The Health Issue
By Mario Bello of the Sequoia Bison Society
The Health issue is a subject which I have assiduously studied for over
twenty -five years, mainly to refute the outlandish claims made by the
vivisection industry, that without animal experiments we would not have any
of the miraculous drugs that have wiped out so many deadly contagious
diseases.
Regrettably, this is very tough propaganda to overcome. In many ways I can
equate the battle against the vivisectors with the battle to save Habitat.
The illusion that we can abuse our own bodies and then take some magic
pill that will cure us - has in essence slowed down our progress to fully
understand how the body works and what we can do to avoid contracting these
diseases in the first place. In other words the Medicine people have not
been looking at Prevention, or Cause, but rather they have concentrated on a
palliation of the problem once it has developed - of course using drugs.
The same is true of Animal Sanctuaries and Zoos that specialize in
preserving rare species. They have given us the false hope that these
animals whose habitat has been destroyed will one day be returned to the
wild. Neglecting to remind us that the Wild where these Animals have come
from no longer exists. The entire
Ecological System from which these Animals have been removed is almost
intact with one small exception - there is now a Housing Development and a
myriad of Super Highways running through the former home of these Animals.
In actuality there is really no substitute for preserving Habitat in the
first place. The Planet has only a finite amount of Wilderness left. Do we
genuinely believe that once Environmental Habitat is taken over by Human
housing and agricultural needs that it will eventually be given back to the
Animals that were displaced??
So we continue to live with the false comfort that one day we will restore
the home of these rare and almost extinct Animals, but are uncertain as to
how we will ever be able to re-establish an entire Ecological System
consisting of several million elements that we could never duplicate.
The same is true of the Medical profession and the Vivisectors who do their
research. The false sense of hope that they give us by proclaiming that
Medicine is the ultimate Panacea and is going to cure whatever ails us, has
stalled the discovery of what Causes these self inflicted diseases.
Doctors of Medicine have convinced the general public that experimenting on
Animals is essential if we want cures. They casually tell people "Look
Lady its either your Child or that Monkey, now which is it going to be? Do
you want a Cure for your Child's Asthma, Diabetes, Whooping Cough, Measles,
Polio, and AIDS, or do you care more about some dumb Monkey"??
Unfortunately too many people buy into this argument, and as a result
Doctors who do research have been given complete autonomy over the lives of
Animals by
our naive Legislators who were sold the Brooklyn Bridge by Charlatan Callous
Vivisectors.
The real sad part of this misleading approach to Health Care is that the
general public and even some AR folks on this list have bought into the idea
that - perhaps some good has come out of Animal Experiments. I give you an
example of a recent post that I read on ar-views;
BUT, obviously the research apologists aren't stupid, and they bring on
the emotional appeal, as well, de-emphasizing the animal and emphasizing with
variable degrees of accuracy the life-saving (human, that is) benefits of
their research.
Well maybe its true, perhaps the white coated demigods have made some
advances in medicine - but I am unable to come up with any breakthroughs that
the Medical profession has given us in the field of curing disease. Where we
need the Doctors are in the field of Trauma - where a person has been shot or
stabbed or involved in a car accident or a plane crash or a fire - these are
the areas where the Medical profession can excel.
Otherwise they have no clue as to how to help people when they develop
Cancer or any other Disease. Their miracle drugs hasten their patient?s
demise rather than cures them. But still they keep telling us that we are
only a million or so Animal experiments from developing a real Cure.
The extreme importance of understanding how to keep ourselves Healthy can
not be overly emphasized. Basically Factory Farming and Vivisection go hand
in hand.
It is the practice of consuming Animal products that have caused so many
of our physiological problems. If we can achieve good Health by eliminating
Meat, Fish, Poultry, and Dairy products from our lifestyle then perhaps there
would be no need for vivisectors to come up with a cure for a disease we no
longer have.
To me this is as clear as distilled water. Yet we as a society are still
listening to the professionals who say that diet has absolutely no effect on
our Health. We are losing the war of words with these special interest
characters who flaunt their education around as if it represented the truth.
More than a quarter of a century ago when I first embarked on this journey
to discover how to maintain good Health without resorting to Medicine, I
became lucky early on in my research - I found and absorbed the philosophy of
Natural Hygenics, basically the books written by Herbert Sheldon.
The truth of his words and the incontrovertible strength of his arguments
were an inspiration that is still with me till this day.
Sheldon taught me that not only was meat and the ancillary products that
come from dead Animals, totally unnecessary - but they are extremely
Unhealthy.
I have abided by his philosophy these last twenty five years and have never
had to visit a doctor or take an antibiotic. He has helped me to understand
my body's requirements and how to deal with physiological problems when they
do arise, due to over indulgence.
So then, this is the real problem facing the AR movement - lack of education
regarding how to maintain our Health without medicine. And putting an end to
Laboratory and Factory Farm Animals.
Not the hotly debated issue of Pets which have always been with us and are
here to stay. In no way does "owning" a pet interfere with our principles of
showing respect and love for Animals.
The Pet problem is more of a financial difficulty rather than a
philosophical difference with our opponents, as in meat eating, hunting and
vivisection. More money pumped into the Pet problem will give us the
resources to build larger and cleaner facilities to house unwanted Pets until
they can be properly adopted or given a comfortable space to live out their
lives if adoption is not forthcoming.
This is basically a solvable problem within our grasp as Legislators have
Pets that they adore. So let us continue to work hard on resolving the Pet
problem - But do not let us be distracted from the real horrifying abuses
that are legally going on out there.
Another quote from an unnamed individual on ar-views, the same person as
before only this time I agree with the post;
if we get people to recognize "rights" in lab or fur or farm
animals, the "pet" thing will take care of itself.
Not to minimize the importance of getting the enormous population of our
Dogs and Cats under control, but I am not as emotionally upset over the Pet
issue as I am about all the rest of the atrocities. While it is heart
breaking to see unadoptable Pets on death row this must not be confused with
intentional and deliberate production of Lab Animals and Farm Animals or Fur
Animals.
One problem is caused by [ignorance and stupidity by humans who
didn't get their animals spayed.]
The other problems are caused by a policy of massive reproduction for the
purpose of unadulterated profits through the sale of Medicine or Fur or Meat,
all at the expense of intelligent and potentially friendly Animals.
Sometimes it is difficult to think about how cruel we Humans can be, like
putting a baby Calf in a small wooden crate, just so we can have Veal.
These are extremely beautiful Animals with eyes as big and gentle as
any Pet Dog.
When you think about Doctors of Science performing the most ghastly
experiments on our cousins the Primates, it makes you wonder - how will we
ever be able to make any inroads with a Society that is willing to do almost
anything to save their improperly fed, unhealthy bodies, including if
necessary the torture of Primates.
Admittedly, when I become frustrated and feelings of helplessness overwhelm
me I will on occasion go into a dark quiet room and uncontrollably sob my
head off for a few minutes. Thinking that somehow their suffering is due to
my inability to effectively communicate my message, which results in my
feeling guilty about not being able to stop the pain that these Animals are
going through.
But of course we do not have the time to shed even one tear for what we
humans are doing to our friends from another Species, there will be time
enough for tears of Joy when we have achieved our goals.
Mario Bello
Sequoia Bison Society
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