WARNING!
This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.
By Dr. Mercola
Besides sharing time with family and friends over food, the primary ingredient of the American Thanksgiving holiday is, of course, gratitude.
This year, Thanksgiving Day is also the first day of Hanukkah1 — an extremely rare convergence that will not occur again for 79,043 years! The last time it happened was in 1888. So for Jewish Americans, November 28 may be doubly festive this year.
As you take a moment to consider what you're truly thankful for, and share it with those you love, I would like to share my gratitude for you, and all of our phenomenal Health Liberty partners.
Health Liberty is a nonprofit coalition formed by Mercola.com, National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), Fluoride Action Network (FAN), Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), Organic Consumers Association (OCA), and Consumers for Dental Choice.
Each partner-organization has a rich history of advocacy and active campaigning for change and better access to truly empowering health information. Together, we're making great strides toward improving a number of broken systems and health-harming practices:
- The outdated use of dangerous mercury in dentistry
- Water fluoridation
- Forced vaccinations
- Unlabeled genetically engineered foods
- The agricultural and food system that promotes unhealthy processed foods while trying to literally outlaw healthy whole organic foods
Throughout the year, we've spearheaded and supported a number of fundraising events for our partner organizations in order to help them continue with their mission to improve people's health. In return, they've been dogged and tireless in their efforts to do just that. I cannot imagine where we'd all be without them.
I Am Thankful for a Treaty Where Every Signing Nation Must Act against Amalgam
For starters, the Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry, organized and led by Charlie Brown of Consumers for Dental Choice, beat tremendous opposition to get dental amalgam into the international mercury treaty this year.
The treaty, named the Minamata Convention on Mercury, requires action against mercury in many fronts -- mining (including gold mining, which uses mercury), power plants, industrial uses, and products. In a decade's time -- if the treaty is enforced; always a big "if" -- our world can see a substantial diminution of man-made mercury.
Importantly, the treaty is being hailed as marking the beginning of the end for dental amalgam around the world, as it mandates that each nation phase down amalgam use. Specifically, each country must do at least two phase down steps listed in the treaty. The most constructive and efficient of those phase-down steps include:
- Promoting mercury-free alternatives
- Changing dental school curriculum and re-train dentists
- Encouraging insurance programs to favor mercury-free dental restorations over amalgam
It took three years; encompassing five negotiation sessions with all the nations, 15 regional sessions, dozens of papers and reports, and hundreds of meetings with individual governments to make sure dental amalgam made it into the treaty.
The treaty will take effect once it's been signed by 50 nations—a task that can typically take three or four years. In this case, the Zero Mercury Working Group has launched a campaign to get it ratified by 50 nations (and hence take effect) in just two years.
Three weeks ago, the United States became the first nation to ratify this treaty. What a stunning turnaround, since the US generally does not ratify treaties on toxins at all! This action bodes well for speeding up the ratification process in other nations-- and for accelerating the worldwide campaign against dental mercury.
Thank You for Raising GMO Awareness Across the United States!
Two of my partners, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), have been instrumental for helping raise awareness about the dangers of genetically engineered foods and their prevalence in the market place.
And even though two state initiatives were lost—California and Washington State—to the very deep pockets of the food industry and producers of genetically engineered seeds, the amount of discussion and awareness those two campaigns have raised is priceless.
Since the inception of genetically engineered seed, the food industry has avoided discussion about these unnatural alterations to our food supply, and these state labeling initiatives have forced the issue, placing it front and center in the mind of millions.
In many ways, we're actually "winning by losing." With each state ballot, more and more Americans are being educated on this issue, and are becoming savvy to the unsavory, and sometimes illegal, activities these companies engage in just to keep you in the dark about what's in your food. It's only a matter of time before this war is won, and we vow not to quit until it is. Some of the state initiatives currently in the works include:
- New Hampshire: HB 6602 would require labeling of "any human or animal food offered for retail sale" as of July 1, 2014.
- Oregon: GMO Free Oregon has plans to begin collecting signatures to get a GMO labeling initiative on the 2014 ballot.3
- Hawaii County, Hawaii: Bill 1134 would ban GMO crops from being grown on the island, with exceptions for some GE crops that are already being cultivated.
- Richmond, California: The Richmond city council is drafting an ordinance that would require genetically engineered foods sold in its jurisdiction to be labeled.5
I'm Grateful for Our Tireless Advocates for Safer Drinking Water
After generations of misleading propaganda about the benefits of water fluoridation, the truth is finally getting some traction. Contrary to popular belief, the science clearly demonstrates that fluoride is a toxic chemical that accumulates in your tissues over time, wreaks havoc with enzymes, and produces a number of serious adverse health effects, including neurological and endocrine dysfunction. Children are particularly at risk for adverse effects of overexposure.
Yet despite the scientific evidence against the practice, the United States lags far behind other nations in acknowledging the mistake and ending this tragic "public health" measure. As usual, the big lie must continue to protect faith in long term public health policies and agencies...
Alas, the dam is starting to break, and fed up with government stonewalling, individual communities around the US have taken up the fight to end water fluoridation in their own local areas. Tirelessly aiding such communities is Dr. Paul Connett PhD, a chemist and executive director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). He's a recognized leader in the fluoride education movement, spearheading the organized efforts to remove fluoride from our water supply in the US and elsewhere.
Earlier this year, we've seen a number of victories, both in the US and abroad, including Wichita, Kansas, Portand, Oregon, where water fluoridation was ousted. Portland is so important because it is the largest city in the US that remains unfluoridated. In Australia, 15 regional Queensland councils have decided to either stop fluoridation or have refused to start.
Thank Heavens for Vaccine Liberty Fighters
When it comes to fighting for your right to informed consent and be warned of vaccine risks, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is without equal in the US. If it wasn't for the dedication of the NVIC team, far more people would likely suffer the unspeakable tragedy that is vaccine damage.
The power of personal choice is part of the definition of liberty, and the removal of choice—especially when it comes to medicine, which can have long-term health ramifications—is part of the very definition of tyranny. Today, there is no greater threat to liberty in America than the government enforced use of pharmaceutical products, such as vaccines, sold by corporations for profit.
The large gaps in scientific knowledge about the damage that repeated vaccination from day of birth throughout life could be doing to a child's brain and immune system has turned current vaccine laws into a forced, uncontrolled scientific experiment on the American population. But matters would likely be far worse if it wasn't for NVIC's continuous advocacy for your right to be informed about the risks and to choose whether those risks are acceptable in your, or your child's, case. In many instances the NVIC is the only pro-choice group present at important meetings relating to proposed vaccine rules.
Mercola.com recently sponsored the NVIC multi-state billboard campaign, which involved placing educational vaccine awareness ads in several cities including Chicago, Phoenix, Tucson, Portland, Olympia, and Austin, allowing us to reach over 10 million people. But there is so much more to be done in this arena, so I invite you to get involved. Nothing could possibly express your gratitude for these "liberty fighters" more than to join them.
YOU—The Greatest Gift of All
Last but certainly not least, I am grateful for you—for reading, absorbing, implementing, and sharing the information in this newsletter each day, and for time and time again responding to the call to action from all of these partner organizations. It is with YOUR support that their work is being accomplished. It is through YOUR participation and engagement in important issues that change is being manifested. YOU are the ones changing the world—one Facebook post, Twitter share, and donation at a time.
Never underestimate the impact you're having. By itself, a singular voice may not be heard, as it can easily be drowned out by paid opposition. But add together the sound of millions of concerned, dedicated voices, and eventually it will become a deafening roar that cannot be ignored even by the most callous and corrupted decision makers. We have significant problems within our political system, our health system, and our food and agricultural systems. Some seem to be broken beyond repair. But the answer is not to give up, but rather to know that you can make a profound difference.
Take heart in knowing that there are in fact people and organizations already hard at work to change these systems for the better. Let's be thankful for them. And let's not take them and their hard work for granted. Instead, join them and share the load. That'll ease the burden for everyone.
As for myself and my Mercola.com team, our social responsibility is to promote valuable health information, and it's a mission we will never cease to fulfill. With your help, we have been able to help educate the public and to help you make informed health choices for yourselves and your families. We hope that with our continuous service, you will stay motivated to take control of your health. Because ultimately, "having your health" is something that will fill you with gratitude for the rest of your life!