When it comes to fighting naturally occurring diseases, modernity’s achievement is nothing short of miraculous! Small pox, polio, typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis, cholera, yellow fever, leprosy, tetanus, diphtheria, etc. are some of the devastating pestilences humanity had to endure and survive just to make it up to this point in space-time. The discovery of antibiotics, like penicillin, transformed human life from a short highly sufferable episode to a prolonged and rather fulfilling one, all things considered. The once deadly afflictions of the above types are now relegated to the category of ‘preventable diseases.’ At the same time, humanity has also managed to exasperate other deadly internal diseases (cardiovascular and metabolic) because of its modern ways that might not be all that compatible with our inherent make up. Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, autism, etc. have now become the new epidemics, which for the most part are aggressively enhanced by the self-assured ‘too clever by half’ Homo sapiens itself!
For the past fifty years conscious souls have been advocating for a more tempered non-indulgent life style, but to no avail. The market, which is blindly oriented to only making profit, (at whatever cost) has unleashed products that are systemically/scientifically undermining human lives on the planet. Today one out of every three Americans (USA) is expected to develop some form of cancer during his/her lifetime! Voluminous researches have shown that processed food which require plenty of chemical additives, (preservatives, coloring etc.) are difficult for our naturally evolved body to deal with. Nonetheless, such abominations are currently and comprehensively incorporated into the food chain. From the chemical fertilizers to the seeds used in agriculture and to the application of herbicides and pesticides continuing all the way to food processing, both in the factory and the kitchen, the whole malady has become decidedly suicidal. Given all the available scientific evidences, one would think sanity will prevail and concerted efforts will be made (by collective humanity) to abandon all such extreme nonsense. Sadly, adhering to the basics that assured our survival has become anathema to so-called progress!
Misinformation sugar-coated by advertisement is ruining the lives of both young and old across the world. Recall that a can of soft drink contains an equivalent of ten spoons of sugar, to say nothing about other dangerous chemicals. Sugar remains one of the white evils. Traditionally there were three white poisons; sugar, salt and fat. Today another two are added, wheat and milk! Because of the intertwining of big pharma with big science it has become very difficult to tell the truth (scientific truth), even by not-for-profit researchers. These days the public research institutions (run by the states) get plenty of money from industries; big pharma, big auto, big oil, big finance, etc. These once prestigious and kosher institutions of learning and reflections have become mere in-house research labs for the big boys. This is not very surprising as these institutions’ boards of governors are, by and large, mini politicos appointed by big politicos, who are usually dumb and clueless about scientific research, to say nothing about their subservience to big business. As a result, these institutions that were once centers of enlightenments are increasingly finding themselves at the mercy of the greedy foxes (corporations) for research grants!
Here is a case in point; the sitting conservative governor of Wisconsin, who is contending for the US presidency (GOP ticket), easily qualifies as an anti-science religious zealot. This anti-abortionist cut USD 200 million (on yearly basis) from the budget of one of America’s premiere research universities, without batting an eye! Unfortunately, this seems to be the template envisioned by the .01% for the whole nation. Only those who know the value and benefits of research, driven by pure intellectual passion, can imagine what such devastation can bring to knowledge production. Don’t forget, almost all major discoveries in their raw forms (basic research) come from institutions within the public domain, mostly universities. Unfortunately, the new survival policy of these public institutions seems to have become, depressingly; ‘discover and push the discovery’s profit angle to outside entities, such as biotech startups and big corporations and leave the humdrum operations and expenses (overhead, etc.,) to the tax payers!
In the modern world system, knowledge is being used, not to necessarily enhance the wellbeing of the sheeple (human mass) but rather to make money, whatever the consequences. Countries like ours must be very, very careful in dealing with the whole cycle of food/drink production and processing. From the current rage about GMO, (particularly in Ethiopia) which is frantically/financially supported/promoted by the likes of the Gates foundation, to the imports of carcinogenic stuff that permeates the local market, strict regulatory regime must be imposed to protect the unsuspecting sheeple. For instance, the meat/raw meat culture that is being abused on a daily basis (in this country) must be tempered in favor of public health and sustainable development. We don’t need to be learned to realize excessive consumption of anything is imprudent and dangerous. Factory processed food/drinks that are becoming quite conspicuous in our society do not measure up to our traditional diets. The fashion of poisoning natural juices (from local produces) with colorized chemicals should not be promoted as healthy drinks and goad our largely stupid youth to obesity and more. Artificially enhanced food/snacks are found to be much more carcinogenic than natural ones, by many folds!
The government must institute a curriculum that incorporates nutrition education, arguments against hazardous market operations, etc. starting at the lower level. General awareness and new developments in the investigative sciences must be disseminated amongst the sheeple, without the unwarranted fear of discouraging the market and its operators. GDP growth must not be promoted as if it is a panacea for all and sundry! Most importantly and in the long run, state policies must focus on the general wellbeing of the sheeple; everything else should be secondary. As the astute analyst and nutritionist observed: “In a world besotted with the artifice of consumerism, what matters is not what can be commodified and bought but what can’t be commodified and bought.” Charles Hugh Smith. Good Day!