Three years ago, Virginia Trendall, editor of Fur 'n Feathers published an article outlining the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's intention to eliminate "health food stores"... including outlets of "alternative" pet health products. In May 1992 dozens of armed police and FDA agents burst into the office of nutrition specialist Dr Jonathon Wright MD, guns drawn they terrorized the female staff and ransacked everything on the shelves including patient's charts and records. Trendall now informs us that in May of this year agents of the FDA raided health-food stores across the entire State of Texas.

"Startled customers and bystanders watched in amazement as hundreds of products, including vitamin C, aloe vera products and herbal teas were taken from the shelves."

At Kent, Washington, armed agents burst into the Tahoma Clinic, where practitioners of alternative medicine use injections of vitamins, minerals and amino acids to treat a variety of ailments. One of the patients video-taped the raid which was later shown on television news programmes. It shows FDA agents, dressed in bullet-proof vests bursting into the clinic and commanding employees to freeze. The attackers said the clinic was raided because it made "illegal drugs", including "vitamin-mineral concoctions".

Across the USA the FDA's tactics (says Trendall) have caused anger, frustration and in some areas organised consumer rebellion. Those fighting them on the issue represent makers of health foods and vitamins, practitioners of alternative medicine, herbalists, acupuncturists, some doctors and a group of Hollywood celebrities, who, at a news conference, urged the public to rebel about the confiscation of vitamins. One, Sissy Spacek, said she and other celebrities use vitamins, herbs and other homeopathic remedies. The FDA apparently propose to label vitamins and minerals as "drugs" if they exceed a specific dose. They also wish to restrict or prevent altogether the sale of most medicinal herbs, such as camomile. Officials at the FDA say the regulation are:

"needed to protect the public against manufacturers who promote the supposed healing powers of supplements"

To this end they have promised to..

"close every health food shop in the U.S."

Trendall emphasises:

"This is actually happening in America - the 'Land of the Free'... Must we remind them again of the death and destruction caused by the drugs they okayed?"

Mr Jones, here is a box of 1500 pills, approved by the FDA for whatever ails you. Take 20 a day. When the pills are gone, if you are still alive, - er I mean sick, Dr Grab N Slashem, will operate. He's a whiz on scalpels, and he will be glad to accept your home in payment, you may not be needing it anyway.

(Virginia Trendall, Fur 'n Feathers (October 1993), "The Newspaper That Speaks for the Speechless")

The following is an extract from a letter dated 6 December 1993 from another American Correspondent - Rhona Zaid:

In the U.S. we are facing the greatest threat to our personal liberty and self-determination in matters of health, as the government has passed legislation, which is about to be enacted within a matter of days, that permits the FDA to confiscate all vitamins, minerals, amino acids and herbs that are currently purchasable over the counter in myriad health food and herb shops. This is under the guise that these substances are either 'unproven' or 'harmful' to the typical consumer, who (the FDA considers) is far too ignorant to understand such matters for himself. Consequently, what we in the alternative health movement are facing is no more, no less, than total annihilation, both figuratively and literally...

If alternative medicine is declared quackery in this formal and drastic way, which is the ultimate goal of the draconian legislation, then the last natural barrier against vivisection on scientific grounds is destroyed. The medical-chemical complex will then have final and complete hold over every man and woman in this country.

Since there has been a total black-out of news coverage on this issue in the U.S. I appeal to you to assist us to raise public consciousness in New Zealand. In the U.S. many of the organisations which purport to serve the causes of natural health or anti-vivisection have hidden agendas: there has not been one protest from any self-styled animal organisation in the entire country during the more than three years that this heinous and obscene legislation was passed... I am aware that you have a monumental task before you in New Zealand and no doubt do not have time to take on the troubles of another country. The problem however I fear will not end here (in the U.S.) for the world grows increasingly smaller, and those who govern us via the medical-chemical complex are established internationally, not locally."

Our correspondent then goes on to express

"extreme concern for the international safety of the entire alternative health and scientific anti-vivisection movements which can result from this outrage."

It is significant that in its adversity the alternative health industry recognises the vital connection between it and the movement of scientific anti-vivisectionism. This synonymity however was strangely ignored in New Zealand at the time of this Society's Petitions to Parliament, its marches to Parliament which took place on WDLA for 15 consecutive years, and throughout all the campaigns we have fought in this country without assistance, support or acknowledgement from the alternative health therapists or health food shops. In fact your editor well remembers a certain Wellington alternative health practitioner to whom we used to recommend our members, responding to an appeal that he support our march with the comment that he could not "in case his patients thought he was a crank"!

The issue of alternative health and the health food industry is currently being discussed in the New Zealand Parliament. Given the contributions of money donated to this country by the U.S. NIH and the fraternisation of vivisectors between the two countries it can be assumed that the deplorable situation taking place in the U.S. will not be confined to that country.

(More on page 13)