I am sitting a couple thousand miles away from the USA which recently concluded its elections. Sitting in a tiny village that most of the people even in our country won't know, one would say, you definitely hold no position to talk about such issues, but I do. I work in the fields where our agricultural landscape has dramatically changed in the past 20-30 years and more importantly, I work alongside people who have been generational farmers who have felt the brunt of the Big Agriculture. I see their struggle. Their memories paint a vivid picture of how bountiful, healthy and ever-giving the soil and the land was, here in India. On top of that I walked in the year 2022 to understand the agricultural crisis across our country. Only in my state of Maharashtra, a whopping number of 2700+ people committed suicides in the year 2021 due to agricultural issues and degraded soil content. So, naturally, I was more than thrilled when I read about the appointment of Bobby Kennedy in the United States' Cabinet as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Now, I know how it is these days, some of you will close this widow right away. It is quite obvious because here’s the incoming question, how can an ANTI-VAX be part of, let alone lead the HHS Dept? But hear me out for just this once. Let’s move past the brain worm, whale murderer, etc etc picture that the MSM has painted and lets also move past what the so-called “experts” have to say on this appointment, because these experts are today in bed with the government and tomorrow with Pharmaceutical industries. Let’s give RFK Jr. a chance and think this through. Can we all agree on one small thing — that we all expect us and our children (those of you who have, ofcourse) to be healthy. We have been lied to and fooled by the experts of the land and what happens in the USA finds its way through to the entire world. I will give you the example of India.
While I walked through a number of villages all across area called the suicide belt of India, I realised that the main reason of these suicides were the degradation of soil and monopoly driven companies like Monsanto who ripped off the people of this land. I wrote extensively about the people I met and the struggles they have endured due to these companies in detail in my book "Journey to the East".
In the recent past, farmers in India used native crop seeds that yielded better results and had superior nutritional value. They relied on organic manure, composted soil, and dried grass for natural fertilisation, which was not only cost-effective but also environmentally friendly. However, the government's attempt to modernise Indian agriculture led to the introduction of seeds produced by foreign companies focused solely on profit. These companies have a virtual monopoly on the Indian seed market. At one point US based company Monsanto had complete control over the cotton seed market. The primary objective of these companies was not necessarily to provide better crops but to promote crops that require supplementary fertilisers, which is where their profits lie.
Have we ever wondered how the British managed to get the entire Indian population hooked on tea? Surprisingly, they began by giving it away for free. It didn't take long for people to acquire a taste for it, and now, centuries later, you can find tea in almost every Indian household. In a similar fashion, the Indian state and its local governments subsidised foreign-manufactured seeds, which initially grew in popularity. Indian peasants eagerly accepted subsidised, and often free, seeds from local distribution shops. Little did they know, they were becoming unwitting addicts. It took time for them to realise that it wasn't they who were addicted but their land itself, addicted to these factory-manufactured seeds and chemicals. Seeds produced by companies like Monsanto and others have significant financial interests in firms manufacturing fertilisers and other farming products. These seeds are engineered in such a way that they stand no chance of flourishing without supplementary chemical fertilisers. The average farmer is unwittingly drawn into a battle taking place in the towering offices of New York and London, a battle driven by shareholders who prioritise returns over innovation. Some farmers can't even properly pronounce the word "hybrid." As a result, they helplessly buy more and more fertilisers when their crops are undernourished. The cost of these fertilisers keeps increasing each year, and they often face droughts or unexpected weather patterns for which they are unprepared.
Farmers in India were well-built; they carried heavy stones and logs on their backs and toiled the farm without having back spasms. They drank 'raw' unprocessed milk (something that is talked about a lot after RFK Jr’s appointment) that comes straight out of the cow and water buffaloes and they built a natural immunity through the bacteria that entered their body. When I was in England, I remember being baffled by all the categories of milk- skimmed, semi-skimmed, low fat, whole milk, 20% fat and on and on. It was ridiculous for someone like me who sat by the side of the cow when she was being milked by a fellow villager and drank it, at times, straight from her. But now the picture has changed. You can see weak men and women working in the fields-- their kids are even more weak, given the undernourished food laced with chemical fertilisers that goes in their bellies. Similarly, how were we hooked on too many medical drugs? It was when the Big Pharma realised that a perpetual state of fear can sell a lot more drugs. Heart attacks, asthma, allergies and early health issues are common in these villagers, which were totally unheard of only until a few decades back.
Ask any honoured doctor in India and they wont deny that hospitals are a money making machine at this point and Covid was the start of this business. Most of the hospitals now trade their funds in stock market, it is no wonder then that saving the lives of innocent people is not the primary concern for the hospital board, it is money money money. The worst part about all this is the lack of data that shows how this is affecting people. Without the integral resources, the lack of intent and the inherent corruption all this goes unnoticed. It is common sense that Agriculture and Health are inter-linked. What we put in our soil inevitably goes in our bellies.
It is a grave thing that we have given up on Regenerative Agricultural Practices due to this marriage of government bodies and politicians with the Big Agri and Big Pharma companies. So, what I really want to see now, is these US-based companies like Monsanto, Bayer and other Big Pharma and Big Agriculture companies who have put the mantra, "how much money we can make", instead of "how many people we can help", to the forefront, to be shitting in their pants. The appointment of Bobby in this role does just that. Its been a long while since many of the ill-effects of the chemicals that these companies produce have been in a locked suitcase. We know that these companies are the culprits but the studies never see the light of the day and the ones that do are often hushed and paid off in court hearings. Millions of people have died due their negligence. While the USA talks of the ill-health of their society members, the impact of all these chemicals and its manufacturers go totally unnoticed in a country like India, where it is a thousand times easier to bribe complete government departments and hide the number of dead people.
We are in an urgent need of transparency. We need unbiased data and an access to that data which will definitely happen under Bobby. This will lead to new research which can save untold lives and that wont just be in the USA because most of these companies have their customers outside of the USA. This can change the face of an industry that is immensely corrupt and intimately strangled with bureaucracy. This can also put an end to dis and misinformation that is sometimes malicious in intent. It can also promote independent peer-reviewed analysis which can be free of vested interests. All of this will promote research based on clinical need and merit and not on what makes the next big buck. I guess we can all agree on this.
Lastly, I have been following RFK Jr. for quite some while. He will now be leading CDC, the FDA, the NIH, and many other departments that will come under the HHS umbrella. When he came about with his views on vaccines, the main stream media was quick to pounce on him and term him as an Anti-Vax, but what he said then and has been saying it ever since, is that he supports rigorous studies and transparency in Vaccine data. He does not want Pharmaceutical industry to be working from the back door to play with human health for their overlords to make more money. Vaccines are safe and they have saved a lot of lives but we always had a scientific temper and everyone back in the day knew that science is not obsolete— it keeps on changing. New research brings in newer ideas and make the old ideas useless. That is what we want our governments to look at. No back door entrance for the advisors on health to be joining the Pharmaceutical companies when their term is over. It will not just make the USA safer and healthier but these ripples will spread quickly to countries that follow USA. That I whole-heartedly support. No wonder that everyone is panicking. To the MSM this means a huge loss of money that came in through ad revenue, to the medical fraternity who was in line with the Big Pharma this means an end to their monetary gains, to the politicians this means an end to their election funds. Everyone should panic.
It also comes with a risk— these companies will try to move their base in places that are easy with regulations and where corruption runs high. This will inevitably mean disaster on their shores but at least we have one healthy country to start with.
I want people to eat clean food, take less meds and live a long and happy life. Don’t we all want that?
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Have a wonderful week ahead.
You can buy my book which is a memoir about my 1800 km walk through India through my website and donate for my upcoming walk through paypal or western union.
Thank you Ash for pointing out the connection between farmer’s suicides and GMO seeds. I too am hoping RFK Jr will be able to make substantial inroads into undoing the stranglehold Big Ag and Big Pharma have on our health. Your viewpoint is inspiring. Keep up the great work!!
Well done, Ash! Well done!