into the milk or meat, but of course we really don’t know what the long-term effects of the additive on animals or humans will be. The UK, Canada and the U.S. have approved Bovaer, and the dairy industry is already adding it to cattle feed in the UK—to widespread protests. Here’s the kicker: the product really doesn’t cut methane very much. At highest efficiency Bovaer reduces methane emissions about 30 percent, but that is only when the cows are getting “mixed rations” all the time. Grazing “more than three hours in a row. . . would weaken the effects of the additive” (green-alliance.org.uk, August 2024). Sounds like the hidden agenda is to get cows off grass.

MAPLE SYRUP A CANCER KILLER?

We all know that sugar encourages the growth of cancer cells, so a study published in the journal Oncology Reports (April 2015) has taken researchers by surprise. They found that maple syrup did not have the same effect of regular puri­fied “sugar” on colorectal cancer cells (CRC). CRC cells that were administered maple syrup “showed significantly lower growth rates than cells that were administered sucrose. In addition, administration of maple syrup to CRC cells caused inhibition of cell invasion, where there was no effect on cell migration.” The darker colored versions of maple syrup were more effective. Of course, maple sugar contains a lot more than just sucrose—such as oligosaccharides, organic acids, amino acids, vita­mins and minerals including manganese and zinc, as well as phenolic compounds such as lignans, couma­rin, quebecol and ginn­alin. Who knows how these compounds work with sucrose to provide protection against cancer.

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