Homeopathic drugs in the U.S. will have to wear a label noting their claims have not been scientifically proven. Health Canada has indicated it might soon follow suit.
Source: The U.S. is getting its act together on homeopathy. Your move, Canada – CBC News | Opinion
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – New rules from Health Canada are targeting homeopathy. Homeopathic products can no longer claim to help kids 12 and under without having scientific proof.Michael Kruse is with the group Bad Science Watch. He says there is no evidence that homeopathy works and apparently Health Canada agrees. “They admit that there is no scientific evidence that they are effective and, therefore, we think that it’s appropriate that they prevent homeopathic manufacturers from putting claims of treatment for cough, cold and flu medications.”
Homeopathy, the form of alternative medicine in which proponents claim that small doses of natural substances can cure patient’s ailments, has come under fire recently—Australia deemed the practice “useless” in 2014, and last year the FDA considered cracking down on unregulated treatments sold over the counter. Now homeopathy has received another blow: Paul Glasziou, a professor of evidence-based medicine at Bond University in the United Kingdom, called homeopathy a “therapeutic dead-end,” according to a blog post published on the website of the British Medical Journal last week and covered by The Independent.
Source: Homeopathy Is A “Therapeutic Dead-End” Says British Scientist | Popular Science
In a blow to Indian cultural and traditional ways, Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has lambasted homeopathy and astrology as bogus fields.
Source: Nobel laureate lambasts homeopathy and astrology as ‘bogus’ fields | Dispatch Tribunal
Over the past decade, modern science has dismissed homeopathy as nothing more what it appears to be: sugar pills that do nothing more than give you empty calories.
Of course almost anything you buy has labels, and food products especially have their ingredients listed. Perhaps this is a trick question or people misunderstand it, or they think it was inappropriately asked. In any case this survey question from the Oklahoma State University Food Demand Survey questions people’s understanding of issues such as GMO product labeling. The lack of science education and scientific understanding can lead to bad public policy swayed by uneducated voters.
Homeopathic “medicines” (as they are registered by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) are consistently shown to work no better than placebo. The placebo effect is powerful — it can reduce pain and improve mental health. It cannot cure cancer. It cannot vaccinate children against preventable and devastating illnesses. The line between homeopathy and other forms of pseudoscience, such as the anti-vaccination campaign, are blurred.
Source: Selling homeopathy undermines pharmacists as evidence-based practitioners | Blog
Royal Australian College of GPs also says pharmacists must stop stocking such products because there is no evidence they are effective in any way
Source: Australian doctors told not to prescribe homeopathic items as ‘they do nothing’
Slammed by critics, Chipotle has been forced to back track on its non GMO claims. Its beef, pork and chicken are sourced from farm animals fed with GMO grain. And all of its calorie-packed sodas are sweetened with GMO sugar.But it has yet to come clean on its most controversial GMO ingredient: all of its cheese is genetically modified. That’s right. The clotting agent used to curdle the milk into cheese is genetically engineered. So much for Chipotle’s bragging claim of transparency.
Source: Cheese: The GMO food die-hard GMO opponents love (and oppose a label for) | Genetic Literacy Project
The controversial Senate Bill 277, in the California Senate that is about vaccines, was passed this week. The passage of the measure came amidst great resentment from many parents who had testified against the legislation during crowded and often tense committee hearings. SB277 was introduced by Democratic Senator Richard Pan of Sacramento. It was passed by members of the Senate following over an hour of intense discussion amongst the senators.
Source: California Senate Passes Vaccine Bill | Times Gazette
Childhood vaccinations are apparently causing a holocaust and killing the brains of our children, claims Robert F. Kennedy Jr. according to a report in the Sacramento Bee. The environmental lawyer and activist addressed the audience at a Sacramento, California, screening of the documentary Trace Amounts, which links autism to thimerosal, a vaccine preservative.
“They get the shot, that night they have a fever of a hundred and three, they go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone, This is a holocaust, what this is doing to our country.”- Kennedy Jr.
The goal of the film screening is to stop California SB-277, a bill that would require schoolchildren in the state to be vaccinated, and parents would no longer be able to send unvaccinated children to school with waivers for religious or personal beliefs. Exemptions would be available only for children with health problems. (more…)
An Innate potato, left, resists bruising, and has been altered to produce less of a potential cancer-causing chemical when fried.
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its evaluation for two varieties of apples genetically engineered by Okanagan Specialty Fruits, Inc., and for six varieties of potatoes genetically engineered by J. R. Simplot Company and concluded that these foods are as safe and nutritious as their conventional counterparts. Read more from FDA press release.
Heather Boon, U of T Dean funding homeopathy research
We cannot blame the father of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, who developed modern homeopathy in 1796. Molecules, viruses, and vaccines were unknown, and at least the practice of homeopathy did no more harm and created a atmosphere of caring for the sick. However, in today’s world we cannot be so forgiving, and institutions such as the University of Toronto deserve the criticism they receive over their homeophathy research spending that could be put to beneficial use.
“We are curious about why, given the need to investigate natural therapies that may actually have a potential for benefit, and saddled with a scarcity in funding, a Department of Pharmacy is interested in investigating a subject that has been … found wanting both in evidence and plausibility,” reads a letter from over 60 scientist addressed to Heather Boon, dean of the U of T’s Faculty of Pharmacy.
The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia recently released their results of an investigation into homeopathy and homeopathic claims finding it to be nothing more than junk science and medical quackery. They warn the public:
“Homeopathy should not be used to treat health conditions that are chronic, serious, or could become serious. People who choose homeopathy may put their health at risk if they reject or delay treatments for which there is good evidence for safety and effectiveness.”
Genetically modified foods (or GM foods) are foods produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO) that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. These techniques have allowed for the introduction of new traits as well as a far greater control over a food’s genetic structure than previously afforded by methods such as selective breeding and mutation breeding.
There is broad scientific consensus that food on the market derived from GM crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food. However, opponents have objected to GM foods on several grounds, including safety issues, environmental concerns, and economic concerns raised by the fact that GM seeds (and potentially animals) that are food sources are subject to intellectual property rights owned by corporations. (more…)
