Robert Cohen's Hungerstrike ************************** Sunday, November 7 - Day 1 Today begins the first day of my hunger strike. Many people have asked what foods or liquids will go into my mouth. Since this is a hunger strike, the answer is "no food," and let me tell you this, I'm pretty hungry. Right now, I am thinking about an apple I see sitting on my counter. That Macintosh looks delicious, and I am salivating. Salivation is a natural response to a desire for food. I begin my fast with 120 supporters. Five other people have pledged to continue this hunger strike for the "duration." My goals have been clearly stated, but for the purpose of this diary, I shall simply repeat my goal: FDA removes Posilac. The Food & Drug Administration revokes the approval for the cancer-causing, genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Today I began by drinking distilled water. At noon, I faced my first challenge-a little hill that I climb. Its name is prune juice. After running over the hill, I am certain to get the "runs." ______________________________________________________ I am now writing five hours after drinking a 32-ounce container of prune juice. My 5-minute intervals to the toilet have now decreased to once every 20 minutes as the natural colonic frees my GI tract of previous meals. I am hungry but the distilled water is filling. I have tremendous energy and intensity of thought. I intend to go to bed early this evening and will try not to imagine visions of sugarplums and tofu. ************************** Monday, November 8 - Day 2 I woke up today feeling no hunger and feeling refreshed. My normal morning routine includes a trip to the bathroom. A gallon of distilled water passes its therapeutic journey through my body but there was little or nothing of any digested food. I began my day and will continue to do so throughout this hunger strike with the fresh juice of a whole lemon in a tall glass of distilled water. I am not in this hunger strike to make a two-week statement and then die. I will remain alert and be filled with energy as a result of drinking fresh juice. However, I will limit what I ingest to only that amount of juice that is necessary to continue neural and cellular functioning. While humans do not eat grass, I have chosen the juice of one substance that provides more nutrition than any other food on planet.. Earth-wheat grass. The juice from wheat grass is life, and I intend to visit my local health food store and drink one ounce of this sustaining substance each day in addition to the distilled water. In 1930, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Dr. Hans Fischer who noted that chlorophyll and blood hemoglobin are nearly identical. The major difference is in the center atom. Chlorophyll contains as its center atom magnesium while hemoglobin has as its center atom iron. This one ounce a day will sustain me as it has many others on similar fasts. Today I had to deal with a dilemma. Many husbands and wives have signed pledges to fast for at least one day. My wife, Lisa, has also offered to do so. She has mixed feelings about my hunger strike. On one hand, the insurance money would be real nice should FDA decide not to revoke the use of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH). On the other hand, my wife pointed out to me that Jennifer (14), Sarah (13), and Elizabeth (10) need a father and she needs a husband and they cannot support my decision which will lead me to a point in time, in the not so far future, when I look death in the face. The most pleasant and unpleasant aspects of a hunger strike are the changes that occur within the body. On one hand, I will cleanse my system and rid myself of diseased and not-so-needed layers of fat. On the other hand, my intestinal tract will be the depository for the by- product resulting from cellular metabolism of fat cells. How do I get rid of this gunk? The answer is in using daily enemas. Not a pleasant thought, but an absolute necessity for a hunger striker. Should I simply experience a hunger strike on just plain water with no enemas, I will shortly be bedridden and become too ill to communicate with the press. Our chances of victory are made greater by my ability to remain alert and to travel to various audiences. My pledge, I will not eat until Monsanto's poison is taken out of our food. *************************** Tuesday, November 9 - Day 3 I started my day with my usual glass of lemon juice in freshly distilled water. I feel stronger and more alert than I did yesterday and am highly motivated to begin today's work. The first thing on my schedule is a visit to my physician, David Goldstein, MD, a personal friend and gastroenterologist. Dr. Goldstein will give me a physical and draw blood samples so as to monitor my entire physiology during the duration of this fast. On the way back from his office, I will stop at my local health food store for my first one-ounce shot of wheat grass juice. (I hate the taste of this stuff, but it will sustain me as my body loses one pound per day for the next 100 days.) I have been reading books and searching the Internet for information about fasting. I will look in the book section of my health food store for additional information regarding fasting. ****************************** Wednesday, November 10 - Day 4 Today I received a letter from Scott Campbell who subscribes to an Internet talk group. He was actually admonishing many of the members of the group who were urging me not to continue my hunger strike because I'd be better alive than dead. Scott wrote: "Is this really necessary? This isn't the message we need to be sending Robert right now. It's fine what you think, but by telling him he's going to die and filling him with the dismay that people who share his ideals don't have faith in him does not help anyone." I responded to his letter: "Dear Scott, I want your support! I welcome your doubts! I admire your passions!!! Every comment fuels me. Those who begin hunger strikes hope for tremendous publicity. They sacrifice their health with expectations that those who run things be connected to the universal wisdom associated with their goal and cause. Yesterday, my doctor drew blood and suggested that he also do a physical. I agreed and we set the appointment for next Monday. On the way out, we shook hands goodbye and I asked, "Why am I taking a physical? I am fasting to the death." He smiled. I loved his response. "It's for my benefit," he said. This physician is a friend and I suggested he prepare a waiver for me absolving him of any responsibility for my physical well being as a result of my hunger strike." Today I am comfortable in saying that I am prepared to go the distance. I really cannot understand what the distance is and will only learn the power and strength of my will when I am within view of the finish line. This is the 4th day of my hunger strike and my 4th diary entry. I have made a vow to carefully reassess what I am doing on my next birthday, which works out to be the 114th day of my hunger strike. :>) *********************************** Thursday, November 11, 1999 - Day 5 Ignorance can last for an eternity while truth sometimes appears for just a moment in time; denial of truth can go on for a lifetime. Today is the fifth day of my hunger strike and I have learned a truth about my body that I have previously denied. Fasting is a healing process and as one's body cleanses itself, one becomes aware of each bone and muscle and organ. For the past year, I have had a right knee that screamed out to me every time I climbed the stairway. I have taken medication and seen doctors and have done all that I can through traditional medicine to identify and cure this ailment. Fasting has done that for me. It is said that nature's glues do not do well for the human body. Casein in milk is a tenacious glue, and I had eliminated that from my diet. However, I continued to eat bread. Wheat protein is gluten. The name alone should have told me something. I have removed the gluten from my system and the pain in my knee has miraculously disappeared. I feel strong in this fast. I have been drinking distilled water with lemon juice and my mind is alert and I am filled with energy. This week I plan to continue my intake of water and will be introducing one ounce of wheat grass juice into my daily regimen. I am my way now to a health food store to buy whole wheat berries that I will be sprouting and growing for that purpose. Next week presents many opportunities. On Thursday, November 18, I will be in Chicago to make a statement before the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the labeling of foods containing genetically engineered products. The following day, I will be in Rockville, Maryland at FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine to meet with scientists and present my petition to revoke rbGH from the market. ********************************* Friday, November 12, 1999 - Day 6 Today is Day 6 of my hunger strike. I have been reading and learning and talking to experienced fasters, coaches, and health professionals. It is important that I remain in complete control of my sensibilities. Therefore, I will soon begin to drink one ounce of wheat grass juice each day. Yesterday morning I visited a health food store and purchased a one-pound package of organic wheat berries. I also visited a local nursery and bought a 40-pound bag of dirt. Somebody will tell me whether it was Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer who tricked his friends into whitewashing the fence for him. I forget. I took inspiration by this story and got my youngest daughter, Elizabeth, to layer the dirt in trays, plant the seeds, cover them with another layer of dirt, and then water them. In a week I shall have fresh wheat grass to put into my juicer. We are now printing thousands of bumper stickers, and enlisting the aid of volunteers to place those stickers on cars, signs, and lampposts. If you would like some stickers, please contact us the Dairy Education Board at 201-871-5871. The stickers are free but we happily accept donations to cover their cost. On Thursday of next week, I travel to Chicago where I will be commenting before the FDA commissioner on labeling laws and policy regarding bioengineered foods. Donna Shalala, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has said that, "FDA makes sure that our food supply is among the safest in the world. Some consumers have concerns about the use of this technology in foods, and we need to ask why these concerns exist and how we can address them." I will be appearing before the new FDA commissioner, Jane Henney, MD. Dr. Henney was not the commissioner of FDA when rbGH was approved. She has written, "Our scientists are not aware of any reason to question the safety of currently marketed foods produced through genetic engineering." I will be giving the Commissioner reason to be very concerned. ***************************** Saturday, November 13 - Day 7 Today is the 7th day of my hunger strike. It has been a pretty lousy week for the dairy industry. Traditionally, the dairy farmer has gotten about $14 for every hundredweight (100 pounds) of milk he or she produces. That price jumped to nearly $20 last year and was $15 and change last week. The bad news hit hard. On Monday, the price of milk fell $4.77 to just over $11. Last summer, the dairy industry closed in Belgium for a month, and there was a panic at the supermarkets because unsafe levels of dioxins were found in their milk supply. This week, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream was tested and 200 times the safe level of dioxins were found. Every week new studies pound additional nails into the dairy industry's coffin. Milk hormones will be the story to link one millennium to another. Congress already has a bill that is seeking to label genetically engineered foods. As we end this millennium and begin another, you who have pledged your support and have joined me on this hunger strike do so for all of humanity. We will win and help all people discover the fountain of youth. *************************** Sunday, November 14 - Day 8 Today is the 8th day of my hunger strike. I have been continuing a dialogue with Neal Barnard, founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Dr. Barnard has been saying for many years that milk and dairy products are inappropriate for humans. This past week, I have agreed to join PCRM in a suit against the Food & Drug Administration to revise the current dietary guidelines for Americans and to shatter USDA's Food Pyramid and encourage healthy diets for all Americans. PCRM is seeking additional plaintiffs, and I urge you to join this suit. You will not incur any financial responsibility by becoming a plaintiff, but your voice can make a difference. If you would like to join PCRM and myself in the suit, please call or e-mail Tracye McQuirter. Her e-mail address is tmcquirter@PCRM.org or call her at 202-686-2210. Today, I made potassium broth that will insure that my cellular electrolyte fluids remain in balance. I will drink one 12-ounce glass per day of this filtered mineral-rich liquid. To a pot of water, I added a sliced potato, carrot, onion, celery, and beet. I boiled the vegetables for 30 minutes and strained the liquid. *************************** Monday, November 15 - Day 9 Today is Day 9 of my hunger strike. I have gained inspiration from the exploits of those men and women who have climbed Mount Everest. These past two weeks, I have read three books dealing with the subject of the 1996 ascent in which nine climbers died. Many people have asked why I wish to continue the hunger strike and what this protest means to me. One man who climbed Everest, Tom Whittaker, said, "Everest for me, and I believe for the world, is the physical and symbolic manifestation of overcoming odds to achieve a dream." Others have added their words of wisdom, which parallel the journey that many of us have chosen to take. "Everest is a matter of universal human endeavor, a cause from which there is no withdrawal, whatever loses it may demand" -G.O. Dyrenfurth "Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is the most important. This willpower you cannot buy with money or be given by others...it rises from your heart." -Junko Tabei, after becoming the first woman to climb Everest. My wife, children, family, and friends have called me "crazy," and look to a time in the future when this hunger strike may very well take its toll on my health and safety. One of the greatest climbers who lived and died on that mountain, Rob Hall, uttered his last words via satellite radio phone to his pregnant wife in New Zealand as he lay dying: "Hey, look, don't worry too much about me." The great Austrian climber, Reinhold Messner, said, "I am nothing more than a single narrow gasping lung, floating over the mists and summits." Substitute the word "voice" for "lung" and Messner's words aptly describe the spiritual feeling that overtakes one after a week of having no food in his body. The most famous of quotes associated with the great mountain was made by George Mallory, a man who died in his attempt to scale the summit. His body remains on the mountain. Mallory was asked, "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?" We have been asked, "What purpose is served in continuing a hunger strike when Monsanto's hormone will never be taken off the market?" We believe that FDA will revoke the use of Posilac. We climb our mountain for the same reason that Mallory climbed his: "Because it is there." ***************************** Tuesday, November 16 - Day 10 Today is Day 10 of my hunger strike. Many people are not aware that after climbing Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary built a hospital, schools, and an airport for the Sherpa people. Thanks to Beverly McManus who sent us Sir Edmund Hillary's favorite quote attributed to Germany's most famous writer, Goethe: "Concerning all acts of initiative and creation there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise not have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, do it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now." Good news comes in bunches and today is no exception. First, I received my copy of the November issue of Milkweed, a dairy industry newsletter. In that issue is news of the hunger strike. Columnist Pete Hardin writes, "Cohen's hunger strike is a device to gain attention to his cause. Many in dairy hate the guy. Over time, has Cohen harmed dairy more than Monsanto's biotech hormone? That jury's out." The second piece of good news is that WABC-TV in New York has been promoting my appearance on tonight's 11:00 news. I have even had people call me to tell me that they've heard radio spots. The third piece of good news is a story in today's Bergen Record newspaper, the third largest newspaper in the New York metropolitan area. BERGEN RECORD - Tuesday, November 16, 1999 Can the evils of seduction be tied to milk mustache? Ripper: Have you ever heard of a thing called fluoridation? Fluoridation of water? Mandrake: Ah, yes, I have heard of that, Jack, yes. Ripper: Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face? From the film "Dr. Strangelove" By SEAMUS McGRAW Staff Writer We now have Oradell real estate developer Robert Cohen to thank for bringing to light yet another insidious plot. Cohen for years has waged a lonely battle against what he calls the evils of milk, alleging it is the agent behind such maladies as breast and prostate cancers. But he made a startling discovery recently. The cartel that produces and promotes milk, Cohen claims, is leading teenage boys to seduce, or be seduced by, their teachers. His proof is an advertisement run by the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board, the folks behind the "milk mustache" campaign. The ad in question features hunky teen idol Joshua Jackson of television's "Dawson's Creek" and follows an episode in which his character, Pacey Witter, has a sexual relationship with his high-school teacher. It shows Jackson sporting a milk mustache and bears the caption: I can't help it. Women of all ages look up to me. Why? I'm 6 foot 2. Thanks in part to milk. The calcium helps bones grow strong. Considering 15% of your adult height is added when you're a teenager, that's good to know. Especially if you want to impress, let's say, an older woman. Seems harmless enough. Although he plays a 16-year-old on television, Jackson in real life is well past the age of majority, his show's publicist says. He legally can flex his buff body at women from any demographic group the advertiser chooses. But Cohen says that's beside the point. He calls the dairy industry's ad an attempt to seduce teens into a world of depravity and dissolution. Cohen draws direct connections to high-profile, real-life instances -- among them, the case of statutory rapist Mary Kay Letourneau, who gave birth to two children fathered by a 13-year-old student of hers. He also sees the seeds in an incident last month in which a 24-year-old assistant teacher at a private high school in Englewood was charged with having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student. Never mind that Letourneau's case occurred before the ad in question ever appeared. Forget the fact that there is no evidence that the 17-year-old in the Englewood case ever saw it. Cohen is convinced that the ad at least is partly to blame for the boys' trysts with older women. "Like Eve offering the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge to Adam, the dairy industry's search for knowledge has become an enticement for children of all ages to have sex with their teachers," he says. "Wear a milk mustache like the star of 'Dawson's Creek.' Have sex with an older teacher like the star of 'Dawson's Creek."' Cohen is actively promoting his cause on his Web site, along with a letter on the subject from Cardinal John O'Connor, the archbishop of New York. In his letter, the cardinal says up front that he's never seen the TV series or the ad. But he says that, based on Cohen's description of both, it seems "another example of the misuse of media and its harmful effect on our young people." Representatives of the milk mustache campaign dismiss Cohen's frothy accusations as nothing more than the rantings of someone who has given new meaning to the phrase "lactose intolerant." "Every day of the year this guy comes up with some ridiculous thing," said Susan Ruland, the executive vice president in charge of the campaign. Recently, she noted, Cohen suggested that the milk mustache campaign was promoting obesity and other physical problems in an ad featuring Curly Howard from The Three Stooges. "It's not only ridiculous, it's old, coming from this source," Ruland said. "He's tried to think up the most outrageous thing he can. "But it's a free world." Julie Kingsdale, publicist for "Dawson's Creek," notes that in the series, Jackson's older lover suffered humiliation, lost her job, and had to leave town, hardly a ringing endorsement for cross-generational coupling. But perhaps the most stinging challenge to Cohen's allegations comes from a guy who, to some degree, sees some merit in them. To Bergen County Prosecutor William H. Schmidt, Cohen's insistence on blaming an advertising campaign for an offense as insidious as the sexual abuse of young males by older women trivializes a very real crime. In New Jersey, he says, law enforcement officials have long "recognized that when a woman has a sexual relationship with a male who is much younger, it is just as much of a crime as when it happens between a man and a young girl. It's just as prohibited." Society still has a tendency to look the other way when the victim is a boy, viewing the relationship as "sort of a macho thing," he says. But the long-term damage to a boy in such a relationship is real, he says. The "boys will be boys" attitude is latently sexist, Schmidt says. Unfortunately, however, Cohen's crusade probably will succeed only in milking the issue for a few giggles, he said. All the same, I'm still going to take my coffee black. ******************************* Wednesday, November 17 - Day 11 Today is Day 11 of my hunger strike. Andy Warhol said that every person gets 15 minutes of fame. Well, last night, I got 20 seconds on ABC News in New York. Reporter Diana Williams did a story on early sexual onset in young girls. Here is how my part went: Diana Williams pushed a shopping cart with a carton of milk in it down a supermarket aisle and said, "Robert Cohen, an anti-milk activist, believes that children should stop drinking milk." From the original one-hour interview taped in my office, a 20-second segment is what they chose to air. I said: "Got hormones? Every sip of milk has estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, prolactin, melotonin-we're talking about powerful hormones. These are responsible for early onset." Diana Williams then spoke. She said: "Hormones naturally occur in milk, but some are added. Five years ago, the FDA gave dairy farmers the go-ahead to inject cows with the bovine growth hormone to increase milk production, but the dairy industry says it is a myth that it has any effect on milk drinkers." ABC-TV then interviewed Dr. Greg Miller, the highest-ranking executive in the milk industry. Miller said: "When you drink a glass of milk, the levels in there are so low, relative to what we have naturally in our body, it's like spitting in the ocean. It's not even detectable." I've got some very bad news for Dr. Miller, for the dairy industry, for Monsanto, and for the Food & Drug Administration. The reality of Dr. Miller's "spit in the ocean" comment is this: the October 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association revealed that the levels of IGF-I increase by a factor of 10% in the blood serum of those who drink milk. If we added 10% to the volume of water in our oceans, the only survivors would be those prudent enough to build an ark. Perhaps that is our future with genetic engineering. ****************************** Thursday, November 18 - Day 12 Today is the 12th day of my hunger strike and I am writing this in Chicago. Soon, I will get on a plane that will take me back to New Jersey. Tonight I land at Newark Airport and immediately go to the Middletown (NJ) School District where I will speak about the ill effects of milk and dairy products. From there, I drive to a hotel room where I'll be lucky to get a few hours of sleep. I'll continue on to Rockville, Maryland before the sun rises, and will meet with scientists at the Center for Veterinary Medicine, FDA's investigative research center. Tomorrow, I will give an uninterrupted two-hour presentation. Today's session, however, is an insult to all Americans. This was a filibuster by those people whose agenda it is to promote genetic engineering. The entire morning has been taken up by rhetoric that we have heard before. This is why America has lost faith in the FDA and is skeptical of anything coming out of that office. The panel participants are "plants" whose roots have been nourished and fed by Monsanto's fertilizer. I will be recording my testimony and have it for you tomorrow. However, let me make one comment that you will probably not get to see. There are a dozen television cameras at the back of the room. Every network is represented. Runners will take the morning tape and get it into editing so that today's events are on tonight's news. Our testimony has been pushed off until late in the day, and FDA's pretense at openness has, in effect, become an exercise in self-gratification and self-abuse. **************************** Friday, November 19 - Day 13 On Thursday, the Food & Drug Administration delivered an enormous insult to Americans. We were invited to participate in a process that will determine whether foods containing genetically modified organisms be labeled as such. FDA took one day and one venue and stacked the deck against our freedom to relate our concerns. Instead of allowing a reasonable amount of time for each person to speak, FDA limited each speaker to two minutes. The event was covered by America's media who taped the entire morning's events, which included statements of support for biotechnology by FDA employees and Monsanto supporters. It is little wonder that the press did not return after lunch, having had more than their fill of boring speeches, statements, and propaganda. While pretending to offer the opportunity for dissent, FDA severely limited our freedom of speech. My testimony and the entire testimony of 84 other motivated individuals will be available on FDA's website one week from today (www.fda.gov). I sat through panel discussions from biotech representatives who have stakes in genetic engineering. The rhetoric from these biased speakers of falsehoods attacked critics of genetic engineering who have, in their words, "no real scientific facts." When it came time to make my presentation, I addressed the FDA commissioner and members of her staff: "You want real science? I'm here to give you real science! The greatest controversy in FDA history was the approval process for Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. FDA, for the first time, published something in a peer-reviewed scientific journal-Science (August 24, 1990)." I'm not going to reproduce the entire transcript here, but I made the key point about how genetic engineering does not work and how the system is flawed. I pointed out the little known fact that Monsanto created a "freak" amino acid when they incorrectly transcribed the bovine growth hormone. Laboratory animals developed cancers and rbGh-treated cows birthed calves with genetic deformities, and Monsanto never told FDA of this error. Their error was more than one of omission. Their act was an utter disregard and contempt for the rights of American consumers. That act of intentional omission should be considered a criminal action. Those who are in power to accurately judge Monsanto will one day, in the very near future, determine, not only Monsanto's fate, but also the fate of genetic engineering. On this day, I will meet with a team of FDA administrators at the Center for Veterinary Medicine in Rockville, Maryland. Tomorrow, I will let you know what happened at that meeting. ****************************** Saturday, November 20 - Day 14 On Day 14 of my hunger strike, I was in Cincinnati. There I met with members of EarthSave International, an organization founded by John Robbins. John's book, "Diet for a New America," has been more than an inspiration to millions of Americans. John's work is promoted by EarthSave's 50 chapters and tens of thousands of members. I lectured at the University of Cincinnati before a large and enthusiastic crowd, and did a number of radio and newspaper interviews that should continue to bring health and healing to people. I also did a book signing in a Barnes & Noble in Cincinnati, and was delighted to have Jane Heimlich visit to give me support for my continued hunger strike. I was driven all over town by Cincinnati EarthSave president Melissa Fannon. I was guest at the home of Linda and Ron Richardson. Linda rescues animals and her home is home to seven cats and four dogs. I awoke at 4:00 AM and went to the living room couch to catch up on my reading, which I found to be nearly impossible. Seven cats licked and snuggled and gently walked over me on "little fog's feet." **************************** Sunday, November 21 - Day 15 Sunday was Day 15 of my hunger strike. On Sunday, I was driven to the Blue Grass state where I was the guest speaker at the turkeyless Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the Lexington, Kentucky chapter of EarthSave International. My daughter Elizabeth accompanied me on my weekend trip, and we devised a very special way to communicate. The meal was a potluck dinner that included a most incredible variety of gourmet vegetarian dishes. Elizabeth would hold up a piece of sushi and say, "Taste this, Dad." As she did, I remembered the taste and texture of rice with pickled vegetables surrounded by nori. She would dip the sushi into shoyu and place a piece of pickled ginger into her mouth. I would take pleasure in each bite. She tasted the curried lentils and the vegan lasagna and the sesame noodles, but her greatest joy came with her slice of milk-free pumpkin pie. With each taste, Lizzy shared the moment and used every bit of ESP-sending ability to deliver her pleasure to my tastebuds. I spoke to the group of about 200 diners and received a very warm and enthusiastic reception to my message. Many in that crowd have agreed to support our hunger strike for a day or longer, and I love them for it. Lexington EarthSave president Terri Fann set Lizzy and I up at the home of her father and mother, Bert and Linne Doyne, and we were treated like royalty. **************************** Monday, November 22 - Day 16 Today was Day 16 of my hunger strike. I left Lexington early and learned the meaning of the word "fog" as it relates to the word "airport." Elizabeth and I exhausted every opportunity to explore Lexington's gateway to the world. We met a woman at the airport who is a marathon runner with asthma. Lizzy helped me explain to her that the mucus one gets from cheese and milk is an internal fog that "lifts" about one week after giving up all dairy products. Thank goodness Newark Airport's fog lifted in only three hours. We arrived home and I downloaded approximately 2600 e-mail messages, which kept me busy long into the night. Forgive me if I haven't answered yours, but, as you can imagine, things are quite busy. My parents live in the same town as I do and I went over to drop off a few things. If you are lucky enough to have a Jewish mother, you'll enjoy the following interaction that I had with my mom. We saw each other for the first time in a week, kissed, and my mother asked, "Are you coming for Thanksgiving?" I said, "Of course." She asked, "What can I make for you?" I said, "Ma, this is a hunger strike, I'm not eating." Her response was, "How long is this hunger strike going to last?" I said, "It's going to last until I die, Mom." She looked at me with her "I know you're making fun of me" look on her face and asked, "I'll make you some vegetables?" "No, Mom." "You've got to eat something, Robert, or you'll starve." "That's the point, Mom. Gandhi went on hunger strikes and changed the world. So will I." "You're not Gandhi, you got to eat something," she said. "Thank you, Mom. See you on Thanksgiving. Bye." And with that, I went home, went to bed, and as I write this, it is Tuesday morning and I am ready to change the world. ***************************** Tuesday, November 23 - Day 17 Today is the 17th day of my hunger strike and I have three radio shows and an appointment with a major New York City television news show. Last Thursday's appearance before FDA was well reported in the Chicago area, but received little or no press attention in New York. Quite frankly, I went to Chicago hoping that things had changed with the new FDA commissioner. They have not. The FDA presentation and panel discussions were a sham designed so that America's press received heavy doses of brainwashing in the morning with little or no dissent. The room was intimidating with a strong presence of Secret Service agents rimming the perimeter. FDA and panelists sat on a raised dais, and the first three rows of the audience were reserved for FDA employees, not guests. We were separated from FDA by a rope. At one point, FDA presented a slide show of the basics of biotechnology. We 85 who came to speak in Chicago were well versed in the issues, and the slide show was a stalling technique that kept our comments down to two minutes each. At one point, the FDA lecturer could not get anyone to shut off the lights, and a thirty-second delay grew into a minute while the presenter struggled. He again asked if anybody could flip off the switch, and I took that moment to express myself. I turned around and yelled to the crowd, "Let Monsanto turn off the lights. They know the right buttons to push." The crowd laughed and applauded. I was given the opportunity to be the first person to speak after lunch. I should have spoken before lunch. After lunch, the press left. The room was not very well attended. I walked out of the room to catch a flight back to New Jersey and prepared my mind for Friday's meeting with the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), FDA's investigative branch. CVM approved Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH) in 1994. I drove five hours from my home to the CVM for 10:30 AM meeting. I was surprised to recognize Kimberly Gorall in the lobby. Actually, she noticed me. Kimberly is also on a long-term hunger strike and this is also her 17th day. She drove down from Rochester, New York and became the note-taker at our meeting. Kimberly incorrectly assumed that my session with FDA was a public hearing. I am fortunate to have had Kimberly there because she ended up being a witness to the two-hour hearing and a very good note-taker. These are the four FDA representatives at that meeting: Dr. Andrew Beaulieu, Deputy Center Director; Dr. Claire Lathers, Director of New Animal Drug Evaluation; Dr. Linda Tollefson, Director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance; and Dr. Marcia Larkins, CVM Ombudsman. I feel that all of the issues and reasons for this hunger strike were clearly and completely communicated to these four FDA employees. I also feel that there is no way that Monsanto's hormone will remain on the market. We protest with science as our tool and evidence, not emotion. We are dedicated to complete our mission. We trust that these four individuals will recognize their mission and fiduciary to the American people. ******************************* Wednesday, November 24 - Day 18 Today is Day 18 of my hunger strike. Tomorrow is the day of giving thanks. I'd like all of those who read this to take a moment during your Thanksgiving meal and reflect upon why we do the things we do. I am motivated to seek the health and safety of my children and your children. When I see a sick child, I do all I can to become an advocate for that child. Nothing will ever deter me from that course. Five days ago, I attended a session at the Center for Veterinary Medicine and presented my argument for revoking Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone from the market. Kimberly Gorall took notes of my presentation and FDA's responses. It is a luxury having the gift of an eyewitness reporter, and I now reproduce her notes for you. My presentation began and I said that there was an "open door policy between FDA and Monsanto and that is the public's perception." Furthermore, I said that "Monsanto's experiments were poor science and FDA accepted them. Monsanto lied and defrauded the FDA." The major part of my presentation revealed that "Monsanto acknowledged the creation of a 'freak amino acid' in an obscure British journal. The reason to take the drug off the market is that the hormone that is on the market today is not the one that was approved." I also discussed scientific evidence and reason for concern. After cows are injected with rbGH, levels of IGF-I in their milk increase by about 80%. I gave FDA studies from peer-reviewed scientific journals indicating that IGF-I has been named as a key factor in breast, prostate, and lung cancers. I also furnished a study revealing that IGF-I levels increase by a factor of 10% in people who drink milk. I also discussed mandatory labeling of food products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Dr. Tollefson, Director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance, asked, "How would you insure compliance with mandatory labeling?" My response was that it is up to FDA to find those who don't comply. Dr. Beaulieu, Deputy Center Director, asked, "Where do you think you'll ultimately go with the milk argument?" I went into about a sixty-minute discourse consisting of studies indicating that bovine proteins have allergenic effects on humans, and that bovine hormones survive digestion. Beaulieu asked, "How is it that mammals have evolved in the presence of this substance?" I responded, "Milk is nature's perfect food for infants and there is a different formula for every species. One should not drink milk from another animal and certainly not as an adult." Beaulieu then asked, "What about meat?" I responded, "IGF-I is in meat but gastric acidity breaks down proteins in meat. Milk buffers gastric pH." Tollefson asked, "What about products other than fluid milk?" I responded, "Those hormones are very powerful and casein is a tenacious glue and very allergenic." Beaulieu asked, "Would milk from rbGH-treated cows qualify for this label? The milk itself is not genetically engineered." I responded, "Of course, it would, as would all cheese and ice cream." Beaulieu then asked, " Would you call biotech-created insulin genetically engineered?" I responded, "I love genetic engineering, I don't love mistakes." Beaulieu asked, "What's the purpose of the hunger strike? To get rbGH off the market?" I responded, "Yes, and I don't want to die. I don't question your right to put things on the market. I just want the right to know what I am eating." Dr. Lathers, Director of New Animal Drug Evaluation, asked, "What are you seeking from us?" I responded, " Let's explore a process in which everyone wins." I do not hate Monsanto and I have no fear of biotechnology. When mankind makes errors, we must correct them. To not do so is to not act as a fiduciary. When we betray people, we commit a crime. Monsanto betrayed FDA and, in doing so, betrayed all Americans, and their drug must be immediately removed from the market. That is why I and nearly 200 other people are fasting for one day or longer. I hope that you hear us and fairly examine our petition. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and say a prayer for those who continue to consume the genetically engineered and unlabeled poison. ****************************** Thursday, November 25 - Day 19 Today is the nineteenth day of my hunger strike. Happy Thanksgiving! Let us give thanks! Here's to the Pilgrims, who stole the seed corn from the Abenaki Indians as they sailed up the coast towards their Plymouth Rock landing. Here's to the 15 Pilgrim mothers who died the first winter because the 100 Mayflower Pilgrims were forced to sell their food, 4000 pounds of butter before leaving England. (Fifteen out of eighteen married women died, while only one out of eight single women died). Here's to Miles Standish, who married one of the single women a few months after his wife's death! Here's to thousands of Wampaunoag Indians who fell in love with rancid butter at the first Thanksiving feast, and then died of Yersinia bacterium (bubonic plague). Yersina is one of many bacteria found in today's milk. Here's to all of you who eat turkey, thankful that somebody other than you has what it takes to slice through the throat of the bird you eat. Here's to the bird herself, whose life and painful death brings you indigestion and extra weight. Here's to the glass of milk you drink with your apple pie and the Tums you take for the inevitable upset tummy. Here's to one hundred and eighty people who have fasted for at least one day in support of our protest. Here's to the ten people who are fasting long-term. Here's to the FDA, who have given all of us an enormous gift...I will tell you all a BIG SURPRISE on Monday. Each day we accomplish something, and that becomes a tiny step towards changing the world for the better. One-hundred tiny steps add up to a giant stride for mankind. FDA has done something wonderful, but I must keep the secret, as promised, until Monday evening. At that time, in my journal entry, I will reveal some very exciting news! Here's to you and your loved ones: Happy Thanksgiving! **************************** Friday, November 26 - Day 20 Today is the twentieth day of my hunger strike. I harvested the wheat grass that I started a few weeks ago...about eight inches tall! I wish that I had a wheat grass juicer...my Acme juicer was a bit inefficient. I juiced the greens and got about 1/2 ounce. I ran the pulp through the machine for a second, then third time. I managed to squeeze out one full ounce of juice which went into a shot-glass. Remembering the tequila-drinking days of my youth, I quickly downed the dark green fluid. WOW! That was intense...a real brain cleanser. Anyway...I treated myself to a movie this evening, INSIDE JOHN MALKOVICH. There was one scene in this brillantly written movie, in which J.M. enters the portal to his own brain. This was easily the funniest thing I have ever seen...There was a moment in which I was laughing so hard, that I entered my own body...felt my heart beating and brain throbbing...everything moved in slow motion. Does a 20 day hunger strike make one more aware of his senses? I smell perfume from long distances and know meat eaters by their scent. I am more aware of whispers and my hearing has become sharper. All senses are keener, and I have more energy than when I was eating. Rather than suffer from discomfort, I enjoy the unique perspectives coming to me. I feel that I can travel outside of my body. Those who have experienced what I am now experiencing also report a sharpening of the senses...a keenness of sight and vision and hearing... This unexpected gift is more than spiritual... I feel so very alive! ****************************** Saturday, November 27 - Day 21 Today is the twenty-first day of my hunger strike. I have received a wonderful response to my appeal for you to fast for one day or more and support our hunger strike. Ultimately, my wish is to present thousands of supporting names to FDA. The genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH) should immediately be taken off of the market. Monsanto tricked the FDA. They have a completely different drug on the market than the one that FDA approved. They changed the formula and did not tell FDA. Never before has an insult like this occurred. Monsanto should be fined and their executives jailed. Laboratory animals got cancer from this hormone (Richard, Odaglia and Deslex study) and FDA should act immediately to revoke rbGH. AMERICA has been betrayed. FDA must immediately act. As each day passes, and rbGH remains on the market, the MONSANTO lie continues. Many of you have asked: What can I do to make a difference? 1) Join us for a fast of one day or more! 2) Send the HUNGERSTRIKE.COM link around the world! 3) FAX a letter to the FDA! 4) Alert your local media! We have before FDA a petition seeking the removal of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. The Deputy Director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine is Andy Beaulieu, MD. Dr. Beaulieu has the petition to revoke Monsanto's hormone. Send a letter to Dr. Beaulieu. Your letter becomes a permanent part of FDA'S file. His fax number is: 301-594-1830. The petition number is 99P-4613. **************************** Sunday, November 28 - Day 22 Today is the twenty-second day of my hunger strike. In tomorrow's journal entry I will reveal an exciting secret. I have promised to wait until Monday... you will understand tomorrow. Today I discovered the essence of an apple. How much we take for granted that very special fruit. I bought a bushel of apples... Winesaps and Cortlands, Maintosh and Delicious, Gala and Granny Smith. I washed them and quartered the fruit and ran them through my juicer. Oh, the bouquet that filled my kitchen. I strained any residual pulp and took a sip of fresh apple cider. Heaven. Boiled apple juice is an insult to the apple's wonderful nectar. Pasteurized apple cider sold in supermarkets is a crime against Mother Nature's gift. Apple cider, freshly made, is filled with live enzymes and nutients. One can taste the life! I drank the juice... no, I ate the juice, keeping each mouthful in my mouth... imagining the life-sustaining compounds to be absorbed into my cheeks. The tastebuds of my tongue were alive. I swallowed, and delighted in the smell and taste of this sweet liquid. I made a gallon of fresh cider in the afternoon. In the evening, I juiced one bag of fresh cranberries... brain food, say the juice books. Mixing the apple and cranberry juices togther, that became my dinner. I fast, and continue to burn away fat cells and protein. The juice will keep my brain strong, and allow me to reason. I will not be confined to a bed. This hunger strike may not be so, in the strict sense of the word. I produce juice, therefore I am. Would Gandhi have done the same if he had access to Juiceman infomercials? Perhaps... Tomorrow I prepare for my Washington adventure. More tomorrow. **************************** Monday, November 29 - Day 23 Today is the 23rd day of my hunger strike. I promised you a major announcement on this day and I'll give it to you at the end of this column. First, I'd like to tell you about a magazine that I subscribe to called "American Dairy Farmer." The November issue just arrived at my house, and I am stunned by what I read. The headline of the front page story is "Holiday Butter Prices to Benefit Consumers." The headline appears next to a picture of an obese dairy farmer, wearing a plaid shirt and a big smile. Last year, the wholesale price of butter reached $2.81 a pound and now the price is under $1.00. The dairy industry has been brainwashing the American public with their unhealthy milk mustache campaign and now they're attempting to brainwash their own readers into believing that things are rosier than they really are. Demand for milk continues to plummet. That was reflected a few weeks ago when the wholesale price of milk that farmers were receiving (for 100 pounds of liquid milk) fell from $16.49 to $11.72. The front page of this magazine also includes an advertisement from a company that sells organically grown garlic, which is used as a natural antibiotic for cows. In the ad, a farmer claims that the somatic cell count (number of pus cells in one quart of milk) has been reduced from 600 million to 180 million in just four months. A page three story reveals that the milk processors will be funding a new $180 million television ad campaign geared to children ages 6 to 11. Now for the very big news that I promised you last week. I have been asked to keep the secret by top level administrators at the Food & Drug Administration. On Thursday, November 18, I was in Chicago testifying before the FDA's Biotechnology and Food Labeling Committee. I was angry and offended by the entire process. The morning was spent listening to a panel discussion, and the panel unfairly represented the issues. Many of the panel members had relationships with Monsanto. A few times I was so incensed that I left my chair and walked out of the auditorium. The following day at the Center for Veterinary Medicine, I spent two hours presenting the science behind my petition to revoke the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone to FDA scientists and administrators. On Monday of last week, I returned home and spent the entire day calling and criticizing FDA personnel for the extremely biased treatment that was given to America on that day in Chicago. I spoke with Robert Lake who is America's delegate to CODEX, an organization made up of 134 nations seeking to standardize food labeling issues. I told Mr. Lake that I felt that he was "in bed with" Monsanto. I called "Monsanto's whore." Let this be my apology to Mr. Lake. The following day, Robert Lake called me at home after consulting with FDA Commissioner Jane Henney, MD. They asked me: "How would you like to be on the panel in Washington? We will allow you 5 to 10 minutes to address your comments and then participate in a panel discussion that will be heard by 500 people in the room." I may be fasting and may not have as much energy as when I am eating, but I could have done a double flip over my house when I heard those words. I know that America's media will be at that meeting. CNN will cover it as will the major networks and newspapers. FDA has changed and is now about truth. By giving me this opportunity to tell America about Monsanto's fraud, Monsanto's lies, and Monsanto's deceit, FDA has made this a better world and leveled the playing field. ***************************** Tuesday, November 30 - Day 24 Today is the 24th day of my hunger strike, and I'm calling this one in from Washington, DC. I must have done about two dozen interviews with major media outlets including radio, television, newspapers, and magazines. The world will soon know of Monsanto's scientific fraud and deceit. There is absolutely no reason for Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone to remain on the market. I taped my ten-minute presentation and I'll be returning home tomorrow. I'll get the transcript on-line in a few days. Meanwhile, I feel great. Rachel came down from Philadelphia and helped hand out flyers to the crowd of 500. Thanks to her for all her help. ****************************** Wednesday, December 1 - Day 25 Today is Day #25 of my hunger strike. I have spent an enormous amount of time and energy criticizing our Food & Drug Administration (FDA). During yesterday's panel discussion in Washington, I found out just how real FDA employees are. While I am on a hunger strike and not eating, I sat in on a breakfast and lunch buffet for the panelists and FDA administrators, and had the opportunity to discuss the issues on this hunger strike with many of those people "in power." The Director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine is Steven Sundlof, MD. I have previously accused Dr. Sundlof of being one of the "good old boys," and have criticized the appearance of his favoring Monsanto. In my book MILK--The Deadly Poison (p. 124), I reproduced a letter that Dr. Sundlof had written to the president of the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament after that body had placed a moratorium on the use of rbGH. Dr. Sundlof's letter to Frederich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf reflected anger and frustration. It seemed to me at the time that Dr. Sundlof was as unhappy about Europe's bad news as was Monsanto. In a small room, while breaking bread (I drank bottled water), I had the opportunity to discuss with Dr. Sundlof the mechanisms by which protein hormones in milk survive digestion. The same proteins in steak would be easily digested. Milk buffers gastric acidity and homogenization makes fat molecules 10 to 100 times smaller. These micronized liposomes (smaller fat molecules) envelope protein hormones, giving them safe passage through the intestines where they are absorbed intact into the bloodstream. I further discussed recent evidence with Dr. Sundlof proving that levels of IGF-I increase by a factor of 10% in blood serum of those who drink milk. Furthermore, I rehashed old evidence that called IGF-I the key factor in the growth and proliferation of breast, prostate, and lung cancers. Finally, I reminded Dr. Sundlof that IGF-I levels increase after cows are treated with Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, and that IGF-I in humans and cows in identical. The panel discussion was a very valuable and rewarding experience. What might have been more significant was the opportunity to meet with and discuss "real science" with members of FDA in an informal and friendly setting. Tomorrow I will print a transcript of my comments from yesterday's Washington panel. ****************************** Thursday, December 2 - Day 26 The FDA Testimony - as promised [Robert Cohen appeared on an FDA panel in Washington on Tuesday, November 30, 1999…some of you may have seen his speech on C-Span…Mr. Cohen spoke last, and each of the other panel members read prepared statements. Members of the panel also included Mildred Cody, who represented the American Dietetic Association; Mario Teisl, a professor of economics at the University of Maine; John Gray, president of the International Food Service Distributors Association; Kendal Keith, president of the National Grain & Feed Association; and Richard Caplan, an environmental advocate with the US Public Interest Research Group.] Testimony 11-30-99 ****************** Hi everybody, I've got to apologize first - I don't have a prepared statement like the other panel members. All I'm going to give here is some facts. I have a copy of the Federal Register. It says here advertising this meeting: "FDA is not aware of information that will distinguish genetically engineered food as a class from other foods." [ROBERT COHEN TURNS AND ADDRESSES FDA PANEL MEMBERS.] I'm going to give you some information today, guys. The greatest controversy in FDA history was the approval process for Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. We shouldn't be here today! We should not be in this room and I shouldn't be here because, in 1994, Congress HAD A BILL that was going to require mandatory labeling of all foods that were influenced by genetic engineering. I got my Congresswoman to co-sponsor that bill - 181 congresspeople co-sponsored that bill, and you know what? I learned how Congress works that year because in 6 months they stalled the bill - 12 members of the Dairy Livestock & Poultry Committee - they stalled the bill until the 1994 session of Congress expired and the bill died. I was so upset, I investigated these 12 men and found that collectively they took $711,000 in PAC money from companies with dairy interests, and four of the members of the committee took money directly from Monsanto. Now we've got a lot of political intrigue and some real science here. We've got science fiction, we've got a combination of John Grisham and we've got a combination of Stephen King. Nikita Khrushchev said that what the scientists have in their briefcase is terrifying - [ROBERT COHEN THEN OPENED HIS BRIEFCASE AND PULLED OUT A STACK OF PAPERS] and I've got some interesting things in my briefcase to share with you today. When Monsanto made their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, they noticed a couple of problems right towards the end - right before approval. They noticed that laboratory animals were getting cancer, and they noticed that cows were getting mastitis, ulcers in their udders. They were putting more pus and bacteria into the milk. So Monsanto arranged… We've heard from Dr. Maryanski this morning, and Dr. Maryanski talked about the Pure Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act but what he didn't tell you was that in 1958, Robert Delaney, a congressman from New York, added the Delaney Amendment which was named after him. The Delaney Amendment stated that if a food additive caused cancer, it was not to be approved - a pretty good law - right? Monsanto got their attorney, Michael Taylor from the firm of King & Spalding… By the way, when they started in 1979, they groomed their attorney who is now in the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, from the same law firm. Anyway, Monsanto's attorney, Michael Taylor, wrote and minimized the Delaney Amendment- he wrote a scientific paper that was published in the "Journal of Toxicology". Lawyers -they write in law review journals, but this lawyer wrote in the "Journal of Toxicology": "a De-Minumus interpretation of the Delaney Amendment" became the new protocol, the new standard operating procedure at FDA. They minimized cancer. Michael Taylor was hired by the Food & Drug Administration, and became the second most powerful man there, Monsanto's attorney - he wrote the standard operating procedure. In other words, if you see cancer, ignore it. Margaret Miller and Suzanne Sechen, Monsanto's scientists, were hired by the FDA to review Monsanto's own research. Margaret Miller knew cows were getting mastitis. The first week at the FDA, December 3, 1989, she was given broad power, and here's an affect of genetic engineering nobody has considered. She knew cows were getting sick from the genetically engineered hormone. She changed the amount of antibiotics that farmers could have in their milk. She changed it from 1 part per 100 million to 1 part per million - this is a fact! She increased it by 100 times. There is a hero of mine in the audience, Michael Hansen from Consumer's Union - Consumer's Union tested milk in the New York metropolitan area and found the presence of 52 different antibiotics in milk samples. FDA published on August 24, 1990, the first time ever in a peer-reviewed journal, in "Science". "Science" was started by Thomas Edison in the 1880's. They published a review of bovine somatotropin -bGH -the genetically engineered cow hormone. And in that review, there were seven tables of data. Five of those tables came from one study authored by Richard, Odaglia and Deslex. This is the famous "90-Day Study." Guess what? This was actually a study lasting for 180 days and when I first heard about this in 1994, I filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for that study - because I saw from the data that the average spleen of a lab animal increased 46%. I called FDA and spoke with Dick Teske. I said, "46%? You said there were no biological effects!" He said, "That's not statistically significant." I said, "Well, let me see the raw data." He said, "It's a trade secret." I called Monsanto, they laughed at me. They said, "It's a trade secret and you will never see it." I'm smart, I filed a Freedom of Information Act Request, but I didn't realize you can't find out the study. I went to Federal Court, I said, "Your honor - spleen increase of 46%, that's leukemia in 90 days!" I met with FDA on April 21, 1995, and found out that this was actually a 180-day study. In Canada, they had this study. I have a letter here [ROBERT COHEN REACHES INTO HIS BRIEFCASE], an internal memorandum: "This is to advise you that the copies of reports, letters, etc. for drug submissions have been stolen from my files." This was stolen from a scientist's file in Canada. They stole the second half of the "90-Day Study." We've got real science here. I'm going to talk briefly about the real science because when Monsanto made this hormone, they had to tell the FDA - they had to draw a chart of every amino acid - the 191 amino acids. And when FDA wrote their paper in "Science" magazine they wrote that one amino acid changed - it was a different hormone than the naturally occurring one. At the same time, somebody hired C. Everett Koop to come and say that genetically engineered milk and the good old wholesome milk is indistinguishable. Well, it wasn't. Something happened to the hormone that Monsanto made. The FDA said that there was one change in the endamino acid. It became epsilon-N-acetyllysine. FDA had written if there was a change in the middle of the protein, there could be disastrous results. They cited Jerome Moore. I got Jerome Moore's paper. It said if there is a protein change in the middle, there could be Alzheimer's or sickle cell anemia or diabetes. Four months after the hormone was approved, one of Monsanto's scientists, Bernard Violand, published in the July 3, 1994 issue of the journal "Protein Science" evidence that Monsanto made a mistake. Oops! Monsanto created a freak amino acid. Did you ever see that movie "The Fly" with Jeff Goldblum when the fly comes in and he becomes half-human and half-fly? Monsanto created a freak amino acid. Monsanto admitted it but didn't tell the FDA. [ROBERT COHEN TURNS AND POINTS TO THE FDA PANEL MEMBERS]. Gentlemen, the hormone that's on the market today is different than the one you tested for seven years. Monsanto spent 500 million dollars, submitted 55,000 pages of information to you, learned late in the process that they created a freak amino acid - that's what was tested on laboratory animals and it didn't matter because FDA said to Monsanto, you know something? It's safe because when you pasteurize milk, you destroy the hormone. They performed this research up in Guelph, Ontario by Paul Groenewegan, and I've got his study. [ROBERT COHEN AGAIN ADDRESSES FDA PANEL MEMBERS] To this day, FDA thinks -it's on your web page - that 90% of the bovine growth hormone is destroyed by pasteurization. But what Paul Groenewegan did working with Ted Elasser and Brian McBride, two Monsanto scientists, was he pasteurized milk for 30 minutes at 162ºF, and when I read that - I said, wait a second, milk is pasteurized for 15 seconds at that temperature - not 30 minutes. They intentionally tried to destroy the hormone, they only destroyed 19% of it - somebody lied. And at that moment, FDA said to Monsanto: "Because you destroy it by pasteurization, you don't have to do further toxicology studies. You don't have to develop a test for this hormone in milk. It's now safe to drink." They (FDA) developed a zero day withdrawal - they determined it was safe to drink. We have a lot of political intrigue here. We have an interesting situation where people have said that a revolving door policy exists at FDA. I mean, where is the ex-FDA commissioner, guess who he is working for? He is working for Monsanto. Bob Dole ran for President, his Chief of Staff was Donald Rumsfeld (ex-president of Searle, owned by Monsanto). I have one last comment… [AT THIS POINT, THE MODERATOR INTERRUPTS MR. COHEN AND TELLS HIM TO WRAP IT UP AND TO ADDRESS LABELING…] I know, but we have a labeling issue here - we have a right to know - I have listened to comments about "multi-faceted educational effort that we need" - that's called brainwashing! I don't want a "multi-faceted educational effort" - I want a double helical structure (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) on a piece of food that I'm going to buy in the supermarket because I have a right to know. Because the bottom line is - mistakes were made and when I hear from the American Dietetic Association, [ROBERT COHEN ADDRESSES A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION WHO PREVIOUSLY SPOKE AGAINST LABELING], I want to remind you that Monsanto gave you $100,000 to set up a toll-free hotline about the bovine growth hormone. Mistakes were made! We've got political intrigue here and the bottom line is we have a right to know what we are eating. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) ********* End testimony 11-30-99 **************************** Friday, December 3 - Day 27 Dear Friends, Today is the twenty-seventh day of my hungerstrike. Rachel's photo is next to mine on the LONG TERM portion of this website. Many months ago, Rachel planted into me the seed for this hungerstike. Yesterday Rachel decided that her body needed a rest from her fast, and she will soon be eating food. She is listening to her body, and I urge all people to do the same. There is great wisdom and no shame in not continuing with me until death. Many years ago, I used to go with my father to Madison Square Garden to watch track meets. We would cheer Marty Liquori as he attempted to run sub-four minute miles. Quite often, in the same race, there would be runners whose role it was to set the pace and run a very fast first half-mile. These runners would then drop out of the race and cheer from the sidelines along with the crowd. Rachel has given me great comfort and has been one of those runners. We have spoken privately about her decision, which I support 100%. I have not even once urged her to continue for another day... A few people have criticized Rachel's decision, and this is hurtful to me and Rach. Many people in the dairy industry delight in seeing what they believe to be failure. There is no failure. Americans are sending a clear signal to the dairy industry. On March 23, 1971, Richard Nixon received a $3 million dollar cash gift from the dairy industry. The giving of that gift was recorded on a Watergate tape. A few months later, Nixon set price controls for milk, and in doing so guaranteed that the price farmers receive for 100 pounds of milk would not fall below $9.90. One month ago, farmers were receiving $16.49 for 100 pounds of milk. As we started our hunger strike, the price of milk fell $4.77, a traumatic financial event for dairymen and their families. Next week, the wholesale price of milk will fall below the governmental support price for the first time in history. Our hunger strike is turning the eyes of the world upon FDA, waiting for their decision to revoke the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. We are also reaching American milk drinkers with new evidence. The genetic milk contains hormones which are dangerous for human health. As milk sours on the shelves, farmers continue to inject more hormones into their cows, producing more milk. Less demand, more supply. That ends up with the worst kind of economic theory. In a free market, that means disaster for farmers as prices plummet. When demand decreases, one should not increase supply. That is what the dairy industry continues to do. Rachel wrote a letter explaining her decision and my reaction. I would like to share that letter with you. RACHEL'S LETTER: "I had to write a note quickly and let you know that Robert was ABSOLUTELY supportive of my decision. All along he has made it clear that we each make our own decisions in this. If I fasted for one day or for one hundred days or more, Robert would acknowledge that it is my decision and be supportive of that. Robert has completely validated my choice to temporarily go off the fast and has been incredibly appreciative of my participation in the protest as a whole. His first concern would always be for the health and well- being of the participants and he would never want anyone to fast for one minute longer than they felt was right for them. Robert has made comparisons to climbing Mount Everest. I make comparisons to running a marathon. He is fasting for the long haul. I've run the first three weeks or so with him and I need to take a rest. Others are running with him now in the fast. I will rejoin him down the road and run alongside him again. Yet others are along the roadway handing him cups of water or juice to replenish his strength. Still others are along the roadway shouting words of encouragement. No one person plays a more important role than the other, in my opinion. The important thing to remember is that we are all in this together, no matter what type of contribution we are making. Robert has stressed that time and again - this is OUR hunger strike. It matters not to him that I needed to stop fasting for a while. He trusts me enough to know that I'm doing what I feel is best. In the long run I will be of much more value to the effort as a whole because of taking this brief break from the fast. I believe that, and I know that Robert does too." ***************************** Saturday, December 4 - Day 28 Today is the twenty-eighth day of my hunger strike. One month, and so much has happened. Yesterday was the worst day in the history of America's dairy industry. Farmers witnessed wholesale milk prices fall so low that many of them will not be able to remain in business. I am proud to say that a result of my work has been to decrease America's consumption of milk. By genetically engineering milk, there has been an increase of milk production in response to the decrease in demand, and farmers are feeling the pressure. However, I take little pleasure in seeing such pain brought to dairymen and their families. America's dairy farmers are among the hardest working people in America. My comfort comes in knowing that their work ethic will allow them to survive and prosper in any other field of work. I hope that many of them pursue organic farming. I will then become a happy consumer and will urge others to buy their crops. There is a consequence of genetic engineering that few have previously considered and that is one of economics. Dairy farmers have been dealt the Queen of Spades, and many will see their pasts and futures destroyed by Monsanto during coming months. One year ago, farmers were getting $7.05 more for 100 pounds of milk than they are getting today. Yesterday, the wholesale price of milk fell to $9.79 for 100 pounds. At this level, farmers cannot even afford to use Monsanto's genetically engineered hormone. They are dying a slow death and are caught in failure's spiraling cyclone. Many will have no money to pay their mortgages nor send their children to college. No belt-tightening will stave off the inevitable. Monsanto has destroyed them. Twenty-five percent more milk in a market where the demand for milk is shrinking make for a poor economic theory. Their solution? Produce even more milk. As demand decreased, supply increased. As supply increased, Monsanto marketed and sold more of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. It will be no different with soybeans or corn. It costs farmers over $3 to grow a bushel of corn, yet, this past year they were receiving $1.87 for that bushel. The solution? Grow more corn. Europe will not buy our genetically engineered corn. Man's greed has dissolved into man's tragedy. The consequences of genetically modified organisms are more than just the health of human consumers and the environment. There are economic concerns that may very well destroy America's farms. I urge all dairy farmers to join me for one day of fasting. Let us send a message to the FDA. We never wanted a hormone that would change the milk. We did not need more milk. The hormone caused disease in cows and cancer in lab animals. Monsanto's fraud became the dairy farmers horrible destiny. Loss of business, loss of farm. Let us all immediately ask FDA to revoke rbGH. **************************** Sunday, December 5 - Day 29 Today is the twenty-ninth day of my hunger strike. Yesterday, the three hundredth person pledged support to our cause. Each member added to our team represents a special milestone, but three hundred people pledging to not eat any food for a day or longer represents a very special sacrifice. I am touched. We are a movement and have become soldiers in this army of activism. Nearly 25 centuries ago, the city-states making up the Greek empire were threatened by an invading force of 200,000 troops from Persia. Nearly 1,000 ships sailed against Greece, but its citizens were unprepared for such a threat. Athens relied upon Sparta for its primary defense, but the Spartans were initially only able to put together an army of 300 warriors. The Spartan king, Leonidas, led his troops to a narrow 50-foot gap between the mountains and sea, and there began a classic defense of that nation. Three hundred soldiers saved the Greek empire, just as 300 of us are now ready to etch our mark upon world history. They fought with passion and determination, and held King Xerxes and his army at that pass for nearly a week. That provided enough time for Athens to plan a strategy and properly arm for battle. A few weeks later, an outnumbered Greek army and navy routed the invading Persian force and won their victory, just as we shall win ours. Our weapons are not spears, and we do not kill our adversaries. We win this battle with logic. With science. With facts. The FDA has a decision to make, and they are now in a stalling pattern. We seek to end a threat to all Americans. There is a poison in our food. There was once a poison at FDA. The old guard has left and a new administration rules. Our scientific data are being analyzed. Our proof of previous scientific fraud and deceit is being reviewed by senior FDA administrators. We wage our battle by our hunger strike. We continue, trusting in the wisdom of FDA reviewers. We are patient, but every day that passes is another day that milk consumers are jeopardized. We are at war, make no doubt about that. We have called upon FDA to review our claims. Are they vigilant? Are they diligent? Monsanto defrauded the FDA. The genetically engineered bovine growth hormone now on the market is entirely different from the hormone that was approved in 1994. Monsanto changed the formula and never told FDA. That evidence has been presented to FDA. There is no dispute. Monsanto is guilty. Time will place additional guilt upon FDA. They must act immediately. We question that delay. Must we use additional weapons? Perhaps a Congressional investigation is appropriate. We rely upon FDA reviewers to do the right thing. Will they? How long do we wait? This is a battle that is now being fought on many playing fields. We hope and trust that FDA is our ally and a friend to the American people. We know that Monsanto is not. Last week, angry Americans rioted in the streets of Seattle at meetings of the World Trade Organization. FDA is concerned that a similar protest will occur in Oakland. On Monday, December 13th, FDA will hold a hearing across the Golden State Bridge from America's traditional hotbed of political protest, Berkeley, California. We urge FDA to send a message to America before that meeting. Lies and deceit will no longer be tolerated. Monsanto has poisoned America with their bovine growth hormone. Canada fairly reviewed Monsanto's research and rejected that hormone. So did Europe. Now is the time for FDA to act. We consider FDA our protector and remind them of their fiduciary duty. The age of protest revisits America. We want peace and harmony, but let FDA know that Seattle was the first warning. Please let us trust you, and allow us to enter the new millennium as partners. Be our friend, and not our enemy. The lines of battle are drawn. Does FDA march with Monsanto or do they independently and fairly review the evidence against a firm that lied and cheated? To not act makes FDA as guilty as those who are the liars and deceivers. *************************** Monday, December 6 - Day 30 Today is the 30th day of my diary. Many of you have written to me on a daily basis asking about my health. The truth should be known, while I have not eaten in 30 days, I haven't felt this good in many years. My energy level is high, I need less sleep, and little aches and pains that one associates with mid-life have ceased. Perhaps things might take a turn for the worse after my 60th day or my 100th day of not eating. Some of you have asked why I am on a hunger strike and have suggested that I post a "button" with the hows and whys and meaning of this hunger strike. Your advice is good advice, and I will do that today. Here is what I will post: The greatest controversy in the history of the Food & Drug Administration was the approval process for Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH). Evidence submitted to FDA reveals an enormous scientific fraud and political deceit perpetrated on the American people. Recently obtained scientific data indicated that Monsanto's hormone caused cancer in laboratory animals. FDA incorrectly concluded that there were no biological effects on lab animals and assumed that rbGH in milk could not survive digestion. A newly published study indicates that milk hormones increase 10% in human blood serum. Monsanto created a "freak amino acid" when they first made the bovine growth hormone. They learned of this error after FDA had finished their review, and they changed the formula without alerting FDA. The drug that is on the market is completely different from the one that was approved and must be immediately taken out of our food supply. There is no ethical, legal, or scientific reason for FDA to continue to protect Monsanto. We are on a hunger strike and will continue to remain on a hunger strike until FDA honestly reviews out evidence. Such review most certainly will end with FDA revoking rbGH. My life and my possible death are dedicated to the children who have gotten leukemia and other cancers similar to those seen in laboratory animals. I will end my hunger strike only when FDA acts. There is enormous evidence on this website. Please review the facts and send an e-mail to FDA to let them know that you will no longer accept such compromise and deceit. Please, if you can, join us for one symbolic day and let us share your name with the rest of the world. **************************** Tuesday, December 7 - Day 31 Today is the 31st day of my hunger strike. We are a small army. Fighting a battle properly relies upon logistics, planning, and analysis of data. We are, by our existence, an enormous threat to Monsanto. Last year, Monsanto did $8.6 billion worth of business. Our hunger strike could take away hundreds of millions of dollars of annual cash flow and has the potential to severely damage, if not altogether destroy, hundreds of billions of dollars of future genetically engineered biotech sugarplums. Do you imagine that Monsanto will rest and not do anything about our efforts? In October, I registered and opened the hungerstrike.com site. I began my hunger strike on November 7th. In early October, I began discussions with Monsanto urging them to remove the bovine growth hormone on their own. I alerted a few senior level Monsanto executives that I was going to file a citizen's petition with FDA. The reason why I am writing these things in today's journal entry is because another website opened during the month of October. That website is www.harvest-moon.org. The owner of that website is Paul Dennis. Mr. Dennis has e-mailed every person on the hunger strike list with lies about the amount of people visiting the hungerstrike.com site. Please be aware that we have received over 5,000 visits from people at FDA alone. Mr. Dennis pretends to have our best interests at heart, yet the opening sentence of his letter is, "Robert Cohen's hunger strike is not going well." He then continues in his letter to tell you that "your sacrifice will be for nothing." He then offers advice on how to increase traffic to a site. A review of the guestbook on my first website, www.notmilk.com, reveals 1,440 letters. I challenge anybody to find any guestbook on the Internet with more passionate responses to any issue than what the notmilk guestbook has generated. Mr. Dennis' expert advice and knowledge does not apply to his own website. His guestbook contains 18 letters. The hungerstrike.com contains over 100 letters. The first letter in his guestbook comes from an angry critic. Normally, when one sets up a webpage, one first sends news of that page to colleagues and friends. Mr. Dennis has written a letter to my guestbook (record #83) in which he "slams" the advice of the three doctors listed on this site. Dennis calls fasting "the polite word for starvation." In that letter posted on 11-26, he writes that there is "clear evidence that almost nobody is listening, why should Monsanto and FDA care about the hunger strike?" Dennis criticizes the fact that I have removed the counter from the page. Last week, many of you may have seen that the website is now more user-friendly and easier to load. At the same time that I removed the counter, I also removed the graphic containing my book and tape, which were for sale. The site now loads more easily. STRATEGY Remember friends, Monsanto has a multi-billion dollar investment. Mr. Dennis may or not be an infiltrator. However, with friends like this who needs enemies? The hunger strike will be the subject of three major magazine articles next month, and I am currently working with a television crew from one of America's network news magazine shows. There are also other surprises in store that some of you know about, but will not be pre-published on this site so that they achieve the greatest publicity effect. Should Mr. Dennis wish to post a comment to the guestbook, that comment will be posted in its entirety. Please be aware, however, that the apple that Mr. Dennis extends to you may not be offered with the best of intentions, and I urge you to read his comments and then exercise your control over your delete button. ****************************** Wednesday, December 8 - Day 32 Today is the 32nd day of my hunger strike. Tomorrow I will present the following to the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. Milk contains hormones. That is what our hunger strike is about. USDA is holding hearings about obesity in America. The following is a part of my presentation. It may shock you: OVERWEIGHT IN AMERICA - GOT MILK? Throughout history, obesity and wealth have been directly proportional. Aristocracy has always benefited from the creme de la creme of man's food supply, and overeating of rich foods has been reserved for the rulers of both primitive and civilized societies. Today, starvation and malnutrition are directly proportional to poverty in most world nations. America is the exception. In the United States, being poor often means being overweight. Poor children in America's inner cities are often roly-poly fat children. Drive by any schoolyard in America's inner cities and overweight kids are the norm, not the exception. Children, lacking in proper nutrition at home, are now the beneficiaries of school breakfast and lunch programs. What food group is the most subsidized in America? Milk and dairy products. On March 23, 1971, President Richard Nixon was taped accepting a $3 million dollar cash gift in the oval office. John Connally soon entered and commented: "These men are adamant, they're militant and they're massing an enormous amount of money to place into political activities." Milk is now mandatory for school lunch programs. Milk contains powerful growth hormones, fat, and cholesterol. The most powerful growth hormone in the human body is identical to the most powerful growth hormone in a cow's body. That hormone instructs every cell in the human body to grow. Bovine hormones in milk survive digestive processes and act to turn our children into bovine-like creatures. Milk contains powerful hormones. Rates of sexual maturity in children are astounding endocrinologists and behavioral psychologists. A recent study revealed that eighty percent of nine-year-old African-American girls had breast development. Children are becoming overweight at an early age. By eating growth hormones in combination with animal fat, the body has a way of listening to the signals of those chemical messengers: GROW! Many children of color live below the poverty level. In its wisdom, the United States Department of Agriculture provides free food and nutritional programs for these kids. In its lack of wisdom, USDA has chosen milk and dairy products to be the major components of these kids' diets. These children now receive free breakfasts of cereal with milk, free lunches of chocolate milk with macaroni and cheese or pizza. A free snack before they go home is more chocolate milk. In Japan, every year since 1946, tens-of-thousands of persons have been interviewed and their diets carefully analyzed along with their weights and heights and other factors such as cancer rates and age of puberty (the last measured by the onset of menstruation in young girls). This study includes detailed personal interviews and is well respected and accepted by scientists. In 1975, 21,707 persons from 6,093 households were included in the sampling. The results of the study were published in a respected scientific journal, Preventive Medicine (Yasuo Kagawa, Department of Biochemistry, Jichi Medical School, Japan, 7, 205-217, 1978). Japan had been devastated by losing a war and was occupied by American troops. Americanization included dietary changes. Milk and dairy products, relatively unknown to Japan, were becoming a significant part of the Japanese diet. According to this study, the per capita yearly dietary intake of dairy products in 1950 was only 5.5 pounds. Twenty- five years later, the average Japanese ate 117.4 pounds of milk and dairy products. What happened to young girls and the impact of milk consumption on puberty is dramatic. In 1950, the average twelve-year-old girl was 4'6" tall and weighed 71 pounds. By 1975, the average Japanese girl, after guzzling a daily diet of milk and dairy products containing 59 different bioactive hormones, had grown an average of 4 1/2 inches and gained 19 pounds. In 1950, the average Japanese girl had her first menstrual cycle at the age of 15.2 years. Twenty-five years later, after a daily intake of estrogen and progesterone from milk, the average Japanese girl was ovulating at the age of 12.2 years, three years younger. Ten pounds of milk are required to make one pound of cheese. In 1960, the average American ate ten pounds of cheese. Today, the average American eats thirty pounds of cheese. Concentrated growth hormones in the presence of fat and cholesterol do just what they were designed to accomplish. Milk and dairy products represent 40% of the average American's diet, 666 pounds per year per person. GOT FAT? GOT MILK! ***************************** Thursday, December 9 - Day 33 Today is the 33rd day of my hunger strike. I am saddened by what is happening in America and recall the days of student activism in my youth. In 1968, students and police clashed in the streets of Chicago at the Democratic Convention. Inside the arena, Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut grabbed the microphone and denounced the Gestapo-like tactics in the streets outside the convention hall. As he spoke, Chicago's mayor, Richard Daley, had the Senator's microphone shut off. Our voice has also been shut off by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). FDA is conducting hearings on food labeling and biotechnology. The first hearing was in Chicago and the second in Washington D.C. At the same time that the second hearing was being held, students were clashing with police at the World Trade Organization (WTO) hearings in Seattle. Many of these protesters, dressed as monarch butterflies and genetically engineered tomatoes, were frustrated by having no say in WTO's process. FDA has been so concerned about a similar demonstration at their Oakland hearing scheduled for December 13, 1999 that they are imposing the most incredulous Gestapo-like censorship at this third and final "public" hearing. Notices of such meetings must be published by law in the Federal Register. After this notice was published, the FDA changed the location. Calls have been made from my office everyday this week to find the new location but FDA continues not to reveal any of the details about their so-called public meeting. Shame on the FDA! We are on a hunger strike because FDA did not review or pay attention to key evidence and adverse effects in laboratory animals from the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. It seems clear that FDA is conducting themselves in a biased manner and, by their actions, are motivating people to take to the streets. All we request is an honest hearing. We do not care for the FDA's latest lack of integrity. ----- I am now driving home from Washington having testified before USDA. Many of my critics have accused me of writing absurdities in my daily diary and of being delirious from a lack of food for 33 days. Perhaps they are right. I just had the most unusual fantasy. Jimmy Carter lusted in his heart and, in doing so, admitted that he committed adultery. I just lusted in my heart for fried chicken. I'm driving home and passing the rest stop and there is a big sign for KFC. I haven't eaten chicken in three years and I don't intend to. But I do remember how good it tastes and I do admit to having salivated when I saw that sign. Such is the fate of a man on a hunger strike. **************************** Friday, December 10 - Day 34 Today is Day 34 of my hunger strike. Yesterday's trip to Washington reminded me of Fellini's "Satyricon." The surreal atmosphere and absurdities of governmental hearings must be seen to be appreciated. The purpose of the meeting was for USDA to receive comments from the public on obesity in America. Thirty-five speakers appeared representing a diverse assortment of interests and viewpoints. Most of the experts addressing obesity were themselves obese. That seemed a little funny to me. The three skinniest people there all made presentations submitting evidence as to the benefits of a plant-based vegetarian diet. They included Miyun Park from PETA; Alex Hershaft, a well-known vegetarian activist; and Patricia Bertron from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. There were some very curious and biased presenters representing agencies such as the National Soft Drinks Association and the Sugar Association. There was also a presentation from Michael Jacobson from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). This organization does not represent my interests. They work closely with the dairy industry endorsing Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Mr. Jacobson also advocated a low-fat milk program for public schools. It's not the fat in milk, it's the growth hormones. Those hormones are powerful, and one in particular, IGF-I, is identical between humans and cows. Forty percent of the average American's diet consists of this powerful growth hormone. It should be no surprise that America's obesity problem has reached epidemic proportions. I experienced mixed feelings of amusement and anger when Barbara Moore, the spokesperson for Shape Up America, gave her presentation. Her concluding remarks were, "Although inappropriate food choices and a total breakdown of portion control are vitally important factors contributing to obesity, many of the societal changes that are contributing to the growing prevalence of obesity in America have nothing to do with nutrition." Her concluding comment is particularly absurd when compared to her opening statement. Dr. Moore said, "We live in a nation where children do not drink their milk…" Dr. Moore suggested that USDA's national nutrition summit planned for May of 2000 be delayed until after the presidential election. I was astounded when I heard these words. Here we have an epidemic of obesity, and a group called Shape Up America wants to put off a discussion of this problem. Go figure. ****************************** Saturday, December 11 - Day 35 Today is the 35th day of my hunger strike. I performed a self-motivational act this morning. I battled the Christmas crowds and went to Macy's and purchased a pair of pants 5 sizes smaller than the pair I am currently wearing. While it doesn't fit yet, it should be a perfect fit some time in mid-February. Valentine's Day theoretically becomes the 100th day of my hunger strike. Don't send chocolates. I say theoretically because the Food & Drug Administration, in their wisdom, may take Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH) off of the market. I say theoretically because who knows whether I'll live that long on this hunger strike. I have written about a "freak" amino acid that was transcribed when Monsanto created rbGH. This week, Pete Hardin, the editor of a dairy industry magazine, contacted me and asked for supporting evidence for that statement. I had originally discovered that "gem" by reading abstracts of scientific studies on MEDLINE, a database containing hundreds of thousands of studies published in peer-reviewed journals. I never actually saw the entire paper. I searched through files and boxes and could not locate the study. I sheepishly called back Mr. Hardin and apologized for my inability to produce the reference. I blamed that inability on my parents who raised me to become all of the good and bad I now am. Keeping records is not my strong point. Hardin laughed and informed me that he had just obtained the entire study from the University of Wisconsin Research Library. I then learned that it was a lot worse than I had previously concluded. Not only did Monsanto create a "freak" amino acid in the #144 position, but they made errors in the #157 and #167 positions also. Furthermore, Bernard Violand's paper cites a previously published paper revealing that errors were made in the #171 and #180 positions as well. That is a total of five different mistakes. Please take note of the importance of this critically significant finding. When FDA scientists reviewed this enormous controversy, publishing a paper in the August 24, 1990 edition of SCIENCE, here is what they wrote: "The primary sequence of these products was either the same as or differed only slightly from pituitary-derived bGH. Differences occur only NH-2 terminus end of the protein. Monsanto Agricultural company product has a single amino acid substitute." FDA did not even suspect what Monsanto already knew in 1991. When Monsanto learned of the additional errors in 1993, a process was developed to filter out the significant number of incorrect proteins containing "freak" amino acids so that the product that is on the market today is completely free of those genetically engineered mistakes. HOWEVER…Monsanto's admission is also a condemnation of the entire process of genetic engineering and FDA review. Monsanto's new hormone is completely different than the one for which Monsanto submitted 55,000 pages of research evidence and testimony. In order to get that hormone approved, Monsanto lied and deceived the FDA, calling in favors from people in high places, having their lawyer (Michael Taylor) writing the rules and regulations by which all genetically-modified organisms are now governed. This is why we are on a hunger strike. **************************** Sunday, December 12 - Day 36 Today is the 36th day of my hunger strike. Dear FDA: You have visited this website over 6,000 times during the months of November and December. You have been reading our message and have yet to act on the real science submitted to you. Our demand is that you immediately remove Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone form the market. Tomorrow you will hear the voice of America. Tomorrow thousands of people in Oakland, California will demonstrate at your biotechnology and food labeling conference. In the spirit of Christmas, we request that you carefully listen to these voices. Know that our spirit cannot be conquered. Know that this movement will grow. Know that activism exists because you give us the reason to protest. In the spirit of Christmas, we send you these words from our favorite Noel: "He knows when you've been SLEEPING, He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been BAD or good, So be good for goodness sake." **************************** Monday, December 13 - Day 37 Today is the 37th day of my hunger strike. Somebody must be watching because I'm getting a quite a few threatening letters and I've had to disconnect my telephone during the overnight hours. I would like for you to know about an organization that I wholeheartedly support. Ronnie Cummings has been running the Organic Consumers' Association for a number of years from his Minnesota home. At one time, Ronnie worked and ran the Pure Food Campaign for Jeremy Rifkin. Ron is a friend and I felt very bad when he wrote and told me about the painful experience of receiving pepper spray in his eyes a few weeks ago in Seattle. Ron's website has been informing consumers about the dangers of genetically engineered foods: www.purefood.org. If you would like more information, Ronnie's Organic Consumers' Organization can be reached at 218-726-1443. According to Ron, many companies routinely use genetically engineered foods in their ingredients. Here are the toll free numbers for five of those companies. Perhaps you will let them know how you feel: Nabisco 800-862-2638 Kraft 800-543-5335 Heinz 888-472-8437 Kellogg's 800-962-1413 Proctor & Gamble 800-595-1407 Thousands of consumers will be protesting at the Food & Drug Administration biotechnology conference in Oakland, California today. I will review today's demonstration in tomorrow's newsletter. I hope and pray that the passions in California streets do not reach the same level of ugliness that they did a few weeks ago in Seattle. We protest because we no longer trust the Food & Drug Administration. One very big statement that FDA could make to America is to revoke the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Science and logic dictate that they act immediately to do this. This is why we are in the streets and future demonstrations will contain more protestors with even greater passion. ***************************** Tuesday, December 14 - Day 38 Yesterday was the third of three FDA public hearings on biotechnology, genetic engineering, and labeling. A crowd of 1,000 protestors was expected, but bad weather held back large crowds. The Oakland Tribune reported that about 500 people attended a noontime rally against genetic manipulation. State Senator Tom Hayden addressed the crowd and promised to introduce a bill to get California to require labeling of genetically engineered foods. Rally organizers claimed that this was the largest genetic food protest ever heard in the United States. After Hayden spoke, the crowd chanted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho. Frankenfoods have got to go." Police had expected up to 5,000 protestors and came to the rally anticipating a peaceful protest, unlike the police in Seattle. What they expected is exactly what they got, and the peaceful protestors carried signs such as "Get Your Pig Gene Out of My Tomato" and "Save the Rice from the Splice." Over the weekend, President Clinton made his weekly radio address, speaking on food safety. Clinton said, "There's really is no such thing as too safe. Food safety is part of our citizens' basic contract with the government. Any food that fails to meet clear and strict standards for safety should not make it to the marketplace." We would like Mr. Clinton and all Americans to know that we have the "goods" on Monsanto. Evidence has been submitted to the FDA that Monsanto created five significant errors (different amino acids) when creating the hormone that is now in dairy products. Despite the fact that FDA approved that hormone because they concluded that there were absolutely no effects on laboratory animals, recent review of Monsanto's studies proves otherwise. We anxiously await and continue our hunger strike as FDA scientists re-review our petition containing the real science. ******************************* Wednesday, December 15 - Day 39 Today is the 39th day of my hunger strike. We are at war, have no doubt about that. Monsanto is the enemy and we are trying to eliminate the threat which they represent. Monsanto is a multi-billion dollar company with enormous resources. We are merely one blade of grass in an endless forest. There is also a third party here who like the Swiss in World War II maintain a semblance of neutrality although we feel that they have a bias. The third party is the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). In reality, Monsanto's employees have gone to work for the FDA in the senior most of regulatory positions. At the same time, FDA employees have left their pasture and have gone to work in Monsanto's forest. What we possess is truth. What we offer is real science. What we continue to hold onto is a faith in a system and a faith in the basic integrity of people. We refuse to accept further disappointment. Our battle is being fought at FDA's drug evaluation and investigative branch, the Center for Veterinary Medicine. Two weeks ago, there was a skirmish in the streets of Seattle. Many of the demonstrators held anti-Monsanto banners and wore Monarch butterfly costumes. Pollen from Monsanto's bt corn has killed Monarch butterflies. On Monday, another mini-battle was fought in the streets of Oakland at what turned out to be the largest anti-biotechnology protest in our nation's history. Today, a new line has been drawn. Another battle against Monsanto is being fought on an additional front. The business section of today's (Wednesday, December 15, 1999) New York Times reports: MONSANTO SUED OVER USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING SEEDS A group of attorneys has sued Monsanto because of "genetic pollution" and the creation of "super weeds." Heading the case is Michael Hausfeld, the Washington attorney who previously defended Alaskan natives in the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The suit was filed by a group of farmers inspired by consumer advocate Jeremy Rifkin. Mr. Rifkin was recently paid $5,000 to speak at a Monsanto conference. Rifkin was criticized for accepting that money and for selling out by many anti-Monsanto activists who felt he was giving away information. All the while, Rifkin was a spy within their midst, and his suit, my petition, our hunger strike, and your continued protests might very well fell the trees in Monsanto's forest. Today is the 40th day of my hunger strike. The dairy industry will be celebrating my Noah-like anniversary by deluging America with their new milk mustache ads-Everybody Loves Raymond starring comedian Ray Romano. I've got a long list of people who do not like Raymond including yours truly. Milk mustache ads are misleading and deceptive. Raymond urges people to drink milk to "help shut down osteoporosis." Recent science reveals that women who drink milk and eat cheese as teens grow up to have higher rates of pelvic and forearm fractures. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) does not care for Raymond's message. This group of 6,000 physicians just filed a lawsuit against the USDA for their misleading and dangerous advice in their dietary guidelines reflected in their food pyramid. Milk causes significant problems for African-Americans. The basis of the PCRM suit is that USDA's guidelines are not racially balanced. One other man who has no love for Raymond is Steve Milloy, owner of the "Junk Science" website. Mr. Milloy has just filed an action with the Federal Trade Commission urging them to place a ban on Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. It seems that Milloy tested this "healthy" ice cream and found unsafe levels of dioxins. Last summer, Belgium's dairy industry closed because samples of milk were tested and found to contain 100 times the safe levels of dioxins, the most dangerous and carcinogenic chemicals on this planet. Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream tested out to have 200 times the safe level. Might it not be appropriate for our government agencies to test all dairy products and ban their use if they are deemed to be dangerous for human consumption? One other man who has mixed feelings about Raymond is Pete Hardin, editor of the dairy industry newsletter, THE MILKWEED. In the latest issue of his well-respected and well-read newsletter (issue #245, December 1999), Hardin urges dairy farmers to contact the FDA to ban the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Hardin writes, "Robert Cohen: Enemy of Mine Enemy? Credit Robert Cohen with unveiling the significance of Monsanto's rbGH 'switcheroo.' Cohen, a New Jersey resident, is an ardent dairy critic. He believes that dairy products are ill-advised for the adult diet. Cohen originally got into this fray by researching FDA's questionable human safety considerations and extended his concerns to all dairy products. Ironically, the citizen's petition Cohen filed with the FDA, which demands the agency immediately halt Posilac sales, represents dairy's best short-term solution for saving the souls on its sinking ship. In this case, Cohen is the "enemy of dairy farmer's enemy'-Posilac…the major source of unneeded milk. Dairy farmers and organizations should vigorously support Robert Cohen's petition." In September, dairy farmers were receiving $16.26 per 100 pounds of milk. Today, they are getting $9.79, and forecasts are that prices will drop even further. Raymond may love milk and everybody may love Raymond, but America's health safety is at risk as a result of rbGH use and the financial health of dairy farms has also been compromised. ****************************** Thursday, December 16 - Day 40 Today is the 40th day of my hunger strike. The dairy industry will be celebrating my Noah-like anniversary by deluging America with their new milk mustache ads-Everybody Loves Raymond starring comedian Ray Romano. I've got a long list of people who do not like Raymond including yours truly. Milk mustache ads are misleading and deceptive. Raymond urges people to drink milk to "help shut down osteoporosis." Recent science reveals that women who drink milk and eat cheese as teens grow up to have higher rates of pelvic and forearm fractures. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) does not care for Raymond's message. This group of 6,000 physicians just filed a lawsuit against the USDA for their misleading and dangerous advice in their dietary guidelines reflected in their food pyramid. Milk causes significant problems for African-Americans. The basis of the PCRM suit is that USDA's guidelines are not racially balanced. One other man who has no love for Raymond is Steve Milloy, owner of the "Junk Science" website. Mr. Milloy has just filed an action with the Federal Trade Commission urging them to place a ban on Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. It seems that Milloy tested this "healthy" ice cream and found unsafe levels of dioxins. Last summer, Belgium's dairy industry closed because samples of milk were tested and found to contain 100 times the safe levels of dioxins, the most dangerous and carcinogenic chemicals on this planet. Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream tested out to have 200 times the safe level. Might it not be appropriate for our government agencies to test all dairy products and ban their use if they are deemed to be dangerous for human consumption? One other man who has mixed feelings about Raymond is Pete Hardin, editor of the dairy industry newsletter, THE MILKWEED. In the latest issue of his well-respected and well-read newsletter (issue #245, December 1999), Hardin urges dairy farmers to contact the FDA to ban the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Hardin writes, "Robert Cohen: Enemy of Mine Enemy? Credit Robert Cohen with unveiling the significance of Monsanto's rbGH 'switcheroo.' Cohen, a New Jersey resident, is an ardent dairy critic. He believes that dairy products are ill-advised for the adult diet. Cohen originally got into this fray by researching FDA's questionable human safety considerations and extended his concerns to all dairy products. Ironically, the citizen's petition Cohen filed with the FDA, which demands the agency immediately halt Posilac sales, represents dairy's best short-term solution for saving the souls on its sinking ship. In this case, Cohen is the "enemy of dairy farmer's enemy'-Posilac…the major source of unneeded milk. Dairy farmers and organizations should vigorously support Robert Cohen's petition." In September, dairy farmers were receiving $16.26 per 100 pounds of milk. Today, they are getting $9.79, and forecasts are that prices will drop even further. Raymond may love milk and everybody may love Raymond, but America's health safety is at risk as a result of rbGH use and the financial health of dairy farms has also been compromised. **************************** Friday, December 17 - Day 41 Today is the 41st day of my hunger strike. This year, 43,300 women will die from breast cancer. It says so right on page 733 of my World Almanac. That is an average of 118 women per day, or 1 every 12 minutes. Can one measure the physical pain and mental anguish in each breast cancer case? Should we not direct all of our positive energies towards finding a cure, and all of our negative energies towards the culprit? Today's edition of the New York Times (Friday, December 17, 1999) contains the obituary of Cathy Hainer. I enjoyed reading Cathy's columns. She was a reporter for USA Today, and she died yesterday at the age of 38. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, she turned to her boyfriend and said, "I'm 36 and in love. How could I possibly have cancer?" Her final column, which I read in an airport on December 6th, told the story of a letter found on the body of a soldier comparing death to the sailing of a ship. Thousands of things cause breast cancer and it is rather common. An autopsy study published in the New York Times (11/8/94) revealed that 40% of women between the ages of 40 and 50 have breast cancer but that it is normally controlled. Science has taught us that a key factor in the growth of every breast cancer is the most powerful growth hormone in the human body, IGF-I (Lancet, 5/9/98). IGF-I is an identical hormone between humans and cows. When cows are treated with the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, levels of IGF-I increase by about 80%. When women drink milk, levels of IGF-I increase in their blood serum by a factor of 10%. Cathy Hainer is dead and those who knew and loved her mourn her passing. One hundred and eighteen women will die today from the ravages of breast cancer, and few, if any, of their loved ones will know about IGF-I and the milk connection. The Food & Drug Administration knows. They have our petition. We wait for them to act. Every day that passes another 118 women die, and we continue our hunger strike, requesting that FDA honestly assess the real science. ****************************** Saturday, December 18 - Day 42 Today is the 42nd day of my hunger strike. What do I do on a normal day? What do I put into my body? First, let me tell you what I do not do. Many people have asked whether I am taking vitamins or supplements, protein powder, or any of the New Age "miracle" cure-alls, such as green algae. The answer to all of those questions is "No, none of the above." My hunger strike has become more for me than a political statement. It is a spiritual body cleansing. I would not take anything made in a factory, and sustain myself by freshly made juices from fruits and vegetables. Each morning, I begin my day with the juice from a freshly squeezed lemon in a tall glass of bottled spring water. I open up a gallon of water each day and use that water to dilute the juices I drink and to brew an occasional cup of herbal tea. I use the tea called "Mu" sold by the macrobiotic guru Kushi. I juice apples and enjoy fresh apple cider. This morning, I juiced a dozen oranges and I am enjoying that juice while driving (and dictating this journal entry) into New York City. Last night, I juiced one pound of carrots and a beet, and drank a 12-ounce glass of life-sustaining juice. The liquid from the beet is bloody red and the essences and enzymes so contained will keep me strong and alert. I lose about one pound each day, while my body in its wisdom decomposes fat and stored tissue that it can afford to selectively lose. The enormous cellular metabolism and breakdown of my tissues releases many years of stored toxins into my bloodstream. By drinking plenty of water, I am eliminating those toxins. The largest organ in the human body is the skin. When we sweat and when we slough off skin follicles, we also eliminate by-products of metabolism that our body no longer requires. When I shower I vigorously massage and wash away that dead skin with a natural sponge. My favorite juice combination uses a mix of fresh apples and cranberries. My least favorite juice drink combines spinach, parsley, garlic, and cabbage. I have read many books on juicing and recognize the value of the nutrients and enzymes in green plants, but I still hate the taste. I drink to sustain myself and to remain strong in body, mind, and spirit. I feel change in my body and know that the day will soon come when this hunger strike begins to take a toll on me. Yesterday, I wrote about a breast cancer death. Each day I'm inspired by my friends and by the children, for they are the ones for whom this fast is dedicated. ****************************** Sunday, December 19 - Day 43 Today is the 43rd day of my hunger strike. I have been receiving an enormous amount of mail, telephone calls, and EMAILS from friends and adversaries. Many people wish me good fortune, but many wish me harm. Occasionally, there is a threat and, on rare occasions, a death threat. I take death threats seriously and report all such warnings to the appropriate authorities. My file grows larger. I receive occasional letters from one man in the dairy industry who I will identify as "Jim from Oregon." This man has posted many letters to my guestbooks and has been monitoring the NOTMILK movement for a number of years. Oh well, everybody needs a hobby, and I am happy to be Jim's minor obsession. TO JIM: Keep your borborygmus statements coming my way! As Rowan and Martin used to say on LAUGH-IN, "Look that one up in your Funk'N Wagnall!" Today I received a charming EMAIL message from Jim, who wrote: "Here's a thought for you and yes you have my permission to use it in your very next diary entry or whereever. Have you considered the possibility of donating you organs when you die from this fake hunger strike? The brain, not having been used previously, would make a great gift to Dave. And the other organs could be used by those who need them. Of course not having gonads you won't be making a contribution in that dept. but that's just as well. By the way, how much weight have you lost on this fake hunger strike that sounds more like a liquid diet to me? Scan your NJ driver's license and put it up on the webpage along with your current weight. I'll bet there's no diff!" I must say, Jim has me pegged. No brains, no gonads. I like it when an opponent underestimates my strengths. Perhaps Jim missed the following editorial in the recent issue of the dairy newsletter, THE MILKWEED. Thousands of dairy farmers receive this newsletter, and Hardin mentions the hunger strike, supports our mission, and urges dairy farmers to join us. We have accomplished a lot, and will continue to do so. Not bad for a guy with no brains or gonads! ************* Pete Hardin - December, 1999 MILKWEED, Issue #245 The Hardin Plan - Part 1: Halt Posilac Use "Imagine U.S. dairy farmers as passengers on a ship that has struck a rock and is sinking fast in stormy seas. Milk supplies and imports are exceeding commercial dairy product demand. Cheddar cheese and milk powder prices are at support price levels. Butter could follow soon. Starting in January, many dairy farmers face net farm milk checks in the $9.50-$10.50 per cwt. range. If they last very long, these milk prices will kill many producers financially and spiritually. Huge losses are piling up fast for many marketers-especially operating dairy cooperatives. With commodity prices in the pits and so little demand for raw milk, marketers' margins and inventory losses are huge. Hundreds of millions of dollars in cheese and butter inventory values have been lost just by Midwest marketers in the second half of 1999. Dairy farmers on this sinking ship face tough choices. To try to save the ship, immediate action is needed to lighten the load. A couple percentage points of excess farm milk production must be dumped, pronto. But what, or whom, to throw overboard? Solution: Immediate FDA ban on Posilac There's a simple solution to dairy's current dilemma: demand that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) immediately ban the sale and use of "Posilac" Monsanto's recombinant cow growth hormone that boosts milk production in injected cows. How could that action be pulled off quickly? A current citizen petition to FDA demands that the agency halt sales of Posilac because the genetically-engineered hormone molecule marketed by Monsanto is DIFFERENT from the molecule on which human and animal safety tests were conducted - tests that led to FDA's approval of the drug. Logic and law dictate that the molecule being marketed should be the exact same one on which pre-approval human and animal safety tests were conducted. Monsanto's hormone molecule "switcheroo" was revealed in a July 1994 article in the journal Protein Science, authored by Bernard Violand, a Monsanto scientist. Violand reported that an unrecognized additional amino acid sequence change occurred in the original production process of Monsanto's recombinant bovine growth hormone. The "freak" amino acid actually appeared at three sites on the hormone's sequence, Violand reported. Why did not FDA require a full round of new safety tests for the different hormone molecule? Violand's revelation is not startling news. The Milkweed has previously reported this fact. But current events make the switched rbGH molecule's importance great. Those events include: global anti-biotech food fervor, dire farm milk prices, and lack of other short-term solutions to restore farm milk prices. If the dairy industry could immediately throw one item off the sinking ship to save the industry, Posilac is the best candidate. We must immediately eliminate the top couple percentage points of milk production. Not only should FDA ban sale of Posilac immediately, pending a new round of legitimate human and animal "safety" tests, but all existing inventories of Posilac held by farmers should be confiscated. A single amino-acid sequence change in a protein molecule can be significant. For example, humans suffering from Sickle Cell Anemia have a single genetic amino acid sequence change. By law, FDA ought to revoke Monsanto's license to sell Posilac until the manufacturer runs a complete new gamut of human and animal safety tests. Such a dictate to Monsanto would effectively kill Posilac. Monsanto, whose food biotechnology investments are causing the company to struggle, doesn't have the funds for several years of Posilac safety tests. Immediate impacts: less milk, higher prices If FDA yanked Posilac, the impact on milk production would be immediately negative. Prices of dairy products and farm milk would soon start climbing. Here's why: * Probably 20-25% of all U.S. dairy farms use Posilac, normally on half or less of their lactating cows. Various reports indicate a 6-8 pound daily gain in treated cows' milk production. That's a lot of extra milk. * Posilac creates a metabolic dependency. Thus, many dairy cattle accustomed to the drug would "crash" for the remainder of their lactations, losing significant milk output. * A minor, but significant, percentage of U.S. dairy cows are in extended lactations because of high milk and replacement heifer prices, and low grain and beef prices … and Posilac. A normal lactation for a dairy cow is 300 days. Many cows in extended lactations are milking way over the 300-day norm. Take away the Posilac, and these cows would quickly become hamburger. Milk production would drop. The Milkweed estimates that prompt removal of Posilac would lower U.S. milk output by 2-4% - enough to restore favorable supply/demand balances and boost farm milk prices. Dairy commodity inventories are not burdensome. But there is too much farm milk for current demand. Who'd benefit from banning Posilac? Dairy commodity and farm milk prices would rise,if FDA were to follow its rules and immediately ban Posilac. Dairy at large would enjoy a better image among consumers. Posilac use has created public skepticism about milk's safety. The present wave of anti-food biotech concerns will only worsen this negative perception of dairy products. Who'd be hurt? Who would be hurt if FDA immediately banned Posilac? Obviously, such a ban would hurt Monsanto. But that consideration is irrelevant to public safety. Besides, Monsanto already has so many problems that one more wouldn't matter. Dairy farmers currently using Posilac would suffer a disproportionately high decline in milk production. Of course, dairy's present course is leading to ruin, anyway. The possible financial problems for Posilac users are a minor consideration, in view of the greater public food safety considerations. If some farmers lose money because their cows cannot milk efficiently unless they're poked with a syringe, then maybe those farmers should sue Monsanto. Larger, western dairies tend to use Posilac more than small and medium- sized family dairies in traditional milk-producing regions like the Northeast and Midwest. Data show that the "surplus" milk destroying dairy prices is coming from western states where dairies are expanding without heed to supply/demand. Thus, banning Posilac would inflict the economic pain on the sources of the milk surplus problem. Robert Cohen: Enemy of my enemy? Credit Robert Cohen with unveiling the significance of Monsanto's rbGH "switcheroo." Cohen, a New Jersey resident, is an ardent dairy critic. He believes dairy products are ill-advised for the adult diet. Cohen originally got into this fray by researching FDA's questionable human safety considerations for Posilac, and extended his concerns to all dairy products. Cohen is about one month into a hunger strike, demanding that FDA immediately yank approval for Monsanto's drug. He vows to maintain the hunger strike until FDA bans sale of Posilac … or until Cohen "looks death in the eye." Cohen appeared at the FDA public hearing on food and biotechnology in Washington, D.C. on November 30. That followed a two-hour session he held earlier in the month with FDA officials in Washington. Cohen reports that the ABC television program "20/20" is preparing a show questioning FDA's failure to yank approval for sale of Posilac, and require new safety studies once Monsanto changed the molecular structure of the synthetic hormone. Ironically, the citizen's petition Cohen filed with the FDA, which demands the agency immediately halt Posilac sales, represents dairy's best short-term solution for saving the souls on its sinking ship. In this case, Cohen is the "enemy of dairy farmers' enemy" - Posilac … the major source of unneeded milk. Dairy farmers and organizations should vigorously support Robert Cohen's petition. With pending major television coverage of the issue, it's better for dairy's true friends to be ahead of the curve on this volatile issue. Sadly, as 1999 is about to become 2000, many dairy farmers understand supply-demand and milk pricing little better than did dairy farmers at the close of the previous century. Immediately banning Posilac sales should only be the beginning of a top-to-bottom restructuring of knowledge, attitudes and practices by groups alleging to represent U.S. dairy farmers. I urge you to contact FDA, your elected representatives, farm organizations, consumer and environmental organizations." ************* That was Hardin's editorial. Imagine asking his readership to support my agenda? Many dairy farmers have written to FDA, urging them to remove the milk hormone from our milk supply. Pete Hardin has great courage. He has both brains and gonads! I respect Mr.Hardin for reporting TRUTH in his newsletter. ******************************** Monday, 20 December, 1999 Day 44 Today is the 44th day of my hunger strike. I have previously reported my Chicago FDA testimony. The comments made that day are now on the Internet in the form of a 330 page document. http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/99n4282/tr00001.rtf My statement can be found on page 119. Before getting to page 119, I urge you to read the testimony and comments of FDA officials. On that date, FDA Commissioner Jane Henney said these words: "Throughout that history, the Food and Drug Administration has based its regulatory decisions on sound science with protection of public health as the foremost criteria." (page 5) "We believe our policies and processes in this area are well grounded in science and that we have an excellent track record in apply our policy." (page 7) Jim Maransky, FDA'S biotechnology expert spoke next. He said (page 27): "To date, we have not seen any products in which new substances introduced into the food are unusual." "To date, all of the substances that have been introduced into foods, as I have told you, are enzymes that are very similar to enzymes currently found in food." (page 41) "So, it is through the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the provisions that allow FDA to take a food off the market if it presents a health problem or to assure that any new substance that is introduced into the food is either regulated and approved as a food additive or generally recognized as safe before those foods may go to market." "That is the standard. Companies bear a legal duty in ensuring their products meet all of the standard of the Act and that is a serious responsibility." (page 42) During the subsequent panel discussion, Maryanski said (page 93): "{If} a food were modified to contain a new protein or other substance that's there as a major component of the food, that is one of the considerations that we would expect to lead to either different testing or more extensive testing." After FDA officials spoke, there was a panel discussion. The first speaker was Dr. Ralph Hardy, president of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council. Hardy testified (page 51): "To my knowledge, no substantiated example of a significant risk to the environment or human health, relative to the products being replaced, has been documented by rigorous scientific replication." Dr Hardy asked (page 52): "Does it serve the consumer to label something where there is no demonstrated nutritional negative health or positive health benefit?" A second member of the panel was Dr. Val Giddings, the vice president for Food and Agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Giddings commented on the state of biotechology (page 55): "We think that the process, as it's been carried out to date, has done a highly praiseworthy job of ensuring that the products of foods...improved through modern biotechnology are at least as safe as, if not safer than, those that we have hitherto consumed..." "We see no evidence based on science, no evidence based on experience for any requirement to change this process. It seems to work very well. If it's not broken, there certainly doesn't seem to be any compelling, much less a persuasive argument for fixing it." Dr Giddins challenged critics of bioengineering (page 56): "What newly emerging scientific information related to the safety of foods derived from bioengineered plants is there, if any? We are not aware of any emerging or new scientific information that would challenge this. If any such information does come forward, we think the issue should be revisited, but we are unaware of any at this point." We now are aware that Monsanto created five "freak" amino acids when manufacturing the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. This is real science, and biotechnology's best representives as well as senior-most FDA experts must accept the new evidence. By their standards, this genetically engineered hormone must immediately be taken off the market. It's their ball, their court and they have written the rules of this "game." Now they must follow those rules. ********************************* Tuesday, 21 December, 1999 Day 45 Today is the 45th day of my hunger strike. Every day I learn something new about the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Each little bit of information becomes another piece in an enormous puzzle. Today's piece represents the murder weapon and the "gun" is still smoking. On February 4, 1994, Monsanto was given approval to sell their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. That was a Friday. On the following Monday, Monsanto scientists neatly packaged their "murder weapon" and sent it in the mail to the Cambridge University Press, publishers of the journal "Protein Science." Previously, we have explored evidence of Monsanto's "crime" and revealed the identity of the "criminals," "co-conspirators," and unearthed the "body." Now we have the murder weapon. Let me explain. Monsanto scientist Bernard Violand wrote a paper admitting that Monsanto had created five different amino acids during the production process of their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Monsanto never told the FDA about this error. A key moment exists for us to explore just when Monsanto knew about those mistakes. Here is the smoking gun--the cover page (page 1089) of that journal article. Besides Bernard Violand, there were seven co-authors to that study. They included five Monsanto employees, a scientist at Smith Kline Beecham, and another scientist at ARCO Chemical Company. Today, I traced the ARCO Chemical Company scientist from Missouri to Texas to Pennsylvania. Sometimes these things take a little bit of detective work. One year before the study was written and published, ARCO scientist Eric Kolodziej worked at Monsanto. Although he was at a different company when the study was submitted and published, scientific courtesy and protocol demanded that he get credit for his work, and therein exists the smoking gun. Here is the proof that Monsanto was aware of serious errors and did not admit to those errors until after the drug was approved. Monsanto lied, Monsanto committed a crime of omission, Monsanto did not tell FDA when they changed the formula. Is there a jail cell large enough for these "criminals" for the crimes they've committed against mankind? ******************************* Wednesday, December 22 - Day 46 Today is the 46th day of my hunger strike. Last night, our family had a reading night. In our home, that means we sit in front of the fireplace and allow the television and Internet connections to rest for the evening. As the rain and sleet pelted against the living room window, each of us took comfort in the warmth provided by our fire and family companionship. I opened up the New York Times (Tuesday, December 21, 1999) and began with my favorite section of the week-Tuesday's Science Times. Quite often I am amused by the priorities of the science editor. On this day, my amusement turned into anger. The New York Times' priorities are not my priorities. Their lead story was "In Tiny Fossils, Botanists See Flowery World." There I read in fascination about tiny 90 million-year-old blossoms and Cretaceous bees that once populated the state of New Jersey. What was buried on page 12 should have been the lead story. I'll get to that shortly. A smaller story on the front page of the Science section began with this headline-"Risks for Cancer Can Start in Womb." That story was written by New York Times columnist Jane Brody. Brody has written many articles promoting milk and dairy products. Brody disparaged Dr. Spock upon his death because of his anti-milk sentiments. Brody called T. Colin Campbell's China study the "Cadillac of nutritional studies," even though Campbell has consistently correlated milk consumption with breast cancer. Jane Brody has breast cancer, but she continues to ignore the breast cancer/IGF-I/milk connection. On this day, in her article in which she tries to make a point that breast cancer can start in the womb, Brody relates the example of how Japanese women have very low rates of breast cancer, but when they migrate to America, their daughters have rates equal to that of American women. She still does not take into account what happens when one adopts the standard American diet that includes milk and dairy products as 40% of total consumption. Milk and dairy products contain IGF-I, a hormone identified as a key factor in the growth of every breast cancer. The motto of the New York Times is "All the News That Fit to Print." Here's what the New York Times did not see fit to print on the front page where thay had their flower fossil story. Buried deep within the Science section (page 12) is a headline-"Beef Consumption Tied to Mad Cow Disease." Scientists now have proof that spongiform encephalopathy is transferred from cow to human. Is it wise to eat the flesh and drink the body fluids of diseased animals? After finishing the Times, I leafed through the current issue (December 1999, Vol. 144, No. 20) of the largest dairy magazine in America, Hoard's Dairyman. On the inside cover is a photograph of a cow and the question, "GOT WORMS?" A company promotes their anti-parasitic product in a full-page ad by telling dairy producers that they can now have "long-acting persistence against brown stomach worms and longworms and protection against lice, grubs, horn flies, psoroptic and chorioptic mange mites." Now I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten in 46 days, and if I remotely had an appetite…after reading that ad and reviewing the New York Times article, I would now have very little desire for anything dripping or oozing out of the udder of a cow. ****************************** Thursday, December 23 - Day 47 Today is the 47th day of my hunger strike. Did you ever see the end of a Super Bowl or World Series game when an athlete looks into a camera and says, "I'm going to Disney World"? Guess where Monsanto is going? I proudly accept responsibility for some of Monsanto's negative publicity woes of late. As a result of riots in the streets and negative headlines, Monsanto is working with their publicist (BM) to brainwash the public into viewing Monsanto as the good guy. Is this Goofy or what? What better way to begin their public dis-information campaign than start with America's children? Monsanto's going to Disney World. More specifically, Monsanto is going to sponsor and exhibit at EPCOT's Future World. This Mickey Mouse act is more than just goofy. It's more like the seven dwarfs. Doc (Monsanto) is in the process of genetically engineering a new dwarf (in addition to Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Grumpy, and Dopey). He's genetically re-combined Sneezy with Monsanto's BT-corn pollen. Evidence exists that BT-corn pollen killed monarch butterflies and has unexpectedly spread toxins into the soil. We have it upon good authority that when genetic material from Sneezy was combined with Monsanto's BT-pollen, a new dwarf was created. The new dwarf's name? Slimy. Not a very pretty picture. We urge you to visit Monsanto's new Disney World attraction and to let Mickey and Minnie know how unattractive you find Monsanto's slime to be. ******************************* Friday 24 December, 1999 Day 48 Today is the 48th day of my hunger strike. It is Christmas Eve and there are two people in America who I am certain will not be enjoying a traditional Christmas dinner. Nor will either one enjoy visions of sugarplums or Christmas Day goodies. I am the first and the second is Kimberly Gorall of Rochester, New York. Kimberly's photograph is on the hungerstrike.com long-termer page. She has been fasting for 48 days with me and now looks quite a bit different than her original photo. Recently, Kimberly contacted me because she had gotten quite a cold. We talked about nutrition and what might be causing her defenses to break down. Kimberly has been juicing and has previously had no shortage of energy. The answer to my question is a tribute to Kimberly's spirit. Last weekend, Kimberly put on the warmest, brightest, water-repellant clothing in her closet and spent the day, from sunrise to sundown, warning the denizens of her nearby woods to run from the hunters. Kimberly Gorall is an animal-rights activist. Kimberly Gorall, by virtue of her 48-day statement on this hunger strike, is also a people-rights activist. Kimberly warns the deer that the hunters are near and, in doing so, risks her own life and body from invasive bullets. This hunting season many dozens of those bullets found their way into people's homes and cars. Many hunters were wounded and a few killed in hunting accidents. Kimberly walked through the mist and fog and rain to make a difference, placing her own health at great risk. If one asks whether there are any gentler spirits than the innocent herbivores living within our woods, I point to Kimberly Gorall whose efforts to make a difference in this world are to be applauded. Her spirit is one with the deer, who wishes only to live in peace. ********************************** Saturday, 25 December, 1999 Day 49 Today is the 49th day of my hunger strike. I have begun to read a book called "Grey is the Color of Hope" by Irina Ratushinskaya, a Soviet poet imprisoned in the Russian Gulag for daring to write about human rights. While in prison, Irina and her cell-mates participated in numerous hunger strikes. The authorities, not wanting to play host to political martyrs, allowed the protests to continue for about a week, then conceded on small demands. I have only read the first ten chapters, about 70 pages, but Irina's struggle is my struggle. Irina's oppressors are my oppressors. Irina's prison is my prison, and the same injustices exist. Am I in jail? Of course not, but I am no less tormented. I am frustrated by a system that pays no heed to truth. I am stymied by a system that is controlled by insiders, based upon relationships. Monsanto's attorney is on the Supreme Court. FDA's commissioner now works for Monsanto. Monsanto scientists now work for FDA. Is this the same America that I learned to love in elementary school? When freedom to live and freedom of choice are taken from me, I am in chains. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed me in a prison with no walls. I have lost the opportunity to make choices about the foods I eat because of their power and control. In 1992, FDA issued an edict...my sentence. They call it "Substantial Equivalence." I call it insider trading. Substantial equivalence allows pharmaceutical companies the right to conduct genetic experiements upon my family wthout their knowledge. Your family too. Did Doctor Mengale ever have such latitude during the course of his Nazi experimental horrors? FDA calls geneticaly engineered corn and soybeans substantially equivalent to naturally grown corn and soybeans. Genetic material from tomatoes are combined with genetic material from trout. I eat the tomatoes and I cannot swim like a fish. They must be equivalent! What logic! Who benefits by such laws? Not only are these genetic mutations aproved for our food supply without testing, but FDA does not require manufacturers to label foods containing these new genetically modified organisms. Their reasoning: "Who would buy such a product if it was so labeled?" EXACTLY! Should I not have a right to know what I eat? I have discovered a flaw in FDA'S well planned system. Monsanto made five very serious errors when they manufactured the gentically engneered bovine growth hormone. They made the mistakes, and they did not tell the FDA. During that review process, FDA developed their substantial equivalence protocol. FDA did not know that Monsanto had deceived them. Now they do know. Can we turn back the clock? I am in prison and I am on a hunger strike. We must turn back the clock and look at the truth. The wrong people are in prison. Two hundred and seventy million Americans have had their rights take from them. We are on the inside, looking out, and the only ones with freedom of choice are the ones poisoning us. SUBSTANTIAL EQUIVALENCE means equality. Nothing has been equal in this process. I must have the right to know whether the foods I buy for my children are genetically engineered. That right has been taken from me, and my hunger strike continues until FDA frees me from Monsanto's clutches. ********************************** Sunday, 26 December, 1999 Day 50 SUBSTANTIAL DIVERGENCE On this 50th day of my hunger strike, I have learned a new secret, and I am very greatly concerned. While anti-biotech protestors were rioting in the streets of Seattle, a new episode in the continuing saga of Monsanto's revolving door tactics quietly developed beyond FDA's "palace" doors. Somebody may be breaking the law, participating in unethical activity at the least, insider trading and influence, betrayal of our health interests, and the time has come for us to ask: "What's up?" The same grandiloquent question that Bugs Bunny asks Elmer Fudd can fittingly be asked of our scientists and government regulators: "What's up, Doc?" Appropriately, that question should also be directed to the president of Monsanto, Robert Shapiro. "What's up, Bob?" Actually, as we get closer to asking this very same question to the guiltiest of conspirators, we have discovered a source of future ills in the nick of time. Knowing the proper question to ask might very well nip the problem deep within the pollen of its genetically engineered bud. THE REAL ENEMY Today, on this first day after Christmas, let us ask together, "What's up, John." You might be wondering just who this John fellow is. Actually, it's UPJOHN. You might ask, "What's up, John?" Well, I'm gonna tell you. Activists of the world, unite. We have met the enemy. (UPJOHN is not where I want you to stick your proverbial placards and banners of protest. Not yet, anyway.) When Monsanto first presented their research to the FDA for approval of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH), there were also three other pharmaceutical companies with their own different versions of the genetically modified organism. Monsanto's protein formula was different than the naturally occurring bovine growth hormone. Monsanto's hormone was not an exact version of the natural pituitary extract from a cow. The end amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins) was just a little bit different than what naturally occurs in nature. Actually, it was VERY different, but Monsanto neglected to reveal all of their secrets until after their drug received official FDA approval. THE MAGICIANS PERFORMED THEIR SLEIGHT-OF-HAND TRICK Monsanto received approval for rbGH on Friday, February 4, 1994. There must have been quite a celebration in their St. Louis corporate headquarters on that day. Perhaps the celebration continued through the weekend. What happened the following Monday provides the "smoking gun" evidence to Monsanto's crime. On Monday, a group of Monsanto scientists photocopied, collated and stapled together the most incriminating scientific document in history and sent it to a peer-review journal for publication. On Thursday of that week, the journal "PROTEIN SCIENCE" officially received Monsanto's study. In that paper, Monsanto admitted that they made significant errors in their formula. WHAT'S UP, JOHN? What's up, doc? Monsanto waited until after approval, just in case, to admit their errors. After approval, Monsanto admitted that the errors were fixed. However, in making this no-win admission, Monsanto also revealed that all of the research submitted to FDA from 1985 until 1993 was performed with a different hormone than the one that is currently on the market. Funny creatures, these scientists. Most of the authors of the study worked for Monsanto. Most, but not all. A few researchers were with other firms. One researcher, located after three phone calls told me that he worked for Monsanto nearly two years before the hormone was approved. Then he made a number of career moves, but still received credit for his work in co-authorship. What does this prove? Simply, that Monsanto knew the errors were made, but held off until after approval. By leaving the firm, the co-author placed a time stamp upon when the "crime" was actually known, and when it was committed. Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (trade name = POSILAC) has never been tested on a laboratory animal. Nor as it been tested on a cow. Before approval, the FDA required Monsanto to perform hundreds of millions of dollars worth of new research. Equivalent in 1989 did not mean that a perfect match existed. The other three pharmaceutical companies elected not to continue with their research. Eli Lilly had created a bovine growth hormone with seven additional amino acids. American Cyanamid created a version with three new amino acids. Now to the theme of this column. UPJOHN's version was an exact duplicate of what naturally occurs in nature. Exact by 1990 standards, that is. The reason that this holds so much significance is that MONSANTO and UPJOHN will soon be merging into one very large company. Criminal co-conspirators will be committing a crime together, and then they'll change their name and identity. Will you even recognize the crime? You most certainly will by reading the rest of this column! UPJOHN's version of the bovine growth hormone was "supposedly" identical to the hormone naturally manufactured in a cow's brain. UPJOHN has recently applied to FDA for approval of their hormone, based upon the theory of "substantial equivalence." I learned about UPJOHN'S application early Thursday morning. Their application is so secret that FDA will not even confirm that it has been made. On that Thursday before Christmas, I requested the file number from an employee at the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), FDA's investigative branch. She put me on hold and spoke to the director, Stephen Sundlof. After a minute, she came back and apologized. "We cannot reveal the file number until the drug is approved." I was stunned by their secrecy. By that time, it will be too late. After that phone conversation, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the case file. Will I be denied? Time will tell. UPJOHN'S application and FDA's review is based upon substantial fraud, not substantial equivalence. Genetic engineering is not a perfect science. When cow hormones are combined with E. coli bacteria, one of the resulting amino acids often becomes a freak. That amino acid, LYSINE, has an acetyl group added to it. Chemists call this process "acetylization." Suffice it to say that this is a big error…one small error for Monsanto and UPJOHN, one giant OOPS for mankind. Monsanto created five freak amino acids. UPJOHN most certainly did the same. In 1990, FDA reviewers did not have the sophisticated tests necessary to detect such errors. New technology provides those tests today. Rubber stamping UPJOHN's application because of substantial equivalence cannot be allowed to occur. There is no substantial equivalence when mistakes occur. Monsanto should repeat their research. UPJOHN did not receive approval in 1990, and chose not to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to gain approval. They should not be given a free pass today. We cannot, must not, will not let FDA apply their doctrine of substantial equivalence to UPJOHN. We have discovered Monsanto's plan, and are not happy that these two schemers long ago applied to FDA for approval, while discussing merger talks. Their intent is clear. Deceive, divide, and conquer. There has got to be a law! **************************** Monday, December 27 - Day 51 Today is the 51st day of the hunger strike. While our hunger strike addresses America's health concerns from genetically engineered poisons in our food supply, those same genetically engineered foods are causing a sickness in our economic well-being that may soon become terminal. According to the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, in 1999, the net farm income will reach $48 billion. Incredibly, $22.7 billion, or 47%, of that total farmer income represents government subsidies. In other words, America's agriculture system cannot exist on its own. Our way of life and our system has become economically and spiritually bankrupt. Predictions from the Economic Research Service are that farm income will fall $7.6 billion next year, which means just one thing: more subsidies. What is the solution offered by biotechnology? More food! Genetic engineering has created more milk, with increased levels of powerful hormones, and farmers are going broke. The front page of today's New York Times (Monday, December 27, 1999) reports that China has sentenced four people to jail terms ranging up to 18 years. Their crime was being members of a spiritual movement. After the one-day trial, the leaders of the movement were charged with the murders of 1400 people. Were they guilty? Their crime was to urge people to condemn modern medical practices and seek alternative treatments. Imagine where I would be spending the next 18 years of my life if my website was published in China? In addition, the four leaders of the "spiritual cult" were charged with "leaking state secrets." I've been doing just that for the last five years by revealing Monsanto's corrupt relationship with the Food & Drug Administration. ***************************** Tuesday, December 28 - Day 52 Today is the 52nd day of my hunger strike. I woke up this morning with an enormous headache that feels like a pair of pliers is squeezing the back of my eyeballs. The brain is expanding and presses against the cranium. Every time I blink or take a breath, the pain and discomfort go through my entire body. I am not a drug user. I refuse to give into the pain by taking an aspirin. A cold shower seemed like a good idea and that's just what I did, but to no avail. With each heartbeat, my brain seems to expand and contract, and the pain continues to pulsate and radiate. I am barely able to think. Is this fast of mine getting to me? Is there some nutrient or essential enzyme or amino acid that my juices are not providing? I am drinking a large glass of Perrier with some fresh lemon juice hoping that the carbonated mineral water from France's "natural source" can bubble energy and healing into my skull. I have to bear this and hope that the pain soon subsides because it is not pleasant. It is rare that I have a nightmare. My sleep is usually easy. Last night was an exception and perhaps that is the reason. I try to place significance to the symbols of my night visions and perform self-interpretation and analysis to my own dreams. Is the psyche within sending a not-so-subtle message to the individual? ******************************* Wednesday, December 29 - Day 53 This is the 53rd day of my hunger strike. Yesterday, I wrote in my diary entry that I had a killer of a headache. If I had wondered whether people read my dairy entries, I received the most wonderful of confirmations. More than 20 e-mails arrived with suggestions on how to cure that headache and invitations to call doctors, fasting coaches, and alternative therapists. Suggestions included a vast array of exercises, nutrients, and even a mantra. The most helpful suggestion may have done the trick. It may have been coincidence, but here is what worked. Martha from Vermont recommended: "Get a big dose of Vitamin A and Vitamin D." I called her to thank her for her advice and reminded her that I'm not taking vitamins. She laughed and said, "Go out in the sunshine for 10 minutes." My three daughters are home from school during winter recess and have been glued to the couch in front of the television set in our den. "Anybody want to go outside?" My eldest did not move her head from whatever show she was watching and the middle daughter rolled her eyes, but my youngest, Lizzy, jumped up with her usual enthusiasm and like the little tornado of joy that she is beat me out the front door. I soon joined her in the cold air and bright sunshine, collecting wood for our traditional after dinner fire. Maybe it was the fresh air and sun that did it. Does Vitamin D synthesize that rapidly in the skin? No matter. The throbbing in my head ended and I felt invigorated. Thank you all of you for the magnitude of your compassion and caring. This morning, I juiced a few dozen apples. I used Gala and Macintosh, Delicious and Granny Smith. I strained the juice, collecting one-half pint of raw applesauce to which I added a few grindings of cinnamon. That became a part of Lizzy's breakfast. I drank the apple cider. ****************************** Thursday, December 30 - Day 54 Today is the 54th day of my hunger strike. Last night, I finished reading "Within Reach" by Mark Pfetzer. This book is the story of a sixteen-year-old's effort to climb a mountain. This young man has enormous drive and purpose and his story inspires me. At the age of twelve, just four years before he wrote this book, he decided that he wanted to climb Mt. Everest. Climbing Mt. Everest requires much more than just training, expertise, and high tech equipment. The permit and travel costs can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This young man came from a middle-class family and did not have the resources for such an adventure. He decided to write letters to hundreds of people and soon had a $300 sponsorship for a summer mountaineering class. Many hundreds of letters and phone calls later, he had sponsors pay for trips to Peru and Argentina, the state of Washington, and Tibet which prepared him for his ascent on Everest. Mark made arrangements with his school system for long leaves of absence. There is one particular passage in his book (page 119) in which he returns to a classroom and lectures to his fellow students. Here is an aside, a daydream: "I'd like to get up in front of those kids, show them my passport (which is full of stamps from so many countries), then hand out passport applications. I wonder how many would fill them out? How many could expand their dreams and their vision of themselves…" I cite this passage today because I am getting so many letters supporting me and asking what can be done to help. Besides fasting for a day in support and writing letters on your own, there are hundreds of things that can be done. There is the Internet. Reach out and tell hundreds or thousands of people about our hunger strike. There is the media. Call your local radio station and newspaper. There is Congress. Call your local politicians and ask them to call or write to the FDA. Mark Pfetzer ends his book with these inspiring words: "I know I'll climb more mountains, become involved in many other demanding physical activities, and I know I'll have to study hard for many years. But nothing can be any more challenging than the last three years. Those three years have made me ready for everything." These past three years have also made me ready for everything. I am inspired by the words of this sixteen-year-old, as we all should be. Nothing is impossible when we dedicate ourselves to fulfilling a dream. Each one of us is capable of scaling and moving a mountain. ************************** FRIDAY - DECEMBER 31, 1999 Today is the 55th day of my hunger strike. Last night, I read Ruth Ann Kocour's book, "Facing the Extreme." This is one of those books to be read at one sitting. I could not put it down. This book is one woman's account of her 1992 ascent of McKinley, North America's highest mountain. Alaskans refer to this mountain as Denali, or "God." The twenty-three days that Kocour spent on Denali became her understanding and discovering of God within herself. One hundred and fifty mile per hour winds blasted the mountain for most of her summit attempt, and temperatures of nearly two hundred degrees below zero created the worst weather conditions in the recorded history of Denali. Eight people died on the mountain, and Ruth Ann suffered severe frostbite. Other surviving climbers lost fingers, and many faces were severely scarred. As Kocour and her team reach the summit, as tears instantly freeze on the faces of her climbing companions, she reflects on what it took to get there, and reminds herself that a return descent now follows their conquest of Denali's summit. Kocour writes: "There's a mountaineering expression - 'Once you reach the top, you're only halfway there." Many people have asked when I plan to quit my hunger strike. My answer is that I do not expect to quit, I expect to win. Others have asked what happens when we win? What do I do next? Isn't that hormone still in wholesome milk? The answer, my friends, is that this is true. All milk naturally contains IGF-I. We climb an enormous mountain together and getting to the summit will become just a small part of our trek. It's a first step. There are many summits. Four years after Ruth Anne Kocour's triumph, many of her friends died in a similar storm on Mount Everest. A few months later, Kocour found herself in the Himalayas climbing Cho Oyu in Tibet, the world's seventh highest mountain, and a next door neighbor to Everest. After spending a few months on the mountain, a storm hit and Kocour made the decision to turn back. Five others did not and they lost their lives. Kocour wrote: "I know that there will be other summits and many more advetures in my life. I also know that I belong in the mountains. They are a part of my existence and being." I too belong in the mountains. I have not yet played out this ascent. This is a journey for me. I have left my base camp and there is no turning back. There will be storms and there will be challenges. -------------------------------------------------------------------- January 2000 Hungerstrike Diary DAY 56 - "Colors of Freedom" DAY 57 - Grains of salt DAY 58 - Food for the soul DAY 59 - Tell the USDA what you think of DIOXINS in your milk DAY 60 - Diet and exercise... a family thing... DAY 61 - The true cost of milk DAY 62 - Y2K'S last laugh DAY 63 - Past, present and future... DAY 64 - Conquering breast cancer in three days DAY 65 - A day off... to celebrate life DAY 66 - Angry letters concerning breast cancer DAY 67 - Radio Days... DAY 68 - Daycare "staples" DAY 69 - Animals and research: there's a better investment! DAY 70 - Join me for a walk... DAY 71 - Breast cancer book DAY 72 - Variety of "dreams" DAY 73 - Temporary cure for the flu (not recommended) DAY 74 - One in six billion DAY 75 - Busy, busy, busy... treading water DAY 76 - Can't see the forest... the trees are in the way DAY 77 - The flu... a very tenacious attack... reminds me of me DAY 78 - Programming the human... DAY 79 - The good news and the bad news DAY 80 - Monsanto and FDA Be Warned DAY 81 - The "good guys" and the "bad guys" DAY 82 - Darwin and goofs DAY 83 - Money, influence, and inaction (stonewalling) DAY 84 - Hey... FDA! Anybody minding the "store"? DAY 85 - One Peaceful World DAY 86 - The rock... and the hard place --------------------------------------------------------------------- ******************* SATURDAY, JANUARY 1 Today is the 56th day of my hunger strike. Three years ago, I met Janet Bode at a women's health conference. I was familiar with her work through my daughters, who read Janet's books, which were about teens, dating, and other issues important to young people. One novel, "Colors of Freedom" was a 1990's look at interracial dating. Janet Bode did not live to see the new century. She died yesterday of breast cancer at the age 56. Our hunger strike is for you, Janet. For you and 118 woman who will die today and tomorrow and every eday from the horrible ravages of breast cancer. The critical factor in the growth of breast cancer is IGF-I. We have written about this hormone, identical in cows and humans. When cows are injected with the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (that we DEMAND FDA revoke), levels of IGF-I in the resulting milk increase. When humans drink milk, systemic levels of this powerful growth hormone increase in their bodies. Janet's "color of freedom" was stained with pigments of gray and black. The evidence exists for all women to see, but FDA refuses to deal with truth. For Janet, the color of fate and death may very well have been white. The politics of cancer play an enormous role in the careers of government scientists and bureaucrats. We are trying to give these people courage. We are trying to help them find their integrity. Scientists know the truth, but their silence is deafening. On this New Year's evening, revelers will eat brie and gouda and dredge veggies in sour cream dip. They will slurp down their ice cream parfaits and pour 2% milk into their coffees. Thousands of slices of pizza and hundreds of gallons of liquid milk will be the food for the women of the new millennium. Every bite of cheese and every sip of milk will contain that ticking time bomb, IGF-I. Women will march in the streets and run in races and wear pink ribbons and voice their outrage that no cure is yet known for the most horrible of human conditions. ***************** SUNDAY, JANUARY 2 Today is the 57th day of my hunger strike. I just finished a one-hour radio show on WFAN in New York. I am a regular listener of that station which features "IMUS in the Morning" and sports talk the rest of the day. Bob Salter's Sunday morning show is regularly heard by a few hundred thousand early-rising New Yorkers. Salter's show should not be taken with a grain of salt. My staff agreed to work today to answer phone calls, and I am having trouble getting through to my office, so I know that the show did its job! What is a grain of salt? One molecule of salt is composed of two atoms, sodium and chlorine. From high school chemistry class, I recall a lab lesson in which a tiny piece of sodium reacted with explosive energy after it was dropped into a water-filled sink. Inhaling chlorine gas can be instantly deadly, scarring lung tissue and causing permanent neurological damage. Add the two elements together and they form the tiniest component of a grain of salt. Hormones in milk are like "grains of salt." Milk hormones contain enormous potential, if and when they become "bio-active." Those same hormones in milk are also contained in meat. When humans eat animal products, the meat quickly enters the stomach, but powerful acids break meat proteins down into the building blocks of life, amino acids. Just as sodium and chlorine are two very important chemical elements for human physiological functioning, bodies also require essential amino acids which are obtained from the foods we eat. While meat and milk contain the same hormones, milk was designed to be a hormonal delivery system. Just as adults would not knowingly ingest bio-active forms of sodium or chlorine, neither should they ingest powerful hormones. If one gram of sodium was encapsulated in a gelatin membrane, then ingested, it would become a "ticking time bomb," ready to explode and kill the host from within. Milk hormones are encapsulated during the process of homogenization, protected by fat molecules that are made smaller by a factor of 100 times. These hormones are capable of passing through the intestinal wall, then entering the bloodstream where they circulate to all areas of the body to exert their effects. We are in the middle of a cancer explosion. One out of seven women will get breast cancer. One milk hormone, IGF-I, has been called the key factor in breast cancer's growth. IGF-I in cows and humans is identical. When cows are injected with the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, levels of naturally occurring IGF-I in milk increase by about 80%. When humans drink milk, levels of IGF-I increase in their bloodstreams by a factor of 10%. We continue to urge FDA to revoke the use of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. That is just a small part of what we at the Dairy Education Board wish to achieve. Our message is that the healthiest organic milk from the happiest cow naturally contains IGF-I. When her milk is concentrated into ice cream or cheese, the resulting product contains very large doss of hormones. Milk contains powerful growth hormones. All milk. Genetically engineered milk contains increased amounts of IGF-I. Cancer wins when it overtakes the body's natural mechanism to curb uncontrolled growth. IGF-I promotes cellular proliferation and growth. Milk and cheese contain IGF-I, the key factor in cancer. Please do not take this advice with a grain of salt. Please help teach people about milk hormones. Please send today's diary entry to a loved one. Close your eyes and imagine a cancer. Understand that today's advice is worth many pounds of cure. ***************** MONDAY, JANUARY 3 Today is the 58th day of my hunger strike. Yesterday, my family welcomed in the new millennium by driving to New York City, where we performed an annual tradition. We cooked and packaged dinners for fifty, than drove through mid-town Manhattan and handed out, one-at-a-time, our specially prepared care packages to homeless people. I drove and my daughters took turns sitting in the front seat of our van. We would stop the car when we saw someone in need... pushing their belongings in a cart or wheeling them along the avenues in a stroller, these people who live on New York City's streets. Sarah would politely ask, "Excuse me, would you like something to eat?" The sense of humanity that was felt between donor and recipient was overwhelming. Lizzy would hold out her offering. "Would you like a meal?" One man stopped foraging through a trash can on the corner of Ninth avenue and 46th Street. "Thank you, young lady. Have a very Happy New Year." An elderly couple picked up tin cans that littered the sidewalks, and would later turn them in for a nickel apiece. Three cases of spent soda mean a pack of cigarettes to these people who live rent free, with the moon and stars as their ceiling. The newspapers teach us that these people are to be feared. They are alcoholics or schizophrenics, they are sick and violent. We found none of these imaginary goblins and orcs, just real people like you and me, trying to maintain a bit of dignity. A woman in a wheel chair had no legs and hunched over with nowhere to hold the meal. "Please put it in the bag hanging on the back of my chair. God bless you." These people survive each day, picking through the trash, finding an unending supply of scraps. They do not need us to survive, but our presence is a message to them that we care. We really do. We wish we were in a position to do more. Each of us can do just one little thing to help each other out. Maybe it's just a kind word to a neighbor. Some of us are in positions of greater responsibility than others. Some people have enormous power, making life or death decisions over dozens or hundreds of others. Some decisions affect millions of people. We drove down Broadway, weaving our way through the streets of Times Square. We then drove up Eighth Avenue to the Upper West Side of Manhattan, finding homeless people in each of the city's neighborhoods. As I drove, I thought of man's inhumanity to his fellow man. I imagined that nobody intentionally seeks to hurt other people, yet few people consider the meanings of their actions. I thought of the FDA bureaucrats who delay their decision on Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. I thought of the thousands who will die or become ill as a result of FDA inaction. I thought of my hunger strike and my decision to not eat, by choice, the same foods that I now offer to those in need. I thought of how much work still needs to be done, and how little I have really accomplished, and how man's destiny must always be to reach inside to do the best and be the best that we can be. ****************** TUESDAY, JANUARY 4 Today is the 59th day of my hunger strike. This morning, I learned that Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman will answer questions in a live online Internet forum one week from today, Tuesday, January 11th at 1 p.m. EST. On that day, the forum will be accessible through the USDA website at: http://www.usda.gov/ I recently mailed a certified letter to the Secretary to which he did not respond. Past letters about rbGH in milk, mastitis in dairy cows, antibiotics, pesticides, and iodine milk levels have also been totally ignored by Mr. Glickman. Will the Secretary's Internet chat be different? Perhaps you can post a question too! Here is what I posted today: "Last year, Belgium closed their dairy industry because of unsafe levels of dioxins in milk. Recently, BEN & JERRY'S ICE CREAM was tested and 200 times the safe level of dioxins were found. BEN & JERRY'S response was that 'It's in the environment.' If that is so, is it dangerous to eat milk and dairy products, and should there be an immediate ban?" I urge you to ask a milk-related question. There are many issues that are still unanswered, including UDSA's policy of promoting Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Please take a few moments to log onto USDA'S site and let Secretary Glickman know what is on your mind. Questions to the Secretary, in advance of the forum, can now be posted at this web site: http://www.webforums.com/forums/f-read/msa65.376.html ******************** WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5 Today is the 60th day of my hunger strike. The question of whether I am exercising while fasting has been asked by many of you in private EMAIL. The answer is YES! Last night, I induced my wife to wake up early this morning and join me for a long walk. My youngest daughter overheard our conversation and begged, "Take me, too." At 5:30, the alarm went off and we got out of bed. I went to Lizzy's room and she woke easily, excited at the prospect of an early morning adventure. Yesterday, it hit 60 degrees in New York, but this morning it was 30 degrees, with a strong wind. I wore a polarguard parka, and watched my breath turn white in the cold air. I imagined summit day on Everest, the trekkers emerging from their tents shortly after midnight, ready to spend the next 14 hours in an exhausting summit attempt. As our party of three left our home, me with my Walter-Mittyish fantasy, Mrs. Mitty (my wife, Lisa), and one little itty bitty Mitty (Lizzy), I described what a party of Everest climbers would be experiencing. Lisa laughed as Lizzy deadpanned her response: "Enough, Dad." I continued my narration, as we continued toward our summit. "One out of five people attempting to scale Everest die on the mountain." Lizzy ran far ahead of her guides. After 20 brisk minutes, we reached our summit, the Dunkin Donuts in Emerson, New Jersey. Lizzy was rewarded with a chocolate chip muffin. We then returned home, our path better illuminated by the rising sun. ********* There is a food labeling conference scheduled for January 27-28, 2000 at the Wyndham Hotel in Washington D.C. FDA will be presenting many of their proposed and new policies at this conference, which you are invited to attend. The keynote address will be delivered by Peter Barton Hutt, former FDA Chief Counsel. There's just one catch. Cost of attending the conference is $1495. Early registrants include Monsanto, Campbell Soup Company, Nabisco, and Kraft Foods. There will be lectures and panel discussions. Topics include: -- Industry Update and Forecast -- Where Are We Heading? -- How To Target Your Nutraceuticals Consumer for the year 2000 -- Fortified Foods in the 2000s If you have $1495 and the desire to listen to Monsanto's side of the genetic engineering controversy, contact the conference organizer, Rupa Ranganathan at 212-967-0095 x252. ******************* THURSDAY, JANUARY 6 Today is the 61st day of my hunger strike. SOUR MILK During the first week of each month, figures for the wholesale price of milk (basic formula price = BFP) are released by the federal government. The BFP represents the dollar amount that dairy farmers receive for every hundred pounds of milk they produce. In December of 1998, dairy farmers were receiving $17.34 for each hundredweight of milk. They now receive $9.63. The price of milk continues to drop for two reasons. First, people continue to drink less milk. Second, the dairy industry continues to produce more milk. Simultaneous to the decrease in demand, dairymen are increasing the supply. MILKING THE PUBLIC What has been the dairy industry solution to this financial tragedy in the making? Their response has been to breed more super-cows which produce even more milk, and to promote the use of rbGH so that cows injected with Monsanto's hormone super-saturate a market unable to even utilize the existing surplus. Monsanto's genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH) created mastitis in dairy cows, which resulted in a different milk containing more hormones, bacteria, pus, and antibiotics. Monsanto's rbGH caused cancer in laboratory animals. Because of the milk controversy, the public is aware that milk contains hormones. People are learning that milk is loaded with powerful hormones, and as they arrive at this understanding, they eliminate milk and dairy products from their diets. In early December, the BFP dropped to $9.79. On January 5th, the BFP dropped an additional 16 cents. This year, 170 billion pounds of milk will be produced. A 16-cent drop represents a yearly-adjusted gross loss of income to dairy farmers of $272 million. SMELLS LIKE LIMBURGER To make matters worse, the federal government guarantees farmers at least $9.80 for their milk. Guess who gets to subsidize the dairy farmers for that last price drop? We have become innocent bystanders and victims to this vicious and absurd circle. As more of Monsanto's hormone is used, more milk is produced, more IGF-I is consumed, more cows get sick, more people get cancer, more antibiotics are used, farmers get less money for their milk, and more subsidies are paid to farmers from taxpayers. Monsanto has become the beneficiary of this insanity. One hundred and seventy billion pounds of milk at last year's price, $17.34 per hundredweight, would have generated 29.4 billion dollars. At this year's historically low price, farmers will net just 16.4 billion dollars. Did the dairy industry really need this hormone? Ouch. Finally, a complete evaluation of rbGH reveals: GOT BLAME? Genetically engineered milk is unsafe for consumer's health. Genetically engineered milk is unsafe for the financial well being of America's dairy farmer. Thanks, Monsanto. ***************** FRIDAY, JANUARY 7 Today is the 62nd. day of my hunger strike. Who says Y2K was a dud? For me personally, it was very real and very destructive. Here is the untold story. The sixth rated Internet hosting service is/was CI HOST. I am/was a client. (So too were many tens of thousands of others). If you have tried to access the hungerstrike.com or notmilk.com sites, you might conclude that I've either faded away or been cancelled for non-payment of my bills. Both sites have faded into oblivion. In addition, the site reserved to launch my new book is also "dead." Customer Service at CI HOST is an oxymoron. There is anything but service, and by their actions, there will no longer be customers. I take no pleasure in witnessing a hundred-million dollar company self-destruct. Galloping to my rescue has been Jeff Nelson. Jeff owns the largest vegetarian website on the Internet, and plays host to many sites including Howard Lyman's madcowboy.com home and earthsave.com pages. For the next week (as files are uploading), you will be able to access the notmilk and hungerstrike sites and take a peek at the cover of my new book by logging on to these temporary URL's: http://notmilk.vegsource.com/ http://hungerstrike.vegsource.com/ http://elsiesfable.vegsource.com/ If you have never visited Jeff's site, I urge you to do so. He receives close to one million "hits" per month, and has put together the largest vegetarian site on the World Wide Web: http://www.vegsource.com I have been keeping my daily diary entries up-to-date and you might want to read up on the past week. A few more people have joined in support of our hunger strike and those names will be added to the still-growing list. Thank you all for the hundreds of letters of concern and support! ******************* Saturday, JANUARY 8 Today is the 63rd day of my hunger strike. Last night I watched a National Geographic special on climbing mountains. One of the segments featured Alex Lowe, a climber who was killed last year by an avalanche. He scaled many a cliff, some live on television, and the scenes in last night's show were dramatic. They called him a freak. Up every day at 3 AM, he trained hard, and had incredible upper body strength. They said that he did 400 chin-ups every day. I don't know if I could do even one. What an inspiration this man was/and is! I have not done a push-up or a sit-up in many years. (Short pause) - I just did ten push-ups and twenty sit-ups and realize that my 47-year-old body is not the same that it was in high school. I don't like feeling old and out of shape. I am going to change that. I have become flabby and lazy. No more. I've just dusted off the stationary bike and it now sits upstairs. Twenty minutes per day to start - I'll gradually build it up to get my legs in shape. I am now walking every day and I am beginning an exercise routine. I want to swim and play racquetball and do everything I could do in high school. Is it possible? One burns a lot of calories when training hard, and I am not eating food. However, I have plenty of calories stored as fat. As I lose weight from my fast, my body becomes stronger, my mind becomes more alert, I need less sleep, and my motivation level increases. So too does my anger at FDA's inactivity increase. My hunger strike is a juice fast. I would have died by this time on a strict hunger strike. The juice fast will keep me alive. I will become leaner and meaner. I will live for at least the next six months, and I vow to become FDA's worst nightmare. I have energy in spirit and body and an enormous sense of purpose. I now live to train, and perhaps my fantasies will become reality. Run a marathon? Finish a triathlon? Get FDA to take Monsanto's hormone of the market? Climb Everest? Nothing is impossible, and I feel like all of my summits will be scaled. ***************** Sunday, January 9 After two weeks of INTERNET HELL, my websites are back online. You can now catch up on the hungerstrike daily diary entries and Dairy Education Board news: http://www.hungerstrike.com http://www.notmilk.com Today's diary entry should be read by every woman in America. Perhaps you could send the following to every woman on your LOVE and LIKE list: CONQUERING BREAST CANCER IN THREE DAYS Today is the 64th day of my hunger strike. An enormous breast cancer controversy is developing between traditional medical practitioners, who benefit from the existing multi-billion dollar yearly breast cancer rip-off, and real science, which has proven that mammography does more damage than good. THE REASON THEY LIE: GOT MONEY? Very rarely does the mainstream press report the existing milk/IGF-I link to breast cancer. Wonder why? Newspapers, magazines, television, and radio all derive revenue from companies extolling the fraudulent virtues of milk and dairy products. Pizza Hut uses three percent of America's yearly milk production. Dannon Yogurt and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream help pay the rent, utilities, and salaries of those who pretend to bring America the truth in their daily news. HOW MANY WOMEN ACTUALLY HAVE BREAST CANCER? Thousands of chemicals and events have been implicated as being a cause of cancer, but one thing makes it grow once a woman is unfortunate to be so stricken. That key factor happens to be the most powerful growth hormone produced in the human body, insulin-like growth factor-I or IGF-I. The great miracle of nature is that IGF-I is identical between humans and cows. On November 8, 1994, the New York Times reported that breast cancer is actually a very common event. An autopsy study revealed that 39.6% of women between the ages of 40 and 50 have breast cancer. That is horrible news for women and wonderful news for those who make a living performing breast cancer analyses and treatment. The fact of the matter is that most breast cancers are naturally controlled by our miraculous immune systems. Cancers always begin with one cell. Every three months that cancer doubles in size, so that after one year the cancer grows to sixteen cells. Eight years later, a breast cancer becomes a one-million cell tumor, the smallest lump a woman can detect in her breast Cellular examination upon autopsy reveals the common presence of breast cancer, but clinical diagnoses result in only one percent of women in the 40-50 age group being dignosed with breast cancer. The key factor in breast cancer's growth, like pouring gasoline on a fire, is IGF-I. Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream---all dairy products are loaded with this powerful growth hormone. A STUDY OF 500,000 WOMEN A new study published in the British medical journal, LANCET, compiled data from 500,000 women since the 1960's and found that mammography is not only an ineffective tool, it might very well be a factor in causing breast cancer. The study found that for every 1,000 women who receive a mammography, one life is saved. On the other hand, a woman having a mammography will have a six hundred percent greater chance of getting breast cancer, by exposing her breasts to a "safe level of radioactivity." Safe level? That's easy for a man to say. If I was a woman, I'd be pretty unhappy about exposing my breasts to once-a-year doses of radioactive poison. Science devises tests to find breast cancer earlier. Is that such a good thing? All adults over the age of 50 have cancer (New York Times, 11/8/94, P C-1). Instead of ingesting the key factor five times each day, IGF-I, shouldn't all women practice the NOTMILK preventive therapy? GENETIC ENGINEERING MAKES A BAD PRODUCT WORSE When cows are treated with Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH), levels of IGF-I in their milk increase by about 80%. Women who drink milk experience an increase, systemically, of IGF-I in their blood serum by a factor of ten percent. SOLVING THE PROBLEM Today's New York Times (Sunday, January 9, 2000) contains a full-page ad for AVON'S "Breast Cancer 3-Day" event. This is a national effort, and women in America's major cities will be making a collective statement this Fall. In New York, two thousand women will walk 25 miles per day from October 13th-15th, starting at Bear Mountain, New York and ending their march in midtown Manhattan. If you wish to join their protest, call 888-332-9286 or read about breast cancer on their website: http://www.breastcancer3day.org WHAT YOU CAN DO Please contact these people who have great passion and anger. Let them know about milk and IGF-I. Tell them about our hunger strike. March with them. Teach the ignorant about the IGF-I/milk factor. AND SEND TODAY'S NEWSLETTER TO A FRIEND!!! ****************** Monday, January 10 Today is the 65th day of my hunger strike. I have had a few requests to expand my diary and reveal some of the more personal and intimate details of my life. Is my day-to-day routine all work and all suffering and no play? Nothing could be further from that. Yesterday, my kids chipped in and treated me to a movie. We are fortunate to be located just twenty minutes from an IMAX super large screen theater, and that's where we headed. The movie was "Fantasia 2000." I have seen the original "Fantasia" many times and the tape is a part of my video collection. The new "Fantasia" was simply stunning. In theory, a different "Fantasia" can be produced every day based upon the millions and millions of pieces of classical music which can be synchronized to animation. I've seen many, many Disney movies from "Snow White" to "Pinocchio" to "The Lion King." The results are happy and predictable with few real surprises. This version of "Fantasia" was a little bit different and so extremely creative that I found myself thinking, "This is Walt Disney on peyote." Perhaps the 40 speakers located throughout the theater had something to do with the incredible effects. There is one segment in which giant sperm whales fly through their environment and bring the concept of swimming to new heights. The toughest part of the day was sitting with my wife and three daughters in the fast food court of the Palisades Center while sushi, Chinese food, and other ethnic foods were enjoyed. I nursed my bottled water. Last night, I read Luke Anderson's book on biotechnology called "Genetic Engineering, Food, and Our Environment." The book combined the basic concepts of how, what, and why the world's food supply has changed. I found this paperback to be very easy to digest, and I am adding it to my "Recommended Reading List" for those who do not fully understand the issues. You can get the book from Chelsea Green Publishing Co. by calling 800-639-4099 or logging onto their www.chelseagreen.com Internet site. ******************* Tuesday, January 11 Today is the 66th day of my hunger strike. The number sixty-six is an omen and sign representing the Biblical beast of all evil, and the greatest evil that I witness today is the rejection of truth. This morning, I received an e-mail letter from Susan C. Here is her letter with my response: "To Robert: I received an angry email, forwarded from a friend, about the effects of growth hormones and breast cancer. The letter was so angry I could hardly read it. If women are going to listen to this important message about their health, hopefully it will be delivered in a more productive way. >From Susan C." "Dear Susan, The ANGRIEST group of people on this planet are those whose damaged breasts have become toxic dump sites for FDA and USDA-approved toxins. Schoepenhouer said that all truth goes through three stages: denial, violent opposition, then acceptance. I expect violent opposition to this truth, because the disease is so horrible, and the milk myth so powerful. There is no debate to the truth I have presented. IGF-I is the key factor in the growth of every breast cancer. IGF-I is manufactured in the human body, but is broken down in a matter of seconds. In cow's milk, the SAME, EXACT hormone survives digestive processes for 30 minutes after human ingestion. Cow's injected with Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone yield milk with increased levels of this powerful growth hormone. This is the reason that I am on a hunger strike. This is why I will not end my fast until FDA revokes the use of this hormone. I have placed my health and possible death on the line for the benefit of your angry friend." END OF LETTER There is one other great evil at work. Congress is considering passage of a bill, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (HR 3377), which will require the USDA and the FDA to label genetically engineered foods. The proposed bill is not evil, it is beautiful. What is evil are the comments made yesterday by US Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. In a press conference, Glickman set the stage for USDA's policy by telling reporters that the federal government is not likely to require US manufacturers and grocery stores to put labels on genetically engineered foods. Despite the fact that people wearing Monarch butterfly costumes protested genetic engineering and rioted in the streets of Seattle and demonstrated at three FDA hearings (Chicago, Washington, and Oakland), Glickman and other government officials refuse to bear witness to the mandate of the people. Through our petition, FDA is armed with the truth: genetic engineering produced "freak" amino acids and changed the character of the foods they've replaced. ********************* Wednesday, January 12 Today is the 67th day of my hunger strike. Yesterday, I had three one-hour radio interviews during a six-hour period, and by the time I got to the third, I was tired and near to losing my voice. In the past, I could talk for five or six hours and not feel any strain. Maybe it was just one of those days or perhaps this hunger strike is taking its toll. I spoke first to a Pittsburgh audience and then crossed the nation to Colorado. The third and final interview was on KOMO in Seattle, an ABC affiliate with an enormous listening audience. I enjoy the talk show audience format where listeners call in questions to the host and myself. Yesterday's host, Ernie, performed as a stand-up comic previous to his radio DJ job, and the show was a lot of fun. We talked about hormones in milk, of course, and I complimented the Seattle audience on their anti-biotechnology sentiments as demonstrated at the recent WTO demonstrations. Milk has been genetically engineered, and most of the commercial products in today's market are so influenced. Major food manufacturers and distributors accept milk from cows treated with Monsanto's hormone. That includes Pizza Hut, Kraft Foods, and Dannon Yogurt. On Monday of this week, French officials discovered two new cases of Mad Cow Disease. That brings to 31 the number of cows discovered with this disease in the past twelve months in France. One of the cows was discovered in the northwest region of Brittany, while the other was found in the south. French authorities ordered that all 341 cows in the two herds be slaughtered. This degenerative brain disease is easily passed from cow to human. Some scientists theorize that Mad Cow Disease can be transferred in the flesh of diseased animals, and two Nobel Prize-winning scientists (Gajdusek and Prusiner) conceded to me that the infectious substance might very well be contained within the cow's body fluids. By drinking milk, we ingest body fluids from diseased animals. There are many reasons not to drink milk. Almost every sip of commercially produced milk contains virus, pus, bacteria, powerful growth hormones (including IGF-I), allergenic proteins, antibiotics, pesticides, dioxins, and fat and cholesterol. Genetically engineered milk contains increased levels of the same naturally occurring growth hormones. ******************** Thursday, January 13 Today is the 68th day of my hunger strike. This is a long story that I am going to cut short, and I'll begin by telling you about my daughter Elizabeth's 5th grade school project. Each child in Mrs. DiCorcia's class has been asked to assume the persona of a famous "character" from American history. My daughter has decided to be Johnny Appleseed. Part of that assignment includes cooking or creating a recipe that would have been enjoyed by that famous individual. So... this morning in the middle of the first snowstorm of the new millennium to hit the New York area, I drove to the supermarket and bought 20 pounds of apples. This evening, my home will become an apple cider mill and we'll produce a few gallons of nature's finest. However, that's not the whole story. My wife and kids can no longer go supermarket shopping with me because of my one-man campaign against milk and dairy products. When I see a gallon of milk in somebody's shopping cart, my loved ones recognize the killer look on my face and distance themselves from my next victim. So it happened this morning when I was alone on a checkout line paying for my apples and the young woman behind me placed her gallon of milk and six cans of vegetables behind my groceries. I looked at her and said, "You know, they sell those vegetables in the produce section. They're fresher and they taste better." I said nothing about the milk. Her response to me was, "I'm buying these for our daycare center. We don't have time to prepare fresh vegetables, but I'm getting milk for the kids. That's healthy." I looked at her and responded, "It sure is. Those little kids need those hormones." She said to me, "This is the hormone-free milk." What could I do to argue with such logic? There's a woman in Seattle who runs a daycare center. Her name is Ellouise Carroll. Ms. Carroll has 70 children in her school, and she is suing the state and the United States Department of Agriculture because she does not want to serve milk to her children. Ellouise has discovered, through a lifetime of teaching, that milk makes kids wild and creates runny noses, congestion, and asthma attacks. Many years ago, she eliminated milk from her schools and found the instant cure to many of these children's ills while improving their ability to learn. Now the state of Washington is demanding that she give the children milk, and her case is in the courts. Last week, Public School 104 in New York City was forced to close because the children are wild and out-of-control and have lost the ability to learn. These children, predominately African-American, live in extreme poverty and are the beneficiaries of a minimum of five doses of hormone-filled milk and dairy products each day. All of these things flashed through my mind at the checkout counter as I handed the woman a card with my website hungerstrike.com. Will she access the site and read about milk hormones? As usual... I continue on with the hunger strike for the children... for the innocent victims. ****************** Friday, January 14 Today is the 69th day of my hunger strike. The wind chill is 30 degrees below zero, and I just chopped up some wood for this evening's fire. I'm in a great mood, buoyed by today's news from Battle Creek, Michigan. While I am no fan of the cereal giant, Kellogg Company, I do applaud today's health conscious news. Taking advantage of something that health activists have been trying to tell them, Kellogg has launched their first soy protein cereal which also contains rice and whole wheat flakes. Hopefully, cereal fans will enjoy this product with soy or rice milk. Last October, FDA announced that consumption of soy could significantly lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. On a different front, I received a tape called "Lethal Medicine" in today's mail from Paul Sewick who runs an organization called "Animal Commandos." The tape was graphic at times and reflected all aspects of animal research. Paul had previously written a letter to SATYA Magazine (circulation 80,000+) demanding that I apologize to animals because I cite animal research in supporting my anti-milk position. Paul's argument is that animal research represents sadistic and fraudulent torture to animals, and that pure and simple common sense dictates that animal research is totally incongruent to human physiology. Paul's letter was a little harsh, but it really made me think about animal research. Human medicine cannot be based upon animal physiology. As a scientist, I always knew that it was relatively easy to find an animal to prove or disprove whatever I wanted. Every year, more than one hundred million animals are killed for the alleged purpose of continuing needless research. In a sense, crimes against animals are a crime against humanity. Rates of cancer and heart disease have not decreased in the past 30 years. As a matter of fact, they are soaring. Animal research seeks to determine cures for diseases, but they have solved nothing and have only taught us one thing. We are lulled to an unrealistic sense of security by animal research which looks for a cure and does not really focus upon cause or, even more importantly, prevention. Science accepts the fact that animal fats are dangerous and pesticides, dioxins, and other chemicals are pollutants that poison our bodies. Shouldn't the real cure be found by eliminating the problem? Today I am eating no food, but if and when I resume eating, I will be eating organically raised fruits and vegetables. The price of organically grown produce might be a little higher than traditional supermarket produce, but the cost of medical treatment surpasses one trillion dollars a year. Maintaining good health by paying a little bit more for the body's fuel is a great investment when one compares the high costs of dealing with heart disease and cancer. ******************** Saturday, January 15 Today is the 70th day of my hunger strike. If I gave you a picture, showed you her face, and told you she has breast cancer, how far would you walk to save her life? If you go the distance, I'll show you the way. Imagine knowing that you saved a life. Two. Four. Ten. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the U.S. This year, over 400,000 women are expected to die of the disease. On Monday, January 24th, I'll be in Millburn, New Jersey for a breast cancer orientation class. Next October, I'll be participating in Avon's Breast Cancer 3-Day. I pledge to walk 80 miles from Bear Mountain, New York to New York City and I wish to put together a team who will join me. You don't have to walk, you can be a member of the crew: http://www.breastcancer3day.org/ . Won't you join me? For more information, please call Lisa or Ann at my office: 201-871-5871. ****************** Sunday, January 16 Today is the 71st day of my hunger strike. BREAST CANCER BOOKS I just reexamined the paperback and hardcover books in my library to confirm a suspicion. I read more than twenty breast cancer books last year. I've also read hundreds of journal articles, and while I don't claim to be America's breast cancer expert, I do have some understanding of the cellular and hormonal mechanisms playing roles in breast cancer's growth and proliferation. THE BEST BREAST CANCER BOOK YET! Last night, I read the single most fascinating and convincing breast cancer book that should be a must read for all women. The name of the book is appropriately "BREAST CANCER - Poisons, Profits and Prevention." The book is written by Liane Casten. Chapter One tells the story of Cassandra Michaels who died at age 35. Every woman who dies of breast cancer has a tragic story to tell. Usually loved ones stand by helplessly as multiple forces endanger, betray, and overwhelm the sufferer. There are many misconceptions about breast cancer. Many factors cannot be controlled, but the bottom line is this: there are many risks that can be controlled, and one must regulate the poisons entering the body from the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the foods we eat. Government agencies such as FDA and USDA have abandoned their regulatory fiduciary mission and are now corporate shills. Casten's documentation of such betrayal is shocking. Mammograms are the most often used diagnostic test in America and have supplied billions of dollars of cash flow to hospitals and physicians. The author documents real science and exposes the truth that mammograms are poisons masquerading as diagnostic tests. Studies have shown that one out of a thousand women are helped by mammograms while eight times that number develop breast cancer as a result of having their breasts exposed to deadly doses of toxic radiation. Liane Casten discusses tamoxifen, a synthetic hormone similar in structure to DES. In her opinion (and mine, too), tamoxifen is a poison pretending to be a curative. Tamoxifen is given to breast cancer survivors who often develop uterine and ovarian cancers as a result of the use of that drug. The author explores silicone implants, which are poisons disguised as cosmetic devices. The cancer establishment, as a result of Richard Nixon's 1970 war on cancer, has spent almost $25 billion in public funds and hundreds of millions of dollars in private funds in trying to understand and prevent breast cancer. The author asks, "What have we to show for this immense expense of time, money, and expertise?" I urge you to read this book. It can be bought at Amazon.com or by calling Common Courage Press at 207-525-0900. ****************** Monday, January 17 Today is the 72nd day of my hunger strike and it is also the second day of my flu. I went to sleep at 8 PM last evening and slept through the night like a baby waking up at 8 AM. The last time I slept that long, like a baby, when I was a baby. I have aches and pains and, overall, I'm a bit of a mess so forgive today's short journal entry. Today is a day of dreams. Most of America celebrates the birth of Martin Luther King who had a dream. I too have a dream. My dream has started off as a nightmare, but it can have a happy ending. Our hunger strike is a wake-up call to FDA and to all Americans. My dream is that all people see truth and gain wisdom, and in doing so make a difference for themselves and their loved ones by rejecting the poisons in our air, water, and food. ******************* Tuesday, January 18 Today is the 72nd day of my hunger strike. Today is also the third day of my flu, and I found the cure...although I don't recommend the treatment. My head aches, my back hurts, my body screams to me in pain and discomfort. My temperature is elevated and I have a cough. Yet, for one hour last evening, all of my symptoms went away. The cure? Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline! Here's how it works. Get one cute little ten-year-old daughter. In my case, her name is Elizabeth, and yes, she's for rent. Position yourself in front of a fireplace with a roaring fire. Get comfortable in the recliner chair with a good book. Last night's was Bill Bonnano's "CODE OF HONOR." Bonnano was the model for Michael Corleone in Mario Puzo's "THE GODFATHER." His dad was THE real-life GODFATHER, as portrayed in the movie by Marlon Brando. Anyway...I was deep into the book, miserable with my flu-like symptoms...just getting to the part where Bonnano reveals the reason behind the Kennedy assassination, when all of a sudden, Lizzy started screaming: "Fire...FIRE...F-I-R-E!!!" I jumped out of the chair and flew to her...and as I ran down the hall I saw the glow from her room. Her bed was aflame, as was her wall. That cute little Tweety Bird Clock had flamed out, and her mattress and bed was fully involved. I screamed to my wife, "Call 911." Although I was an enormous Y2K cynic, I did buy 50 gallons of water, and five of those gallon jugs were sitting on the kitchen counter. I soon had the fire under control, although I had "eaten" quite a bit of smoke. The Oradell Volunteer Fire Department was having their Monday night drill, and were at the station when the call came in. I was amazed at how quickly they responded. Soon my home was filled with friends wearing bunker gear and Scott paks. They came armed with axes and various tools meant to quickly open up walls, which is just what they did. Fire has a way of traveling inside of walls and rapidly climbs towards higher points undetected. Two hours later, all was back to normal. Minimal damage, some battered psyches, all of us believers in the adage that "it can happen here." Lizzy is the family hero, and I discovered the temporary cure for the flu. Now my head is pounding. For now, I'll enjoy the feeling. ********************* Wednesday, January 19 One in Six Billion Every day during my hunger strike, I have kept a diary which can be found at: http://www.hungerstrike.com/diary.html My entire anti-dairy philosophy can be found at: http://www.notmilk.com Today is the 74th day of my hunger strike. My cardiologist is Jeff Mitchel and his practice is in Englewood, New Jersey. Jeff is more than a doctor to me, he is a friend. Many years ago, we used to be racquetball buddies. He is a superb athlete and climbs two hundred flights of stairs each day on mankind's greatest technological device of torture-the Stairmaster. A few years ago, Dr. Mitchel won the racquetball championship at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Tenafly. Jeff and I alternated bragging rights, playing a pretty much even game, but there is one man who regularly beat Jeff Mitchel. That man is my father, the finest athlete I have ever known, Nat Cohen. Dad was born the same year America entered World War I. In that year, Einstein announced his Theory of Relativity, and the Saturday Evening Post published their first Norman Rockwell drawing. Fanny Brice sang and danced in the Ziegfield Follies, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series. Lucky Strike cigarettes were introduced, vitamin B was discovered, and the first home refrigerator was marketed for $900, a price equal to the Model T motor car rolling out of Henry Ford's new Detroit factory. This year, my dad will turn 84, and last month he broke the humurus bone in his left arm. Appropriately, like a Viking holding a sword, Dad broke the bone in the health club. Yesterday, he began physical therapy and rehab. Our friend and cardiologist calls Dad a few times a week. Jeff has even made a house call and stayed nearly two hours. Forty years ago, Nat had his gall bladder removed by a doctor whose name would one day become famous and whose maneuver would save countless tens of thousands of lives - Henry Heimlich. I recently had dinner with Dr. Heimlich and he remembers my father well. One week after surgery, Dad ripped his sutures and began to bleed while playing handball at the YMCA on 63rd St. in Manhattan. Dad always did things his way and he is truly one in six billion. Before his accident, I would not have bet against him in a racquetball game with any of the readers of this column. He is not an old man by any standard other than his chronological age. Even at the health club, young people crowd around his locker because his comic style has always made him the center of attention and "life of the party." Although I was feeling pretty lousy yesterday, I went with him to his first day of rehab. I secretly took along two heroin-like pain killing Percosets in my pocket. I had been warned by both his physician and therapist that the discomfort he would experience would elevate his concept of pain to a new level. Dad refused the pills, joked with the therapist about getting back to the racquetball court and didn't complain about my driving (a new first for him) on the way home. He'll be back at the JCC before long. One in six billion? We are all one in six billion. Dad is my inspiration to continue the fight to make things right. Each of us has the ability to do great things by performing to our potential. ******************** Thursday, January 20 Today is the 75th day of my hunger strike. Every day I have made a journal entry and have done my best to try to stay even with the tremendous volume of e-mail and snail mail that I receive. There just aren't enough hours in the day nor days in the week for me to do justice to the approximately 5,000 personal messages that I receive on a weekly basis. Forgive me. I woke up this morning having spent the night at my father's house. Yesterday, I admitted my mother into Englewood Hospital where she is now in her second day undergoing tests for a still undiagnosed ailment. My father has yet to learn how to boil water so add personal chef and valet to the many hats that I wear. I am feeling as well as I can be considering the circumstances and am now readying myself to shovel Dad's driveway and mine from the first New York metropolitan area snowstorm of the 21st century. ****************** Friday, January 21 Doctors Make Monkeys of Humans Today is the 76th day of my hunger strike. There are many myths that Americans have to live with. Who can begin to understand the scope of brainwashing that must occur for a myth to be perceived as realty? In 1971, then-President Richard Nixon declared a war on cancer. In the 1950s, when Richard Nixon was debating Nikita Khruschev and making himself the national hero of pre-Watergate days, Americans had two deadly nightmares. The first was the threat of nuclear war. That threat has all but disappeared. The second was the threat of a horrible disease called cancer. In the 1950s, one out of five Americans were expected to die from this deadly disease. The word "cancer" struck fear in the hearts of all Americans. During Nixon's presidency, in the 1970s, cancer rates soared, and one out of four Americans were expected to die from cancer. After Nixon's declaration of war on cancer, there became a new focus for researchers. The business of cancer has become very good news to physicians and scientists, and very bad news for laboratory rats, cats, and other four-legged animals. Apparently, the American public has been lied to. Common sense has been replaced by common fraud. Humans walk on two legs, not four, and have different physiological systems than laboratory animals. From Nixon's presidency to the end of the 20th century, more than $25 billion was spent on the war on cancer, but today cancer rates are soaring. It is now projected that one in two American men and one in three American women will die from cancer. Why? This hunger strike of mine will one day teach all of America that the key factor in cancer's growth is IGF-I, a hormone identical between cows and humans. Milk contains IGF-I and cheese contains concentrated amounts of this powerful growth hormone that has been identified as the key factor in cancer's growth. In 1960, the average American ate 10 pounds of cheese per year. As cheese consumption containing powerful growth hormones increased, so too did cancer rates. This year, the average American will eat 30 pounds of cheese. Last night, I went to bed early and woke at 2:30 AM. Unable to get back to sleep, I read Jane Goodall's new book, "Reason for Hope, A Spiritual Journey." I bookmarked a passage that had great relevance to Dr. Goodall. That same passage should be reviewed by all of us regarding the medical myths that influence our behavior. These days, doctors seem to be interested in diagnosing an illness and treating a symptom, not finding a cure or a prevention. Jane Goodall discusses (page 74) her first experiences with chimpanzees and her early discovery that these "animals" used tools. Instead of giving her subjects numbers, she named them, her favorite personality being David Greybeard. She got to know each chimpanzee and recognized distinct personalities. In her day, scientists, philosophers, and theologians believed that only humans were capable of rational thought. Goodall's comment should be inscribed in every institute of learning: "Fortunately, I had not been to university, and I did not know these things. And when I did find out, I just thought it was silly and paid no attention." I see many things that seem silly. I vow not to be shy about exposing them. It is up to us to take back our health from those who have deceived us. ******************** Saturday, January 22 Today is the 77th day of my hungerstrike, and I've slept for most of the day. Dad's arm is gettig better, Mom is home from the hospital, and things are returning to normal. I can now allow myself to get sick. Rebound effect? I've been caring for two parents and holding back my symptoms and they've slam-dunked me into bed. I have more symptoms than could fit onto a doctor's check-off sheet. I refuse to take pills and am probably suffering for it. Something inside of my right lung is laughing at me for my own self abuse. The "tickle" has turned into a bit of pain, and like the man who refuses to ask for directions, I refuse to seek medical help. Yeah, I know... el-jerko numero uno, big time. Perhaps I can sleep it off. In the meantime, I am taking massive doses of vitamin C in the form of freshly squeezed lemon juice in bottled water. Lisa bought me a case of oranges and grapefruit and will juice them tomorrow morning. Back to bed, where hopefully my body will heal itself. ****************** Sunday, January 23 Today is the 78th day of my hunger strike. As newly born infants, we possess working brains, ready to acquire trillions of bits of sensory information to be forever etched into neural circuits. Newborns have the ability to communicate their needs by crying, but as such do not yet speak nor understand words. Our programming teaches each of us to move of movements so that, as adults we can one day grasp at straws or recite: Peter Piper picked a peck of picked peppers. How many movements does it take one to mount a horse, grab a lance, and joust with a windmill? Baby humans do not have the ability to pick and choose their curriculum. Had I been born in Brazil, Portuguese would have been my learned language. I could have been a practicing Buddhist or coal miner in Appalachia. Most of what I am was determined during the early years of my life, when I lived in the land of adult giants. They had the advantage of persuasion. There was no debate to the information overload. If Christ died for my sins, or if black people were lazy, or if self-mutilation was a custom practiced by generations of my ancestors, then I was fated to one day "learn" what I was "taught." I would probably repeat the same stories and lessons to my children. I would shape their behaviors and personalities according to my own. Wordsworth said, "The child is the father of the man." My youngest daughter's great grandchild-to-be will ultimately share a part of my great-grandfather's philosophy. Such has been the history of man. Such is to be the destiny of all children. We teach our language to our children. We influence them by teaching religion, ethics, morals, and customs. From the brushing of teeth or hair, to the tying of shoelaces, to using a fork and knife, behaviors become learned. Good habits, bad habits, even the foods we eat are pre-determined by mothers, fathers, and guardians. My mother recently told me that I began to drink milk at the age of two. I have no memory of my first sip. Mom assures me that I never liked milk and had to be constantly told that it was good for me. She knew that because her mother told her. She knew that because the doctor told her. I remember his name, Dr. Rosenberg. I am told that he delivered me. He was my pediatrician until the age of 8. He never associated earaches with milk drinking. I remember the earaches. I drank milk at every meal, and must have been told 365 days per year, a minimum of three times per day, to finish my glass of milk or I would not grow up to be a strong boy. I remember giving similar advice to two of my three children. I have no memory of milk posters from my kindergarten days. Were there posters then, and if so, was the message subliminal as it is today? Did the teachers make me drink milk and did they assure me that it was good for me too? If there is one basic thing that most American children "know," it is that milk is good. Without cow's milk, they will not grow to be healthy. They have been told this by their parents, teachers, and have seen this message in their magazines, books, and on television. Ask a child or an adult if he or she would like a nice tall glass of dog's milk. Perhaps they would drink a glass of pig's milk or horse milk. Cat? Squirrel? How about a 12-ounce glass of human breast milk. Kangaroo? Hippo? Instinctively, the thought of drinking milk other than cow's milk is unappealing to most people. This very basic instinct cannot be taught. This "internal knowledge" counters everything one has been taught about cow's milk, so that logic becomes sacrificed to the power of a myth. ****************** Monday, January 24 Today is the 79th day of my hunger strike. First, the good news and the bad news. Last week's comedy of life presented many cliches. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. When it rains it pours. Bad things come in bunches. "You-know-what" happens. During the last 168 hours I cared for my father and his broken arm, while suffering through the flu. Then Mom got sick and was hospitalized so I was doing double parent duty. While wind chill factors outside were 30 degrees below zero, temperatures inside of my body reached new highs. I was not the only one to experience extreme heat. Elizabeth's room flamed and the fire department paid an unanticipated visit. Somehow, my computer felt left out of all the adversity, and it decided to break down, just one month after my two-year warranty expired. This leaves me with an inability to receive or send e-mail, and my never-fail computer phone book is temporary lost. There is some good news. I should save a fortune on phone bills until computer repair is accomplished. More good news-the pain in my right lung area does not seem to be getting any worse. Today, I donated blood, just in case Mom needs it. Her hemoglobin level has been under 8.0, which makes her an appropriate candidate for a transfusion. My hemoglobin count was 15.8, which surprised even me. I was a bit concerned. My pulse was 92 and my blood pressure was 148/90. Usually, my pulse is in the high 60s and my blood pressure 120/80. These tests do not lie. My body and spirit are under stress. I just heard tomorrow's forecast for the New York area-8" of snow. The kids will most certainly be off from school and I'll have two driveways to shovel. ******************* Tuesday, January 25 Monsanto and FDA Be Warned: This is Just the Beginning Today is the 80th day of my hunger strike. The latest weather report predicts 10-12" of snow for northern New Jersey. I woke up with a massive headache, but the pain in my chest seems to be lessening. I feel as if I am on the road to recovery. A big snowstorm is not what the doctor ordered. Yesterday, I received a tape in the mail from Al Lewis and Suzanne Phillips. I watched "Showdown at Seattle-5 Days That Shook the WTO." You might recall that there was rioting in the streets of Seattle in opposition to the World Trade Organization meeting late last year. In watching the tape, I was reminded of the 1968 siege in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention. I was in high school when I watched police beating demonstrators. Thirty-two years later, violent police shot tear gas canisters, rubber bullets, used their nightsticks, and sprayed pepper spray into the faces of people sitting in the street. I was angry and frustrated watching the tape. One middle-aged woman, interviewed by the media, said, "Today I was ashamed to be an American." While Seattle rioted, FDA simultaneously held the first of three biotechnology hearings in Chicago. Both Seattle and Chicago shared one very powerful and symbolic phenomenon. The media covered each demonstration, and America bore witness to a new sight-protestors were dressed as Monarch butterflies. Why Monarchs? Monsanto's FDA-approved bt corn killed Monarch butterflies. The average man and woman on the street might not have gotten the message, but Monsanto and the FDA certainly had. FDA had prescheduled three biotechnology conferences, the second was in Washington and the third in Oakland, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from America's traditional hotbed of radicalism, Berkeley. Five hundred peaceful people showed up on a rainy, misty day, and in doing so, sent a signal to FDA and Monsanto: this is just the beginning. As we approach the hundredth day of our hunger strike, FDA remains mute to our protests. We have filed a citizen's petition to remove Monsanto's rbGH because of scientific fraud and deceit. Part of our petition includes new scientific evidence proving the dangers and risks to consumers drinking Monsanto's new milk. We have filed numerous Freedom of Information Act requests for simple and basic information and our requests are totally ignored. It is as if there is a complete shutdown at FDA. Perhaps that should be the solution, shut'em down and start all over again because the system to which we bear witness is not working. Things are getting worse here in America, and the interests of Americans have been sublimated to the interests of pharmaceutical companies. It is winter and activists are hibernating. It will soon be spring and there will be planning. I have the feeling that Seattle is just a harbinger of things to come. Will it be a long hot summer? It is not too late for FDA to do the right thing and to send a message to Americans. The eyes of the world will be watching. Do not betray the common man. ********************* Wednesday, January 26 Today is the 81st day of my hunger strike. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has helped to spread the word that milk does not do the body any good, particularly for African-Americans who have higher rates of lactose intolerance than Caucasians. PCRM has been publicizing the conflicts of interest on government food pyramid committees and has filed suit to change the official government dietary guidelines. USDA mandates that children in school receive daily doses of milk. PCRM? I love those guys. But here are the bad guys. On Thursday, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) criticized PCRM for their anti-milk stance. In doing so, this group paid $560 to put a press release on PRNewswire. The next day, the National Dairy Council also paid to put a press release on the PRNewswire, calling PCRM "an activist group with a vegan/animal rights agenda." It is a shame that most Americans don't realize the relationship between ACSH and the dairy industry. It is unfortunate that most Americans don't realize that the dairy industry's public relation firm oversees the PRNewswire, and severely limits information going out to news and media outlets while submitting a constant flow of their own propaganda. I have seen so many biased pro-dairy and pro-Monsanto/genetic engineering stances from ACSH that when I see a claim made by that organization, I recognize the partiality contained within their philosophy. When you are financed by the dairy industry and rely upon their cash flow, I can understand the inability to disseminate truth. ******************** Thursday, January 27 Today is the 82nd of my hunger strike. One very lousy week ended yesterday with the breakdown of my 5-horsepower snowblower. With my recent illness, I generate a little less than one personpower and it has been a struggle. The good news is that my lung seems to be improving and I now have something to laugh about, thanks to an Internet friend! Each year, my clairvoyant Australian buddy, June Cleland, sends me her choices for THE DARWIN AWARDS. These awards go to the worst human performances, suggesting that Darwin's theory (man's descent from baboons) was right on the money. Here are June's choices: In February, Santiago Alvarado, 24, was killed in Lompoc, California, as he fell face-first through the ceiling of a bicycle shop he was burglarizing. Death was caused when the long flashlight he had placed in his mouth (to keep his hands free) rammed into the base of his skull as he hit the floor. According to police in Dahlonega, Georgia, ROTC cadet Nick Berrena, 20, was stabbed to death in January by fellow cadet Jeffrey Hoffman, 23, who was trying to prove that a knife could not penetrate the flak vest that Berrena was wearing. Sylvester Briddell, Jr., 26, was killed in February in Selbyville, Delaware, as he won a bet with friends who said he would not put a revolver loaded with four bullets into his mouth and pull the trigger. In February, according to police in Windsor, Ontario, Daniel Kolta, 27, and Randy Taylor, 33, died in a head-on collision, thus earning a tie in the game of chicken they were playing with their snowmobiles. Paul Stiller, 47, was hospitalized in Andover Township, New Jersey, in September, and his wife Bonnie was also injured, when a quarter-stick of dynamite blew up in their car. While driving around at 2 AM, the bored couple lit the dynamite and tried to toss it out the window to see what would happen, but they apparently failed to notice that the window was closed. I also did one very dumb thing. When I wrote "MILK-The Deadly Poison," I admitted (in the final chapter) that I still enjoyed Parmesan cheese and an occasional ice cream. I wrote that in 1997, but soon changed my diet and no longer consume any milk or dairy products today. I've been holding my breath for three years and this morning somebody found me out and ridiculed me by quoting a 'Dr. Seuss' rhyme in my notmilk.com guestbook. That reader was right, of course. I can understand why others have such a hard time of eliminating ice cream and pizza from their diets. The stuff tastes so damned good! However, it's still pus with hormones and glue. I haven't had a squirt of milk for three years and I don't miss it. ****************** Friday, January 28 Today is the 83rd day of my hunger strike. This morning I reflected upon my FDA Citizen's Petition to revoke the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. That is the reason for this hunger strike, and while FDA should simply determine the merits and science behind Monsanto's fraud, they are playing politics as usual. Last night, President Clinton addressed the nation in his annual State of the Union Address. In the 1996 State of the Union Address, Clinton praised Monsanto. Politics as usual? In March of 1971, a Watergate tape recorded then-President Nixon taking a $3,000,000 cash gift from dairy industry executives. The Oval Office's performance reinforces that old adage: politics is the best cash business. One does not have to use much imagination to figure out what favors were called in to place Monsanto's attorney, Clarence Thomas, on the Supreme Court. What we are witnessing is a severe compromise in FDA's fiduciary duty. This hormone is a safety risk for all Americans. This hormone caused cancer in laboratory animals. Compare that to the enormous political influence and corruption and bear witness to the selling of America. ******************** Saturday, January 29 Today is the 84th day of my hunger strike. It's been nearly eight weeks since I filed a Freedom of Information Act request for some very basic information from FDA. Usually such requests are acted upon within a few days. I have discovered that Monsanto created five "freak" amino acids when making their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. I requested any and all correspondence between FDA and Monsanto regarding those errors. All I get is silence. Today I left a few messages and faxed a "what's going on" request to Marilyn Broderick at 301-827-6510. My request number is 99026306. Maybe you could call her phone/fax (hint, hint) and help give her the message. Something stinks at FDA and something stinks at Monsanto. The pharmaceutical giant is changing their name as if their rose will smell any different with a cosmetic alteration. In the future, Monsanto will be known as Pharmacia. Monsanto chairman Robert Shapiro commented, "We have chosen a name with power and global relevance." Does Shapiro imagine that the name "Monsanto" does not have relevance? In my dictionary, the words "fraud" and "deceit" both say "see 'Monsanto'." Here's a suggestion for FDA. Maybe you guys should change your name too. My suggestion would be Pharmacia East. That way, you could share keys instead of having to rely upon your continued use of your revolving door. ****************** Sunday, January 30 ONE PEACEFUL WORLD Today is the 85th day of my hunger strike. http://www.hungerstrike.com Imagine a World Without Monarch Butterflies That's the title of Alex Jack's new book. Alex is the general manager of the Kushi Institute and director of the One Peaceful World Society. I knew that I was going to like the book even before getting to the first chapter. The inside front cover contains a page filled with quotes. The title of that page is: Ode to the Monarch Butterfly. The first quote is taken from a Rachel Carson letter, written in 1963. (Rachel Carson wrote "Silent Spring," a book alerting America to the dangers of DDT). "But most of all I shall remember the Monarchs, that unhurried westward drift of one small winged form after another, each drawn by some invisible force ... Did they return?" I remember the Monarchs. The Shinnecock hills of Southampton, New York were filled with Monarchs in 1973 as late spring turned into summer and my final semester of college life drew to a close. I remember walking through the beach grass, over a great sand dune, searching for nesting plovers and sandpipers when I walked over the crest of a dune and there before me was a never-to-be forgotten sight. The sky was thick with Monarchs. Behind me the ocean surf crashed against the beach. Gulls were feeding upon spearing and sand eels, driven to the surface by a school of striped bass. Everything seemed right with the world in nature's moment of perfection. "Imagine a World Without Monarch Butterflies" is a consumer's guide to genetic engineering. Mr. Jack's memo to Monsanto should be read by all FDA regulators. Do these men and women at the Food and Drug Administration still have a thread of conscience? Recently, Cornell University scientists exposed Monarch butterfly caterpillars to pollen from Monsanto's genetically engineered corn. None of the butterflies eating pollen from "natural" corn died, while 44% of the Monarchs eating the pollen from genetically engineered plants died within four days. The threat to the Monarch is real, documented by real science. The threat to man is also real, but those who have the opportunity to act upon truth remain blind, deaf, and mute. Should there be a major tragedy, who shall be held accountable? FDA knows. So does Monsanto. Our hunger strike continues. We have documented and submitted an enormous file to FDA. Monsanto consists of liars. Monsanto's secrets are terrifying. Monsanto made serious errors when they produced the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Monsanto conveniently did not inform FDA of those errors until after they received approval for their drug. Monsanto scientists knew that lab animals got cancer from this hormone, now in America's ice cream and cheese. The milk is not safe to drink. Who will tell the parents of the children? Who will apologize for those who suffer leukemias and cancers, similar to the vast array of cancers suffered by 300 lab animals in the secret Richard, Odaglia and Deslex study? The foreword to Alex Jack's book is written by Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich. The Congressman is currently conducting biotechnology hearings. We have given our information to Congress, and there are many eyes focused upon FDA and Monsanto. Monsanto's deceit can be FDA's one opportunity to save face. Canadian scientists reviewed the same data reviewed by American scientists. Canadians found the cancers that American regulators missed. What price can profits represent, when one child dies? On another front, Monsanto is about to be purchased by UPJOHN for a deal worth in excess of 27 billion dollars. Simultaneous to our FDA petition, UPJOHN has a "TOP SECRET" application in to FDA for approval of their version of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. FDA refuses to officially comment on this application. Monsanto may very well receive approval for a new formula for their bovine growth hormone with no testing required by FDA. Will FDA and Monsanto get away with this collaboration? Let this be a warning to all co-conspirators. We are watching. Congress is watching. FDA and Monsanto do not seem to care about the butterflies. Their disregard for the people is equally offensive. Close your eyes and have a loved one read you this passage from Alex Jack's "Ode to Butterflies." The following was written by Diane Ackerman in "The Rarest of the Rare." "It's easy to get mesmerized watching the Monarchs glide overhead, with the sun shining through their wings ... They are silent, beautiful, fragile; they are harmless and clean; they are determined; they are graceful; they stalk nothing; they are ingenious chemists; they are a symbol of innocence; they are the first butterfly we learn to call by name. Like the imagination, they dart from one sunlit spot to another. To the Mexicans, who call them 'las palomas,' they are the souls of the children who died during the past year, fluttering on their way to heaven." Alex Jack is a visionary. His concept of the world is a vision that I share. Our dream is to return to a more natural way of life by creating a world of enduring health. Monsanto's view of the world is one in which their products symbolically mirror their ill-reasoned doctrine: Agent Orange, Dioxins, PCBs, and genetically engineered foods. Monsanto's official response to the Monarch butterfly death might very well be inscribed upon the thousands of tombstones of the children who will die this year from cancers: "Most corn pollen remains within the cornfield and Monarch larvae can choose to avoid feeding on Bt pollen by feeding on the underside of leaves or on other milkweed leaves with little or no Bt pollen." Who will tell the Monarchs? (Alex Jack's book can be purchased for $6.95 by calling One Peaceful World Press toll-free at 888-322-4095. Jack is also the author of "Let Food Be Thy Medicine") ****************** Monday, 31 January Today is the 86th day of my hunger strike. I spoke with a number of FDA administrators today. I also spoke to two different congressional offices. On December 14th, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) for the correspondance between FDA and Monsanto regarding the errors made by Monsanto in genetically engineering the bovine growth hormone. FDA's FOIA office understands the law. The Justice Department mandates that FOIA requests be responded to within 20 days. It's now been 45 days! If FDA reveals that there was correspondance, then two FDA commissioners, one Surgeon General, and hundreds of scientists will be exposed as liars. If FDA reveals that there was no correspondance, then Monsanto will be exposed for their lies and deceit. Either way, I can understand why FDA refuses to comply with the law and respond to my request. Freedom of information? There is no information and there is no freedom. FDA continues to make that clear. FOIA regulations allow for federal lawsuits, and one is being contemplated. However, there are enough people in Congress who still have the morals and integrity that Monsanto never had and FDA seems to have misplaced. An investigation is forthcoming. Randy Rondeau wrote a letter to me today. He talked about Monsanto's merger with UPJOHN, and their proposed new name: PHARMACIA. Randy mentions the prophecy in Revelation 18:23, which says, "...for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (drugs) were all nations deceived." Randy wrote: "The Biblical word for sorceries comes from the Greek word, phar-ma-kia, which in today's English would be translated as 'drugs'." MONSANTO should change their name to MONSATAN. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Feburary 2000 Hungerstrike Diary DAY 87 - Too late to close the barn door DAY 88 - More (unintentional) help from the dairy folks DAY 89 - Something nasty is encroaching into YOUR space DAY 90 - I WISH I SAID THAT... DAY 91 - The proper method to consume cow's milk DAY 92 - *Bio*Technology* - The 21st Century "Tower of Babble" DAY 93 - Crimes against the soil = crimes against everything DAY 94 - Dairy "nutfaq.htm" (Gotta be totally nuts to believe this faq) DAY 95 - Welcomed CARE package from down south DAY 96 - VERDICT! It's OK to say "I'll never eat another hamburger!" DAY 97 - Clarification on Howard Lyman begins a water fast... DAY 98 - Support H.R. 3377... your right to know what is in your food DAY 99 - Is there a "MILKGATE" in OUR future? ******************************************************** DAY 100 - On the "cutting edge" of bio-devastation! DAY 101 - The General Accounting Office... a citizen's prybar! DAY 102 - GE Labeling... and help force a GAO Investigation of FDA DAY 103 - AIN'T LIFE A DITCH? END THE THREAT OF BIOTECH! DAY 104 - Now I am a "lifestyle Nazi"? Think again, Dr. Williams! DAY 105 - I'm getting thin... and with a new beard... perhaps scruffy, too DAY 106 - From an educational ivory tower surfaces a "one track mind" DAY 107 - Nourishing Body, Mind, and Spirit DAY 108 - FREEDOM OF NON-INFORMATION (FDA Version) DAY 109 - New York Times and Breast Cancer: still clueless! DAY 110 - Lopsided Food Pyramid: Is it correctable? DAY 111 - This planet needs (and deserves) our help: Earthsave DAY 112 - Senator Boxer champions meaningful food labels: Please help out DAY 113 - CODEX Alimentarius: Don't let that name fool you... this is BIG! DAY 114 - CODEX: To go, or not to go. That is the question. DAY 115 - Learn who is tweaking YOUR "food pyramid" --------------------------------------------------------------------- ******************* Tuesday, February 1 Today is the 87th day of my hunger strike. This summer, will the corn "be as high as an elephant's eye?" Human genes have been inserted into pig's cells and fish genes into tomatoes. Will corn stalks resemble elephant tusks, or is biotechnology just an ivory tower? Biotechnology and genetic engineering are here to save the world from hunger, or so Monsanto and FDA continue to tell us. That promise is a cleverly marketed lie. The new seeds produced by Monsanto actually contain the seeds for the farmer's destruction. Many thousands of dairy farms will cease to exist in 2000 because there is an enormous surplus of milk. Surplus milk means lower prices. Lower prices spell disaster for dairy producers. Last year, dairymen were getting over $17 for every hundred pounds of milk they produced. Did they really need more milk? Use of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone increases a cow's milk by up to 25%. The most recent price farmers received for 100 pounds of milk was under $10, and that spells bankruptcy. Last summer, American corn prices averaged $1.94 a bushel. It costs a farmer over $3 a bushel to produce that corn. Forty percent of America's crop was grown with Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds. Did America need more corn? Are the world's hungry people benefitting from the surplus? Last year, corn farmers drew 40 percent or more of their income from government subsidies or emergency aid. Two billion bushels of corn are currently being held in warehouses, stocked as surplus. Emerging world markets will seriously threaten farmers, as inventory increases and prices drop. Asia has been America's number one foreign export market, but, the Chinese will export 5 million metric tons of corn this year, and their freight costs will allow them to do it cheaper and quicker than American producers can. Europe has shown the United States that they want no part of our genetically engineered milk, cheese, meat, corn, or soybeans. Don't we get it yet? How many farmers will sell their stock this year and close their barn doors, long after it is too late for them to discover the consequences of Monsanto's new world? One company has seen the writing on the wall. Frito-Lay (a division of PepsiCo) has announced that they will no longer purchase genetically engineered corn for their Fritos and Doritos. Last year the company purchased 1.2 billion pounds of corn. This year, Frito-Lay is listening to consumer's concerns. Those who do not follow Frito-Lay's lead will pay the price. ********************* Wednesday, February 2 Today is the 88th day of my hunger strike. Today I dedicate my diary entry to a very courageous and passionate man, Dave Rietz. Dave Rietz is my webmaster. Dave is my friend. Dave owns the largest anti-aspartame site on the Internet and has been waging the anti-Monsanto battle with a vengeance. A lifetime of deception gave Dave his prostate cancer and over 200 hours of each month are invested by Dave to making a difference by alerting people to the dangers of Monsanto's poisons. Today I read an article that might have been funny considering its placement if one did not consider the horror to a man and his family after a diagnosis of prostate cancer. I look forward every month to receiving my issue of Hoard's Dairyman, a magazine subscribed to by 108,000 people in the dairy industry. This month's issue (January 25, 2000) contained a feature story written by a woman, Lorraine Merrill, titled "Why Do Farm Men Have More Prostate Cancer?" The author owns a 170-cow farm in New Hampshire. Merrill tells us that farm people are healthier than the general population because they smoke fewer cigarettes, drink less alcohol, and are more active than non-farmers. She also informs us that cancer of the prostate is the most common form of cancer in men, and that dairy farmers are nearly 10% more likely to develop prostate cancer than are non-farmers. Researchers are at a complete loss to explain why this phenomenon exists. According to the author, "Few risk factors have been identified." She cites ethnicity as a factor and writes that African-Americans run a higher risk than do Caucasian men. I closed my eyes when I read this, trying to imagine all of the African-American dairy farmers in Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa. This biased milk-producer/author surprised me by writing: "Diet also may be a factor according to the National Cancer Institute. High fat intake, especially of saturated fats, is implicated. High fat diets in youth and young adulthood may be most significant-when few people are thinking about preventing prostate cancer later in life." If dairymen are producing a commodity (milk), would it not be a natural assumption to make that these same men are eating that commodity for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Would it also be safe to assume that dairymen with higher rates of prostate cancer than the general population also enjoy higher rates of milk consumption than the average American male? Merrill interviews Douglas Reding, MD, of the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin. Reding was quoted as saying: "The influence of diet seems to be relative to where you live. For example, men from Japan have less prostate cancer, but, as they migrate to the American geography and diet, their incidence increases." This incredible article appeared in a pro-milk and dairy magazine. One wonders if dairy farmers will ever get the message. (WEBmaster comment: Any form of cancer sux! Thousands of things CAUSE cancer... only one thing is known to make it GROW... IGF-1 which is identical between cows and humans, and present in every sip of milk and bite of dairy. I quit my once heavy dairy consumption after learning the truth from Mr. Cohen back in 1998.. I still have terminal cancer... but the growth rate is MUCH slower. This buys me some precious time which I believe I am putting to good use helping others to learn the WHOLE truth. Thank you for any and all help... Dave Rietz) ******************** Thursday, February 3 VISUALIZE THIS Today is the 89th day of my hunger strike. Each person comfortably occupies, on the average, 125 cubic feet of "space." If you sit at your desk and include your computer monitor, keyboard, and printer, or sit at your dining room table, or drive in your car, or sleep in your bed, there is a five foot long by five foot high by five foot deep area that you call your own. This is your space. For purposes of today's diary entry, I ask you to visualize the 125 cubic foot cube that is, at any time of the day, you. Yesterday, a Washington State dairy farm agreed to pay a $500,000 fine for polluting streams and waterways with feces and urine deposited by the dairy cows within its herd. Washington State environmentalists sued the Sunnyside Dairy whose practices were anything but sunny. The group claimed that the dairy caused the Yakima River to become polluted, violating the Federal Clean Water Act. Yakima Valley in Washington is home to 66,000 dairy cows producing 900,000 tons of manure each year, according to uncontested data contained within the original lawsuit. That averages out to 27,262 pounds per cow, and that's no bull manure. The DeRuyter brothers, owners of Sunnyside Dairy, complained that they were singled out among hundreds of dairies in the county because of their success. HERE'S THE SCOOP ON THE POOP There are 9.2 million dairy cows working full time to produce 170 billion pounds of milk per year for American consumers. Those 9.2 million cows produce 257.6 billion pounds of manure per year. That's almost 706 million pounds per day of manure ("manure" includes urine and feces). One cubic foot of manure weighs almost 64 pounds. There are 7,956 pounds of manure produced every second of every day. YOUR SPACE Your space of 125 cubic feet equals the same volume of manure produced continuously every second by America's dairy cows. Imagine the never-ending assembly line of bovine excrement deposited into America's streams and underground waterways. GOT SICK? Last summer, hundreds of people became ill and a few people died in New York State as a result of contaminated body wastes entering underground water reservoirs. Cows are dirty beasts. Their body fluids contain substances that are hazardous to your health. You might ingest their toxins and bacteria in your milk or in water contaminated by their urine and manure. Elsie the Cow may very well be the source of your next illness. ****************** Friday, February 4 Today is the 90th day of my hunger strike. I receive over 1,000 EMAILS each day, and sometimes have little time to read them all with the same eagerness in which they were written. This morning I was up at 4 AM to do some Internet "housecleaning" and I found some real gems. I get by with a little help from my friends. Three letters gave me great pleasure. I cannot be the first to see everything that is related to dairy, so I welcome your comments. Each day that I learn something new I become more informed. Each new bit of info is a new tool. THE FIRST LETTER The first letter came from Mary Smith. While David Letterman recuperates from his quintuple bypass surgery (undoubtedly influenced by his diet of pizza and canned hams), Mary has proven herself capable of filling in for my favorite late-night talk show host: Mary Smith's Top 6 reasons that the FDA is taking so long with my info request: 6. They (FDA employees) are all at Kinko's getting copies made of their resumes. 5. They are all at Arthur Murray sharpening their skills on "The Sidestep." 4. They are all at the gas station asking for directions to the Rock of Gibraltar so they can all hide under it. 3. They are all back in kindergarten reviewing the fundamentals of dodge ball. 2. They are all at Beltway Tent and Awning looking for something big enough to cover their collective rear ends. And the #1 reason Robert Cohen's request is taking so long..... They are all at Barnes and Noble waiting for Mr. Cohen's latest book to come out to see how many FDA officials are named in it. THE SECOND LETTER The second letter came from Matt Kaufman. Matt found a survey of foods disliked by young Americans in the 18-29 year-old age group. Young Americans are very choosy. A survey of 1,178 revealed that 16.2% never eat seafood, 10.3% never eat poultry, and 10.4% never eat red meat and…are you ready for this one: 23% never eat dairy products. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000203/zo/young_3.html THE THIRD LETTER The third letter was written by Peter Phippen, and a copy was sent to Hoard's Dairyman, the dairy magazine. This letter was EMAILED to: hoards@hoards.com "In your current issue a woman from my home state of New Hampshire has written a very interesting and provocative article on dairy farmers and the fact that on a national scale, men from dairy farming families have a 10% higher than the national average prostate cancer rate. This is astonishing. If it were for the nuclear arms manufacturing industry, the government would be paying some kind of restitution to them for this medical anomaly. In the article a doctor from Wisconsin is quoted as saying that diet could be a factor in this situation. I am very glad that you have published this article and see the need, now that you have opened the door on the subject, for a discussion of the real benefits of milk and dairy products as they pertain to a healthy diet. I read so much today on the health risks associated with consuming high fat and high cholesterol diets; that meat, dairy and egg products are eliminated from diets for people recovering from cancer, and living normal healthy lives in recovery without these foods. Books like Dr. Dean Ornish's "Reversing Heart Disease", or Howard Lyman's "Mad Cowboy", or John Robbin's "Diet for a New America", or the literature coming out of the Washington-based group of doctors, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and now your publication all saying the same thing. In the recently published "Eat to Beat Cancer" by Robert Hatherill, PhD., he quotes a medical doctor, when asked what is the one thing that one could change to make a positive improvement in one's health. His answer was to give up all dairy products. Dr. Benjamin Spock said the same thing. Dr. Frank Oski, head of Pediatrics at John's Hopkins University Medical Center wrote a book called "Don't Drink Your MIlk!" The list goes on and on. It appears that the food we think is most healthy and wholesome, may be the thing that is killing our nation, and driving us into medical bankruptcy. In his book, " Milk the Deadly Poison" Robert Cohen explains how all milk has a growth hormone identical between humans and cows and how this IGF-1 is implicated in every tumor growth in the human body, that it enhances the growth of cancer cells, which will eventually kill that person. Milk and now rBGH treated cows' milk contains very high levels of this hormone needed by the baby calf to grow big and strong. Unfortunately, cancers are growing big and strong too, and we humans are not meant to drink the mucosal secretions from any creature except our own mothers - her breast milk is exactly what we need as babies. Once weaned we do not need milk to live. Baby cows do not milk after a certain age, why do we? It is responsible for millions of deaths every year in the form of cancer, heart disease and stroke. I feel your magazine can make a shift and begin discussing the dismantling of the industry which contributes to the ill health of our nation, and the pollution of our waterways. We need to become responsible for our own and our planet's health. I know this all seems ludicrous to your perspective, but many, many people are becoming aware of these same facts and will be eating less and less dairy in the very near future. Many news organizations will not be able to turn a blind eye to these facts when enough people are convinced of the need to change our dietary perspective, and become informed on a national level, just like the cigarette and tobacco campaign of the last century. This century will see the end of the dairy and meat industries as we know them, since we are now becoming aware of the devastating health effects of consuming these (better left on the plate) foods. Thank you for reading my message. Please forward this to the appropriate person in your editorial staff." THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LETTERS! Keep that EMAIL coming! ******************** Saturday, February 5 Today is the 91st day of my hunger strike. Want to see some really neat pictures? Want to read a really good story? There is a new Internet site and some of their photographs are vivid. I suggest you check out: http://www.milksucks.com What a name! Leave it to PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) to come up with this totally offensive name and thoroughly revealing site. PETA offers a colorful leaflet, "What's Wrong With Dairy?" which you can reproduce by going to their site. Even better, buy a hundred leaflets for $5 by calling PETA at 757-622-7382, ext. 510. According to PETA, the most torturous aspect of the animal abuse industry is the dairy industry. PETA writes: "Male calves, the byproducts of the dairy industry, endure 14 to 17 weeks of torment in veal crates so small that they can't even turn around. Female calves often replace their old, worn-out mothers, or are slaughtered soon after birth…They are often kept in tiny crates or tethered in stalls for the first few months of their lives, only to grow up to become milk machines like their mothers." There is so much on this site about the detriments of milk and dairy products, and I recommend that you visit it today and let PETA know how you feel. For those of you with color printers, this site contains a drawing that downloads into a lovely poster or T-shirt: http://www.milksucks.com/suckswtype.gif ****************** Sunday, February 6 YOU CAN'T TELL THE PLAYERS WITHOUT A PROGRAM Today is the 92nd day of my hunger strike. Environmentalists and pure food activists have become outraged by all that Monsanto stands for, blaming that company for many of the world's illnesses, from asthma caused by polluted air to cancers caused by tainted foods. Yet, Monsanto is merely one of numerous companies whose futures are firmly rooted in agricultural biotechnology and genetic engineering. I often refer to Monsanto as Monsatan, confident that I will never be brought to court for what I say or write because of the clear and incontrovertible evidence of their crimes against humanity. This is a company that has brought many "gifts" to mankind, including dioxins, Agent Orange, PCB, aspartame, the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, and other genetically modified Frankenfoods. By focusing so closely upon Monsanto, I and other activists have lost sight of the other "players" who sit unidentified on the sidelines, pursuing their own unique biotechnological agendas. I, THE "EXPERT," IN REALITY KNOW VERY LITTLE I recently consulted my "2000 World Almanac" to see how Monsanto ranked against other chemical and pharmaceutical companies. The top nine chemical companies had a combined gross revenue of $98 billion dollars in 1998, and the top three companies generated more than 2/3 of that cash flow. Du Pont was first at $39.1 billion dollars. Dow chemical was second at $18.4 billion. Monsanto was third at $8.6 billion. Why have we been looking at just one firm while neglecting the others? What are the "big guys" up to? What role does numero uno play in the new world order? The top nine pharmaceutical companies had combined revenues of $137 billion dollars. Merck was first with $27 billion in revenues. Pharmacia-Upjohn was tenth at just under $7 billion. In 1999, Monsanto failed to merge with American Home Products (fifth on the list of pharmaceuticals) and will now merge with Upjohn. These days, Wall Street rumors have Du Pont seeking to acquire American Home Products. The giant multi-national corporations do battle for control of the world's chemical and drug markets, while the common men and women of the planet hardly take notice. One thing is for certain. Whoever controls the seeds used to grow our crops controls the food supply. Whoever controls our supermarkets controls the world. THE LARGEST SEED COMPANY IN THE WORLD Pioneer Hi-Bred is based in the United States and has operations in 21 nations. Pioneer Hi-Bred is no household name. I've just gotten off the phone with 20 adults randomly selected from the parent-listings in my daughter's elementary school. Not one of the 20 had heard of Pioneer Hi-Bred. This company controls 42 percent of the U.S seed corn market and 16 percent of the soybean market. Pioneer's corporate motto is: "Only those with great faith and the 'long look' can hope to succeed." What great philosopher wrote that corporate slogan? Today's DILBERT (comics section of your Sunday newspaper - 2/6/2000) reflects the sorry state of today's business world. Dilbert notes that tests indicate his company's products to be defective. Dilbert's boss responds: "Our corporate philosophy is 'quality is our primary goal.'" Dilbert assumes that he should delay shipment of that product until the errors are corrected. The boss informs him that the shipment should be made immediately so that the company can obtain the revenue. Dilbert reacts: "Gaaa! That's the opposite of our corporate philosophy!!!" His boss responds: "Now you know why there aren't any rich philosophers." Pioneer's 'long look' at the future includes a plan to genetically engineer all seeds. Their philosophy of vision and faith should include an apology to the Monarch butterflies who died by ingesting pollen from the new genetically engineered corn. In 1998, Pioneer Hi-Bred's visionaries created $1.8 billion in sales for their company generating a gross profit of $890 million dollars. More than 40% of their sales were from genetically engineered seeds. In 1998, Pioneer Hi-Bred was issued more patents for genetically modified organisms than any other company, gaining 108 exclusive patents. By comparison, Monsanto was ranked 203rd with 77 patents. Last year, the largest chemical company in the world, Du Pont, merged with Pioneer Hi-Bred. Du Pont CEO Chad Holliday called the union: "…One of the most important mergers in U.S. history." Rick McConnell, senior VP for Pioneer, said: "Crop germplasm…is like the chassis of a car on which we build valuable and useful options. We've got a great chassis. Du Pont and Pioneer are the mechanics." GENTLEMEN: START YOUR ENGINES Warning: The race has begun, but there are very few spectators attending this event. They've got the chassis and the mechanics and their cars are racing around the track. Unless we regain control, the world's people shall become more than mere witnesses. We will become the victims. We must all recognize that the powers that be exert enormous influence upon regulators and government officials. Secret deals are being made by the World Trade Organization, which does not take the rights of the individual into consideration. The one most basic right that we have is the right to know what we are eating. If Monsanto and Du Pont lobbyists succeed, genetically engineered foods will carry no label. America's milk has changed as a result of the new biotechnology. Lab animals got cancer from the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Lab animals treated with that hormone developed a vast array of cancers. Levels of existing hormones in milk have increased. The corn has changed. Monarch butterflies have eaten pollen from the new corn and died. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stands between the common man and biotechnology companies. The FDA stands between health and safety, and a tragedy of unprecedented consequence and proportion. FDA has previously betrayed America on the health and safety of thalidomide and diethyl stilbesterol. FDA has erred on the copper coil uterine device, breast implants, new gene therapies, and countless drugs and protocols relying upon irrational and inconclusive animal research. FDA is now armed with Monsanto's enormous deception. The official FDA file number to my suit is: DOCKET # 99P-4613 WHAT YOU CAN DO Should you wish to voice your outrage at FDA's inaction, include that file number (DOCKET # 99P-4613) in the subject of your letter, and forward your email to: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov ****************** Monday, February 7 CRIMES AGAINST THE SOIL Today is the 93rd day of my hunger strike. The "battle cry" of biotechnology companies is that genetic engineering will end "world hunger." Evidence suggests that food surpluses do not alleviate world hunger. Surpluses produce lower prices to farmers and more government subsidies. American taxpayers pay the price. The result of genetic engineering is that farmers are being paid money not to grow additional surplus food. Biotechnology threatens to produce a global agricultural catastrophe. New plants have been modified in laboratories. Terminator genes have been implanted into plants with genetic knowledge to produce sterile seeds. Many scientists are concerned that the pollen from these plants will have a crossover effect by spreading this genetically engineered "knowledge" into surrounding fields. Today's New York Times (Monday, February 7, 2000, page A-13) contains a full-page ad placed by the Turning Point Project, 310 D Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 (800-249-8712). In that ad, the author writes: "Love of the land? It has been replaced by love of the bottom line, with grave ecological results." Turning Point makes the very strong point that family farms have given way to agribusinesses with absentee owners with no love or knowledge of the land. Turning Point eloquently writes: "Good topsoil is home to literally billions of bacteria, fungi, protocists and nematoads; thousands of ants, spiders, wood lice, beetles, earthworms, mites, among countless other creatures. Each creature has its job while moving through the soil, engaged in a natural 'pillage.' They feed on plant debris, they break it down by digestion, and they decay, merging their bodies into the nutrient mix. It's a miraculous symphony of a billion collaborations that, over millennia, build nutrients and soil structure (so soil can retain water and energy gathered from the sun) while creating the ideal environment for growing what is on your dinner plate." Nature's laws are at the same time both simple and complex, but man's interference in the gentle balance often yields unanticipated results. All of the errors from the "milk-hormone experiment" should have been a learning experience and a model for all of genetic engineering. Instead, those mistakes and warning signals have been ignored by Monsanto and FDA. The true crime has been committed, and FDA continues to explore the evidence of those crimes. FDA still has the opportunity to make things right by immediately revoking the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone from the market. By not doing so would compound the first crime, one of omission, into even more serious crimes of deception and betrayal. ******************* Tuesday, February 8 Today is the 94th day of my hunger strike. Jeni Cruts sent me a link to the single-most absurd website that I've ever viewed! This reminds me of a very off-color urban legend that made its way around the locker rooms of my boyhood primary school days regarding Oriental female anatomy. I don't know whether to be amused or angry. Ready for this one? According to the Ontario Dairy Board: Oriental women do not suffer from osteoporosis because: "The structure of the hip (primarily the femoral neck) is different in non-whites, especially in Asian women providing a resistance to hip fracture not found in people of northern European descent." Here are answers to some of the many frequently asked questions dietitians at Dairy Farmers of Ontario get about milk and nutrition: http://www.milk.org/nutfaq.htm (totally faqued up!) Q: Are milk products fattening? A: No. Q: Should kids limit their fat intake? A: No, not necessarily. Q: Does milk cause ear, nose and throat infections? A: No. Milk does not cause mucus Q: Does cheese cause constipation? A: No. Q: If a youngster doesn't like milk, how can you ensure an adequate intake of calcium? A: Soups made with milk, chocolate milk or milkshakes. Plus, you can always offer them yogurt or cheese. Q: I am a breast-feeding mother with a history of food allergies in my family. Should I avoid milk in my diet? A: No, milk is an important part of a breast-feeding mother's diet. Q: I think my infant may be allergic to milk. What should I do? A: Don't try to diagnose this condition yourself. Q: Does sugar cause hyperactivity? A: Behavior is not affected by sugar. Researchers agree, it is the social situation in which a food is eaten, that often results in excitement not any one food. Q: Can fast-food be part of a teen's healthy diet? A: In moderation, all foods can be part of a healthy diet…instead of having a pop as a beverage, reach for a glass of milk. Q: Some people believe humans should not drink cow milk, moreover, that cow milk should only be consumed by cows. Is this a valid claim? A: No, this is not a valid claim... Just because other animals don't consume the milk of another species, is no reason why we shouldn't. These Ontario dairy producers are both ignorant and clueless. If and when they leave Canada, there might very well be a job waiting for them at FDA. ********************* Wednesday, February 9 Today is the 95th day of my hunger strike. Yesterday I received a "care package" from Florida. Inside were the best kinds of medicine-love, passion, friendship, sacrifice, and vitamin C. Regular readers of this diary must know that I've been suffering. One of my lungs was not working as well as it should have been after a recent bout of the flu. As my temperature exceeded 102, both of my parents were hospitalized, and I did what every son would have done in the same circumstance. I pushed aside my health and tended to theirs. I've been "paying the price" ever since. The letter attached to the gift box said: "Dear Robert, This is a small token to show our thanks and support for all your dedication to making people aware of the BGH issue. It seems there's a pretty small fraternity of us who are willing to put our money where our mouths are. And in your case, you've gone even farther. Giving up those banana splits can't be easy! These are the best oranges we have down here. Known as Honeybells, they're available only for a few weeks at this time of year. The juice is truly nectar of the gods. Enjoy them in good health! Thanks again…and God bless you for your commitment to the cause. Best regards, Steve and Jane" For those of you who do not know Steve Wilson and Jane Aker, meet two of my heroes. Steve and his wife Jane are/were two very courageous television reporters who worked for the FOX affiliate in Tampa, Florida. They invested a lot of time and energy on a story about the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. When Monsanto got wind of their effort, the pharmaceutical giant sent attorneys to the Florida station and threatened litigation. The station manager would not allow Steve and Jane to air the segment as written and produced. Instead, FOX demanded changes. Steve and his reporter-wife would not compromise their values, and refused to change the story. The rest is history, and this very-publicized case, scheduled for June trial date, represents much more than journalistic integrity. It represents health and safety issues for all Americans. These two reporters who dared to tell the truth and refused to "sell out," are now without jobs and in serious financial straits. Litigation is expensive. The cost of shipping the box of Honeybells must have exceeded even the cost of those delicious oranges. I am enjoying a glass of that juice as I write this. Did the Wilsons have to take out a third mortgage for this gift, I wonder? After those extremely expensive legal bills, their generosity and sacrifice…and friendship are much appreciated. Thank you, Steve and Jane. I urge all of you to visit the Wilson's website, and read updates about their trial. http://www.foxbghsuit.com ********************* Thursday, February 10 MAD COWBOYS Today is the 96th day of my hunger strike. Yesterday was a day of celebration. An enormous burden in the form of a lawsuit has been hanging over the heads of Howard Lyman and Oprah Winfrey as a result of a nationally televised episode that occurred four years ago. On that day, Howard appeared on "Oprah" and let America know that cows and cattle were being injected with the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Howard told viewers that meat was hazardous to their health. E coli and salmonella stories were followed by the potential horrors of Mad Cow Disease, and Oprah said: "I'll never eat another hamburger." The next day, commodity options on Chicago Mercantile Board plummeted, and meat traders lost millions. As a result, the meat producers sued. Howard and Oprah won the case but there was an appeal. The litigants had been anxiously awaiting a final determination. Yesterday, that decision came through. The District Court has ruled in Howard and Oprah's favor, Judge Edith Jones concurring. The U.S. Court of Appeals handed down its decision in their unanimous 3-0 vote. http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/98/98-10391-CV0.HTM Today, Howard Lyman begins a water fast in celebration of that decision. For more on Howard Lyman, here is a column I wrote in tribute to the president of EarthSave and America's most famous vegan. If you have not yet read Howard Lyman's book "Mad Cowboy," I urge you to click on the link in the following column. http://www.hungerstrike.com/lyman.html ******************* Friday, February 11 CORRRECTION/EXPLANATION Today is the 97th day of my hunger strike. Tomorrow night I will be doing a live radio show at 9 PM EST. You can listen to that broadcast on the Internet at: http://www.700wlw.com/broadcast.html On Thursday, I wrote, "Today, Howard Lyman begins a water fast in celebration of that decision." I should have explained that the first day of Howard's fast coincidentally fell upon the day after the judge's momentous decision. In November of 1999, Howard had actually planned his fast to begin on the ninth day of February. At that time, Howard pledged to me that he would fast for one week or longer and participate as a "long-termer" in protest of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. That's when I added Howard's photo to the hungerstrike.com long term list. Should you visit the "long term" page, you will see photographs of more than 20 dedicated individuals who have pledged to fast for one week or longer. http://www.hungerstrike.com/longterm.html These are all very beautiful people and I love and respect each one. Their photos have been added to the site in order of when their fast was pledged. Many of you have written and disagreed with my comment that Howard Lyman is fasting to "celebrate" his court victory. At this point in time, I am absolutely certain that Howard is celebrating that decision with a glass of fresh water. I give Howard all of the credit for bringing truth to America about the dangers of meat consumption and his continued message regarding the benefits of eating a plant-based diet. I again extend my invitation to any of you whose names and addresses do not appear on our list of long or short-term supporters. Show Howard that you are with him. Show those who have joined the hunger strike that you are with us. Show the Food & Drug Administration that you reject their protection policy, which has been offered as a veil, which Monsanto hides behind. Join the hunger strike for one day. ********************* Saturday, February 11 Today is the 98th day of my hunger strike. Tonight I will be doing a live radio show at 9 PM EST. You can listen to that broadcast on the Internet at: http://www.700wlw.com/broadcast.html Congressman Dennis Kucinich has introduced the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (H.R. 3377). That bill intends to amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to require that food containing genetically modified organisms, or foods produced with genetically engineered material, be so labeled. My office has been in touch with the Congressman and his aide, and will soon be contacting the 40 other members of Congress who have registered as co-sponsors in support of this bill. Your congressional representative should be supporting this bill. If you write to your congressman and get your friends to do the same, your activism will make a difference. Here is how to find your representative's name, address, phone, fax, and e-mail address by simply entering your zip code: http://www.commoncause.org/cgi-bin/congress.pl?cf=ccause/cong.cf I applaud the following courageous men and women of Congress who reject the enormous financial rewards offered by PAC-men and pharmaceutical lobbyists to betray their constituents. Here is an alphabetical list of those members of Congress who support the genetically engineered food labeling bill: Rep Barrett, Thomas M. Rep Bonior, David E. Rep Brown, Sherrod Rep Clay, William (Bill) Rep Conyers, John, Jr. Rep DeFazio, Peter A. Rep Delahunt, William D. Rep Doyle, Michael F. Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. Rep Kleczka, Gerald D. Rep LaTourette, Steve C. Rep Lee, Barbara Rep Lewis, John Rep Lipinski, William O. Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. Rep Markey, Edward J. Rep Martinez, Matthew G. Rep McDermott, Jim Rep McGovern, James P. Rep McKinney, Cynthia A. Rep Metcalf, Jack Rep Miller, George Rep Mink, Patsy T. Rep Moakley, John Joseph Rep Nadler, Jerrold Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes Rep Olver, John W. Rep Owens, Major R. Rep Pallone, Frank, Jr. Rep Rivers, Lynn N. Rep Sanders, Bernard Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. Rep Smith, Christopher H. Rep Stark, Fortney Pete Rep Udall, Mark Rep Waters, Maxine Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. Rep Wynn, Albert Russell ******************* Sunday, February 13 Today is the 99th day of my hunger strike. On Wednesday of this week (February 9, 2000), Bill Brey, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, on behalf of the National Farmers Union (representing 300,000 farm and ranch families), testified before Congress. The subject was the horrible financial state of the American dairy farmer. In his testimony, Brey pleaded with Congress to raise the amount of subsidy money from the current $350,000,000 a year to many billions more. Secret deals made in the closed corridors of Washington congressional offices deliver favors for cash, and the average consumer rarely, if ever, gets a glimpse as to how America really works. Currently, our government guarantees a floor price of $9.90 for every hundred pounds of milk that a dairy farmer produces. Remarkably, that wholesale price has dropped to a never-before seen price of $9.63 per hundred pounds, and may very well go lower. Farmers are expected to produce 170 billion pounds of milk in the year 2000. Based upon the $9.63 average price, that 27 cents difference translates to $459 million in additional subsidies. Brey's analysis presented to Congress showed that the basic formula price, computed for the average hundred pounds of milk, for the past five years, has been $12.78. He concludes: "Therefore, our members believe a support price of $12.50 per hundredweight would protect against the huge drops producers have experienced in the past few years." Let's do the math. The difference between today's price of $9.63 and $12.50 yields $2.87. Multiply that by 170 billion pound of milk (1.7 billion hundredweight) and the requested subsidy adds up to $4.9 billion. GOT CHUTZPAH? I am reminded of a Watergate tape made of Richard Nixon on March 23, 1971. The transcript of that tape revealed the President carefully choosing his words for the dairy representative's delivering a $3 million cash bribe. Nixon said: "Uh, I know…that, uh, you are a group that are politically very conscious…and you are willing to do something about it. And, I must say a lot of businessmen and others don't do anything about it. And you do, and I appreciate that. And I don't have to spell it out." Nixon was aware that the tape was running and was careful to what he said. After the men left, his advisor, John Connally, came in to the Oval Office and said: "They are tough political operatives. This is a cold political deal." At about the same time, price controls for milk and support prices stabilized cash flow for dairy farmers at the expense of the unaware consumer. The same thing may very well be happening today. Does a nearly $5 billion subsidy to the dairy farmers of America sound "udderly" ridiculous to you? ******************* Monday, February 14 Today is the 100th day of my hunger strike. It's Valentine's Day, but we might look back on the news in this column as the Valentine's Day Massacre. The Worst Nightmare has begun - Day 1 Monsanto said that it could not happen. The Food and Drug Administration said that it could not happen. Nobel Prize-winning scientists said that it could not happen. What happened? IT happened. On Thursday, February 10, 2000, the first news story was published in Alberta, Canada. Pollens to the wind, seeds to the fields, nightmares for the scientists who have brought us to the edge of bio-devastation. Genetic engineering has allowed Monsanto to create grains and vegetables resistant to their ROUNDUP pesticide. Entire fields have been sprayed and, in theory, everything was supposed to have died except for the corn or the soybean or the canola plants. Canola plants produce canola oil, but the original name for canola is rapeseed. The world has been raped by criminals wearing white lab coats. The insignia on those coats reads: "Monsanto." Phase one of a Stephen King-like nightmare is what's happening in the fields of Northern Canada. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of rats and men often go astray. Weeds now grow in those fields, and those weeds have developed an immunity to ROUNDUP. Will those weeds be controlled, or are they destined to spread and overwhelm Canada's 200,000 square mile area of arable grain and oilseed-producing farmland? http://www.producer.com/articles/20000210/news/20000210news01.html Canadian agriculture canola specialist Phil Thomas said, "We knew it was going to happen. It was only a matter of when." DNA testing has confirmed that the weeds are resistant to Monsanto's ROUNDUP. Is this the last roundup for agriculture? Is this a wake-up call for America's FDA who maintains the position that such an event is not possible? Scientist Keith Downey, who created the biologically modified canola plants, said: "I don't think it means anything to consumers." Tolerance of the weeds to ROUNDUP has been blamed on the wind and the bees. The question we ask today is why did the world let this happen? Bob Dylan might have sung, "The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind." ******************** Tuesday, February 15 Today is the 101st day of my hunger strike. America has a police force that most of her citizens have never heard of. Mention the name Government Accounting Office (GAO) and one might conjure up an image of a legion of bureaucrats with briefcases, calculators, and ledgers. GAO is staffed by investigators, detectives, and undercover operatives. GAO is America's equivalent of INTERPOL. When Congress wishes to investigate fraud or waste in government or criminal acts, they launch GAO investigations. Here is how GAO describes its mission: "The General Accounting Office is the investigative arm of Congress. GAO's mission is to help the Congress oversee federal programs and operations to assure accountability to the American people. GAO's evaluators, auditors, lawyers, economists, public policy analysts, information technology specialists, and other multi-disciplinary professionals seek to enhance the economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and credibility of the federal government both in fact and in the eyes of the American people. GAO accomplishes its mission through a variety of activities including financial audits, program reviews, investigations, legal support, and policy/program analyses. GAO is dedicated to good government through its commitment to the values of accountability, integrity, and reliability." It is time to contact GAO. We have passed the 100-day anniversary of the hunger strike. FDA has made a mockery of federal statutes by ignoring time limits placed upon Freedom of Information Act responses. FDA continues to stall the review of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, despite new evidence of widespread fraud. FDA continues to deny the existence of the second 90-day portion of the Richard, Odaglia, and Deslex study in which laboratory animals got cancer from the same hormone now in America's milk, cheese, and ice cream. GAO must investigate a system that no longer works to protect Americans. Congress must request the GAO investigation. This week, materials were sent to forty key members of the House of Representatives requesting that they do just that. We can no longer tolerate FDA's actions, or lack of performance. We now accept the fact that political influences may be playing a role in FDA's indecision and lack of resolve. America is great. America has a series of checks and balances. The checks have bounced, and it has now become necessary for the General Accounting Offices to analyze the books, check the statements, and balance the account. ********************** Wednesday, February 16 Today is the 102nd day of my hunger strike. I have written a letter to my congresswoman, Marge Roukema, requesting that she support a bill that will require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. I have also requested that she formally petition America's Congressional "police force," the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to open an inquiry into FDA fraud and deceit. Many of you have asked, "What can I do?" Now is the time for you to send the following letter to your congressional representative: Honorable Congressman/Congresswoman__________________ U.S. House of Representatives 2469 Rayburn Building Washington, DC 20515-3005 Dear Congressman/Congresswoman__________________: Every American has been given a bill of rights guaranteed by our Constitution. In the pursuit of freedom, all Americans have the right to know what is in their food. In 1994, Congressmen Sanders, Obey, and Brown introduced a bill that was intended to label milk and dairy products containing Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Unfortunately, that bill "died" when the 1994 session of Congress expired. A subsequent investigation revealed that four members of the Dairy, Livestock, and Poultry Committee (Volkmer, Dooley, Gunderson, and Pombo) stalled the vote on that bill, which impacted Monsanto, while accepting PAC money from that firm. In fact, the twelve members of that committee accepted over $711,000 from PACs representing agricultural interests. I now request of you two favors. I ask you to support and become a co-sponsor of a similar bill: HR-3377. This bill responds to a new American outcry. This bill's intention is to place a label on foods containing genetically modified organisms. The second request is that you initiate a GAO investigation of fraud and contempt for the rights of the American people as now practiced by the Food & Drug Administration. Sixty-two days ago, on December 14, 1999, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request (#99026306) was filed for some critical (and non-trade protected) communications between FDA and Monsanto. The Justice Department mandates a 20-day turnaround for Freedom of Information Act requests. February 14, 2000 marked the 42nd day over and beyond their lawful time of response. A citizens petition has been filed with FDA (petition #99P-4613) based upon new and never before revealed incontrovertible evidence that Monsanto created five "freak" amino acids when they produced their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Monsanto never told FDA. The "smoking gun" evidence can be found on the Internet: www.hungerstrike.com. FDA continuously has maintained that the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone caused no adverse effects in laboratory animals. Monsanto's "secret study" (authored by Richard, Odaglia, and Deslex) is referred to on the above Internet website. Should that study, which is clearly a trade secret, be made public, the individual releasing that report will be subject to ten years imprisonment and a $15,000,000 fine, based upon the Economic Treason Act that President Clinton signed into law on October 11, 1996 (Public Law #104-294). In their review of Monsanto's application, Canadian scientists found the adverse effects, which FDA originally missed. I urge FDA to review those omission and evidence of genetically engineered errors. American citizens are concerned. Last summer, protestors wearing Monarch butterfly costumes rioted in the streets of Seattle. They were wearing these outfits because Monsanto's genetically engineered corn pollen killed Monarch butterflies in a Cornell University study. Americans have a right to know what they are eating, and I respectfully urge you to support HR-3377. It is critically appropriate for GAO to investigate FDA's performance regarding biotechnology in light of the new evidence contained within my petition. Very truly yours, (Your signature) ********************* Thursday, February 17 - AIN'T LIFE A DITCH? Today is the 103rd day of my hunger strike. What could the Panama Canal possibly have in common with the following site? http://www.hungerstrike.com END THE THREAT OF BIOTECH Plenty! One hundred years ago, history was altered because a postage stamp was sent to every member of Congress. Today, a similar opportunity exists. Together, we can end biotechnology's threat by sending two pieces of paper; a letter, and enclosed photos to every member of Congress. TRUE STORY OF THE PANAMA CANAL In the late 1880s, the French attempted to construct a canal through the isthmus of Panama, but their effort did not end in success because of coruption, disease, and high costs. (Sounds just like America's Food and Drug Administration!) Between the failed French effort and the signing of an agreement between the United States and Panama (1903), other canal sites were considered, including a route though Nicaragua. What killed the Nicaraguan deal was a postage stamp, sent to Congress by a lobbyist for the Panamanian deal. That stamp depicted an erupting Nicaraguan volcano. It is said that one picture is worth 1,000 words, and that postage stamp marked "cancel" to any thought of constructing a canal through Nicaragua. MONSANTO SLEEPS WITH THESE MEN In that spirit, I ask you to print the following page and send it to your member of Congress. On that page are five photographs. The first is of Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas was Monsanto's attorney at a time when the company was tinkering with genetically modified organisms. Monsanto knew the potential of biotechnology and called in favors to have their man nominated to the Supreme Court. In case those issues reach America's highest court, Monsanto will have a well-placed friend. The second photograph belongs to Michael Freidman, ex-FDA commissioner. As he was exiting the FDA in 1999, Mr. Freidman walked proudly through their revolving door, and now works for Monsanto. Third is C. Everett Koop. Dr. Koop is the respected and beloved ex-Surgeon General of the United States, who lobbied for Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone on the day after FDA granted Monsanto approval. Koop attacked critics of biotechnology with his "second opinion" that genetically engineered milk is indistinguishable from wholesome milk. (Check out http://www.vegsource.com/articles/drkoop.htm for more on Koop.) The fourth photo belongs to a current member of Congress, Cal Dooley. Dooley served on the Dairy, Livestock, and Poultry Committee, and helped to stall a bill that would have required labels on food products containing MONSANTO'S genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. In 1994, while serving on that agriculture committee, this congressman accepted $97,857 in PAC money from companies with agricultural interests. He even accepted PAC money from MONSANTO while stalling that food labelling bill. The fifth and final photo belongs to our esteemed president, William Clinton. Mr. Clinton praised Monsanto in his 1996 State-of-the-Union address. One wonders the cost of such a favor. If only the walls of the Oval Office could talk and reveal the intimate details of Clinton's undercover escapades. THE LETTER Please sign the following letter and send a copy to your Congressional representative. http://www.hungerstrike.com/letter1.txt THE NICARAGUAN VOLCANO Along with that letter, print this page filled with revealing photo evidence to your congressional representative: http://www.hungerstrike.com/betrayed.html This site will give you the name and mailing address of your congressional representative: http://www.house.gov/writerep/ ******************* Friday, February 18 Today is the 104th day of my hunger strike, and I am on the way to Gainsville, Florida for an EARTHSAVE-sponsored vegetarian conference. I have been called many things in my life, but nobody has ever dared to call me a Nazi. Nobody, that is, until a Jewish Internet magazine ("Jewish World Review") crossed the line of decency in their Wednesday, February 16, 2000 edition. I have been called a "lifestyle Nazi" by an author who misquotes my agenda. I have never pushed for a ban of milk and dairy products. I merely wish for America to learn that milk and dairy products are loaded with calories and contain dangerous animal fats, cholesterol, and powerful growth hormones which are responsible for America's obesity epidemic. I recently testified at a USDA-sponsored Washington hearing, and challenged the participants to observe the schoolyards. In poor neighborhoods, children are not starving. Quite the opposite. They are roly-poly kids, obese and well fed with America's number-one subsidized food, cheese. Here is the actual article. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams.html "Jewish World Review Feb. 16, 2000 / 10 Adar I, 5760 Walter Williams Lifestyle Nazis update http://www.jewishworldreview.com IMAGINE HAVING A RESERVATION, showing up at a restaurant and being barred from entry. That's what can happen in some parts of Canada if you washed your hair with an herbal shampoo and sported a scented deodorant. Why? You threaten people's right to breathe clean air. "Oh, Williams," you say, "that's Canada; that can never happen here." Yes it can, and worse if we continue being wimps. I've always warned that a lifestyle Nazi's work is never done. People applauded the Nazi attack on cigarette smokers and the tobacco industry. Now lifestyle Nazis are coming after fat Americans. The editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) wrote, "Obesity is epidemic." According to JAMA, the cause is "The availability of more food ... the growth of the fast-food industry, the increased numbers and marketing of snack food ... along with a custom of socializing with food and drink." JAMA points to the war against tobacco as the best way to fight obesity. The tactic is to talk about the cost of obesity to our health care and then terrorize and intimidate. The American Obesity Association calls obesity "a ticking time bomb" and demands "fat taxes" to fund anti-obesity education programs. Yale Professor Kelly Brownell says, "I recommend that we develop a more militant attitude about the toxic food environment, like we have about tobacco." U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher supports the association's obesity vision. Giving the keynote address at its recent conference, Satcher said, "Obesity is a major public-health problem and one that deserves much more attention than it receives." Department of Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman is leading the agency's "anti-fat" campaign, which includes a planned "nutritional intervention" program in Mississippi. Lifestyle Nazis have troops in the non-profit world in their war against America's fat people. Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, calls for attack on the large servings at Chinese and Mexican restaurants, saying, "It's high time that the (restaurant) industry begins to bear some responsibility for its contribution to obesity, heart disease and cancer." The soft drink beverage industry, according to Jacobson, is also responsible for obesity and heart disease, not to mention caffeine addiction. Emory University law professor Frank Vandall said, "I can't rule out that America's fast-food chains will be the next target." Daniel Akst, writing for the New York Times, said, "It makes perfect sense for the victims of fast food ... to sue, and the sooner the better; they might even succeed at deterring substantial harm." Lest you think the lifestyle Nazis only have fat Americans in their gun sights, Mothers Against Drunk Driving tried to have beer banned at the new Verde Golf Club in Arlington, Texas. Their true, but hidden, agenda is alcohol prohibition. Robert Cohen, director of the Anti-Dairy Coalition, is pushing for milk prohibition, saying, "Milk products, like tobacco, are an enormous threat to the health of both children and adults, yet we see the dairy industry protected by constitutionally questionable laws while the tobacco industry is held accountable." Lifestyle Nazis have the support of all manner of kooks, quacks and lunatics, plus millions of taxpayer dollars. Most of them are based in Washington and have easy access to congressmen and bureaucrats anxious to do their bidding. You say, "Williams, what can we do about them?" As for me, I want to be left alone and here's what I say: If a lifestyle Nazi, politician or not, wants me to stop smoking or eat less, let him personally take the cigarette out of my mouth or the food off my plate. I guarantee you that when the dust settles only one of us will be standing." (Walter Williams Archives) ********************* Saturday, February 19 Today is the 105th day of my hunger strike. I am in Florida, and wrote this column on Thursday before leaving New Jersey's forecasted February winter storm. I have added something new to my protest, and my wife and kids are not at all pleased. It seems the threat of death by starvation is not as troubling to them as the threat of sandpaper cheeks. That's exactly what they have been getting this past week as my beard continues to grow. I will not shave until FDA revokes the use of Monsanto's hormone. The New York Ranger hockey team tried this a few years ago, refusing to shave until they were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Many of the young skaters hardly had the opportunity to grow more than a shadow on their face. The way things look, I might soon be looking like Santa, but there's nothing about which to be jolly. Thank goodness for great satirists who give us all something about which to laugh. When I was in elementary school, MAD MAGAZINE was my favorite journal. I was pleased to find this recent internet link to MAD'S assessment of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone: http://tga.transform.to/tg/mad313.jpg ******************* Sunday, February 20 INTESTINAL FORTITUDE Today is the 106th day of my hunger strike. Last week, I was slandered and libeled by a syndicated columnist, Walter Williams. Dr. Williams is an economics professor at George Mason University. In his column, Dr. Williams called me a "Lifestyle Nazi." I wrote a letter of protest to Dr. Williams demanding a retraction. In that lengthy letter, I included these comments: "African-Americans do no like the 'N' word, and Jews do not like being called their 'N' word either. You have done just that to me, and I am not at all pleased. As a college professor, your job is to teach students lessons in economics. You have slandered my good name, and unless I receive a retraction from you, I will make every attempt to teach you and every outlet for your syndicated column my new lesson in economics." Here is his response: "Dear Mr. Cohen, Thank you very much for your letter and its complimentary comments about my syndicated column for this week. You like so many other Americans are becoming increasing concerned about how the nation's tyrants and their busybody accomplices are trying to dictate to us how we live, eat and breathe. I thank you for your support in my battle against America's Huns and Vandals. It's encouragement from people like you that gives me the intestinal fortitude to keep up the struggle. Best wishes and keep the faith. Walter E. Williams " ******************* Monday, February 21 NOURISHING BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT Today is the 107Th day of my hunger strike. This past weekend, I attended the first "Southeastern Vegetarian Action Symposium." Last September, Cynthia Cowen, EARTHSAVE'S Miami chapter president invited me to speak at her conference. I've attended many health shows and veggie festivals, but this one was extraordinary. Rooms, meals, lectures, workshops, panel discussions…all ran like clockwork, and the spiritual karma linking all participants together was what made this weekend very, very special. Although I had the opportunity to lecture three times, I also took advantage of being the "student," attending talks from some of the great teachers in the animal rights and vegetarian movement. Every opportunity I get to hear George Eisman speak is a gift for me. Eisman is a brilliant nutritionist and wrote the best selling book, "The Most Noble Diet." Immediately after listening to his opening lecture, I joined a standing-room only crowd to hear Doug Graham's nutrition and work-out wisdom. Doug is a chiropractor turned health and fitness coach. He is ninety-nine percent inspiration and perspiration, and one has to be impressed with Doug's energy level at his 6 AM morning workout class and his late-morning lecture. Graham is a raw-foodist and has trained many professional and Olympic athletes. Martina Navratilova was one of his many clients. I met, for the first time, well-known animal rights activist Karen Davis. She had the audience cheering during her presentation and finished to a standing ovation. What passion! I could listen all day long to philosopher and historian Rynn Berry relate tales of history's immortal vegetarians, from Albert Schweitzer to Leo Tolstoy. Antonia Demas was a student of T. Colin Campbell's at Cornell University. She's now changing the diets of children attending Miami schools. She teaches that vegetarian foods are more than just nutritious and delicious. Her results demonstrate that behavioral problems decrease and learning performances increase as a function of eliminating milk and dairy products from the diets of inner-city youths. So many wonderful speakers were there to inspire the conference attendees. Dawn Carr from PETA and Gene Bauston, founder of Farm Sanctuary, were two of the more passionate and informed presenters. Susan McCullom and Don Barnes were two more teachers who left strong impressions on me. There was at least a dozen other presenters, but many lectures overlapped, and the one negative was that I could not be in two places at one time. The conference was a mini-version of the upcoming North American Vegetarian Society Summerfest (NAVS), which I would not miss for the world. Many of the same speakers will be at the NAVS event. I'll be attending the summer conference with two of my three children, and if you have a free week, and wish to either change or re-confirm your lifestyle (as I did last year), you have got to make plans to attend this festival before they fully book their rooms. This year's conference will be at the University of North Carolina's 265 acre Blue Ridge Mountain Ashville campus from July 5th through July 9th. I'll drive there from New York (672 miles). The Summerfest is less than 200 miles from Atlanta, less than 400 miles from Cincinnati, and 650 miles from Chicago. For more information, call 518-568-7970 or visit their website: http://www.navs-online.org ******************** Tuesday, February 22 FREEDOM OF NON-INFORMATION Today is the 108th day of my hunger strike. America's freedoms, or lack of them, can be best symbolized by the illusion that citizens of the United States have a right to know what government agencies are up to. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) should be renamed the Bondage of Information Act because current policy places the average American in solitary confinement. I have filed a citizens petition to revoke the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH). After filing my suit, Monsanto and Pharmacia Upjohn proposed a merger. I learned from a conversation with a senior level Upjohn executive that Pharmacia Upjohn now has an application before the FDA for approval of their version of rbGH. If FDA revokes Monsanto's hormone and approves Upjohn's version, America will be back to square one, and we will have accomplished nothing. With that in mind, on December 22, 1999, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request for "any and all documentation, including letters to FDA from Upjohn and letters to Upjohn from FDA regarding that application." I have just received a letter of denial for my entire request. That letter was signed by Lawrence Bachorik, Interim Associate Commissioner for Public Affairs. In that letter of denial, Mr. Bachorik wrote: "I cannot respond to your request since any acknowledgement, either of receipt of a submission or that no such submission has been received, would constitute disclosure of confidential commercial information." In other words, FDA will not even admit whether or not an application for a new version of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone has been made. This barn door will be closed long after the animal is gone. FDA's policy allows the donkey to escape and makes asses of the rest of us. ********************** Wednesday, February 23 LEST WE FORGET… Today is the 109th day of my hunger strike. The New York Times Science section devoted a full-page story (Tuesday, February 22, 2000) exploring why African-Americans experience enormous risk and death rates from breast cancer. Author Alexis Jetter writes, "Scientists and public health researchers are looking at every piece of the puzzle, including the use of mammography and understanding the mechanisms that bring about tumor growth." The New York Times writer reviews even diet and considers racial stereotypes when exploring the notion that blacks eat more fried foods than their white counterparts. This isn't about living in the ghetto and eating fried chicken. This is about living in poverty and eating more and more "white" food, particularly the subsidized kind. It is a fact of life that many African-Americans, living in the inner cities of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit, are also living in poverty. Nations in which people live in poverty have children with ribs sticking out of their torsos. We've all seen the photographs. America is different. America's poor "enjoy" the most subsidized food in world history-milk and other dairy products. In 1960, the average American consumed ten pounds a year of cheese. Today, the average American is consuming thirty pounds a year of cheese. Every bite of cheese and every sip of milk contain a powerful growth hormone identified as the key factor in the growth of every breast cancer, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). The New York Times story does not consider the fact that milk and dairy products contain a hormone that has been identified as the key breast cancer factor, IGF-I. Genetically engineered milk contains increased levels of this naturally occurring growth hormone, but IGF-I can be found in the healthiest organic milk, and its presence is a danger to all Americans. African-American women are finding greater equality in the workplace and in society and subscribe to women's magazines. African-American women are now targeted by the dairy industry through milk mustache ads on billboards, magazines, and television. Does Cosmopolitan cause breast cancer? This absurd question might actually be a very important clue. Researchers from Silent Spring Institute, a nonprofit research organization in Massachusetts, recently surveyed 1,350 women - ages 35 to 75, asking questions about all aspects of their life. The study filled seventeen pages but included no questions about diet, according to Ruth York, director of the non-profit institute named after Rachel Carson's best-selling book. Ms. Carson died from breast cancer shortly after writing "Silent Spring." The Silent Spring Institute focused their attention on Newton, Massachusetts, an upscale community recently identified as being a "breast cancer cluster." They explored what they believed to be the "missing link." It couldn't be wealth, could it? Researchers had to make assumptions, so they looked at what wealthy people enjoyed and poor people did not. Here is what they discovered. The researchers found women living in communities hit hardest by the disease used professional lawn and dry cleaning services more often than those in less-affected neighborhoods. Does money cause breast cancer? Does having wealth cause tumors? The rate of breast cancer in Newton was 13 percent higher than the statewide average rate between 1982 and 1992. The study showed that women in neighborhoods with higher rates of breast cancer typically had higher incomes and education levels than women in areas with lower breast cancer rates. GOT BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS? GOT LADIES HOME JOURNAL? GOT COSMOPOLITAN? Middle to upper class women subscribe to such magazines. These women are bombarded with milk mustache ads, targeted by the National Fluid Milk Processors. Women with wealth and education have "LEARNED" that their bones will break unless they drink milk and eat yogurt. They have the money to buy more sour cream, cheese, and whipped cream. GOT IGF-I? Milk is loaded with a hormone that's been identified as the key factor in breast cancer's growth. Who can afford a steady diet of yogurt and rich cheeses? Women who live in Newton, that's who. Will the Silent Spring Institute ever get around to doing a study on milk and dairy consumption? I left Ruth York with that thought. The Silent Spring Institute relies upon your donations. Perhaps you can induce them to expand their "NEWTON" study and ask the right questions. Their phone number is 617-332-4288. How many portions of IGF-I laden yogurt does it take to grow a tumor? ********************* Thursday, February 23 Today is the 110th day of my hunger strike. In the best example of the "somebody's got to do it" adage, I have obligated myself to testify at the upcoming March 10th United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) hearing on the final report issued by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Information from this report is used to build the famous "food pyramid." FOR WHOM THE TOLLS TELL Rather than make a written comment, I will leave my home on the tenth of March at 3 AM and drive five hours to Washington, DC, make my 3-minute comment, then drive back home. I invest time, energy, gas, and tolls to do my little bit in making a difference. School breakfast and lunch programs, food pyramids, and dietary guidelines are determined by an extremely biased process. The dairy industry exerts enormous influence on the members of this prestigious committee, and the conflicts of interest betray Americans with many millions of dairy industry dollars. THE DIETARY GUIDELINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS GOT CONNECTIONS. . . TO THE DAIRY INDUSTRY LOPSIDED FOOD PYRAMID The Dietary Guidelines Committee has issued their report to the USDA and Department of Health and Human Services with new recommendations for dietary guidelines to take America into the new millennium. Such important decisions should not be made by men and women with biases, particularly when some of the "esteemed" members are actually paid consultants for industries who will benefit from their recommendations. THE COMMITTEE There are eleven committee members. They include Doris Calloway, Ph.D., (Berkeley), Richard Havel, M.D., (University of California, San Francisco), Dennis Bier, M.D., (Baylor), Cutberto Garza, M.D., (Cornell), Shiriki Kumanyika, Ph.D., (Pennsylvania State College of Medicine), Marion Nestle, Ph.D., (NYU), Irwin Rosenberg, M.D., (Tufts), Sachiko St. Jeor, Ph.D., (University of Nevada), Barbara Schneeman, Ph.D., (Davis), and John Suttie, Ph.D., (University of Wisconsin). Two names immediately struck a raw nerve in this author. One was Dennis Bier and the other, Cutberto Garza. DENNIS BIER The Center for Food Nutrition recently held a convention. Dennis Bier joined the Dannon Yogurt company, Nestles, Campbells Soup, and numerous corporate biotechnology giants including Novartis, Pioneer Hi-Bred, and Monsanto. When Monsanto's controversial bovine growth hormone was about to be approved, Bier wrote a letter condemning Monsanto's critics. This was a favor, performed for Monsanto, who then highly publicized and marketed Bier's letter. That letter was filled with inaccuracies. Bier had blindly accepted Monsanto's representation that genetically engineered milk was indistinguishable from untreated milk. His say-so influenced congressional committees and FDA regulators. Last year, Bier received $8,769,710 in grant money from the USDA for his university, Baylor. CUTBERTO GARZA Garza has built a power base at Cornell University, an institution of great reputation that consistently maintains its integrity by refusing "pork barrel" dollars. Rumor has it that Garza receives in excess of $500,000 every year as a permanent line item from USDA. Garza's ties to the dairy industry are legendary. His influence places cheese and ice cream high atop the food pyramid, despite the evidence of the deleterious effects of milk and dairy. OTHERS REVEAL THEIR CONFLICTS Barbara Schneeman (University of California, Davis) is a major player in the California Food and Fiber Organization, a foundation started by the Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan? Anybody eat dry cereal? On October 6, 1997, Schneeman was a keynote speaker at the Fiber Foundation convention in Iowa. Sachiko St. Jeor (University of Nevada) recently attended the Chocolate Manufacturers & Confectioner's annual convention. St. Jeor became a spokesperson for the association and was part of a panel answering questions as to the health benefits of candy. When asked, "Should I give up candy on a diet?" Sachiko answered in the negative. Perhaps the new food pyramid should have a chocolate filled cherry on top? THE SYSTEM Biases and secret relationships should not dictate policy that will affect what children eat in America's schools, particularly children of color who are most affected by milk and dairy products. Well-respected doctors and scientists like the members of this important group gain positions to important committees, then bring along enormous baggage to such committees. Their favors to their financial masters often result in betrayal to those who they should really be serving. Should you wish to join me by making a public comment, you can call Irene Randale at 202-205-4872. Should you wish to submit a written comment, you can mail your letter to Shanthy Bowman, Ph.D., Agricultural Research Service, BHNRC/CNRG, 10300 Baltimore Blvd., Building 005, Room 125 BARC-West, Beltsville, MD 20705. ******************* Friday, February 25 Today is the 111th day of my hunger strike. I will be spending my weekend in the New York area giving lectures on Saturday and Sunday. EARTHSAVE On Saturday night, my family will be traveling to Huntington, Long Island to attend an EarthSave potluck dinner. There should be over a hundred people attending, and each family brings a dish or two in what turns out to be an incredible gourmet feast. For information about this event, call 516-421-3791. EarthSave International was founded 12 years ago by John Robbins, author of "Diet for a New America." In addition to promoting a delicious and earth-friendly diet, EarthSave supplies information and support to those who want to learn about how diet impacts upon their own personal health and the environment. EarthSave now has three dozen chapters all over America, and new chapters are starting all the time. For information about starting a chapter in your area, send an e-mail request to information@earthsave.org. On Sunday night, I will be giving a lecture sponsored by the New York State Green Party at Eco-Books in Brooklyn, New York (192 5th Ave., between 2nd & Union). For more information, please call Keith Gamble at 718-783-6131. New York's Green Party is supporting Ralph Nader as their presidential candidate. Their agenda is for there to be "ecological sustainability." In addition to advocating the monitoring and cleaning up of active and inactive hazardous waste sites, the Greens believe that as temporary inhabitants of the earth, we are not its owners, but its caretakers. We are charged with the immense responsibility of stewardship over all of the earth's resources. ********************* Saturday, February 26 Today is the 112th day of my hunger strike. California Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced a genetically engineered food labeling bill in the Senate (S.2080). I have discussed that bill with the Senator's aide, Lisa Moore (202-224-3553), and will be sending Senator Boxer information about Monsanto's fraud and deceit and FDA's continued inaction. Her bill is the Senate's version of Dennis Kucinich's proposed House of Representatives bill. As a senator, Boxer has a distinguished environmental record, having previously introduced legislation to restore America's wetlands and remove the threat of offshore oil drilling along California's coast. She authored the Children's Environmental Protection Act, and successfully amended the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect children, pregnant women, and seniors. She introduced the Clean Fuel Vehicles Act to encourage the use of fuel-efficient vehicles, has led the efforts to block unsafe nuclear waste dumps, and authored the Dolphin-Safe Tuna Labeling Act. Boxer's bill faces stiff opposition from the National Association of Food Manufacturers, the American Farm Bureau, and other food trade groups who are lobbying the Congress and Senate to reject American's right to know what they are eating. Unless we let our representatives know our thoughts, the Golden Rule will win the day. (Those with the gold, rule.) Let Senator Boxer know that you support her efforts: senator@boxer.senate.gov Then, use the following link to obtain your Senator's phone number and EMAIL address. Ask him/her to support Boxer's Bill. http://www.commoncause.org/forms/profile.html ******************* Sunday, February 27 BREAKING THE SECRET CODE(X) Today is the 113th day of my hunger strike. I very badly need your advice. Let me tell you about an enormous honor that has been extended to me by our federal government. I have been selected to be a member of the American delegation to CODEX Alimentarius, the least heard of organization in the world. Don't let that name fool you. This organization has enormous power and will affect everything you and your family eat for the rest of your lives. CODEX was founded in 1962 by the United Nations and comes under the direction of the World Health Organization (WHO). Member nations of the CODEX committee will be determining the foods you eat and whether or not genetically modified organisms will be added to those foods and how and if they will be labeled. The American delegate to CODEX is Robert Lake, an employee of FDA. Last fall, Mr. Lake invited me to participate in a biotechnology conference as a panel member. In doing so, my appearance was televised on CSPAN and recorded by a team from the television news program 20/20. I and nine other Americans have been invited to attend the CODEX session in Tokyo from March 14 through March 17. The purpose of that session is to determine the American and world policies regarding foods derived from biotechnology. In a sense, I have been asked to become a participant in a jury-style process. As a member of the U.S. delegation, I am obliged to support the position of the United States with regard to all agenda items during the course of the session. What this means is that I will be involved in closed-door session debates, but ultimately pledge to support America's position. This represents a very real conflict for me. On one hand, America's traditional position has been to not support labeling. In that regard, America is in a minority when compared to other world delegations. On the other hand, perhaps I am deluding myself into imagining that my voice can make a difference in debate among the other American delegates and influence them in seeing that there is a logic in supporting the labeling of foods of genetically modified organisms. As one of the ten members of the committee, I will be breaking bread (breaking sushi) with very well known supporters of biotechnology. The other delegates include Jeffrey Barach of the National Food Processors Association, Kyd Brenner of the Corn Refiners Association, David Hettinga from Land O' Lakes, David Hegwood from O'Mara Associates (a consulting firm for the soy and cotton industry), Alex Jackson from the American Farm Bureau Federation (representing 200,000+ farms), C.W. McMillan who is a former USDA Assistant Secretary, Henry Miller of the Hoover Institution (an ex-FDA regulator who was on the original team that approved the first genetically engineered products), and Michael Phillips, the executive director for Food & Agriculture, a biotechnology industry organization. I would be the sole voice against genetic engineering. I am the lone critic and sacrificial lamb and the cosmetic addition to a committee that exists to show America that fairness is in play and that all sides are being considered. Two things bother me. First, my voice will be silenced because I must comply with America's official position. In advance of this meeting, I am fully aware of the many billions of dollars at stake to the organizations represented by my fellow delegates. Therefore, I am aware of their position. They support biotechnology and nothing will change their minds. The second problem is a financial consideration. Every member of the delegation, except for me, has an expense account. Each member flies first class to Japan and I fly coach. A requirement of all delegates is that we pay our own travel and expenses. I must pay my airfare and hotel bill. A call to Delta Airlines revealed that a roundtrip ticket costs $1260. Add to that $180 per night for the conference center hotel and expenses, and I'll be spending $2160, which I just am not able to afford. I have so many questions. Do I go into debt to finance this trip and satisfy my ego? Sure, I'm thrilled to be chosen for such an honor, but is it really an honor? Am I merely being used? I have worked very hard to let the world know my position on genetic engineering and, by accepting this position, will I be selling out? The Humane Society of the United States and other generous contributors have offered to pay a part of the cost of my trip. I could appeal to the thousands of people who get my e-mail message, but I first must determine whether or not this is something that I should do. Please let me know how you feel because I value your advice. Is my participation on this committee in your best interests? ******************* Monday, February 28 Today is the 114th day of my hunger strike. This morning, I spoke with Robert Lake and Michael Wehr of the FDA. These two men head America's CODEX delegation, and I have been invited to be a member of the US team. The invitation specifically states, "Please remember that, as a member of the U.S. delegation, you are obliged to support the positions of the United States with regard to all Agenda Items during the course of the Session." The key phrase is: "during the course of the Session." I have made clear to both of them that I am my own person, and if I go, I would respect the rules and regulations and integrity of America's position by not holding demonstrations or press conferences and by not making statements on the convention floor. However, I have also made it clear that I will be there to share information with other delegations, and what happens away from the eyes of the world will be my decision because I am an American and have the freedom to say what I feel. Here are some of your comments: Cheri wrote: You are a pawn in a very large game of Sharks in Business for Themselves and to Hell with the "Little People." Colin wrote: Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly. Denis wrote: If it were my decision I would decline. Linda wrote: You'll be used! It is a way to silence you. Your voice will be worthless since the deck is already stacked. Jim wrote: DO NOT GO! You have it right, you are being used for the appearance of 'fairness'...You will show your position more clearly by NOT GOING. Kindrick wrote: I vote NO! Lyle wrote: Your presence would be window dressing so you may as well stay home. Peter wrote: The voice not at the table, is the voice not heard. You can change friends and acquaintances, strangers don't even get a chance to hear you. Belle wrote: NO! I don't think you should go! I think it's a setup to silence you and take advantage of your name....so that I can be said that you have given THEM your stamp of approval. POLITICS! It stinks! Colleen wrote: Will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror and not cringe? Cynthia & Serge wrote: If you can go as a spy, & continue to follow your heart, then go. Dr. Ben wrote: A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still!" If you ever want to change a sinner from his ways, you have to go to his domain! Vance Lemkuhl wrote: My favorite scenario, but the one that would get you into the most trouble, is that you arrange with a group of anti-GE-food demonstrators to pull some attention-grabbing public stunt in conjunction with you very publicly resigning from the delegation and denouncing the American stance. Nothing violent, necessarily: It could be something as simple as getting a bunch of squash and a bunch of LEGO robots and making the squash march down the street. Something fun. Kevin wrote It isn't your hunger strike that will kill you, sir, it is these creatures who have thrown you a rotten bone from a rotten dead animal carcass that's been given one too many growth hormone shots. Marcus wrote: I don't feel that the delegates you are going to be debating would change their tunes if you jabbed each one of them in the ass with a 6 foot tuning fork. The game you are being invited to play seems rigged from the start. If you are unable to make them see the light, I would not put it past anyone of them or any organization which we oppose to exploit the situation and advertise that 'Robert Cohen was a member of the American delegation which supported genetically modified organisms and the non-labeling of them in our food'. HERE IS WHAT HELPED ME TO MAKE THE DECISION. THANK YOU, ELYSE! Elyse wrote: The questions I always ask myself.... Will I rest in peace when I die? What will my children think of me when I'm dead? MY DECISION I will be going to Japan. I have been warned that I have many enemies and should consider many dozens of different scenarios that may be designed to do me harm. Just for the record, I will not be bringing peyote or marijuana to Japan and do not plan on returning with a stash of opium. I shall not visit any grassy knolls nor shall I eat the fugu (a poisonous fish that is a very popular sushi item). I do intend to take very careful notes and document "the process" so that it might become a learning experience for all of us. Many of you have offered to help with the expenses of my trip and have requested my budget. Some of you have offered to send "donations" to the Dairy Education Board (our non-profit organization) to help defray costs. The hotel room (6 nights) will cost a total of 108,000 yen, which is approximately $1,020 American. The lowest airfare that I have been able to find has been $1260 round trip. I am continuing my hunger strike and will be drinking just water , so my food expense is zero. I have been informed by my wife and three daughters that I am not to visit any geisha girl palaces so my entertainment expenses will also be zero. I have been told that the bus ride to and from the hotel complex will cost me approximately $30 each way. The total budget for this trip is $2,340. For those of you who have offered to send donations, mail to Dairy Education Board, 325 Sylvan Ave., Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632. ******************** Tuesday, February 29 Today is the 115th day of my hunger strike. The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has got to learn to market themselves better. Advice to Neal Barnard: Blow your horn just a little bit louder! Toot until everybody notices you. Winning a Nobel Prize requires marketing skills. If ever there was an organization deserving of mankind's greatest honor, the Nobel Peace Prize, it is Neal Barnard's PCRM! PCRM's latest effort involves the dietary guidelines that will dictate what foods are served to schoolchildren. In their suit, PCRM exposed enormous conflicts of interests held by the powerful members of the dietary guidelines committee: http://www.pcrm.org/news/lawsuit_cofi.html This month, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee released its report and recommendations to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). That report declared that soy-based beverages (soymilk) are on par with cow's milk as a source of calcium. The Committee also declared that the foundation of a healthy diet includes vegetables, fruits, and grains. The USDA is not required to adopt this recommendation. Rather, they can pick and choose what parts of the Committee's report they will incorporate into the final Dietary Guidelines to be released in the summer of 2000. PCRM is urging those who give a damn to submit a written comment which includes these points: 1) Keep soymilk as a full alternative to cow's milk in the dairy group. 2) Rename the "dairy group" to the "dairy and soymilk group" or the "calcium-rich food group" and include this change in the Food Guide Pyramid. Your letters can be EMAILED to: Shanthy.Bowman@usda.gov -------------------------------------------------------------------- March 2000 Hungerstrike Diary DAY 116 - Threats... and digital trails DAY 117 - The garden of eden; then and now DAY 118 - No more "Frankenfish" DAY 119 - Organic Consumers Association DAY 120 - A presidential candidate worth supporting DAY 121 - The CODEX DELEGATES (let YOURS know YOUR position!) DAY 122 - W.H.O.'s In Control?! DAY 123 - The Secret CODE-X DAY 124 - Mr. Cohen goes to congress DAY 125 - Coming Home DAY 126 - Sugar, spice, and everything nice... DAY 127 - Guest editorial DAY 128 - A scarlet letter to the CODEX delegates DAY 129 - When the corn hits the fan DAY 130 - Who created the fruit of the vine (boray pre hagofen) DAY 131 - These cornballs have got your ear DAY 132 - A return to the age of aquarius DAY 133 - Grand slam home run! DAY 134 - The CLOCK is running... FDA DAY 135 - Three letters DAY 136 - Truth or Consequences DAY 137 - "CATCH 22" DAY 138 - Anecdote? NOT FUNNY! DAY 139 - The NOTMILK story according to HEALTHGATE DAY 140 - It's been a busy week DAY 141 - Suppose they held a meeting, and everybody came! DAY 142 - Top ten reasons why no company will sell me life insurance DAY 143 - The view from above DAY 144 - Top ten future biotechnology errors DAY 145 - The "domino letter" from FDA to Monsanto DAY 146 - Solidarity --------------------------------------------------------------------- ****************** Wednesday, March 1 Today is the 116th day of my hunger strike. I receive hundreds of veiled threats every year. Many of them are made by angry people who know not to cross "the line." Some of those threats are rather witty. Examples are "I hope you get run over by a milk truck." Or "I hope that a herd of stampeding bovines runs through your living room and tramples you to a painful death." I usually ignore these threats. A few years ago, I received a threat from a man in Kentucky. Some Internet sleuthing found that the same individual had posted similar threats to government officials. The threats to me and to the government officials included references to plastic explosives. The FBI was very happy when they obtained this man's address, and he was arrested. Yesterday, I received a new threat. When threats contain every four-letter word you can imagine and include the most offensive of all four-letter words, "kill," I immediately called my police department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Should you not be aware, please be informed that every computer e-mail message contains a unique electronic signature, even those that are forged. Please also be aware that when threats are made by telephone, instantaneous electronic memories are created, even if you have call-blocking capability on your telephone. I am not amused by death threats. They are against the law, and those who make them, at the very least, need serious help and they may very well find themselves with free room and board at a government institution. POSTSCRIPT This morning I found out who made the threat. I spoke to his mother who was in tears. The young man, aged 18, has not learned the lesson of Columbine High School. I have let the FBI know that I will not be pressing charges, and that the threat was an exercise in extremely poor judgement and not an intention to do physical harm to myself or my webmaster. ***************** Thursday, March 2 Today is the 118th day of my hunger strike. My thanks to two authors for the following - Gene Hudon and you-know-who. GENESIS I:29-31 "God said, 'See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; that shall be yours for food. And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, I give all the green plants for food.' And it was so. And God saw all that he had made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." AND CODEX SAID, "Behold, we have more power on earth than God. Therefore, possession of any medicinal herb-bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, shall be a crime punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both unless it can be patented by pharmaceutical companies and sold at obscene profits to a brainwashed public." I am in philosophical agreement with both authors, and I have been given an opportunity, however minor, to let those in CODEX with the power know how I/we feel on a variety of food safety issues. My trip to Japan is just nine days away, and I am preparing by studying the many different issues. *************** Friday, March 3 Today is the 118th day of my hunger strike. If you are eating the standard American diet (the SAD diet), do you take time to ask your fish supplier where those filets of salmon come from? It has been reported that salmon and trout injected with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone grow faster and fatter after injections of rbGH. This technique produces more questions than it answers. For example, do the fish moo before they are gutted, and will Ben and Jerry's one day market Tooti Frutti Trout? This week, the Associated Press reported a major New Zealand controversy regarding an experiment gone horribly wrong in Blenheim's New Zealand King Salmon Company. The down-under fish purveyors were breeding mutant Chinook salmon in a "Frankenfish" experiment. Secret documents, leaked to the press, revealed that deformed fish heads and gargantuan salmon ended all attempts by this firm to genetically engineer fish. The company has agreed to kill all of its genetically engineered fish and immediately suspend its research. New information has been given to the Food & Drug Administration revealing that Monsanto created "freak" amino acids by genetically engineering the bovine growth hormone. Unfortunately, there were no whistle blowers at Monsanto in 1992 when the company deceived the FDA and withheld this very important information despite their legal obligation to report all adverse research activity. Thank goodness for the "publish or perish" mentality shared by scientists. A few days after receiving approval for their genetically modified monstrosity, Monsanto scientist Bernard Violand submitted a paper to a scientific journal admitting the error. We will not let Monsanto get away with deceiving the world in the same manner in which they lied to the Food & Drug Administration. We trust that FDA will see the truth and revoke Monsanto's hormone from the market. ***************** Saturday, March 4 Today is the 119th day of my hunger strike. The Organic Consumers Association is a grass roots Minnesota organization that has made an enormous difference in America's food standards. Founder Ron Cummins once worked for activist Jeremy Rifkin and now runs the Pure Food Campaign. In 1998, this organization helped gather 270,000 written comments on organic food standards, which helped influence USDA standards and policy. This passionate people are activist and lobbyists and ask you to join them. They will be happy to mail you genetically engineered foods petitions, fact sheets, leaflets, and bumper stickers. Contact Debbie Ortman at 218-726-1443 or by e-mail: debbie@organicconsumers.org More information is contained on Ronnie Cummins' site: http://www.purefood.org *************** Sunday, March 5 Today is the 120th day of my hunger strike. John Hagelin is the presidential candidate for the Natural Law Party. http://www.hagelin.org Founded in 1992, the Natural Law Party was created as a new, mainstream political party that would offer voters "forward-looking, prevention-oriented, scientifically proven solutions to America's problems." In 1996, the Natural Law Party ran 400 candidates on the ballot in 48 states-candidates who received a total of several million votes-and John Hagelin was the only third-party candidate to receive federal matching funds. In the 2000 election campaign, the Natural Law Party is on target to run 2000 candidates on the ballot in all 50 states-the largest third-party effort in U.S. history. John Hagelin is a strong supporter of the American farmer, but rejects the multi-national corporation chemical approach to agriculture. Here is a part of Hagelin's platform: "Conventional agriculture erodes and degrades soil; it requires large-scale use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that pollute groundwater and are unhealthy for consumers and farmers." Hagelin is anti-biotechnology and genetic engineering. I applaud him for the following position: "Federal agencies have decided that some genetically engineered plant and animal products (such as recombinant bovine growth hormone -- rbGH -- which boosts milk production) are safe, despite the growing concerns of many scientists and the fact that the Canadian government has outlawed rbGH due to health concerns. Virtually all European nations have banned rbGH and other hormone treatment in livestock. Many products similar to rbGH are under review. In addition, many foods that have been genetically engineered with pig, insect, virus, or bacteria genes are already being sold in supermarkets. Yet these genetically altered foods are not labeled as such - despite well-documented health risks from some genetically engineered foods." Hagelin deserves your support. For more information, call the Natural Law Party at: 800-332-0000 and visit their website: http://www.natural-law.org *************** Monday, March 6 Today is the 121st day of my hunger strike. Here is a list of e-mail addresses to some of the key players (and voting members) of CODEX Alimentarius, the world organization that will make a determination as to what foods you will be eating, what genetically modified organisms will be contained in those foods, and how they are to be labeled. Won't you take a few minutes and send the following letter to these scientists and politicians: Dear Delegate: You will be meeting in Japan to determine the safety and labeling requirements for genetically modified organisms. The United States is sending a delegation representing companies and industries supporting genetically engineered foods. America's traditional position has been that consumers have no right to know what they are eating. Perhaps that position will change. One of the members of the U.S. delegation, Robert Cohen, possesses important information and real science proving the dangers of genetically modified foods. Cohen's information details a corrupt U.S. Food & Drug Administration with enormous conflicts of interest. For background information, please review the scientific evidence at: http://www.hungerstrike.com Mr. Cohen will be staying at the Hotel New Otani Makuhari in Chiba, Japan during the conference, and has additional information. He welcomes the opportunity to give you important evidence. Here are the e-mail addresses and nations represented by 37 of the delegates: ARGENTINA CODEX@sagyp.mecon.ar AUSTRALIA codex.contact@affa.gov.au BANGLADESH bsti@bangla.net BELGIUM Charles.Gremer@health.Fgov.be BOLIVIA ibnorca@ceibo.entelnet.bo BOTSWANA nfcbgabs@global.bw BRAZIL mamartinelli@montreal.com.br CANADA codex_canada@hc-sc.gc.ca CHILE jcornejo@netline.cl CHINA Zhoukzh@agri.gov.cn CUBA ncnorma@ceniai.inf.cu CZECH REPUBLIC schauerova@mze.cz DENMARK codex@vfd.dk ETHIOPIA qsae@telecom.net.et FRANCE sgci-codex-fr@sgci.finances.gouv.fr GERMANY boettner@bmg.bund.de GUATEMALA unr@infovia.com.gt HUNGARY m.varadi@cfri.hu INDIA sd@mohfw.delhi.nic.in IRELAND richard.howell@daff.irlgov.ie ITALY blturco@tiscalinet.it LITHUANIA RMC@post.omnitel.net MALAWI mbs@malawi.net MALAYSIA ccp-malaysia@dph.gov.my MOLDOVA nopopol@mednet.md NEW ZEALAND RAJ@policy.maf.govt.nz NORWAY john.race@ snt.dep.telemax.no PARAGUAY Intn_codex@mmail.com.py PORTUGAL dd@gppaa.min-agricultura.pt SAINT LUCIA slbs@Candw.lc SLOVAK REPUBLIC codex@vup.sk SOUTH AFRICA ventert@hltrsa.pwv.gov.za SPAIN fmittelbrunn@msc.es SWITZERLAND awilo.ochieng@bag.admin.ch TANZANIA Standards@twiga.com THAILAND metanee@tisi.go.th UGANDA unbs@starcom.co.ug **************** Tuesday, March 7 Today is the 122nd day of my hunger strike. Who makes the decisions in your family for what you buy and eat? How do you make choices? Is it a television ad with a clown selling MacBurgers or is it a sexy model extolling the virtues of milk mustaches? Is it your love for elves that influences your cookie choices or was it the Frito Bandito who first sent you to the supermarket seeking out crunchy munchies? Personalities, cartoon characters, and role models influence our buying decisions. Once you are in the supermarket, brightly colored packaging plays a greater role in influencing the typical consumer than food content. Animals could not live on a diet of nutritionally bankrupt puffed cereal. American consumers are trapped into a food failure chain that only benefits health care practitioners. Your choices for the 21st century will be made by alphabet soup organizations like the FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization), WTO (World Trade Organization), WHO (World Health Organization), and CODEX Alimentarius (nobody knows what the heck that stands for). Americans were shocked to witness police riots this past fall in the streets of Seattle. Peaceful demonstrators were sprayed with pepper spray because they were protesting lack of representation in the decision-making process regarding issues that will concern all Americans. This week, Reuters News Service published secret FAO documents revealing United Nations' fears concerning the use of biotechnology on people's health and the environment. Insiders who will decide what you eat are secretly talking about their fears and the implications of human and animal health and the balance of eco-systems regarding the use of genetically modified organisms. The document was given to Reuters by FAO officials in France, and the story was written by Paule Bonjean. FAO is worried about many things, including the loss of traditional crops, the risk of unexpected allergens, and new plant varieties that might overwhelm existing varieties and the environment. In a few days, I will be in Tokyo and will be carefully discussing these issues with those "insiders." ****************** Wednesday, March 8 Today is the 123rd day of Robert Cohen's hunger strike. Mr. Cohen is in Washington meeting with members of Congress and will report personally from Washington tomorrow. This official United Nations-funded agency is called CODEX Alimentarius, and while each member country of the United Nations has a delegate representing that nation, the powers that be, when making decisions, are lobbied and influenced by multi-national corporations. The United States delegate, Robert Lake, is employed by the Food & Drug Administration, and his position is "Americans do not need to know that they are consuming GMOs." Lake has created an international controversy maintaining that attitude. In fact, his position has isolated the United States, as most nations have a policy of rejecting genetically engineered grains, meat, and dairy products. In February, Mr. Lake sent letters to ten individuals inviting them to be members of the U.S. delegation to the CODEX biotechnology and food labeling session in Tokyo, Japan on March 13-17. Most of the members of that delegation bring enormous conflicts of interest to Japan as they represent pharmaceutical companies slated to make billions from this new technology. These CODEX delegates have been vigorously lobbying Congress to reject proposed food labeling bills (HR 3377 & S-2080). In order to balance the U.S. delegation, Mr. Lake invited one outspoken critic of biotechnology, Robert Cohen. On March 7, three days before the "team" was to leave for Japan, Mr. Cohen was uninvited. He has been unceremoniously removed from the American delegation. In theory, the United States position has yet to be determined. Mr. Lake's letter to Robert Cohen, however, clearly proves that the decision has already been made. Lake wrote: "I have come to the conclusion, in my capacity as the delegate, that you intend to work against our delegation and will not support the U. S. in Tokyo. It is clearly not in the best interest of the United States for a member of our delegation to be advocating positions to other delegations that undermine U.S. positions during the meeting. I am, therefore, by e-mail and this letter notifying you that I am effective this date, removing you from the delegation." "…undermine U.S. positions?" Cohen believes that Americans have the right to know what they eat. For six years, he has been trying to get FDA to release a study (authored by Richard, Odaglia, and Deslex) claiming that laboratory animals got cancer from the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Cohen possesses evidence that Monsanto created "freak" amino acids while manufacturing that hormone and claims that Monsanto defrauded the FDA by not revealing those errors. Monsanto lobbyist, C. Everett Koop, assured Americans that milk from cows treated with the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone was identical to "wholesome" milk. Cohen is now off the committee. America's loss is Monsanto's gain. Mr. Lake should be held accountable for his preconceived position despite the sham of his claim that he is neutral. Bias and arrogance spell betrayal for the wishes of Americans. The secret CODE-X will conduct its business out-of-sight from America's media. ***************** Thursday, March 9 This is the 124th day of my hunger strike. This is "a day in the life" of Robert Cohen or "all's not so quiet on the Washington front." On Wednesday, I had a pretty full slate. My first visit was to the Rayburn House Office Building where I visited three congressional offices, meeting with aides and dropping off information. I am asking members of Congress to support bills that will give Americans the right to know if they are consuming foods containing genetically modified organisms (HR 3377 & S-2080). To label or not to label, that is the question. I am requesting in each visit Congressional and Senate support for the above referenced bills. I am also asking for one thing more. America needs a congressional investigation. The Congressional police department is the Government Accounting Office (GAO), and their investigators possess a pit bull-like tenacity for exposing fraud and deceit. Unfortunately, fraud and deceit are the blue plate special at FDA. This not-so appetizing dish has become both entrée and not-so just dessert. PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE In the afternoon, I attended the CODEX session despite the fact that I had been thrown off the American team. My presence was not welcomed by many of the people in the room, including a large group who I refer to as the "Monsanto delegation." The issue of my dismissal and freedom of speech were brought up in a telephone conference call by Phil Mariano of the Seattle Council for Responsible Genetics. I was given every opportunity to speak and admit to taking up more than my fair share of the meeting with dozens of well-vocalized comments and criticisms. The room was filled with pro-biotechnology lobbyists who outnumbered those who are against genetic engineering by a factor of ten times. There was a woman from Consumers Union and one or two others who I recognized, including good friend and consumer watchdog, Maury Silverman. I asked very tough, to-the-point questions about conflicts of interest and about Monarch butterflies that die when they eat pollen from genetically engineered corn. Towards the end of the three-hour session, I counted 60 pro-biotechnology representatives and five who are not, and I came to the great realization that these people are in it only for the money. Before the meeting ended, one man stood up, turned around and pointed at me, and said, "If Robert Cohen did not exist, we would have had to invent him." I really did not know what he meant by that, but he was derisive in his nature, and I wasted no time in responding. I said angrily, "If Robert Cohen did not exist, who would have told you that Monsanto created five "freak" amino acids and defrauded the FDA? Who would have told you that laboratory animals got cancer from the bovine growth hormone? Who would have told you that today's meeting is a complete sham and who would be leading the initiative into demanding a GAO investigation of this entire biased process?" After the meeting broke up, I sat in the back of the room and made eye contact with as many departing members of the session as I could. It took 20 minutes for the room to empty as little conversations always persist if an audience exits. Finally, there were just two people left in the room, myself and Robert Lake, the man who threw me off the CODEX team. Lake walked to the back of the room and sat down next to me and, taking a deep breath, he sighed. I looked at him and said, "Robert, they don't give a damn. Not one person in this room gives a damn. These are lobbyists who have a job to do and fill into a slot in a company, and if they had some other job, they wouldn't be here. For the last five years, these are the people who have had your ear. These are the people who make America's policy. You don't have people from the other side talking to you on the phone, and one day, Robert, it's going to happen and you know it. There's going to be an incident. There may be something approaching bio-devastation and you're the man. And I'm going to hold you most responsible for this." Lake looked at me and said, "I really don't understand all of the intricacies of the bovine growth hormone controversy." I explained to him the basics and related the fact that this was the best example of how genetic engineering produces surprises, and that our mechanisms rely upon truthful applicants. We held each other's eyes, then wished each other good luck and that ended the first of three days. **************** Friday, March 10 Today is the 125th day of my hunger strike. On Thursday morning, I went to the press office in the Capitol Building and, armed with my letter of introduction from Garr Smith (editor of "Earth Island Journal"), I was issued press credentials. I attended Congressman Dennis Kucinich's press conference at which time he announced that he would be sponsoring the Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act. Congressman Bernard Sanders also attended the press conference and his reaction to my first question left the audience of reporters laughing. I asked: "In 1994, a similar act died in session, and a subsequent investigation of the members of that committee revealed that some congressmen accepted PAC money directly from Monsanto while stalling a bill that would have labeled milk and dairy products from cows treated with Monsanto's hormone." Sanders deadpanned his response, looked at Kucinich, and said, "Dennis, I didn't know we have a problem up here on the Hill with members accepting money to buy influence. Does that really happen?" The second part of my question revealed that the current proposed bill will go to the Commerce Committee. After the press conference, I continued visiting members of the House of Representatives, and I am pleased to announce that there is a good possibility that one other member of Congress will be supporting Kuchinich's bill as a result of my efforts. Congressman Danny Davis from Chicago has always been a champion for the rights of people and that includes giving Americans the right to know whether or not they eat genetically engineered foods. You can help show Congressman Davis that Americans support this bill. Please urge Davis' Chief of Staff by e-mailing your support to: Richard.Boykin@mail.house.gov ****************** Saturday, March 11 Today is the 126th day of my hunger strike. Yesterday, I was the third person to testify at USDA's final Dietary Guidelines Committee meeting. The Dietary Guidelines Committee report will dictate the components of next year's amended USDA Food Pyramid. The first person to testify was a representative of the salt lobby and the second was from the sugar lobby. Both testified and criticized that excess amounts of their commodities were not considered to be components of a healthy diet. I couldn't resist the opportunity, and I addressed the panel, which included two under-secretaries, Eileen Kennedy and Shirley Watkins. I said: "You heard from sugar and spice, and now you're going to hear from everything nice." I have testified at many committee hearings but this is the first time I was specifically asked to not only state my name and affiliation, but also include my source of funding. I said: "My name is Robert Cohen and I represent the Dairy Education Board, and we operate on a shoestring budget, and I pay for the shoestrings." I then proceeded to attack with great prejudice. "Dr. Kennedy, you asked the speakers to reveal their sources of funding, and the American people want to know, who is financing you? We know that you are on the Board of Directors for the Dannon Yogurt Research Foundation, and you, Dr. Watkins, speak at industry-financed trade groups and travel to America's Native American reservations in the North and South Dakota promoting the increased use of milk and cheese for people who can least tolerate it. Culberto Garza at Cornell University (listening on a conference-call phone line) receives $500,000 a year from the USDA, and he serves as the official advisor for the dairy industry and milk processors, and has been doing so for many years. Seven other members of the Food Guidelines Committee have serious conflicts of interest and receive funding from the dairy industry. I sat with the Vice-President and Senator Barbara Boxer yesterday, and heard them both condemn the money stream and conflicts of interest that reflect a lack of integrity by Washington bureaucrats." I also told the panel that I held them in contempt and that Americans demand an unbiased approach. I asked them if there were not qualified scientists, nutritionists, and dieticians without such baggage. Following my presentation was Dr. Neal Barnard from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Barnard eloquently made his presentation, which included a request to recognize soymilk as a healthy non-hormone alternative to milk and dairy products. The entire transcript of my three-minute presentation, as well as all of the other comments, will be posted on the USDA website in ten days. I have dictated this diary entry from the airport and look forward to returning home to my Acme Juicer, wife, and kids, not necessarily in that order. After three days of drinking Washington water and breathing Washington air, I need a good, healthy carrot juice detox. **************** Sunday, March 12 GUEST EDITORIAL Today is the 127th day of my hunger strike. Here is a letter/editorial from Deborah Best of Anaheim Hills, California. Deborah is a pre-med student, and she has sent this letter to many newspapers. After you read it, perhaps you could send this or your own letter to your paper: ------------------------------------- THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BREAKING THE WORLD The FDA has given carte blanche to such conglomerates as Monsanto to do as they please for maximum profitability in creating genetically tampered foods. These foods are then sold to the American Public without labeling under the guise they are "substantially equivalent" to what they were before and that genetic engineering is the same as conventional breeding. I fail to see the similarity between a strawberry and a strawberry with fish genes, or a soy bean and a soy bean immune to Round Up. Yet the government tells us these products are "substantially equivalent" which in lay terms means there is no scientific basis, there is no rigorous testing, there is no labeling, and worst of all there is no monitoring to protect traditional un-modified crops from the invasion of genetically engineered crops. In other words, our government has subjugated its people to the status of guinea pigs without their knowledge and may very well have contaminated the world. This weekend our government will be sending a delegation to the international CODEX Alimentarius in Tokyo March 14-17. How many of your readers know what this is? CODEX was founded in 1962 by the United Nations and comes under the direction of the World Health Organization (WHO). It has no authority to dictate national regulations yet the World Trade Organization bases its free trade policy on the decisions of CODEX. This means that if CODEX agrees to a certain rule and any country does not follow that rule, that country will be charged by the World Trade Organization for obstructing free international trade. The fines are extraordinary. Member nations of the CODEX committee will be determining whether or not genetically modified organisms will be added to your foods and how and if they will be labeled. The United States which has the greatest monetary interest in Genetic Engineering has been lobbying for international deregulation of labeling. It was turned down in 1997 by a great majority. In 1998 Europe, India and most Asian countries demanded that all genetically modified foods be labeled. The United States, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and Australia proposed very limited labeling requirements. The American delegate to CODEX is an employee of the FDA, Robert Lake. Mr. Lake has invited the following people to represent the U.S. Jeffrey Barach of the National Food Processors Association, Kyd Brenner of the Corn Refiners Association, David Hettinga from Land O' Lakes, David Hegwood from O'Mara Associates (a consulting firm for the soy and cotton industry), Alex Jackson from the American Farm Bureau Federation (representing 200,000+ farms), C.W. McMillan who is a former USDA Assistant Secretary, Henry Miller of the Hoover Institution (an ex-FDA regulator who was on the original team that approved the first genetically engineered products), Michael Phillips, the executive director for Food & Agriculture, a biotechnology industry organization. Robert Cohen, the only delegate opposed to the unregulated practice of bioengineering of our food supply and the only delegate in support of comprehensive labeling of genetically manipulated foods Mr. Lake had informed the delegates that they are obliged to support the position of the United States. This meant that Mr. Cohen would not be able to speak as a free citizen of the United States and voice his concern and view regarding genetically manipulated foods. Therefore, many of us who have taken the time to question our government's obvious inability to simply protect us by informing us that we are consuming genetically manipulated foods, wrote to the CODEX delegates representing all the other countries to inform them that there are many, many Americans who have very serious doubts about genetically manipulated foods and who want definitive labeling. Monday of this week, the 6th of March, Robert Lake removed Mr. Cohen from the CODEX meeting and thereby removed the voice of us Americans who are very concerned about what our families are eating. Many scientists and physicians have come forward stating adamantly their concern regarding genetically engineered foods. Our government is also ignoring them. The people need to know that genetic engineering recombines genetic material in the laboratory between species that do not interbreed whatsoever in Nature. The people need to know the truth on how genetic control and balanced functioning created by Nature is LOST through random splicing of foreign genes into host DNA. The insertion of a foreign gene into the midst of a DNA sequence disrupts the ordinary coding and can disturb the functioning of a cell in unpredictable and potentially hazardous ways. The people need to know that scientists understand the function of less than 5% of all DNA. Everything else is unknown territory. Bioscience depends on reductionism - the idea that by analyzing the parts, the properties of the whole can be deduced. Yet in 1999, "Science Magazine" cited examples of complex systems that can in no way be fully explained by an understanding of its parts. In addition it is now thought that important cell processes occur on a quantum physical level. What will the effect of a foreign gene have on the harmony of the whole? The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Biotechnology and International Journal Food Science Tech have all reported incidences of genetically modified organisms producing unanticipated toxins or allergens. The people need to know the truth about gene vectors, the Trojan horses, that genetic manipulation uses to cross the gene barrier which is Nature's way of insuring no cross breeding of species. The people need to know that gene vectors resist breakdown in the gut of mammals and that through ingestion a long term enteric reservoir for replication, recombination and dispersal of gene vectors has been created. The people need to know about naked DNA which is ploughed into the fields after a crop is harvested and finds its way through horizontal transfer into soil microorganisms especially bacteria. Recent findings show that the presence of antibiotics, which are extensively used in farming, greatly increases the frequency of horizontal gene transfer. The people need to know that this infected bacteria can spread on dust and on water and can be ingested by insects or birds and spread transcontinentally. The people need to know about bacteriophage viruses and their ability to transfer DNA through transduction or mating which can contribute to a further uncontrolled spread of genetically engineered genes. The people need to ask the government what plans they have to clean up contamination of genetic mistakes in our soil and water. What forms of treatment and insurance will be available for people who have been contaminated? The people need to ask the government why it has given carte blanche in the form of SELF-REGULATION to genetic tampering conglomerates such as Monsanto, Dupont, Dow, Hoechst and Novartis along with upstarts such as Ceres, Inc. Mendel Biotechnology and Paradigm Genetics. The people need to ask the government for the data supplied by Monsanto regarding its Roundup Ready Soybeans and how Monsanto determined their soybeans were safe for HUMAN consumption. A Monsanto official told the NEW YORK TIMES that the corporation should not have to take responsibility for the safety of its food products. "Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food," said Phil Angell, Monsanto's director of corporate communications. "Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's job," Angell said. The people need to ask the government about U.S. Patent 5,723,765, entitled "Control of Plant Gene Expression". The patent covers technology referred to as a plant "Technology Protection System" (TPS), otherwise known as Terminator Technology = the "kill gene" - that Monsanto, Delta and Pine Land Company have designed. The Terminator is a group of genes that can be spliced into any crop plant with one deadly result - sterilization of all of the plant's seeds. If this technology is adopted, the control of seed production will move from the farmer's field to corporate headquarters and farmers will become wholly dependent upon corporations for seeds. The TIMES said , "The Terminator will allow companies like Monsanto to privatize one of the last great commons in nature --the genetics of the crop plants that civilization has developed over the past 10,000 years." The patent covers ALL PLANTS..... The people need to ask the government why there is no data available to provide us with estimates of the possible harm that has just been released. The people need to ask the government why the USDA, the agency responsible for ecological safety, "has not rejected a single application for a genetically engineered crop," even though scientists say "the department has frequently relied on unsupported claims and shoddy studies by the seed companies" as reported in the NEW YORK TIMES. Also reported in the same article was the statement that "the Agriculture Department has set no scientific standard for proving the environmental safety of a plant." The Agriculture Department only asks "that petitioners explain why the new plant is unlikely or likely to pose a number of broadly defined risks." How about that for science??? The people need to ask the government why U.S. Farmers have not been able to find an international market for their genetically engineered crops. What do other countries know that our government will not acknowledge? The people need to ask food manufacturers such as Nestle why they have pulled genetically engineered foods out of the products in Europe but not in the United States. Why the double standard? Why did a representative of Nestle tell representatives of major seed companies and representatives of the biotech community at a recent industrial conference, " Don't expect us to take a bullet for your GMO products." The people need to ask the government why the British Medical Association, representing 115,000 doctors, called for "an open-ended moratorium on the planting of GM crops, a ban on releasing GMOs into the environment, and a review of the World Trade Agreement to ensure that human health and safety take precedence over global trade in foodstuffs and seed," reported PA News. What do they know that our government doesn't want us to know? The people need to ask the government about the reports coming in from Scotland to Switzerland on how the genetically tampered crops with pesticide resistance are killing off the beneficial insects also. What about the monarch butterflies at Cornell University? And for those of you only interested in the financial gains - Why did Deutsche Bank, the second largest bank in the world, state in a recent report " GMOs are, in our opinion, becoming a liability to farmers, " as they warn investors of the development of a two-tier grain market in which genetically modified crops will trade at a "discount" to non- genetically modified crops. It is already happening. Deutsche Bank also warns the world to "look out" when the average U.S. citizen finally finds out about genetically modified foods in its recent report "Ag Biotech: Thanks But No Thanks" The people need to ask Robert Lake, head of US delegation to CODEX, Commissioner Dr. Jane Henney of the FDA, Jeffrey Barach of the National Food Processors Association - the voice of the $460 billion food processing industry, Kyd Brenner of the Corn Refiners Association, David Hettinga from Land O' Lakes, David Hegwood from O'Mara Associates, Alex Jackson from the American Farm Bureau Federation, C.W. McMillan, former USDA Assistant Secretary, Henry Miller of the Hoover Institution , Michael Phillips, the executive director for Food & Agriculture, Dan Glickmann Secretary of Agriculture, Robert B. Shapiro, Richard J. Mahoney, Philip Needleman, Ph.D. all of Monsanto, who just made over $100 million between them in Monsanto stock, Kelloggs, Nestle, Quaker Oats, Pillsbury, Crisco, Kraft Foods, Green Giant, Campbell Soup, Mc Donald's, President Clinton, Farmers who plant these crops, the U.S.D.A. and YOUR SUPERMARKET who support genetic manipulation -- WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO OUR FOOD????? Remember our government used to tell us we would be safe under our desks in case of an atomic bomb attack... WAKE UP AMERICA, PLEASE WAKE UP..... But - wait a minute - isn't this a government of the people, by the people and for the people? Maybe we need to ask ourselves these questions and why we are allowing this all to happen. ----------------------- Citizens motivated to correspond with their elected officials visit http://www.commoncause.org/cgi-bin/congress.pl?cf=ccause/cong.cf **************** Monday, March 13 Today is the 128th of my hunger strike. Nations from around the world will meet with the American delagation in Tokyo. The American group should be called: The Monsanto delegation. Here is a letter that I delivered to the other world members on the eve of their departure: SCARLET LETTER TO CODEX DELEGATES --------------------------------- Dear CODEX members, I was to be a member of America's delegation to Japan, but my participation has been TERMINATED by the American delegate. Our Congress is considering laws that will label foods containing genetically modified organisms. Many of the members of the American delegation have paid money through lobbying and gifts to members of our Congess and Senate to try and defeat those proposed laws. The conflicts of interest, lack of integrity, and corruption on the part of the American delegation is a symbol of why America is losing respect throughout the world. By placing me on the ten-member team, Robert Lake made a symbolic choice that was in reality, merely a concession to the voices of dissent. By taking me off the team just a few days before the Tokyo meeting, Mr. Lake revealed more than just his bias and pre-determined position. Mr. Lake revealed that the United States delegation is actually the Monsanto delegation. Make no mistake, ladies and gentleman of the world... genetic engineering DOES NOT WORK! Monsanto created "freak amino acids" and hid the truth from the Food and Drug Administration. REAL SCIENCE: http://www.hungerstrike.com Monsanto lied and committed fraud. FDA continues to deceive the people of the United States and the world. Here is a symbolic depiction Monsanto's power: http://www.hungerstrike.com/betrayed.html Will you exercise the strength of your convictions and possess the integrity to resist America's agenda? ***************** Tuesday, March 14 HEADLINE: When the corn hits the fan SYNOPSIS: Do raccoons and deer avoid fields filled with genetically modified corn? Here's one not-so-funny anecdote published in a farm magazine. DIARY ENTRY: Today is the 129th day of my hunger strike. Six months ago, Steven Sprinkel reported some very bad news regarding Monsanto's Roundup-Ready corn and soybeans (ACRES, USA, September 18, 1999). Sprinkel's evidence is anecdotal. Sadly, FDA does not require manufacturers of genetically engineered agricultural products to produce studies demonstrating human safety. Farmers' observations, collected by this reporter, give all consumers reasons to be concerned. One can question the integrity of scientists and politicians and reporter, but, in the long run, one believes their testimony. Reporters have a code of ethics, and journalists do not last long in their field if they make up stories. I have no choice but to believe Steve Sprinkle's observations, but I also have no proof. That being said, here is what Mr. Sprinkel wrote after interviewing many of America's farmers for his biotechnology story: "Darwin's Tree is Upside-Down Why, you can put your cattle out into GMO corn stubble and they just won't touch it. Oh, they'll bite that new brome down to the ground, but they won't eat the GMO corn stubble. After four months of retrieving anecdotes from Kansas to Wisconsin, I think its high time to sample the producer community more thoroughly to see how many stories there are out there. About the hogs that wouldn't eat the ration when the GMO crops were included. About the farmer who said " Well, if you want your cattle to go off their feed, just switch them out to a GMO silage." About the farmer who said that his cattle broke through an old fence and ate down the non-GMO hybrids but wouldn't touch the Round-up ready corn, and as a matter of fact " They had to walk through the GMOs to get to the Pioneer 3477 on the other side." About the cattleman who saw the weight-gain of his cattle fall off when he switched over to GMO sources. About the organic farmer with a terrible deer problem on his soybeans, and when he drives out at night there are forty of them mowing down his tofu beans while across the road there isn't one doe eating on the Round-up Readies. About the raccoons romping by the dozen in the organic corn, while down the road there isn't one ear that's been touched in the Bt fields. Even the mice will move on down the line if given an alternative to these "crops". What is it that they know instinctively that most of us ignore? I have been traveling around with a bag of contaminated cob corn on the floor of my vehicle, and I have begun to think of it as if it was a bag of plutonium. My truck should probably be de-contaminated by a Haz-Mat facility. I should probably be put under observation to see what the affect of so much exposure to glyphos and Bt pollen has done to me. I'll bet my blood will kill mosquitoes now." ******************* Wednesday, March 15 Today is the 130th day of my hunger strike. Each morning during my fast, I have started my day with the juice of a lemon squeezed into a 12-ounce glass of bottled water. I use no sweetener and enjoy the smell and taste of the fresh citrus. This morning, I was just in the mood for something a bit more substantial. After my lemon juice, I went to the refrigerator where I had stored about two quarts of extra large red grapes. You've had these grapes before. You've bitten into these mini water balloons and an explosion of flavor and liquid has filled your mouth. These are fruits with seeds, but they are much more flavorful than the ones that have been engineered and cross-pollinated to be smaller, less tasty, and seedless. As I drank the juice, I went back in my mind 40 years to a Mighty Mouse Welch's Grape Juice commercial. I've always loved the smell and taste of that purple juice, but the fresh variety is nothing like the "dead" cooked version. If you've tasted fresh apple cider and apple juice, you know the difference and can relate. When I attended the Culinary Institute of America in 1973, I was fortunate enough to dine at a meal attended by supporters of that university. One of the dishes served was a mushroom stew prepared with fresh morels, cepes, and chanterelles. Along with that dish, I enjoyed an entire bottle of 1953 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Wine lovers can blindly tell you the vintage and vineyard from one sip of a particular sample. As a fan of Cabernet Sauvignon, I have memories of some of the great American wines, such as Beaulieu and Heitz. I remember the 1953 bottle because it was my first experience with a perfectly aged great vintage. It was Technicolor. Today's grape juice was Technicolor. I could taste the life, and the few minutes that I spent juicing the fruit and cleaning the machine were well worth the time and effort. ****************** Thursday, March 16 Today is the 131st day of my hunger strike. A visit to the National Corn Growers Association website immediately reveals their sponsor, DU PONT. http://www.ncga.com In 1998, Monsanto conducted $8.6 billion worth of business and was the third largest chemical company in america. Dow Chemical grosses $17 billion, while DUPONT was #1 with a volume $30 billion. DUPONT also owns the largest seed company in the world, Pioneer Hy-Bred. Last year, corn growers had nowhere to sell their surplus corn, and much of it sat rotting on Mississippi River freighters, unable to be stored in overflowing warehouses. Last summer, corn farmers were receiving $1.87 for a bushel of corn while the costs of growing a bushel were $3.25. The NCGA site reveals that half of all corn grown in America becomes animal feed. Here is one very fascinating bit of food trivia that not only demonstrates the lack of nutrition in America's breakfast cereals but it demonstrates who is getting the money and who is not. I learned that a one-pound box of corn flakes, selling for $3.55 in the supermarket, contains a mere $.02 of corn. Recently, Cornell University scientists demonstrated that Monarch butterflies, eating the pollen from genetically engineered corn, were dying. Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced Senate Bill S 2080 that would require the labeling of food products containing genetically modified organisms. Congressman Dennis Kucinich has introduced a similar bill, HR-3377, in the House. I believe that people have a right to know what they are eating, particularly when real science has proven that there is much to be concerned about regarding genetically engineered foods. Here is the position of the National Corn Growers Association: "NCGA urges Congress to oppose efforts to mandate labeling of food or food products produced through biotechnology. We oppose the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act." What this industry organization also opposes is a farmer's right to make a living. As we grow more food with less demand (Europe will not buy any of our genetically modified corn), we only hurt those people who this agency pretends to serve. **************** Friday, March 17 Today is the 132nd day of my hunger strike. In 1968 I was a high school junior watching students riot in the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. At that time, if you had mentioned Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to your parents or any establishment type, that statement would have widened what became known as the "Generation Gap." One of the founding members of the SDS would later become one of seven American arrested and in a group of people collectively called the "Chicago 7." This man became known for many things including his marriage to another famous activist, Jane Fonda. Today, Tom Hayden is a California State senator. Senator Hayden has introduced two bills in the California legislature having to do with genetic engineering. SB 1315 has to do with the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms. SB 1514 requires that schools notify parents and children if they intend to serve foods containing genetically engineered organisms. Senator Hayden wrote: "The Legislature finds and declares that members of the public have the right to know whether the food they or their children consume, is produced with genetically engineered material. In particular, parents of school children have a right to know whether the food provided in school snacks, breakfast, and lunch programs, or after school programs, contains genetically engineered material. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide parents of public school children with the right to know whether genetically altered food is being served in public schools and to require school districts to disclose that information as a condition of receiving state reimbursement of funds for school meals." ****************** Saturday, March 18 Today is the 133rd day of my hunger strike. Ninety years ago, the greatest infield ever to play the game had poems written about them, immortalizing Tinker (SS) to Evers (2B) to Chance (1B). In 1910, the Chicago Cubs finished in first place. Although the famous double play combination only combined for a total of three home runs (Sammy Sosa's production on a good day), the 1990's home run hit by Pete Hardin may very well be biotechnology's game winner. Pete Hardin is the editor of the Milkweed, a Wisconsin pro-dairy publication. Hardin rallied his readers to collectively reject Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone during the early 1990s. This courageous journalist used his newsletter to publish confidential internal Monsanto documents. Hardin obtained those documents in a remarkable way. They were first given to America's most noted anti-biotechnology activist, Jeremy Rifkin, by a Monsanto employee. Rifkin threw the ball over to author John Stauber who quickly turned and fired the documents to Pete Hardin who was "playing first base." Tinker to Evers to Chance. Rifkin to Stauber to Hardin. Many documents were published by the Milkweed exposing Monsanto's lies and deceptions. In September of 1993, Pete Hardin published an internal company confidential report revealing that the manufacturing process for the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone was seriously flawed. The memo referred to a serious contamination affecting 1,650 pounds (750 kilograms) of genetically engineered bovine growth hormone powder. Hardin wrote: "Monsanto acknowledges that during the first quarter of 1993, a huge amount of rbGH manufactured by a supplier was contaminated. This revelation is very, very significant. It has been widely projected that biotechnology production was like making Jell-O, i.e., pretty foolproof, once the routine was established. Biotechnology rests upon the premise that laboratory batches of synthetic products can be consistently manufactured. A huge batch contamination of Monsanto's rbGH, as acknowledged here, shows that in fact quality control can go awry, big time, in rbGH manufacture. This revelation is one of the most damning that has ever come from Monsanto." This internal document was circulated just a few months before Monsanto received approval for their bovine growth hormone. The question that I have is: Did Monsanto tell the FDA that their manufacturing process was producing errors? The last time I filed a Freedom of Information Act request, it took the FDA 85 days to give me an answer despite the fact that the Justice Department mandates a 20-day turnaround for such requests. This time, we trust that the FDA will act responsibly and give us an answer in a timely manner. On Friday, I submitted a new Freedom of Information Act request that will reveal the answer to the question of whether Monsanto informed the FDA about this manufacturing error. **************** Sunday, March 19 Today is the 134th day of my hunger strike. This past week, I spoke to Gary Barton, Monsanto's official spokesman for the bovine growth hormone. I asked him to comment on the fact that Monsanto created five "freak" amino acids during the manufacturing process of the bovine growth hormone, and never revealed those errors to the Food & Drug Administration. I told Barton that my Freedom of Information Act request revealed absolutely no communication between Monsanto and FDA. I also revealed to Barton that Monsanto changed the formula and, on the day after they received official approval, sent the "smoking gun evidence, the missing glove evidence, and the blood trail" to a scientific journal. I asked Barton for his comments. He made me repeat it three times. Here is Monsanto's official position: "Monsanto, in the process of obtaining regulatory approval for bovine somatotropin, has supplied complete and accurate data to the FDA and other regulatory agencies." With Monsanto's quote, we return to square one. Either Monsanto is lying or the FDA is lying. The Freedom of Information Act request (file #F99-26306) revealed that "A thorough search of CVM's files has been conducted, and no records responsive to your request have been found." I received a bill for $725 from the FDA for the processing of that request. Their analysis of their files was thoroughly conducted. This past week, I also spoke to Linda Suydam, Senior Associate Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration. In that conversation, I requested a private audience with FDA Commissioner Jane Henney, M.D. Linda Suydam has been the second most powerful at the FDA for the last three commissioners-David Kessler, Michael Freidman, and Current Commissioner, Jane Henney. I like her and she has a reputation for maintaining the highest amount of professionalism and integrity. On April 21, 1995, Dr. Suydam had arranged a meeting for me with Monsanto's top scientists at FDA's investigative branch, the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Dr. Suydam informed me that she and the Commissioner were well aware of the progress of my petition and of the investigation. She told me that a decision would be made by April 20, 2000. I asked Dr. Suydam if I could quote her on that date and her response was "Yes, you can." The clock is running and America awaits FDA's decision. It will take great courage for FDA to do the right thing. America expects nothing less. **************** Monday, March 20 Today is the 135th day of my hunger strike. More comedy from FDA. Below are three letters. The first one, written March 7 to FDA Commissioner Henney, praised FDA and condemned Monsanto. The second, a response from FDA, took exception to my letter, and, in fact, took my attack personally. Read the third letter and then ask yourself this question: When I attack Monsanto, do I really attack FDA, and are they really taking this personally? ------------ TO FDA (1) March 7, 2000 Commissioner Jane Henney Delivered by fax: (301) 443-3100 Food & Drug Administration Parklawn 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857 RE: FOIA Request No. 99026306 / Citizen Petition 99P-4613 Dear Commissioner Henney: Thank you so much for your letter dated March 6, 2000. This is exciting news! As you know, the information I requested was either going to be very bad news for FDA or Monsanto. The good news for FDA is that you did not lie, none of your officials lied and no one at FDA deceived America. The bad news is that Monsanto changed the formula for their drug without telling anybody. In the world of political and scientific decisions, I am very pleased that FDA now has the evidence of Monsanto's fraud. The unfortunate thing is that Monsanto has enormous power and your predecessors, Michael Freidman and Arthur Hull Hayes have left FDA to go to work for Monsanto. You may be aware that I had been chosen to be a member of the 10-person delegation to the CODEX meeting in Tokyo. On today's date, I was informed by Bob Lake that I have been removed from that committee. Monsanto's lobbying efforts have gained an ear with Mr. Lake and the official United States' position is contrary to the wishes of Americans and the rest of the world. Now that you are armed with evidence of Monsanto's deception, I await your official decision with great anticipation. Very truly yours, Robert Cohen ------------ From FDA (2) Mr. Robert Cohen Dairy Education Board 325 Sylvan Avenue Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 Request No. 99026306/Citizen Petition 99P-4613 Dear Mr. Cohen: Thank you for your letter of March 7, 2000 to FDA Commissioner Henney regarding FOIA Request No. 99026306/Citizen Petition 99P-4613. The Commissioner has asked me to respond for her. I must take exception to the suggestion that FDA officials would lie to you or that they would act in any way to deceive America. This characterization is simply unrepresentative of FDA employees. The people who work at FDA are most conscientious and diligent in their work of protecting the public health. I know I must speak for the Commissioner and every employee at FDA in refuting your insinuation that FDA employees would lie to the public we serve. I can say that we have your CP 99P-4613 under consideration. We will be responding to your concerns. Thank you for stating your concern. Sincerely yours, Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D. Director, Center for Veterinary Medicine ------------ TO FDA (3) March 17, 2000 Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D. Delivered by fax: (301) 594-1830 Director, Center for Veterinary Medicine HFV1 7500 Standish Pl. Rockville, MD 20855 RE: Citizen Petition 99P-4613 Dear Dr. Sundlof: I am in receipt of your letter dated March 14, 2000. In response to my letter to Commissioner Henney dated March 7, 2000, you wrote: "I must take exception to the suggestion that FDA officials would lie to you or that they would act in any way to deceive America." In fact, I wrote: "... the information I requested was either going to be very bad news for FDA or Monsanto. The good news for FDA is that you did not lie, none of your officials lied and no one at FDA deceived America…I am very pleased that FDA now has the evidence of Monsanto's fraud." You might recall in your letter of January 23, 1995, to Frederich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, the Vice President of the Agricultural Committee of the European Parliament. You wrote: "... I must take issue with your claim that "more and more scientific evidence" is raising questions about the safety of rbST, and with your apparent implication that FDA approved rbST prematurely. I can assure you that FDA's human food safety experts have been diligent and thorough in their review of all aspects of the human food safety of milk from cows receiving supplemental rbST" When I met with FDA scientists on April 21, 1995, I learned that the most important study (Richard, Odaglia and Deslex) submitted by Monsanto was never reviewed. Page 2 (To FDA letter 3) Stephen F. Sundlof CVM March 17, 2000 Subsequent to my meeting, FDA learned that their major conclusion (no biological effects from oral ingestion of rbGH) was incorrect. In 1996, I helped prepare research for 60 Minutes' producer, Isadore Roesmarin for a segment on aspartame. A few months earlier, I had met with Michael Freidman and had given him a study that FDA called "pivotal". In that study, every single rhesus monkey orally ingesting Monsanto's NutraSweet developed grand mal epileptic seizures. I watched at home as Freidman told a 60 Minutes reporter that there was never evidence of adverse effects on laboratory animals from aspartame ingestion. Freidman later became the acting Commissioner at FDA and then went to work for Monsanto. I am comforted by your representation that FDA employees do not lie or deceive America. I have met you, Commissioner Jane Henney and Andy Beaulieu at CVM and trust that every person that I recently met is trying to do the right thing and be entirely consistent with their fiduciary role. A review of my petition (CP 99P-4613) will reveal no gray issues, just black and white. Monsanto changed the formula for the bovine growth hormone after the review was completed and neglected to inform FDA that five "freak" amino acids were produced. The American people will accept nothing less than an immediate recall of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. In addition, Monsanto should be severely disciplined for their unprecedented fraud so that other developers of genetically modified organisms are not tempted to repeat similar deceits. Very truly yours, ***************** Tuesday, March 21 Today is the 136th day of my hunger strike. I am sending today's diary entry to this list of people at FDA: FDA Commissioner "Jane Henney" fax #301-443-3100 FDA Senior Associate Commissioner "Linda Suydam" fax#301-443-3100 CVM Director "Stephen Sundlof" fax #301-594-1830 CVM Deputy Director "Andrew Beaulieu" fax #301-594-1830 Office of the Inspector General "Kathryn Dahl" #202-401-0502 CVM Ombudsman "Marcia Larkins" fax #594-4512 Director of New Animal Drug Evaluation "Claire Lathers" fax #301-594-2297 Strategic Manager for Biotechnology, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition "Jim Maryanski" fax #202-401-2893 Director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance "Linda Tollefson" fax #301-594-4512 Director of the Office of Regulations & Policy, Center of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, "Robert Lake" fax #202-401-7739 Congressman Dennis Kucinich http://www.house.gov/kucinich/index.htm fax #202-225-5745 "Senator Barbara Boxer" fax #202-228-4056 ************************* Dear Commissioner Henney: There comes a time in a decision-making process when the consequences of that decision should be carefully considered. Once a decision is made, it becomes too late for change. The decision that your agency must make on April 20 will have great meaning, and the eyes of the world are firmly focused upon you. Monsanto clearly deceived the Food & Drug Administration during the approval process for their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH). Monsanto: - Created five "freak" amino acids - Did not inform the FDA of their errors - Fixed the problem by changing the formula - Created a 750 kg. phage contamination of rbGH in September of 1993 - Waited until after approval to publish evidence of their deception It is well accepted that a breast cancer can take up to ten years to grow from one cell into a one million-cell tumor, representing the tiniest lump a woman can feel in her breast. Recently, the New York Times revealed that there is a 50% increase ("explosion") in breast cancers in the African-American community. When cows are injected with rbGH: - Levels of IGF-I in milk increase - IGF-I has been called a key factor in the growth of every breast cancer - IGF-I is identical in humans and cows - Nations with the highest rates of breast cancer are also nations with the highest rates of milk consumption - Milk drinkers experience a 10% increase in blood serum levels of IGF-I Your choices are clear, and the consequences of your actions will be unmistakable. Should you dismiss Monsanto's deception then FDA clearly erases the fine line that many still believe separates FDA and Monsanto. Such a decision will not be tolerated by the American people, and will serve to act as a symbol of Monsanto's power and FDA's inability to act as America's fiduciary. Should FDA act to impose sanctions upon Monsanto and immediately revoke rbGH from America's marketplace, FDA will also immediately become a hero to those Americans who have criticized conflicts of interest, but who wish to confirm and celebrate America's greatness. The choice is yours to make, but let me respectfully alert you that the consequences of your actions will be enormous. Very truly yours, ******************* Wednesday, 22 March Today is the 137th day of my hunger strike. During World War II, American pilots were able to be relieved from flying dangerous missions by having a military psychiatrist declare them to be "insane." However, any pilot who demonstrated a desire not to fly suicide missions had to, logically, be sane. That became the "Catch-22" made famous by Joseph Heller's novel and subsequent movie. CIGARETTE SMOKING AND CANCER The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act grants the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate, "drugs" and "devices." In 1996, the FDA asserted jurisdiction to regulate tobacco products, concluding that nicotine is a "drug" and cigarettes are "devices" that deliver nicotine to the body. The FDA found that tobacco use is the Nations leading cause of premature death, resulting in more than 400,000 deaths annually, and that most adult smokers begin when they are minors. A group of tobacco manufacturers, retailers, and advertisers filed suit challenging the FDA’s regulations. Yesterday, the Supreme Court applied "Catch-22" logic to the cigarette controversy and concluded that cigarette smoking could not be dangerous because FDA would have taken them off the market if they were unsafe. Faced with a dilemma of overwhelming scientific proof that cigarette smoking is linked to cancer, the Supreme Court concluded: "... if tobacco products were "devices" under the FDCA, the FDA would be required to remove them from the market." Since FDA has not removed dangerous cancer-causing cigarettes, the Court concluded that they must be safe. In yesterday's ruling, the Court ruled that FDA no longer has jurisdiction over cigarette regulatory decisions. Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, and Monsanto's Clarence Thomas joined. One day, similar logic may rule that genetically engineered accidents are nobody's fault and they are safe because nobody has jurisdiction. Is anybody piloting this plane? ****************** Thursday, 23 March Today is the 138th day of my hunger strike. I subscribe to many dairy industry magazines and newsletters and am on speaking terms with a number of dairy farmers. I also subscribe to Internet chat groups, and recent information has been a bit disturbing. If a human child is born with a birth defect because of a drug that his mother took, the first surprise report of an adverse effect is deemed "anecdotal." Initial reports from dairy farmers are also anecdotal. They reflect previously unforeseen effects from the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, rbST. One farmer has given me permission to print his name and address along with his letter. The second farmer called me "the devil," and asked that I withhold his name and address when including his comments. Both letters contradict FDA's determination that cow's were unaffected after rbST injections. Two letters do not make a scientific study, but they are certainly enough to indicate that a monitoring program would appropriately be applied to the increased suffering of dairy cows from rbST injections. LETTER #1 "The beef buyer that I send my beef to, told me that the quality of beef cows on BST is no where near as good as beef cows that are not on BST. He has been buying beef for 38 years and has no ax to grind with BST users. It is an opinion from someone that ought to know and I believe him. Lyle Edwards dairy farmer Westfield Vt. spudkitt@yahoo.com" LETTER #2 "I recently was told by an acquaintance with some experience in slaughter houses, that many BST cull cows have such weak bones that you could break their pelvic bones with your hands. Funny how that calcium for the extra milk has to come from somewhere... NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD" **************** Friday, March 24 Today is the 139th day of my hunger strike. HealthGate, an Internet magazine, has just grabbed the bull by the horns. Author Linda Formichelli recently interviewed me for her milk story and wrote the following: "Another vocal dairy detractor is Robert Cohen, author of Milk: The Deadly Poison. In his book, Cohen attributes the growth of certain cancers to insulin-like growth factor, or IGF1. "IGF1 is the key factor in the growth and proliferation of every single breast cancer that has ever grown in any woman," says Cohen. Cohen asserts that autopsies of people who have died from reasons other than cancer show that cancer is very common. "Between the ages of 40 and 50, 39.6% of women actually have breast cancer," he says. Normally, these cancers are controlled by the immune system, but Cohen says that IGF1 releases the tight genetic controls of the immune system, allowing the cancer to grow. He backs his assertion with the fact that the countries with the highest dairy intake also have the highest incidences of breast cancer. Cohen also puts the blame on milk for asthma, attention deficit disorder, heart disease, mood swings, obesity and more-not to mention problems caused by the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone rBGH, which stimulates milk production in cows." For the entire story: http://bewell.healthgate.com/healthy/eating/2000/milk/index.asp ****************** Saturday, March 25 Today is the 140th day of my hunger strike. This week I was fortunate enough to have Howard Lyman as my houseguest. Those of you who know Howard appreciate this leader of America's vegan movement. His book "Mad Cowboy" is one of the best I have ever read, and it was a gift to be able to share my home with him and "think tank" our way into the 21st century. Last Saturday night, Howard and I drove to Kingston, New York where we each spoke to the Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society. All I can say is that having each other as mutual captive audiences for a four-hour trip is an unforgettable experience. Howard and I each took turn tying up my family telephone line with newspaper, magazine, and radio interviews. Some people say that the presidents and vice-presidents of major corporations should not travel on the same plane. Well, here were the two of us, myself and the "Chairmen of the Board" sharing the same home, and I wondered if our bitterest enemies would have fantasized about "killing two birds with one stone." During the week, I spoke in Newark, New Jersey and Middletown, New York, and did a few cable television shows. I am also continuing conversations with a reporter representing America's largest newspaper chain. Yesterday, I flew to Texas where I spoke to the Vegetarian Society of El Paso. Today, friends are treating my daughter and me to a sightseeing tour of Mexico's Ciudad Juarez. This evening, I'll be attending a potluck dinner in El Paso, and Jennifer will be designated eater. Our family loves Tex-Mex food and it doesn't get any better than this. I'll stick with the juice from the mescal plant. A shot of tequila, some lime...hold the worm. **************** Sunday, March 26 FDA ALERT: FDA TO HOLD SPECIAL HEARING Today is the 141st day of my hunger strike. The FDA is holding a public meeting on April 4, 2000 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM at the Department of Education, Barnard Auditorium (Federal Building 6), 400 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, D.C. This building is one block east of the L'Enfant Metro Station (Maryland Ave. exit). FDA is seeking public comment supplements. To speak at the meeting, call Carole A. Williams at 301-827-4421. WHO WILL ATTEND THE MEETING? Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals who seek to have you lose the right to take supplements. Insiders who lobby congress and FDA to take away your rights. The FDA has only given a one-week notice to apply to attend to this meeting, which is unusually short. It's obvious the FDA would like to assure themselves that the public has no interest in this area. Come to the meeting and register to testify. Bring a friend. Write your statement and read it into the public record. **************** Monday, March 27 Today is the 142nd day of my hunger strike. Lots of people don't like me. I am included in the top ten list of many people's Year 2000 dead pool. Death threats? I get plenty! (I have so many enemies, even Inspector Gadget would have trouble compiling a complete list of suspects and would never find the missing glove) TOP TEN REASONS WHY NO COMPANY WILL SELL ME LIFE INSURANCE! 10) I insult dairy producers: Ten million dairy people hate my guts... they call me the Salman Rushdie of the state of Wisconsin. A dairy farmer with an IQ of 85 (most dairymen look up to him as Dr. Einstein) is stalking me, intending to bury me in his North 40. 9) I insult the establishment: I write a daily column insulting government bureaucrats at the FDA (Fraud and Deceit Administration) and USDA (United States Department of Abominations. I called Donna Shalala ugly (Secretary of HHS -- Health and Human Sadism) because she posed for a milk mustache ad. 8) I insult America's most-connected company: I refer to Monsanto ($27 billion pharmaceutical company) as Monsatan. They make dioxins, PCB, Agent Orange... Fact is, they are really saving America. If not for them, we would bankrupt our social security system and pensions funds. America cannot afford to have the average citizen live until age 90. 7) I insult the largest lobbying group in America, the AMA: I disrespect the AMA (American Malpractice Association) because doctors rarely take classes in nutrition, and an increase in America's health would mean a decrease in their cash flow. Dr. C. Everett Koop worked as a lobbyist for Monsanto. 6) I offend African-Americans: I refer to Clarence Thomas as a white man with black skin; the Supreme Court justice was once Monsanto's lawyer. I insult Spike Lee because he wears a milk mustache (got $20,000 to pay for his Knick seats for that ad) and 95% of African-Americans are lactose intolerant. He's clueless, as are Patrick Ewing, Dennis Rodman, the Williams sisters, Naomi Campbell, and, may she rest in peace, Flo Jo. 5) I offend Democrats and Republicans: I have exposed members of Congress and the Senate for the crooks that they are, selling out to private industry by exchanging their votes for dollars, which they legitimize by calling those bribes PAC donations. 4) I offend women: I call women clueless. On one hand, the fairer sex is terrified of breast cancer, yet refuse to accept the fact that a milk hormone, IGF-I, has been called the key factor in the growth of breast and uterine cancer. They buy into dairy industry brainwashing ads, afraid that their bones will break if they do not drink milk. Despite the fact that the nations with the highest rates of milk consumption (Denmark, Holland, Norway, and Sweden) also have the highest rates of bone disease and breast cancer, woman still think that they look beautiful wearing a milk mustache. 3) I insult the Fourth Estate: Laws were passed to terrorize the media. It is against the law to criticize an agricultural product in 13 states. Magazines, newspapers, television and radio all derive millions of dollars from dairy industry funding. America's media refuses to bite the hand that feeds it. 2) The Catholic Church is beginning to take note of me: Cardinal Biffi of Bologna (yes, I looked it up and this story is true) said that the antichrist is alive and he is a vegetarian (I am), a charismatic leader who charms his enemies (I have many in the dairy industry who I am friends with), is an activist ("I Love Trouble"), and is an animal rights advocate (I'm forming a new organization called AnimalSave). Many people wrote to me and wanted to know if the Archbishop was referring to me. The non-leather shoe fits my soul. Cardinal Biffi claims that the antichrist-veggie uses the New Testament to further his agenda. That being said, I usually cite HEBREWS 5:13. (ASIDE TO CARDINAL BEEF FROM BALONEY: You can look that up in your Funk & Wagnall's!) AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON WHY MY DAYS ARE NUMBERED, AND NO INSURANCE COMPANY WILL SELL ME A POLICY: (Yes---this is my final answer...) 1) I insult President Clinton by insulting Monica: During the impeachment hearings, I suggested that Lewinsky's photo be printed on a t-shirt, wearing a milk mustache, captioned: NOTMILK! My photo is available for dartboards, lining birdcages, and dairy barn floors. ***************** Tuesday, March 28 Today is the 143rd day of my hunger strike. The View From Above What a beautiful country this is from the air. Rivers and mountains border patchwork quilts. Each piece of the mosaic represents innumerable acres of farmland. Dark green rye grass returns much-needed nitrogen to the soil while light green shades of grass and weeds temporarily take over before spring's planting. Shades of amber and brown contain silage from last autumn's harvest or freshly plowed fields... or land that is dormant and dead from modern day agricultural methods that take from the earth and give nothing back. Last fall, Americans protested in the streets of Seattle and Oakland, Chicago and Washington, unhappy with a rulemaking process by which they innocently stand by as victims, observers to a loss of innocence and dignity. The World Trade Organization seeks to make the rules and, in doing so defines who rules. CODEX determines those regulations for the safety of genetically engineered organisms. The Food and Drug Administration determines the policy for CODEX, which in turn makes the rules by which all of the world's nations may one day become unified. Trickle down politics. Multinational corporations exert influence, and the people are betrayed. The rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are just words on an aging piece of paper in an archived building in a city that is controlled by dollars and not values. Should it not be the inalienable right of every American to know what he or she is eating? Should concerned consumers be given a choice as to whether or not the foods they purchase contain genetically altered organisms? Japanese food buyers control our non-genetically engineered soybean crop. They buy all of the goodness, and their rejects become food for Americans. European food processors refuse and renounce America's genetically engineered corn and wheat. America's farmers are subsidized by American taxpayers because their patchwork quilts representing America's food supply cost more to grow than processors are willing to pay. Enormous grain surpluses require unique solutions. America's solution is to grow even more grain... or pay farmers not to grow grain, and at the same time, genetically engineer seeds that provide greater yields and fill America's storage silos and grain warehouses. We became guests of Dr. Jim Gibson and his wife, Joan, sleeping in their El Paso home. Freshly made juices from locally grown citrus were in their refrigerator. I was invited to Texas by the El Paso Vegetarian Society and spoke before an enthusiastic group of vegetarians. Many non-members attended the dinner and talk, people who were exploring possible changes in their diet. On Saturday, Jennifer and I went to Juarez, Mexico, for a day of turista-like sightseeing and shopping. Mexico became the first user of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, approved with little or no regulatory oversight by Mexico's non-regulatory drug agency. Drug dealers take over Juarez at night, and Americans are warned to observe extreme caution when visiting this city of two million. Across the Rio Grande is El Paso, a city of nearly one million. I had the opportunity to do two television interviews, and have been invited back to do the morning show by the host of El Paso's number one-rated station. I challenged her to invite any ten of the dairy industry's best scientists, farmers, and marketing people to a debate, and she loves the idea. Two fast-paced exciting days and we return home. It all looks so beautiful and simple from a plane 31,000 feet in the sky. The seeds will soon be planted in those tiny fields below. Farmers must make their choices soon, and agricultural lobbyists are making them offers that are hard to refuse. Will tillers of the soil take chances by purchasing genetically engineered seeds and, in doing so plant the seeds to their destruction? Biotechnology's subsidies dangle like genetically engineered carrots. Pressures. To buy Monsanto's seeds or not to buy... that is the question. Seeds that represent a destruction of values. Seeds that represent lower prices. Seeds that represent the creation of different organisms. Seeds that represent Monarch butterflies that will be no more. ******************* Wednesday, March 29 Today is the 144th day of my hunger strike. What will they think of next? Yesterday's little boys with chemistry sets have matured into twenty-first century researchers with sophisticated tools. As children, they mixed red liquids with blues to produce colorless solutions. Many who survived their random investigations grew up to become Monsanto, Dow, and Du Pont scientists. Their unique solutions might evolve into bizarre problems. During the past decade, a blink of an eye in mankind's chronological past, scientists have deciphered the secrets of nature's genetic code and have engineered drugs and technologies that will forever change the foods we eat. Throughout history, emerging technologies have provided unanticipated surprises. A swimmer does not jump or dive into a stream, unless he is first aware of the depth. Broken legs and necks often become rewards for those leaping into the unknown. Researchers have previously combined genetic material from flounder and trout into potatoes and tomatoes. Scientists have combined E-coli bacteria with bovine growth hormones and have implanted human genes into pigs and cows. Cows in test herds now produce human breast milk and pigs grow human organs for transplant. Will the next generation of infants moo and might future organ recipient's oink their disapproval? Six rabbits brought to Australia in the 1880's have become 100 million tundra-stripping bunnies. Mollusks from the Far East clog intake valves of California water treatment plants. A virulent weed, kudzu, grows wild and uncontrolled throughout the southeastern United States and each year the prolific invader crosses highways and forests as it germinates across America. Billions of dollars have already been spent to limit the uncontrollable spread of alien species. Genetic engineering represents the leading edge of sci-fi nightmares. Pollens from canola plants, bred to endure pesticides, have been carried by the wind in the basket-like rear appendages of bees legs, and have passed that very powerful resistance into superweeds. There will be more surprises. Foods and seeds produced as a result of the new biotechnology have been proven different than the products they replaced, contradicting pre-conceived notions of substantial equivalence. Regulatory agencies do not require testing or labeling of food products containing genetically altered organisms, and have downplayed the significance of such errors. Monarch butterflies eating pollen from genetically engineered corn have died, and rats treated with the bovine growth hormone developed cancers. The Food and Drug Administration does not require manufacturers to label foods containing a genetically modified organism (GMO), and defends those manufacturers who produced past errors. Will there be future errors? Narratives of the past have taught man that history repeats itself. I am an animal rights advocate and hold most life precious. However, when a creature continuously attacks my family, with bad intentions, I draw the line. The one creature I hate above all others is the flying hypodermic syringe known as the mosquito. This creature sucks blood with one tube and injects its often-contaminated platelet melting venom with another. The bumps that rise on my skin and the subsequent discomfort leaves little empathy in my heart for the creatures who have been known to spread malaria, Nile fever, encephalitis, and various plagues. What will be the result when mosquitoes, bees, wind, gnats, ticks, mice, rats, and other carriers of man's bacteria, viruses, and genetically modified errors run, swim, or fly rampant through our environment? Top Ten Biotechnology Errors I Don't Wish To Witness 10) Mosquitoes injecting virus, bacteria, hormones, etc. from one genetically engineered species into an innocent human victim. 9) Immunities to Monsanto's (last) Roundup passed on to superweeds as they have done this year on Canadian farms. 8) Blood-sucking ticks filled with prions from genetically engineered cows making their way from Monsanto's Missouri fields to my garden state of New Jersey. 7) Blood sucking, money grubbing senators and congressmen soliciting millions of dollars in PAC money from biotech firms seeking legislation that will not require mandatory labeling of foods containing GMOs. 6) A laboratory animal containing a genetically engineered weapon of warfare, escaping its lab or being liberated by idealistic members of the Animal Liberation Front or PETA. 5) A deranged Monsanto scientist (as opposed to the sane ones who are cognizant of terrifying secrets and their consequences) intentionally releasing a genetically coded message into the environment. 4) Terrorists or terrorist nations using biological weapons as a means to achieving their end (and our end). 3) Monsanto getting a second one of their King & Spalding attorneys appointed to the Supreme Court, like they did with Clarence Thomas, and having an important to be decided biotechnology case reach that court. 2) Monsanto's King & Spalding attorney, Michael Taylor, becoming a member of the Cabinet of the president elected in November of 2000. 1) A secret laboratory cloning and genetically engineering thousands of humans with the same brain and behavioral characteristics of Monsanto president, Robert Shapiro. Heaven forbid! ****************** Thursday, March 30 Today is the 145th day of my hunger strike. Dear Mr. Shapiro: It is my duty to inform you, that on this twenty-eighth day of March in the year 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is revoking the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH), also known as Posilac. This directive is effective immediately, and Monsanto is forthwith ordered to immediately cease manufacture of, marketing of, and distribution of rbGH. A citizen petition filed on November 7, 1999 (docket number 99P-4613) asserted that Monsanto changed Posilac's formula after FDA conducted its exhaustive NADA review. An analysis of that petition and subsequent review has confirmed that the petitioner's concerns were accurate and warranted. Simultaneous to the issuance of this order, FDA is imposing upon Monsanto a $250 million dollar fine, which shall be placed in escrow for dairy farmers who have experienced financial hardship or damage to their herds as a result of Posilac use. FDA is issuing an immediate recall of Posilac and will compensate dairymen for past, current, and future losses from that escrow fund. Furthermore, FDA has determined that Monsanto conceived of a plan in which, at the very least, severe conflicts of interest were created. As a result of Monsanto's influence, FDA did not conduct a fair and impartial analyses of the original applicant's research data. FDA's internal investigation places some, but not all of the blame upon current standard operating procedures, but our recent review also confirms that Monsanto withheld critically important research data from FDA. FDA's rigorous analyses of citizens petition 99P-4613 confirms that biotechnology and genetic engineering often produces "surprises," just as the petitioner has claimed. Monsanto created five "freak" amino acids, replacing lysine with epsilon-N-acetyllysine during the gene transcription process of rbGH. Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals also indicate that a similar unexpected consequence of recombinant genetic engineering may have produced "freak" amino acids in glutamine as well. For that reason, FDA is issuing an immediate five-year moratorium on all genetically modified organisms, including medicines, seeds, and recombined agricultural products. Furthermore, those food substances that have received approval must contain a warning label, so that consumers are able to exercise their free choice on whether or not they wish to purchase foods containing genetically modified organisms. FDA is troubled by the fact that Monsanto was aware of numerous errors, and did not inform the agency. Monsanto learned of the errors two years before, and created a new procedure to filter out those "freak" amino acids, and withheld that critically important information from the agency. FDA is disturbed by the fact that after all research data were reviewed, Monsanto changed the formula for Posilac, and in doing so, became the first pharmaceutical company in FDA's history to alter a drug's formula and not notify the agency. It is our determination that if Posilac is to be re-approved, all of the research previously submitted to FDA (containing the "freak" amino acids) must be performed anew and re-submitted. In order to insure that similar errors do not reoccur, FDA will be developing a new set of inter-agency protocols and standard operating procedures. Let this unprecedented fine be a warning to Monsanto and other chemical and pharmaceutical companies that future deceptions will not be tolerated. FDA takes seriously its mission of being the American public's regulatory agency, and, as fiduciary, we place the health and safety of all Americans as our number-one priority. Very truly yours, Jane Henney, MD FDA Commissioner This letter will be sent to the media on April 1st as a press release-parody. This April Fool's joke has been a nightmare for America, and this imaginary letter by Robert Cohen represents his greatest fantasy and the right thing for FDA to do. In all probability, New York City has a greater chance of experiencing a 20" snowstorm than does this letter have of being written by the FDA commissioner. **************** Friday, March 31 Today is the 146th day of my hunger strike. Penn State University is host to an annual Solidarity Conference, and I am excited to be the keynote speaker at the free vegan Indian dinner on Friday night. The conference is a testimony to the passions of many students who seek to make their world a better place to live. The organizers of the conference are Robyn Stephens (rms213@psu.edu) and Jessica Watson (solidarity_2000@yahoo.com). The opening talk on Friday afternoon will be given by Morgan Leyh, and the subject is "The Beef Industry-The Real Story." Dozens of lectures and workshops concerning the roots of current social problems and ways to make a difference will fill the weekend. How and why to start a boycott support committee? Attend the lecture at 9 AM in HUB Auditorium. Issues of racism and sexism in activism - same place at 2:30 PM. Saturday night's keynote speaker is Manning Marable, and the subject is "Making Democracy in America: Solidarity, Activism, and the Pursuit of Social Justice." On Sunday morning, there are workshops on the mass media, on non-violence training and conflict resolution, and on ecology. I am looking forward to attending the "Tips for Successful Activism" workshop. At 3:45 PM, I have been assigned the task of lecturing and cooking the NOTMILK and NOTMEAT cuisine. The exciting weekend ends with a festival of multi-cultural expressions involving dance, song, poetry, and foods from around the world. If you wish to attend or have any questions, you can call Jessica Watson at 814-867-4761. -------------------------------------------------------------------- April 2000 Hungerstrike Diary DAY 147 - The funniest milk mustache ad DAY 148 - Biotecnology conference and protest DAY 149 - Why FDA will NOT revoke rbGH DAY 150 - TO THE END DAY 151 - HUNGER STRIKE REPORTED IN 100 GANNETT NEWSPAPERS DAY 152 - Pus in milk... and other realities DAY 153 - King kong versus the giant snake DAY 154 - Howard Stern interview of Robert Cohen DAY 155 - A little girl needs your help DAY 156 - A letter to the FDA DAY 157 - Good karma DAY 158 - The FDA Commissioner comments DAY 159 - Zapped on the ZIP with a mere slip DAY 160 - Monsanto's letter to thousands of dairy farmers DAY 161 - How FDA arbitrarily assesses safety DAY 162 - FDA DECEIT -- Sick animals make for sick humans DAY 163 - King of Siam DAY 164 - Dietary guidelines DAY 165 - Just for the record DAY 166 - Decision day: The legacy DAY 167 - Let my people go DAY 168 - The vicious cycle DAY 169 - FDA denies petition - HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES DAY 170 - SCIENTIFIC DECEIT: Colon cancer DAY 171 - Battling demons DAY 172 - Frustration and disappointment DAY 173 - Beautiful people DAY 174 - I feel great DAY 175 - Never cry wolf DAY 176 - Whistle blowing --------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************** Special page at http://www.hungerstrike.com/nixon.html Saturday, April 1 Watergate Tapes: President Nixon Was Bribed Today is the 147th day of my hunger strike. The transcript from one of the Watergate tapes made on March 23, 1971 reveals President Richard Nixon carefully choosing his words for the men delivering a $3 million dollar cash bribe. If only the walls of the Oval Office could talk, what secrets they would reveal. Here, then, the transcript of President Richard M. Nixon's meeting with milk producer cooperatives: "Uh, I know...that, uh, you are a group that are politically very conscious...And you're willing to do something about it. And, I must say a lot of businessmen and others... don't do anything about it. And you do, and I appreciate that. And, I don't have to spell it out." Here, caught on tape is a president receiving a bribe. Later on, after these milk producers have left, Nixon, alone with advisor John Connally, says: "They are tough political operatives. This is a cold political deal." Who was getting the money, who was getting the price increases, who was paying the bribe, and who was actually footing the bill? Later, John Connally said: "These dairymen are organized; they're adamant, they're militant. And they...they're massing an enormous amount of money that they're going to put into political activities, very frankly." THANKS TO THE ARTIST: Thanks to Vance Lehmkuhl for designing the Richard Nixon Milk Ad! http://www.hungerstrike.com/nixon.jpg Nixon and MILK! Vance is a cartoonist, Philadelphia newspaper columnist, and author of the best-selling cartoon book: "JOY OF SOY" (available from Laugh Lines Press - rozwarren@aol.com). He plays the piano and croons not-so politically correct humor, (funnier than Mark Russell) and can etch-a-sketch a theme drawing out of your initials, which makes him the life of any party or conference. Vance will be attending the NAVS SUMMERFEST in North Carolina (July 5-9) *************** Sunday, April 2 Today is the 148th day of my hunger strike. Anti-biotechnology activists have proposed a genetic bill of rights. It is their belief that all people have the right to protection from toxins, contaminants, actions that can harm their genetic makeup and a food supply that has been genetically engineered. The Boston Globe wrote an editorial about this meeting and protest, and cited the concerns of the anti-biotechnology group by writing: "They say the industry is moving too fast, is too commercially driven, that we do not know the end results of genetic engineering. They say that the brakes ought to be applied with heavy regulation, and some would put a stop to the entire enterprise. Protesters compare themselves to Rachel Carson, whose landmark book, "Silent Spring," blew the whistle on DDT-based pesticides and probably saved many species from extinction. But unlike Carson, the biologically altered food opponents have little evidence to back up their fears." I've got my work cut out for me because Monsanto's errors with the bovine growth hormone and subsequent cover-up must be used as the best example of how and why biotechnology does not work. All the information exists in a 400-word statement with nine references, and it can be printed on one sheet of paper. Please let your newspapers and friends know that genetic engineering has already set America up for something very horrible. The evidence: http://www.hungerstrike.com/printit.txt *************** Monday, April 3 Today is the 149th day of my hunger strike. When an attorney files a brief or a motion for summary judgement, he or she usually, as a matter of courtesy, writes a motion for the judge to sign (saving the judge that task). My diary entry for Thursday, March 30, 2000, fasting day #145, was a letter that I wish had been written by the commissioner of FDA. My courtesy was extended and only needed her signature. Had FDA been interested in health and safety issues, they would have immediately revoked Monsanto's hormone from the market, pending new research. There is no debate. FDA erred the first time around, and Canada's review of Monsanto's application resulted in non-approval because adverse effects from oral ingestion of rbGH had been observed by Canadian scientists. Conspiracy? To be or not to be? The Food & Drug Administration is actually a halfway house for government employees and scientists who shuffle to and from Monsanto. Job opportunities and conflicts of interest take priority over human and health safety issues. FDA has taken nearly six months to find a way to skirt the very premise of my citizen's petition. There is no way that I now expect them to act in the interest of the American people. Despite the fact that FDA possesses information about Monsanto's lies and deceit, including the fact that the formula for rbGH has been changed, FDA is powerless to act. With a new presidential administration, who would dare to place their career and job security in jeopardy by doing something politically "stupid?" Biotechnology companies are investing millions of dollars in political donations to cement their genetically engineered relationships with those men and women of Congress who make the laws and have the real power. Even Teddy Kennedy, who had been a champion for human rights, believes in the future of biotechnology and was a keynote speaker at last week's biotech conference in Massachusetts. Bill Clinton praised Monsanto in his 1996 State of the Union Address, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was Monsanto's attorney. Ex- Surgeon General C. Everett Koop attacked Monsanto critics, two ex-FDA commissioners have gone to work for Monsanto. The game is fixed, and I have deceived myself into believing that there would be an honest assessment of Monsanto's fraud and deceit. FDA cannot rule against themselves. They're protected by the Fifth Amendment by a matter of principle called "self-incrimination." Ex-Monsanto employees, like Margaret Miller and Suzanne Sechen, continue to work at the FDA, and friends do not betray friends. Monsanto's secret deceptions are safe because the rug contained in FDA's center hall lies over massive accumulations of dirt. Last year at this time, FDA Commissioner Michael Freidman held the broom and swept the dirt under the rug. This year, FDA Commissioner Jane Henney holds the dustpan in one hand and a vacuum cleaner in the other. Whoosh. FDA is Monsanto. **************** Tuesday, April 4 Today is the 150th day of my hunger strike. Many of you have asked about the vitamins and supplements and juices that I consume during my fast. Here is a list of what I will be eating from now until the end of my hunger strike. ** From now until the end of my hunger strike, I will drink only water. ** ****************** Wednesday, April 5 Today is the 151st day of my hunger strike. The average Gannett newspaper has a circulation of 50,000 readers, and at least two people per family read each edition. Conservatively, 10,000,000 Americans read the following story yesterday. Thursday, March 30, 2000 By GREG BARRETT Gannett News Service WASHINGTON - If you meet Robert Cohen as he stalks the halls of Congress spreading his anti-milk message, please excuse him if he interrupts you or talks loudly or behaves, as he concedes in his Bronx accent, "like an obnoxious son of a gun." Cohen is hungry. And angry. Perhaps a tad desperate. He is nearly five months into a food fast that he says will last until the Food and Drug Administration revokes its 1993 approval of an animal drug that accelerates milk production in cows - or at least labels the milk that comes from pumped-up Bessies. In support of this curious crusade, 403 people spread through the 50 states and several nations have pledged on Cohen's Web site (www.hungerstrike.com) to fast for at least one day. "Feeding hormones to the cattle is just another insult to the human endocrine system," says Elizabeth DeFeo of Honolulu, who fasted for a week. "I am against what they are doing to the milk. People should at least know what they are drinking." The recombinant bovine growth hormone, manufactured and sold as Posilac by St. Louis-based biotech giant Monsanto Co., has long had critics in a tizzy about the potential health risks - perceived or real - of "nature's wholesome drink." Congress does not require this milk to be labeled because it says there is no "significant" difference to it. If true to his word, Cohen, 48, a stout father of three who claims to be surviving only on distilled water and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, is not likely to eat solid food anytime soon, if ever. By all accounts, the FDA and Congress have no plans to re-examine Posilac. The drug has survived 15 years of scientific research and bureaucratic scrutiny, and Monsanto says it is being injected into nearly one-third (13,000) of U.S. dairy herds. For all the fuss, it represents the nation's first successfully mass-marketed food product from biotechnology. But whether it is the canary in biotech's mineshaft or a linchpin to better agriculture, Posilac is an obvious target for critics - many of whom worry its use won't stop with cows. For an experiment at the University of Idaho it is being injected into trout and catfish that are maturing into full-size filets two and three times faster than normal. RISKS ARE ALWAYS HYPED At issue is the growth hormone's Insulin-like Growth Factor called IGF-1. In its natural form, this protein hormone is abundant in man and beast. Medical research has linked highly elevated levels of it to the growth of prostate and other cancers, and the milk from hormone-injected cows shows an increase in the IGF-1's synthetic twin. This is significant or insignificant, depending on your perspective. The FDA says that even if the increase in the milk's IGF-1 were 50 percent, as some research claims, it is insignificant because only a trace amount survives digestion. Former American Association for Cancer Research president Donald Coffey, who is not connected to opponents or proponents of Posilac, says IGF-1 in the blood serum "is only a weak marker" for prostate cancer. And when ingested, says Coffey, director of research laboratories for urology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, levels of it are extremely low. "Imagined risks are always hyped," he says. "Science and people's perceptions are not always the same." This does not stop Cohen, a real estate developer living in Oradell, N.J., from a steady attack. He is to Monsanto what documentary filmmaker Michael Moore was a decade ago to General Motors - a pest. The only thing Cohen dislikes more than milk is the multibillion dollar Monsanto. In his self-published book, "Milk: The Deadly Poison," he accuses Monsanto of bribery and fraud and all manner of deceit in gaining Posilac's FDA approval. On Capitol Hill, he hands out his $25 book like it's a business card. "Tell Monsanto to sue me," he says loudly, causing heads to turn. "I daaaaare them to sue." Monsanto has the book. So does Barnes and Noble, Borders Books and Amazon.com. Monsanto has not sued. "I find it sort of incredible to make these types of statements when the company has worked through the regulatory process," says Monsanto spokesman Gary Barton. "We let the facts of the marketplace speak for themselves and those clearly demonstrate the value of (Posilac) for the dairyman." COHEN NOT ALONE A citizen petition to the FDA signed by 19 organizations, including the Center for Food Safety, the Humane Society, Greenpeace International and the North American Farm Alliance, questions Posilac's health effects on humans and cattle. The petition, which has a goal similar to Cohen's, was filed with the FDA on Dec. 15, 1998. It has not been answered. If the FDA fails to answer or does not take Posilac off the market or at least label the milk, petitioners will file a lawsuit this spring or summer in federal court to remove Posilac, says Joe Mendelson, legal director for the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit environmental and consumer group based in Washington, D.C. Mendelson cites the results of a Health Canada (FDA equivalent north of the border) review last year that found evidence of thyroid cysts and cell growth in the prostates of male rats fed Posilac. In banning the drug last year, primarily for reasons of animal cruelty, the 15 nations of the European Union and Health Canada reported gaps in scientific research and said questions were "not adequately addressed" by the FDA. The European Union, a coveted market for Monsanto, concluded that Posilac injections cause cows "a substantial increase in levels" of foot problems and udder infections. Canada chided the FDA for taking some of the "manufacturer's conclusions at face value." Specifically, it referred to a rat study commissioned by Monsanto that should have shown the FDA that the manmade hormone survives human digestion. As such, Canada concluded, chronic toxicity tests should have been conducted. "That's all any of us have been saying: We don't have the evidence to say this stuff is hazardous to drink, but neither do we know for sure that it is safe," says biologist Michael Hansen, a researcher with Consumer Policy Institute and a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture advisory committee on agricultural biotechnology. "All we want are long-term toxicology studies." MILK'S SAFETY REAFFIRMED The FDA has refused. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala dismissed Canada's report by saying it "did not interpret relevant data correctly." She says the FDA did a page-by-page audit of its Posilac approval, including data outside of the Monsanto rat study, and reaffirmed last year that the treated milk is safe for human consumption. "The amount of (Posilac) being fed to the rats would equal about 70 tank truckloads of milk a day that you or I would have to drink in order to achieve the exposure the rats were receiving," says Robert Collier, an animal scientist who worked on Posilac from 1985 to 1999 for Monsanto and is now a professor at the University of Arizona. "I'm telling you, this stuff is safe. My own kids grew up on milk from cows who were treated with it." The Department of Agriculture, the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society, among others, have backed the FDA. The Joint Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives says there is "an extremely large margin of safety" for people consuming milk from hormone-injected cows. Additionally, the drug is approved for dairy cattle in 15 countries including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and South Africa. "Not a major country among them," Hansen says. This winter, Monsanto has put the finishing touches on a 150,000-square-foot manufacturing site in Augusta, Ga., the nation's first Posilac plant. It is scheduled to begin production this summer, pending federal regulatory approval. The drug is currently made in Austria. Monsanto's Barton, who's been in the trenches with Posilac for 21 years, sounds weary from the battle. He calls it the most studied animal drug in U.S. history. It's certainly the most debated. LABELING WOULD BE ENOUGH So confused are some dairy farmers in upstate New York, they are crossing the border to buy cheese from Canada. "I don't want my own family to consume the stuff, so I'm certainly not going to put it out myself, just as a matter of principle," says dairyman Bruce Krug of Constableville, N.Y., whose herd of 60 dairy cattle does not use Posilac. "For me, at least, there are still just too many unanswered questions." Through the crossfire of conflicting analysis, one fact stands: A staple of American life as common as baseball and apple pie has been synthetically changed. The difference is invisible to taste or touch, and Congress has decided it does not warrant our knowing. "Any labeling bill ... has to be based on science and there is absolutely no scientific evidence that (Posilac) has a significant impact on the composition of milk," says Rep. Cal Dooley, D-Calif., a member of the Dairy Committee of Agriculture that failed to pass a labeling bill for Posilac in 1994. Labels, however, would be enough to make most dissenters happy. They'd even make Cohen eat solid food again. "What it comes down to is Americans have a right to know," he says. "Every container of milk and every package of dairy that has this genetically modified organism should be labeled. It can even be something obscure, like a little sticker with the double helix symbol. Is that too much to ask?" ***************** Thursday, April 6 Today is the 152nd day of my hunger strike. This past weekend, I was keynote speaker at the Solidarity Conference at Penn State University. I had a wonderfully receptive audience that included one dairy major. When it came time for questions, he boldly stood and protested my calling milk "pus with hormones and glue." In defending milk, this Penn State student said that there was no pus in milk. Instead, he said that somatic cells were actually dead white blood cells. He's right, of course. That's what pus is! The pus that one squeezes from the pimples on teenagers' faces is an oily accumulation of fat and dead white blood cells. Drink milk? Got pus. The latest issue of Hoard's Dairyman (March 25, 2000) reveals the average levels of pus cells in a liter of milk. On page 226, an editorial reveals that the United States average of 307,100,000 pus cells in 1996 increased to 318,000,000 in 1998. America's dairy cows are being stressed and the amount of pus in their milk has increased by over 3%. I sometimes challenge milk drinkers by asking them if they would drink a glass of milk containing 1,000 pus cells. Hoard's reveals that the average 12-ounce glass of milk in America contains 112,899,408 pus cells. The Hoard's editorial also reveals that the proportion of "cows leaving herd" each year runs in excess of 35%. That means that 3.2 million dairy cows will sent to McDonalds and Burger King this year because they don't produce enough milk or because they are too sick (why is their flesh healthy to eat if their milk is not fit for human consumption?) Finally, the Hoard's editorial reveals that the average cow in America produced in excess of 20,500 pounds of milk in 1999. That's 25.5 quarts per animal per day. One hundred years ago, the average dairy cow produced one quart per day. *************** Friday, April 7 Today is the 153rd day of my hunger strike. In the original King Kong movie, Faye Wray and her leading man enjoy a moment of peace as they watch King Kong battle a giant boa constrictor. Today, we sit on the sidelines watching DuPont take aim at rival Monsanto, alleging theft-of-trade secrets in a newly filed suit. After the battle is over, there will emerge one very powerful monster, and while it may be fun to watch the two of them battle it out, DuPont and Monsanto still share a unified goal-to control the seeds and the food we eat. Meanwhile, back at the farm, America's dairy farmers are running from that monster. News this week is that corn growers will be buying and planting 24% less genetically engineered corn than last year. In 1999, 55% of America's soybean crop was genetically engineered. In the year 2000, that number is expected to fall to 48%. The DuPont monster is battling a leaner and meaner Monsanto creature. On April 3, Monsanto's merger with Upjohn became official. In a full-page New York Times ad (page C-3), the CEO of Pharmacia announced the new enterprise. From this day forward, the name has changed from Monsanto to Pharmacia, but the crimes committed by Monsanto against mankind remain the same. Monsanto has merged with a company having 10,000 salespeople and 60,000 employees in 60 nations. Upjohn has merged with a company having enormous technology, patents in genetically engineered foods, and congressman and judges in their pockets. Together they've posted a new website: http://www.pharmacia.com Stay tuned for the next round. ***************** Saturday, April 8 SYNOPSIS: Howard Stern called me on Friday. Anthony Shale taped the show, and made this transcript. Thanks, Tony! Today is the 154th day of my hunger strike. It's nice to know that this went out to 17 million people. Howard Stern slices apart all celebrities with his razor-sharp wit. Here is how my three minutes went: http://www.hungerstrike.com/stern.html *************** Sunday, April 9 Today is the 155th day of my hunger strike, but I must tell you about a Florida family deserving of your attention and prayers. Alyx is almost six years old, and her parents desperately need your help. Her mom and dad have not worked in nearly three years. Chances are they will never again get a full-time job in their chosen field. They were once award-winning investigative reporters for the Fox-owned television station in Tampa, but they were fired in December of 1997 because they dared to report the truth about the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Jane Akre and Steve Wilson refused lie and distort what they knew to be the truth about rbGH. Akre and Wilson were fired after Monsanto pressured and threatened FOX executives with "dire consequence" if the station ran the truth its journalist uncovered. Thirty months with virtually no income. They have depleted their savings. They have taken out mortgages, loans, and stretched their credit card limits to the limit. Their resources are nearly depleted. Their well-publicized trial is scheduled for June 12th, and these two courageous Americans are fighting for more than just their rights. They are fighting to preserve yours and mine. APPEAL FROM STEVE WILSON AND JANE AKRE "Fox has dragged us past our third Christmas without full-time jobs in journalism, it is clear no single family of (formerly) working people can afford a fight financed by the biggest, richest media empire in the world. We must put our pride aside and ask all of you who will benefit from our struggle to help support us in any way you can." Read their full appeal: http://www.foxbghsuit.com/help.htm CONTACT STEVE: Wilson@foxBGHsuit.com (727) 796-6504 CONTACT JANE: PlainJaneE@aol.com (727) 943-8970 Their entire story: http://www.foxbghsuit.com Robert Cohen http://www.hungerstrike.com **************** Monday, April 10 Today is the 156th day of my hunger strike. On Friday, April 7, 2000, I sent/faxed the following letter to Jane Henney, FDA Commissioner; Linda Suydam, Associate Commissioner; and Andy Beaulieu, Deputy Director for the Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA's investigative branch) _____________________________________ April 7, 2000 Commissioner Jane Henney Delivered by fax: (301) 443-3100 Food & Drug Administration Parklawn 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857 RE: Citizen Petition 99P-4613 Dear Commissioner Henney: FDA will soon be making a final determination on my petition to revoke the use of Posilac, based upon evidence that the formula for Monsanto's hormone was altered subsequent to FDA's exhaustive review. TIMELINE On August 24, 1990, FDA published a review of bovine somatotropin in Science. As a result of FDA's review of Monsanto's application, FDA made three determinations: 1. FDA incorrectly determined that pasteurization destroyed the majority of the bovine growth hormone in milk so that it was not necessary for Monsanto to develop an assay. 2. FDA incorrectly determined that pasteurization destroyed the majority of the bovine growth hormone in milk so that Monsanto was relieved from performing further toxicology studies. 3. FDA assigned a "zero-day withdrawal" for rbST-treated milk. After FDA's determination that rbST treated milk was safe to drink for humans, the one remaining issue was whether or not it would be safe or ethical to use on dairy cows. In 1992, Monsanto learned that five "freak" amino acids were produced during the manufacturing process for rbGH. Since the review for human safety had already been completed, Monsanto withheld that information from FDA. Monsanto did not reproduce previously submitted research with the changed formula. Page 2 Commissioner Jane Henney Food & Drug Administration April 7, 2000 By late 1993, Monsanto had successfully invented a state of the art filtration process removing proteins containing the "freak" amino acids. Monsanto neither revealed evidence of those errors nor their method of "fixing" those errors to the FDA. It is clear that the milk hormone now on the market has never been tested. One may incorrectly assume that by "fixing" the problem, one has eliminated possible future adverse effects. Such an assumption may seem logical, but that conclusion cannot be supported by research, for there is none. FDA was deceived by Monsanto and such a deception should be punished. Should FDA not take action against such an unprecedented act, that would represent a deception against the American people. Very truly yours, Robert Cohen RC/am cc: Linda Suydam, Senior Associate Commissioner - FDA (Fax: 301-443-5930) cc: Andrew Beaulieu, Deputy Director - CVM (Fax: 301-594-1830) ***************** Tuesday, April 11 Today is the 157th day of my hunger strike. Tenzin Gyatso (the Dalai Lama) http://www.thetibetcenter.org/images/index_7.gif had a few good rules to start the new millennium: INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE 1. Great love and great achievements involve great risk. 2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson. 3. Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. 4. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. 5. When you you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 6. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values. 7. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality. 8. Be gentle with the earth. 9. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. 10. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time. ******************* Wednesday, April 12 Today is the 158th day of my hunger strike. I received an e-mail from Scott Dickinson alerting me to the fact that FDA Commissioner Jane Henney was on television, C-SPAN taking questions from the public. Included in his e-mail alert was C-SPAN's call-in telephone number. I ran upstairs, turned on the television, and started dialing, only to receive a constant busy signal. I then called my office and got the number for C-SPAN's producer. I would have gotten to ask my question had the show continued for another three minutes. I hung up the phone and heard the moderator tell Dr. Henney that they had time for one more question. A female caller was concerned about the genetically engineered hormone in milk. Would it be safe for her children to drink? The fates smiled upon me, and I waited anxiously for the Commissioner's answer. I took notes. Dr. Henney said: "The milk hormone hasn't been on the market for a long time, and we haven't seen any studies one way or the other. However, there is little likelihood that we would expect to see any long term effects." The FDA and Commissioner Henney are armed with the truth. Laboratory animals got cancer from this hormone when FDA originally stated that there were no adverse effects. We suggest that the FDA Commissioner be given the second 90-day portion of the Richard, Odaglia and Deslex study that FDA has in its entirety. The Commissioner should look very carefully at the weights of brain, testes, ovaries, and hearts. The Commissioner should have a heart and take the evidence in hand and represent the people, not the drug manufacturers. ****************** Thursday, April 13 Today is the 159th day of my hunger strike. Last week, I forgot my zip code. I was giving my address to somebody on the telephone and my brain stopped working. Try as I may, I could not recall the number. That occurred during the fourth day of life with just water and was the first signal that things were not right. On Friday, my gums started bleeding. My mouth hurt so much that each sip of cold water sent daggers through me. On Saturday, I spoke before 185 people at Brodie Mountain in northwestern Massachusetts, and I found my mind wandering during my talk. A few times in private conversation, I had momentary lapses that were not detectable to anybody but me. I have been paying careful attention for any aches and pains and behavioral changes, and the subtle effects of a water-only hunger strike were disturbing signals. An enormous snowstorm was forecast that evening and I decided to drive 4 ½ hours home from Massachusetts rather than stay in a hotel room. A few times during the trip I came close to falling asleep, and each time, an enormous burst of bright light from within became the difference between my getting home safely to driving off the highway. On Sunday, I gave careful thought to these subtle changes. On Monday, I realized that an inability to communicate would not serve me well. I had incorrectly assumed that my will was stronger than my physiology. Two thousand years ago, Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert on just water and wrestled with the evils that tormented his spirit. I am not quite up to doing the same and will continue my fast on juices. **************** Friday, April 14 Today is the 160th day of my hunger strike. Here is Monsanto's actual letter: http://www.hungerstrike.com/posilac.jpg I have taken off the recipient's name (a whistle-blowing dairy farmer) and sent a copy of that letter and my own letter to FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. April 10, 2000 Dr. Andy Beaulieu Delivered by fax: 301-594-1798 Deputy Center Director Center for Veterinary Medicine HFV-2 7500 Standish Pl. Rockville, MD 20855 Re: Citizen Petition 99P-4613 Dear Dr. Beaulieu: The defining issue of my citizen petition is whether Monsanto's rbGH is a different hormone than the one that was studied, tested, and submitted. The evidence submitted to the CVM proves that Monsanto's hormone is different and that the current version of Posilac has never been tested. Last week, Monsanto delivered a letter to thousands of dairy farmers and referred to my petition. In that letter, Monsanto wrote "recent attacks have been levied by an anti-dairy activist on the dairy industry and Monsanto. These attacks create misinformation…Mr. Cohen's allegation is that the POSILAC sold today is different…the POSILAC we market today is the same POSILAC that was studied, tested and submitted to the FDA." Apparently, the author of the Monsanto letter is either unaware of the truth or distorting the facts. In 1990, Monsanto was not aware that five freak amino acids were transcribed during the manufacturing process for rbGH. Monsanto became aware that lysine became epsilon-N-acetyllysine in 1992, two years after FDA determined a "zero day withdrawal" for milk from rbGH-treated cows. In fact, milk from test herds was approved for human consumption four years prior to actual approval. It took Monsanto researchers 1½ years to develop an assay to test for those errors and to develop a filtration process to remove those freak amino acids. During that time, they were relieved from the responsibility of performing more research. Monsanto did not reveal these errors to FDA reviewers. The hormone approved by FDA is different than the hormone that was subsequently approved. Monsanto clearly changed the formula. Monsanto recent letter continues the lie and distortion and compounds their fraud. It is up to the FDA to act upon their deception. A copy of that letter is attached and can be found on my Internet site at www.hungerstrike.com/posilac.jpg. Very truly yours, Robert Cohen Attachment cc: Commissioner Jane Henney (fax #301-443-3100) Dr. Marcia Larkins, CVM Ombudsman (fax #301-827-0137) FDA can no longer ignore Monsanto's lie. I tried to call the author of the letter, Cheryl Morley, president of Monsanto Animal Agriculture, (314-694-3164), but did not receive a return phone call. While speaking with her assistant, Carla Koonz, I heard Cheryl in the background say, "I have no interest in talking to him." Carla gave me Cheryl's fax number (314-694-3620). I will be requesting a retraction. Since Cheryl is the president, the buck must stop on her desk. If she doesn't wish to talk to me, she will be doing so in a court of law, for I do not intend to allow her lie and slander be the final word. ****************** Saturday, April 15 Today is the 161st day of my hunger strike. I have obtained an internal memorandum that reveals the innermost betrayal in the inner sanctum of FDA. Monsanto had applied for approval of their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone in December of 1986. Nearly eight years later, they received final approval. During those eight years, Monsanto invested $500,000,000 and submitted 55,000 pages of data to FDA. Two months after the original application, Monsanto sprung a trap. They requested a "zero withdrawal and milk discard period." What that means is that Monsanto requested that FDA allow milk from test herds to be placed into America's milk supply without any further research. In granting Monsanto's 1986 request, Juskevich wrote: "Based on the results of the oral feeding study and our knowledge of the characteristics and biological activity of bovine somatotropin, we have no objection to granting the sponsor's requests." All of my adult life I trusted the FDA. All of my life I assumed that the Food & Drug Administration cared about human health and safety. This memorandum clearly demonstrates that my trust in FDA had been incorrectly placed. Can anything be clearer than this? http://www.hungerstrike.com/posilac2.jpg **************** Sunday, April 16 Today is the 162nd day of my hunger strike. I have vowed not to cite animal studies with one exception. When I find a study that FDA cites as evidence of safety, and the data reveal that FDA is not telling the truth, then I will expose FDA for the liars that they are. This week I obtained such a study. FDA has previously determined that the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone was safe for cows. A surreptitiously obtained Monsanto study was published in the January, 1990 issue of Pete Hardin's dairy industry newsletter MILKWEED. At that time, many Wisconsin dairymen were against Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Although FDA was promoting that animal drug, one visionary dared to risk all by sharing TRUTH with his peers. Monsanto and FDA claimed that the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone was safe for dairy cows. The actual data indicated otherwise. Imagine an animal losing six percent of its body weight (100 pounds). What would you guess would be the effect on its body organs? Would the organs also shrink or remain the same size? SHOCKING RESULTS While stressed animals lost weight, their body organs grew! Adrenal glands squirt adrenaline into a mammal's system during stressful events. This powerful chemical is responsible for the "fight or flight" response. Cows treated with low doses of rbGH lost an average of 90 pounds, but their adrenal glands grew by a factor of 21% over the control group. The medium dose group experienced increases of 46%, while the high dosed group had adrenal growth rates of 51%. The thyroid gland is responsible for regulating metabolism. The low dose group experienced 7% growth increases. The medium dose group experienced a 17% increase, while the high dose group experienced a 61% increase over the control group. Liver and heart weights increased by double-digit factors in the medium and high dose groups. Ovary weights increased in excess of twenty percent in all three groups. No biological effects? Here are the actual data: CONTROL LOW MEDIUM HIGH GROUP DOSE DOSE DOSE TOTAL WEIGHT 1591 lbs 1501 1509 1487 THYROID 1.24 ozs 1.33 1.45 2.00 LIVER 23.9 lbs 23.9 27.0 26.8 HEART 7.5 lbs 7.5 9.0 9.0 ADRENAL 1.15 ozs 1.39 1.68 1.73 KIDNEY 3.7 lbs 4.1 5.1 5.3 OVARY 0.82 ozs 0.99 1.07 1.10 IMPLICATIONS FDA approved milk from these cows for America's food supply in 1987. When we drink hormone-filled milk from stressed animals, would it be reasonable to expect that these hormones might have an effect on our bodies? I never heard the phrase "road rage" before 1990. Today, television shows and newspaper stories carry daily accounts of anger and stress. Student violence? Children shooting children with guns? Something is wrong with the way we act towards our fellow man. Something is wrong with the way we act towards animals. Forty percent of what the average American eats (666 pounds per year/capita) represents milk and dairy products containing powerful hormones. The research results were an important clue, but FDA reviewers were piloting our ship, and they were asleep at the helm. The pure SCIENCE from this study does not lie. We are what we eat. Overstressed animals secrete fear and pain into their flesh and body fluids, and these chemical messengers merge into our cells and ultimately our consciousness. **************** Monday, April 17 Today is the 163rd day of my hunger strike. The healthiest person I have ever met is VEGAN fitness guru Doug Graham. He's coached many professional athletes, including Martina Navratilova. This summer, Doug and I will be playing a winner-takes-all bragging rights racquetball match in North Carolina during the July 5-9 NAVS SUMMERFEST! http://www.navs-online.org/fest00/index.html Doug Graham is living proof of what a plant-based (VEGAN) diet can do for a person's spirit and health. Doug will be taking a group of people to Thailand next fall. Will you be one of the lucky ones? http://www.healthytravel.net/Vacations/cullinary/graham/thailand.asp Doug writes: "Thailand is a country of surprising diversity. From beautiful beaches to bustling markets, tropical rainforests to lush hillsides, the landscape is full of contrasts." Share the Thai festival of the twelfth lunar month, Loy Krathong Day, with Doug. Dr. Graham is one of three fasting coaches who have helped myself and others through our hunger strike. http://www.hungerstrike.com/askdoc.html His website: http://www.rawfood.com/graham.html ***************** Tuesday, April 18 Today is the 164th day of my hunger strike. Today's diary entry includes some of the funniest material I've ever read. It's ALL true! I used all of my will power NOT to add comments after the actual testimony. This is too easy. DIETARY GUIDELINES Twenty-seven persons testified before the United States Department of Agriculture at the final hearing for the new Dietary Guidelines. Representatives from a cross-section of America symbolized the types of pressure and influence, which ultimately guide government decisions. Note that 11 of the 27 comments (40%) endorse the consumption of sugar for good health, and oppose limiting sugar intake. The 102 page TRANSCRIPT OF THE PUBLIC MEETING: http://www.ars.usda.gov/dgac/ Here are the best comments from each of the 27 presenters: 1) SALT INSTITUTE - Dick Hanneman "We're very disappointed to have to oppose the dietary guidelines." 2) SUGAR ASSOCIATION - Richard Keelor "All recent reviews of the scientific literature... have once again exonerated sugars from having any direct link to chronic disease including obesity." 3) DAIRY EDUCATION BOARD - Robert Cohen http://www.hungerstrike.com/usdatest.html 4) PHYSICIANS COMMITTEE FOR RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE - Neal Barnard "There is no scientific reason to insist on the inclusion of cow's milk in anyone's diet." 5) NATIONAL FOOD PROCESSORS - Regina Hildwine "The modification of the main message recommending a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat is well supported by recent scientific evidence." 6) NATIONAL CONFECTIONERS ASSOCIATION - Larry Graham "There is little evidence that diets high in total sugars are associated with obesity... Candy adds to the pleasure of life. Candy consumed in moderation can be a part of an active and healthy lifestyle." 7) PRODUCE FOUNDATION - Elizabeth Pivonka "Fruits and vegetables are the rare exception to the less is more rule. In the case of fruits and vegetables, the more is better." 8) HUMAN NUTRITION INSTITUTE - Suzie Harris "Given that dental caries in the United States is declining, one cannot conclude a more restrictive sugar message is warranted... Children like to drink flavored milks and eat flavored yogurts... " 9) PRODUCE MARKETING ASSOCIATION - Kathy Means "Your advice to make fruits, vegetables and greens the foundation for healthy living bears repetition, because Americans are not eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables." 10) NATIONAL SOFT DRINK FOUNDATION - Richard Adamson "At four calories per gram, the same caloric density as protein and other carbohydrates, why would sugars be lampooned for their contribution to obesity as if there were some unique property to sugars not shared by other macronutrients?" 11) CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN PUBLIC INTEREST - Michael Jacobson "Drink your soda pop, eat your candy as your previous speakers have emphasized, but limit yourself." 12) NATIONAL DAIRY COUNCIL - Suzanne Craig "Calcium-fortified foods from other food groups should not be included in the milk, yogurt and cheese group." 13) UNITED FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE ASSN. - Donna Dennis "Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber and other substances important for good health." 14) SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER - Barbara Levine "Americans are not drinking enough water. Water, just simple water, is the best choice for proper hydration." 15) INTERNATIONAL FOOD INFORMATION COUNCIL - Dave Schmidt "Is there adequate science to justify a shift from moderate sugars to limit sugars with respect to nutrient adequacy or chronic disease?" 16) NATIONAL FLUID MILK PROCESSORS - Natalie Webb "One group in particular has been attacking dairy products as inappropriate for minorities. We urge USDA and HHS not to be swayed by this unscientific, sensational, and very harmful information." 17) NORTH AMERICAN MILLERS ASSOC. - Betsy Faga "There is no data available to show that moderate consumption of sugars has any deleterious effects to consumers, and such a recommendation would impact foods such as fortified fruit juices and cereals... " 18) NATIONAL CATTLEMAN'S BEEF ASSN. - Mary Young "Advice to use plant foods as the foundation of meals or to build your eating pattern on a variety of plant foods... is dietary advice that can be potentially misinterpreted by consumers." 19) GEORGETOWN UNIV. CTR. FOR FOOD & NUTRITION - Maureen Storey "There is no scientific evidence that consumption of sugar per se has a negative effect on health..." 20) NATIONAL COUNCIL ON ALCOHOLISM "We urge you to strengthen the wording relating to the potential health risks for alcoholics." 21) AMERICAN SUGAR CANE LEAGUE - Dean Grovois "About 420,000 people in this country work in sugar production... American agriculture is in a state of crisis... The price of raw sugar has fallen... We are teetering on the edge of a terrible disaster... . Your decision will have an affect on us." 22) AMERICAN SUGAR BEET GROWERS - Ray Van Driessche "Suggesting a direct relationship between sugar and obesity is not sound science... it is hypocrisy." 23) PEOPLE FOR ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS - Miyun Park "The guidelines should explicitly endorse vegetarianism as a healthy lifestyle." 24) APPEARING FOR HERSELF - Fran Hissler "A milk-free diet is recommended. Allergies to food proteins, most commonly cow milk proteins, has been identified... " 25) GROCERY MANUFACTURERS OF AMERICA - Lisa Katic "GMA strongly opposes the new recommendation on limiting the intake of sugar... " 26) AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION - Elizabeth Johnson "The American Dietetic Association feels strongly that variety should remain the cornerstone of the guidelines." 27) CONNECTICUT ELDERLY FOOD PROGRAM - Douglas Buck "I'm not in favor of being a vegetarian, however, heavy meat eaters would benefit from eating less. And those who eat less meat have less ischemic heart disease than regular meat eaters. Perhaps more could be said in the dietary guidelines about the benefits of limiting red meat and poultry consumption." ******************* Wednesday, April 19 Today is the 165th day of my hunger strike. The clock is ticking and the drum roll begins. FDA has promised a decision on Monsanto's hormone to be made on or before April 20, 2000. We come to the end of the 180-day period in which FDA statutes allow for its scientists to determine the merits of a citizen petition. Tomorrow is Day 180. The decision is due. Monsanto has defrauded the FDA and changed the formula for the bovine growth hormone. My claim was that Monsanto never admitted to FDA that five "freak" amino acids were created. My claim is that Monsanto fixed the error and, in doing so, changed the formula. All of the research reviewed by FDA was conducted with a hormone containing epsilon-N-acetyllyslin instead of lysine. All of the previous research has been invalidated and new research must be performed. The hormone must be taken off the market. The errors prove that genetic engineering produces surprises. The errors also prove that a system existed in which a pharmaceutical company could withhold evidence and get away with a crime. Now comes the moment of truth. Will FDA continue Monsanto's lie with their own deception? In one more day, America will know. JUST FOR THE RECORD I filed a Freedom of Information Act request for any evidence that might have existed in the 55,000 page Monsanto file. FDA spent 30 hours reviewing that file and sent me a bill for $725, which was discounted to $250. That is the price I have to pay for a system gone terribly wrong. It is a small price to pay to expose a system that has previously not worked. Two hundred and fifty dollars would buy a solid gold whistle or a box of stainless steel whistles for future whistle blowers. I promise FDA that if they do not do the right thing, we will fill the streets with Americans blowing whistles. ****************** Thursday, April 20 Today is the 166th day of my hunger strike. Comissioner Jane Henney Food & Drug Administration Parklawn 5600 Fishers Ln. Rockville, MD 20857 Re: FOIA Request #99026306 Dear Commissioner Henney: Attached to this letter is a check payable to the FDA for $253.50. That payment represents your bill to me for my recent Freedom of Information Act request. This is blood money. This information should have been obtained by your review team as a routine part of your investigation. This was the most very basic part of my citizen petition (#99P-4613). The fact that I had to request this key piece of information and wait 85 days (65 days longer than the Justice Department allows you) and then pay for this information, compounds your whitewash I had requested any evidence in your 55,000-page file that Monsanto informed you that they created five "freak" amino acids when they genetically engineered the bovine growth hormone. Monsanto changed the formula for that hormone after the FDA review was completed. As a result, the hormone currently on the market has never been tested. By recognizing Monsanto's fraud and deceit, you could have taken the opportunity to show Americans that the FDA acts in their fiduciary interest. Your ultimate decision to my citizen petition will be judged by all Americans. When Americans take to the streets to protest FDA decisions, we will be blowing whistles, and those whistles will have your name boldly printed upon them. You will become a symbol to all Americans, and that, Madame Commissioner, will become your legacy. Very truly yours, **************** Friday, April 21 Today is the 167th day of my hunger strike. Residents of North Carolina woke up a few years ago to red tides filled with algae blooms that devastated aquatic life and made humans sick. The waters turned to blood. New strains of bacteria have developed in dairy cattle because of FDA's liberal anti-biotic protocols. Sterile frogs are being born and diseases are spread by ticks and fleas that may very well have escaped from laboratories performing experiments in genetic engineering. Tiny particles called prions in dairy cattle, pigs, and deer are being consumed by Americans who come down with rare neurological diseases. These plagues of modern time mimic the Biblical plagues, which fell upon ancient Egypt. Pharaoh was repeatedly warned "Let my people go," but the powers in Egypt refused to acknowledge evidence and dangers until it was too late. Biotechnology is the modern day angel of death, and it is passing over all of us. In the Bible, a certain group of people was spared from the terror. In order to be spared today, one must make the choice to buy organically grown fruits and vegetables. One must explore alternatives to factory-produced foods. America's food manufacturers do not care about consumers' rights to know what they are purchasing and consuming. We simply ask for a warning label on any product containing a genetically modified organism. FDA, wearing Pharaoh's robes, refuses to let us be free. FDA had one last opportunity to send a message to America. Monsanto had committed fraud, lab animals got cancer, and FDA knows that Monsanto created five "freak" amino acids with their bovine growth hormone. FDA has chosen not to remove that hormone from the marketplace. FDA has chosen not to label dairy products containing milk from cows treated with that hormone. The sea swallowed up Pharaoh's soldiers just as our sea of resistance must swallow up those who betray us. The FDA is the enemy and they can no longer be believed. The FDA has betrayed us and they can no longer be trusted. We say to the FDA "Let our people be free." Yesterday, the Food & Drug Administration determined that Monsanto's bovine growth hormone would not be taken off the market. My hunger strike will continue, and so will our protest. ****************** Saturday, April 22 Today is the 168th day of my hunger strike. In 1990 while Monsanto was treating dairy test herds with the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, both FDA and Monsanto learned that cows injected with that hormone developed mastitis on their udders. As a result of these sores and ulcers, milk from hormone-treated cows contained increased amounts of pus, bacteria, and blood. Monsanto's top dairy scientist, Margaret Miller, left the firm and was hired by the FDA. One of her first acts was to arbitrarily change America's antibiotic protocol. Instead of 1 part per hundred million, Miller increased the allowable level of antibiotics in milk by 100 times to 1 part per million. New strains of super-bacteria developed immunities to existing antibiotics, and milk consumers overdosed on antibiotics and drug-resistant bacteria. Milk tested in the New York metropolitan area was found to contain residues from 52 different antibiotics. Make no mistake about it, folks. Monsanto created the problem and their new drug now offers the solution. Last week, the FDA approved Zyvox, which is manufactured by Pharmacia/Monsanto. This drug was developed to battle staph infections that do not respond to other antibiotics. Staph is the most common bacterial infection responsible for mastitis. Pharmaceutical industry analysts expect that Zyvox will generate $550,000,000 in sales during the next twelve months. Place caterpillars on the rim of a large glass bowl and they will follow each other in the infinite circle until they die and fall off. We seem to be going around and round in similar fashion. Monsanto's new biotechnology had an unanticipated negative effect on America's antibiotic use. By calling in favors and getting their scientists positions of power at FDA, Monsanto changed the effectiveness of existing antibiotics that no longer work when they are needed. Monsanto will now reap enormous benefits by giving mankind an antidote to a poison that they created. **************** Sunday, April 23 FDA denies petition - HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES SYNOPSIS: FDA delivered a ten-page letter denying the citizen petition to revoke Monsanto's bovine growth hormone. That letter contains inaccuracies and incorrect conclusions. There is evidence of fraud, deception, and there may have very well be criminal activity at FDA. Does breastfeeding work? According the FDA letter of denial, breastfeeding cannot possibly be of any biological significance to human infants. FDA's decision and my comments: http://www.hungerstrike.com/4613rbut.html for the rest of the story. **************** Monday, April 24 Today is the 170th day of my hunger strike. It has long been accepted that low fat and high fiber diets would be beneficial in preventing colon cancer. A recent report in the New York Times (April 20, 2000 by Gina Kolata) reveals that that is not the case. MORE SCIENTIFIC FRAUD Gina Kolata writes: "Two rigorous studies involving thousands of people have failed to confirm one of the most widely held beliefs about diet and health: that eating low fat, high fiber foods can reduce the risk of colon and rectal cancer." Had Kolata merely said "two studies," her report would have raised eyebrows. She found it necessary to add the word "rigorous." When I performed research, I rigorously applied my training to eliminate variables that might cloud the results and conclusions from my research. In order to reach the conclusion that dietary fiber did not prevent intestinal polyp growth and colon cancer, researchers tested human subjects suffering from pre-existing polyps, and randomly assigned participants to eat low fiber or high fiber diets. THE HIGH FIBER DIET Guess what these scientific geniuses, performing the "rigorous" studies, decided to use in the high fiber diet? Got cereal? People eating the high fiber diet were given high fiber wheat bran cereal. Do you imagine that they ate dry wheat bran fiber in the morning or do you think they poured a tall glass of IGF-I-laced milk on their cereal? IGF-I is the most powerful growth hormone known to science, and it has been identified as a key factor in the growth and proliferation of every human cancer. Rigorously performed study or scientific quackery? You be the judge of the scientists and reporters who either have no clue or seek to deceive. Monsanto's new drug approval will produce enormous profits for the pharmaceutical giant. Monsanto's bovine growth hormone raised levels of IGF-I in milk and, most certainly, will be responsible for causing more human cancer. Monsanto's solution is to provide the cancer cure for the cancer cause for which they are most responsible Now that's one vary brilliant and rigorously applied marketing plan. ***************** Tuesday, April 25 FDA has betrayed Americans once again. Should my hunger strike continue? Friends and family have urged me to begin to eat again. I have considered ending my fast. Twenty-three weeks ago (Monday November 15, 1999), I reflected upon why I had begun a hunger strike and was motivated by inspirational words of wisdom from others seeking to attain a dream. I wrote: Many people have asked why I wish to continue the hunger strike and what this protest means to me. One man who climbed Everest, Tom Whittaker, said, "Everest for me, and I believe for the world, is the physical and symbolic manifestation of overcoming odds to achieve a dream." Others have added their words of wisdom paralleling the journey that I've taken. The first woman to climb Everest, Junko Tabei, wrote: "Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is the most important. This willpower you cannot buy with money or be given by others...it rises from your heart." The most famous of quotes associated with the great mountain was made by George Mallory, who was asked, "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?" I've been asked, "Why fight FDA by continuing the hunger strike?" I once believed that FDA would revoke the use of Posilac. Now I know that this will not happen. I hold them in contempt. I climb my mountain for the same reason that Mallory climbed his: "Because it is there." Today is the 171st day of my hunger strike. Today I will begin a second water fast. I had to end my first water fast after just seven days for various reasons. This time, I will abstain from all nutrition, no food or juices. I am now ready to do battle with FDA'S demons, and my own. ******************* Wednesday, April 26 Today is the 172nd day of my hunger strike and the 2nd day of my drinking just water. Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio has introduced a bill that will label foods containing genetically modified organisms. Fifty-one members of Congress have already signed on as co-sponsors of that bill. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by environmentalist Barbara Boxer of California. At the same time that Boxer's bill was introduced, an estimated $250 million began flowing from Monsanto, Dow Chemical, Du Pont, and other biotechnology firms to those members of Congress who vote with their palms extended and wallets open and not with their brains and hearts. Senator Barbara Boxer has not gotten one fellow senator to co-sponsor her bill. Barbara Boxer saved the dolphins and brought us dolphin-free tuna fish and strong environmental laws resulting from oil spills. She is a hero to those who want clean water, food, and air. Lack of support from her fellow senators, at the same time that the largest lobbying effort in American history continues, is an incrimination of a system and a way of life that no longer works. One beautiful mermaid swims in the sea filled with 99 ravenous great white sharks in a feeding frenzy. ****************** Thursday, April 27 Today is the 173rd day of my hunger strike and the 3rd day that I am drinking just water. Since I am traveling, I thought it might be fun for you to take a break from the dangers of genetically engineered food and check out Steve's very successful website at VeggieDate: http://www.veggiedate.org Steve's vegetarian singles dating service has a database of many thousands of vegetarians across America, and I understand that there have been a few very serious and meaningful relationships started at that site. Want to meet somebody who's into the NOTMILK movement? VeggieDate is the place to start. For serious issues concerning genetically modified organisms in our food supply, check out: http://www.purefood.org Steve is also the webmaster for a third site called Green People. This third site will be a directory of organic food locations, eco-friendly businesses and services, environmental organizations, and community events. http://www.greenpeople.org Should you wish to reach Steve, you can write to him at: steve@greenpeople.com Or call 310-399-9355. **************** Friday, April 28 Today is the 174th day of my hunger strike and the 4th day of my drinking just water. When Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days, his body was already clean, untainted by dioxins and poisonous insecticides like DDT. He had not consumed foods containing concentrated toxins that we find so prevalent in the air and food and water of our 21st century. Therefore, Jesus had an advantage over those who would go on a fast today. For 170 days, I have taken no dietary supplements and have eaten no food. For three years, I have eaten no chicken or meat or any animal products. During my fast, I have made juices from organically grown fruits and vegetables, and have excreted many of those toxic substances that have built up in my body over the previous years. From all of the reading and studying that I have done, I have never before seen an instance in which a modern day man or woman has approached an all-water fast the way I have done. The breakdown of my fat cells has eliminated those substances that might have been toxic to my system had I first done just a water fast. Today is the 4th day of my water fast and the 174th day of having eaten no food, and I cannot believe how incredibly alert and powerful I feel. I have been advised to rest during this phase of my fast and will now include a nap or two in my daily schedule. ****************** Saturday, April 29 Today is the 175th day of my hunger strike and the 5th day of my just drinking water. In the 1970s, while in college, I was inspired by a book written by Canadian naturalist Farley Mowatt. That book, "Never Cry Wolf," remains on my personal Top Ten List. In one passage, Mowatt describes the sleeping patterns of wolves, and he tries to replicate their behavior by setting his alarm at intervals during the night. By waking up and working and training himself to take short naps, Mowatt was able to increase his productivity. I copied his behavior and found that during the most intense semester of my college studies that I was able to bear the strains of numerous all-nighters and work at times when other people were sleeping and maintain my own rigorous schedule. By studying neuroanatomy, I was aware of sleep deprivation's effect on human behavior. There are many sleep cycles that one travels to arrive at the deepest phase of sleep in which dreams occur, memories become stored, and the body and sprit heal. Depriving oneself of sleep insures that the first sleep opportunity will deliver the man rapidly to a deep sleep state of consciousness. On this 5th day of just water and 175th day overall, I am now needing an extremely small amount of sleeptime. Thomas Edison described his brilliant performance and inventive skills as 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Edison also would work through the night, taking small naps and found his production to be more efficiently performed. For those of you who have sent me your many hundreds of letters consisting of best wishes and concerns, I want to assure you all that I have never felt better. **************** Sunday, April 30 Today is the 6th day of my water fast and the 176th day of my hunger strike, and I still feel great. Yesterday, I spoke in Philadelphia and today I will be speaking in New York City. Last Friday, I ordered 6,000 bright yellow whistles imprinted with "BAN BST." When Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, the walls came tumbling down. His army was equipped with noisemakers, having traded their spears and arrows for auditory weapons. What better statement could we make than to demonstrate by blowing together as one shrill shriek our whistle-blowing chorus of sound? We will march to the FBI building and hand out flyers demanding investigations into congressmen who have betrayed us for dollars. We will go to FDA and blow our whistles at bureaucrats who have betrayed our health interests. We will march to the White House and send a shrill message to a president who praised Monsanto in his State of the Union Address in 1996 and whose appointments reflect Monsanto's gifts. When the whistles are delivered to the Dairy Education Board, we will send a message to you with a time and date inviting you to join us. Too many people have betrayed us. Our struggle will continue so that we can all enjoy the basic freedoms promised to us in the Bill of Rights. We will demand a label be placed on foods containing genetically modified organisms. It is our right and we shall become whistle blowers to achieve that right. -------------------------------------------------------------------- May 2000 Hungerstrike Diary DAY 177 - Messengers DAY 178 - If it moos, it's a drug factory DAY 179 - Will tidal waves drown us? DAY 180 - But is it kosher? DAY 181 - Direct result of genetic engineering: human sickness DAY 182 - Biotech gives me a headache DAY 183 - Bought and paid for DAY 184 - Come to Washington on June 17th DAY 185 - Happy asthma day DAY 186 - The big gulp DAY 187 - USDA promotes biotechnology on the internet DAY 188 - Winds of war DAY 189 - Mad cows at the FDA DAY 190 - Got zits? DAY 191 - Evolution of revolutionaries DAY 192 - Down under milk cartons DAY 193 - Something stinks DAY 194 - Away from home DAY 195 - Quakers quake and roll over in their graves DAY 196 - Dave's cancer DAY 197 - Women who drink milk have increased rates of uterine cancer DAY 198 - FDA commissioner meets the NOTMILKMAN DAY 199 - GOT MILK? NOT IN INDIA DAY 200 - Transitioning DAY 201 - Poetry in motion DAY 202 - Defying the Odds DAY 203 - Error in Judgement DAY 204 - Held in contempt DAY 205 - Today is the 205th and FINAL day of my hunger strike *********** Back to the original Squirts format: Day 30 - Tree of Life Day 31 - Ask the milk people --------------------------------------------------------------------- ************* MONDAY, MAY 1 Today is the seventh day in which I am just drinking water and the 177th day of my hunger strike. Our government has approved a new genetically engineered pesticide that will switch on a plant's natural defense against insects and bacteria. Biotech companies are now skirting FDA and USDA approval processes and applying directly to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA is also about to approve another product (Harpin) that was engineered to close down the natural pathways within a plant by which bacteria can attack them. One or both of these new pesticides will be used on this year's broccoli crops, and the worst part is yet to come... Somebody has been ratting on Americans! According to the current issue of "Trends In Plant Science" (May 5, 2000, Volume 5:189), genetic material from a rat has been introduced into experimental broccolini plants (broccolini is a cross between broccoli and kale) to produce a green veggie with seven times the previous levels of vitamin C. May I suggest an order of rat-broccolini smothered with Monsanto's genetically engineered hormone-laden cream sauce? ************** TUESDAY, MAY 2 Today is the 178th day of my hunger strike and the 7th day of my drinking just water. The Monday, May 1, 2000 edition of the New York Times contains two very different front page drug stories. "Drug War is Toxic Enemy to Colombians" shares the front page with a story about genetically altered Canadian salmon that will soon be swimming downstream to our supermarkets. Perhaps the second drug war will be deadlier than the first. (The Colombian drug war has a surprise twist... revealed at the end of this column). The biased photo accompanying the BIOTECH story shows a pair of human hands next to four tiny dead fish and three very large ones. The caption: "Genetically altered salmon and their puny siblings, at 14 months." Puny siblings? In other words, existing salmon are puny, compared to the new genetically engineered fish. What remarkable brainwashing... and on the front page! Aqua Bounty Farms already has orders to ship 15 million of these eggs to American companies, and hundreds of other animals are being engineered to satisfy American palates. On page 20 of the same edition, author Carol Yoon quotes one fish expert, Joseph McGonigle of the Maine Aquaculture Association: "Genetically engineered salmon is a solution looking for a problem. Virtually everyone in the world has taken a position against them." In an accompanying story, Yoon cites examples of what one biotech firm is working on: "NEXIA has implanted a spider gene into goats with the hope of producing a milk containing spider silk. That milk will be used to make bullet-proof vests." One genetically engineered blood protein (erthropoietin) will one day command a price of $15 million dollars per ounce, according to Yoon. A sidebar accompanying the salmon and farm animal stories contains photos of six animals, and the title reads: A DIFFERENT KIND OF BARNYARD. There are photos of: Chicken (being developed to produce antibiotics in eggs) Cow (being developed to produce human lactoferrins to treat infections) Goat (being developed to develop a human protein to block blood clots) Sheep (being developed to treat cystic fibrosis) Pig (being developed to produce a protein called phytase, which helps pigs to digest phosphorus, resulting in manure with less phosphorus) This last one sounds like a whole lot of poop to me. Phosphorus does not disappear into thin air... perhaps the pigs spontaneously combust and barbecue themselves in the process. BOTTOM LINE: These chemical foods are untested and extremely expensive. Somebody will pay the price for these very expensive genetic experiments. Companies now lobby congress and regulatory agencies, and the rewards will be great. So are the risks. Oh, yes... the Colombian drug war. Colombian poppy flowers yield heroin, and the illicit plants are being sprayed by American planes subsidized by American dollars. The dangerous pesticides are destroying other food crops and making children sick. Would you like to be a millionaire? Here's your question. Who manufactures the deadly chemical that is destroying Colombia? A) MotherNature.com B) Ben & Jerry's D) Purina Dog Chow D) Monsanto If your answer was "D" you do not need a lifeline. You're a winner!!! That is, unless you live in Colombia. Then you're a loser... big time. Thanks, Monsanto. **************** Wednesday, May 3 Today is the 179th day of my hunger strike and the 9th day of my just drinking water. The New York Times buried a very important biotechnology story on the bottom of page 20 of today's edition (May 3, 2000). Atop that story was a revelation that elite colleges had tougher admission standards. To the right of the biotech story was the cataclysmic news that fissures off the coast of Virginia might cause tidal waves. Grab your life preservers and rubber ducky inner tubes. Here's what the New York Times buried. Critics of biotechnology have lampooned America's regulatory agencies for lax standards and favoritism towards biotechnology companies. The revolving doors between FDA and USDA have led to numerous betrayals. This morning, FDA Commissioner Jane Henney and Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman are expected to announce new changes in the regulation of genetically engineered food products. IS THIS GOOD NEWS FOR AMERICA? The largest pro-biotech trade group in America has already praised the new measures. Gene Grabowski, vice-president of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, said: "We believe the steps as they have been outlined to us are appropriate and responsive to the discussions that we have been having with FDA officials and other government officials over the last few months." BIG WHOOPEE American consumers have increased fears about the safeties of foods. Under the new plan, biotechnology companies will now be required to talk to regulators at the Food & Drug Administration about the safety of the foods before they are sold. Under the old policy, such conversations and submission of research data were voluntary. In the past, pollen from genetically engineered corn has killed Monarch butterfly caterpillars while pollen from non-genetically engineered corn has had no effect on these delicate creatures. FDA and USDA do not require testing of new foods, having already determined that they are safe despite the fact that enormous evidence indicates otherwise. One can only imagine a future conversation between a Monsanto/Pharmacia scientist and FDA Commissioner Jane Henney: Dr. Richard J. Mengele: "Hello, Jane." FDA Commissioner Jane Henney: "Hi, Dick." Dick: "We have a new product for you." Jane: "What's it this time?" Dick: "You're going to love this one." Jane: "No freak amino acids, I hope." Dick (laughing): "I wouldn't tell you if it did!" Jane (laughing): "Okay, you've got to tell me. There are laws." Dick: "Well, okay. We've managed to combine the genetic material from a rooster with a cannabis plant." Jane: "You're kidding me. Are you creating an animal or a vegetable?" Dick: "What is this '20 Questions'?" Jane: "Well, the new law does require that you have a conversation with me." Dick: "Okay, Jane, consider this the conversation. All I can tell you is that the final version is called 'Chicken Pot Pie'." Jane: "Yeah, but will it banned in Boston?" Dick: "Not if we don't put a warning label on it telling them that it is genetically engineered." (Both laugh) THE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE'S LAST PARAGRAPH The last paragraph of the New York Times article is the worse piece of brainwashing that I have ever seen. The authors of that article may have majored in journalism, but it seems as if their minor was in propaganda. The page 20 story written by Melody Petersen and Marc Lacey concludes this way: "Genetically engineered crops, first sold in 1995, have quickly become a success. Farmers have bought up the altered seeds, which can save them time and boost productivity." *************** Thursday, May 4 Today is the 180th day of my hunger strike and the 10th day of my drinking just water. There was a time in my life when I would get up early on a Sunday morning and drive to the best kosher deli in the New York area and purchase freshly made bialys, bagels, rye bread and a mixed variety of fish. For the past three years, I have eaten only a plant-based diet, and no longer eat baked salmon or nova lox or smoked whitefish. This is one of the rules by which I have chosen to live. Many Jews and Moslems observe strict dietary laws and would not eat pork or flesh from "unclean" animals. The curator of the Ichthyology Department of the American Museum of Natural History, James Atz, Ph.D., has compiled lists of kosher and non-kosher fish. http://www.kashrus.org/kosher/kosher_fish.html Thanks to one of my readers, Zlatko Batistich, for this story. In Tuesday's diary entry, I reported that genetically engineered salmon would soon be sold in American markets. A diagram, contained within that story, demonstrates that the "promoter" gene from the ocean pout is genetically inserted into a gene from the Chinook salmon. The trouble is that the pout is considered non-kosher, while the salmon is kosher. Lox from genetically engineered salmon will be something to pout about for observant Jews and Moslems because it just isn't kosher. Will the new species of genetically engineered fish be labeled "Almost Kosher"? By combining a kosher product with a non-kosher product, is the final version kosher? By combining a pig with a human tissue, is that not offensive to the human spirit? By creating new foods that cause cancer to laboratory animals, does that not offend one's sense of logic? ************* Friday, May 5 Today is the 181st day of my hunger strike and the 11th day of my drinking just water. This week's New England Journal of Medicine (April 27, 2000, Vol. 342, No. 17) is more proof of biotechnology's failure. I have written about this story many times, but publication in a peer-reviewed journal now confirms what I have been saying for many years. This message bears repeating. In 1989, Monsanto was aware that cows in test herds treated with the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone developed sores and lesions on their udders that were collectively called mastitis. Milk from rbST-treated cows contained increased levels of pus, blood, and virulent bacteria. In order to deal with the problem, Monsanto's top dairy scientist, Margaret Miller, left the firm and became FDA's Monsanto "plant." Once at FDA, Dr. Miller arbitrarily changed the existing antibiotic standard. She increased by 100 times the allowable level of antibiotics that farmers could put into milk. The consequences of her action were that new strains of bacteria developed in dairy cows that were immune to existing antibiotics, which no longer worked when they were needed. People drank milk containing increased amounts of antibiotics and new species of bacteria with immunities to those antimicrobials. The latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine contains a study by Paul Fey, et al, confirming the emergence of a new strain of salmonella that was isolated from a 12-year-old boy who was admitted into a hospital with fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. That salmonella strain is resistant to a new wonder drug, Ceftriaxone, which has also been used on dairy cows. We wonder why few scientists have previously noted why wonder drugs are no longer so wonderful. Sophisticated methods of plasmid analysis were performed on the bacteria obtained from the child and from the cattle, and they were found to be indistinguishable. In addition to the resistance to Ceftriaxone, the bacteria had developed resistance to thirteen other antibiotics. The study raises extreme health concerns, and provides evidence that disease is directly related to antibiotic-resistant strains of salmonella that have resulted from overdosed farm animals. Such errors do not develop in the natural scheme of things. This error is a direct result of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. How much more evidence must FDA and Congress examine before government regulators once again show concern for the health and safety of the American people? *************** Saturday, May 6 Today is the 182nd day of my hunger strike and the 12th day of my drinking just water. I awoke to a dull throbbing in my head. I headed straight for the bathroom where I filled my hands with cold water and splashed my face hoping the shock would bring some stability to my pounding head. Thursday's headache got no better, and for the sake of purity, I resist taking aspirin for my three-day headache. Last night I made the return-trip from a book signing in Southampton, New York in just under three hours. Now I face a three-hour drive to Delaware to speak to a group of health advocates at WELLNESS PLUS DELAWARE. I do not look forward to the drive there and back. I have two books on tape to help me with the drive. Long car rides are becoming difficult for me. The best advice from doctors and coaches has been to rest, and there is just not the time. One has an eternity to rest and a lifetime to live. On Wednesday night, I did not sleep, having done research to write a column that will appear tomorrow. There is so much information on the Internet, but it sometimes takes hours to piece together clues to a story. Will most people delete my words before reading? It only takes one person to make a difference. Will I reach that one, to set off the spark and resulting fire? My head pounds and the car awaits. I have a gallon of distilled water for the drive. Yes, distilled. I can no longer filter minerals through my body, and only distilled will do. There is no nourishment on a water fast. What nourishes me is the promise of change. What feeds me is the spirit of human potential. What fuels me is a conviction that things are getting out of control within our government regulators, and that we must take back our health from those who have betrayed our interests. ************* Sunday, May 7 Republican Governor Ed Schafer from North Dakota is a friend of biotechnology. He's the one on the right on the following page: http://www.hungerstrike.com/paidfor.html for the rest of the story. ************* Monday, May 8 Today is the 184th day of my hunger strike and the 14th day of my drinking just water. JOIN ROBERT COHEN AT THE FREE CONFERENCE On Saturday, June 17, 2000, the SIERRA CLUB is hosting a conference in Washington, D.C. on the Threat of Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone. The conference will be held at the Resources for the Future Conference Center at 1400 Sixteenth Street NW. CONFERENCE AGENDA There are one dozen speakers, including myself. Here are some of the highlights: RALPH NADER on the corporatization of our food supply, the WTO and implications for the future. SENATOR BARBARA BOXER and/or CONGRESSMAN DENNIS KUCINICH on bills to give consumers the right to know what they are eating. ROBERT COHEN on FDA's recent decision not to remove rbGH, and the fraudulent research not considered by government regulators. PETER HARDIN, publisher of Milkweed, who will provide an overview of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone controversy. STEVE WILSON & JANE ACRE: Two FOX Network Reporters silenced by Monsanto when they did an investigative report on rbGH dangers. MICHAEL HANSEN: Consumers Union scientist on an overview of the FDA and the approval process for rbGH + danger from IGF-I. ANDREW KIMBRELL: Lawsuit on rbGH SCOTT DYE (Sierra Club) and KAREN HUDSON (F.A.R.M.) on environmental destruction caused by dairy production VICTOR DANIEL & HEALTH CANADA SCIENTISTS: The silencing of health concerns in Canada after pressure from Monsanto. Dairy farmers will also speak and attend. LODGING Rooms have been reserved at the Quality Hotel & Suites - Downtown at #1315 Sixteenth Street NW. Call (202) 232-8000 or (800) 368-5689 to make reservations. Mention the Sierra Club Dairy Conference. Singles $89/night. Doubles $99/night. Triples $109/night. Quads $119/night. REGISTRATION FORM e-mail Chris Bedford: cbedford@erols.com Name: Address: City/Town: State: Zip code: Telephone: Fax: E-mail: Please register if you plan to attend. There is no cost for this conference except payment for lunch. If you plan to have lunch with us, send $10 by check made out to MARYLAND CHAPTER/SIERRA CLUB at #7338 Baltimore Avenue (Suite 101A), College Park, Maryland 20740. If you have any questions please contact Chris Bedford at 301-779-1000 or 301-277-6699 fax or email cbedford@erols.com. ************** Tuesday, May 9 Today is the 185th day of my hunger strike and the 15th day of my drinking just water. Last Wednesday (May 3, 2000) was designated World Asthma Day. Scientists have no clue why asthma rates are soaring and why 30% of children in countries such as Canada and Australia are effected by asthma. The World Health Organization estimates that 150 million people have asthma and that there are nearly 200,000 yearly asthma-related deaths. In the United States, the number of asthmatics has more than doubled to an estimated 15 million sufferers today from less than 7 million in 1980. Scientists and researchers speculate that allergens such as rat feces, cockroach hairs, dust mites, and other pollutants might be causing the asthma epidemic, but they r