Howdy All,

Most everyone has heard the about story of Frankenstein written by Shelley. Basically, it is the story of a well intentioned doctor of medical science who seeks to create life and thereby stand on par with God. Unfortunately, nature is not so easily manipulated, and the result turns out to be monstrous.

The story of Frankenstein is almost 200 years old and has come to be viewed as a parable about the dangers of science... that science, no matter how well intentioned, can create monstrous results. Those results are often not even fully realized until the monster is on the loose. Science has a long history of turning a blind eye to it's unfavorable results. The argument seems to be that somehow it will all work out in the end because science will fix any and all the unfavorable results that are created. Maybe that is so, maybe not. However, history shows in the short term, usually it is we who fall victim to today's unsavory scientific results, bear the consequences, and NOT the scientists and the corporate sponsors of science.

An example of this is the Franklin expedition to the North Pole. They seemed to disappear without a trace. When the bodies were discovered over a hundred years later, and the events leading up to their deaths revealed a crazy, unbelievable scene... men hauling a writing desk across the ice, the crew bringing dinner plates along as they tried to hike out of the arctic after a ship wreck. Most folks believed the cold killed them... until recently.

Archaeologists made an amazing discovery when they unearthed the grave of a Franklin expedition member and analyzed what killed him; it was lead poisoning. What really killed the members of the Franklin expedition was the canned food. Canning food was a recent scientific invention... and the expedition had stocked itself well with canned foods. Unfortunately, the lead used to seal the cans had leached into the food. The crew was slowly poisoned to death. One of the side effects of lead poisoning is declining mental abilities, even the onset of hallucinations. The Franklin expedition never knew what hit them. They were doomed the moment they opened the first cans of food. Frankenstein got em'... what else can be said.

What I see is that as the world gets smaller, as the scientific experiments become more grand the danger of you and I being harmed by unfavorable scientific advancements in the food industry become more likely. The newest word added to the English language "frankenfoods" (a word used to describe the latest generation of genetically engineered un-natural foods... part fish, part corn, may kill butterflies and bugs... but, hey!, it's O.K. to eat... or so the chemical companies tell me). I think it's a great new word to define a dangerous new age.

Given what I have said, Nutritional Self-Defense takes on a new dimension... a dimension I have the most difficulty conveying to others. Nutritional Self-Defense is as much about understanding our food source (and defending it as necessary) as it is about choosing what you eat. We are all becoming unwitting participants in a world food experiment... and none of us are being asked for our permission to be involved. This situation is also why I eat a raw, basically wild, nutritionally dense food like algae to supplement my diet. I'm really not all that sure what may have been done to all the other food I get "third hand" from the food industry. I think supplementing my diet with a nutritionally dense, wild (as in untouched by scientific experiments) and ensuring my digestion of food is naturally complete gives me a real edge. It is one of the few ways of keeping my diet a little natural in a world increasing filled with frankenfoods. How much of an edge I get may be a subject of debate for others... but not to me. I can feel the difference. And, I believe the history of science and it's involvement in the food industry more than justify ensuring my health with natural supplementation.

The future has arrived.... what are ya' gonna' do with it? For as long as "frankenfoods" of all types are created, it is increasing needed to defend one's self nutritionally... if for no other reason than history says that most often, the unfavorable consequences of scientifically, nutritionally altered foods are suffered by those who blindly follow. The scientist themselves, and the companies that support them, generally just say, "oh well, we'll have to fix that as soon as we can... we'll just sweep that little unintended side effect under the rug, eh? After all, science is never really wrong... it's just science". Frankenstein lives.