The BBC story below on a "Miracle Berry" alternative to artificial
sweeteners seems to provide anecdotal evidence that the FDA, which in
1974 didn't allow the berry to be introduced into food, is in bed with
big business. It seems that it is prepared to be used to kill off new
competitors, and then refuse to disclose its reasoning even after a
Freedom of Information request.
With the history of how the
FDA reversed its position on Aspartame / Phenylalanine from an initial
decline, this puts a different light onto the world we face today where
a huge number of individuals are overweight and heading to an early
death, plus the immeasurable damage which artificial sweeteners might
have caused to mental and physical development. Can the
military-industrial complex be to blame for all this ?
There
should be an international court convened to hear the evidence against
artificial sweeteners which are being pumped into the food supply,
including into children's medicine. It seems ironic that medicine which
is supposed to cure you might be making you worse in the long term --
which would require us to buy even more medicines from these
corporations.
The miracle berryImagine
an extract from a berry that would make sour things taste sweet and
help you lose weight. Then imagine not being allowed to take it.The world is getting fatter. One billion people are overweight, and 300 million of those are clinically obese.
The
search is always on for replacements for those things that, eaten in
excess, make us obese - fatty and sugary foods. There is no miracle
pill that can replace either. Nearly four decades ago one man came
close to providing a tablet that could reduce our love of sugar. In the
1960s, Robert Harvey, a biomedical postgraduate student, encountered
the miracle berry, an African fruit which turns sour tastes to sweet.The
FDA, which had previously been very supportive, wrote to Miralin,
effectively banning its product. No co-incidence, according to Don
Emery."I honestly believe that we were done in by some
industrial interest that did not want to see us survive because we were
a threat. Somebody influenced somebody in the FDA to cause the
regulatory action that was taken against us."The Calorie
Control Council, which represents artificial sweetener manufacturers in
the US, has failed to respond to questions on the issue.The
Food and Drugs Administration also refused to be interviewed and has
indicated that a Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation request to
look at the relevant FDA files will not be considered for a year.
Robert Harvey had requested the same files over 30 years ago."We
got back the most redacted information I've ever seen from FOI.
Everything was blacked out. There would have been material in the file
that would have embarrassed the FDA, I believe."Faced with this
silence, it's virtually impossible to assess what actually happened to
prevent the miracle berry's progress to a sugar-free market.But
one thing is certain, it never got the chance to prove whether it
really would have provided a miracle in our ever fattening world. And
for Robert Harvey, that's the biggest shame of all."It was a
big loss not only for my employees and shareholders but, even more
importantly, for diabetics and other people with special dietary needs.
It was tragic."