activistpost--2020-11-29--Fish Raised in Industrial Farms — Bad for Humans and the Environment

You want to eat fish .
Unfortunately , according to research , fish from American waters have been significantly affected by pollution .
Fish from industrial fish farms have been severely compromised by the farmers themselves .
An increasing amount of fish on the market is sourced from large-scale industrial fish farms that rely on a toxic cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs , pesticides and even genetically engineered crops .
A growing interest in health and heath food has helped drive consumer demand for fish to an all-time high .
A diet rich in fish has grown so popular that global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 2018 , according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) .
Fish is often viewed as a healthier alternative to meat due to the so-called “ benefits ” to human health and the environment .
But is it really healthier for you and the planet ?
That all depends on what kind of fish you ’ re eating and where it ’ s sourced from .
An increasing amount of fish on the market — in restaurants and grocery stores — is sourced from large-scale industrial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a toxic cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs , pesticides and even genetically engineered crops such as soy .
Industrial ocean fish farms or factory fish farms , where fish are raised numbering in the hundreds of thousands or millions , often in net pens in the open ocean , pollute the environment with massive amounts of fish waste and threaten already vulnerable wild fish with disease .
Fish raised in crowded and unsanitary conditions are , unfortunately , on the rise .
The number of fish produced on fish farms skyrocketed 527 % from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There are a couple of reasons for this spike , one being the world ’ s appetite for fish is growing .
Another reason is that , by 2016 , 90 % of the world ’ s wild fish stocks had already been depleted due to overfishing .
The result is more people are eating farm-raised fish produced on land in massive tanks or in open ocean net pens .
In fact , the world now produces more farmed fish than it does beef .
And , 50 % of the fish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is one of the most widely sold types of factory farm fish , and salmon farms are now the fastest-growing type of food production system in the world .
A fan favorite among fish eaters , salmon is often a go-to for health-conscious consumers .
Loaded with vitamins , antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids , salmon has all the characteristics associated with healthy food .
But salmon is only healthy if it is wild-caught , meaning it was fished from its natural habitat , where it fed on natural organisms .
Salmon is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ farm-raised .
Farmed salmon actually has more in common with junk food than healthy food .
Farmed fish are raised on a diet of processed , high-fat , high-protein feed that can include everything from genetically engineered soybeans and pesticides , to polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCBs ) and dioxins , to antibiotics .
The dry pellet feed given to farmed salmon is what makes it so toxic to you when you eat it .
The toxins in farmed salmon feed accumulate in salmon fat .
One study , which tested 700 salmon samples @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PCB concentrations in farmed salmon are , on average , eight times higher than in wild salmon .
Farmed salmon in general contain higher levels of contaminants than wild salmon , in part because of their elevated fat content .
So even when raised in similarly contaminated conditions , farmed salmon will absorb more toxins than wild fish .
Farmed salmon also does not have the nutritional profile of wild salmon , containing far higher amounts of omega-6 , which can have deleterious health ramifications , seeing how most people are deficient in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they need .
Majority of salmon eaten in the U.S. comes from fish farms With all the farmed salmon floating around , you might be surprised to learn that the U.S. captures nearly one-third of the world ’ s wild salmon .
But more than half of it is sent overseas , where it ’ s deboned and processed using cheap labor .
There was a time when our wild-caught salmon would be shipped back to us after processing but , today , the majority of it stays in Asia as a result @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and China ’ s improved economic status , which allows its citizens the luxury to purchase it .
The result is more farm-raised salmon for Americans .
Two-thirds of the salmon we eat here in the U.S. is imported , mostly from industrial fish farms in Chile , Canada , Norway and processing factories in China .
Similar to industrial animal agriculture , farming salmon ( and fish in general ) on a large scale results in a massive amount of animal waste or , in this case , fish waste .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with 200,000 fish produces an enormous amount of waste .
In nature , animal waste is not harmful ; in fact it is often beneficial .
But large concentrations of it can be destructive .
The waste of wild fish swimming around is not harmful , but the waste of hundreds of thousands staying in the same spot is.
” From an outward perspective , the environmental impact of large fish farms can easily be obscured .
Similar to factory farms on land , which house large numbers of cows , pigs and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public view , ocean fish farms are hidden from the public eye .
The fish pens are placed up to 164 feet beneath the surface of the water .
These seemingly invisible underwater pens can hold up to 200,000 fish each .
In Norway — which has a huge farmed salmon industry — some fish farms have eight to 10 pens .
That means factory fish farms can house up to 2 million fish , which is more fish than the wild Atlantic salmon population of the entire world .
Fish farms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is why most salmon farms are owned by large multinational companies .
Another major problem with open ocean fish farms is fish that escape .
Whenever Atlantic salmon are farmed near wild Atlantic salmon , mixing occurs .
When males escape , they usually die off because they aren ’ t tough enough to compete with wild males during the spawning process .
But when females escape , they lay eggs that are fertilized by wild males .
This is problematic because the genes of farmed fish are not equipped to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also lack the basic survival skills that wild fish have .
“ Farmed salmon are not greatly different from one pen to another .
They have been selected for fast growth , and growing fast seems to be their major skill .
They do not have all the special survival skills of the wild stock .
Although fast-growing , they only grow for a short time and never achieve the size of the more slow-growing wild salmon .
“ This is one of the reasons that they do not reproduce at the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A salmon living in the wild that has a farmed parent or even grandparent is much less likely to survive at sea , and , in fact , sea survival has declined in places with farming.
” Farmed salmon that escape from ocean net pens are so common that more than one-third of “ wild-caught ” salmon from the Faroe Islands , tucked between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean ( and politically part of Denmark ) , are actually escaped farmed fish .
Fear of farmed fish escaping into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fish farming is now banned — and will be phased out by 2025 — in Washington state .
In 2017 , a fish-farm spill occurred off Cypress Island when a net pen holding 263,000 salmon gave way .
The farm ’ s owner , Cooke Aquaculture Pacific , tried to downplay the seriousness of the spill and initially said only around 160,000 Atlantic salmon had escaped .
But it was later confirmed that the number was as high as 263,000 .
Cooke blamed the damaged pens on a solar eclipse that brought “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an investigation by the state of Washington found that Cooke was negligent because the company failed to properly clean the nets on the pens .
This led to an excessive buildup of mussels and other sea life on the nets , The Seattle Times reported .
The spill threatened native wild salmon including the endangered Chinook .
The concern was the farmed Atlantic salmon would crossbreed with the wild Pacific salmon and expose the wild fish to disease and pests such as sea lice .
Sea lice are a major problem for farmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fish farms , it ’ s now a problem for wild salmon , too .
Sea lice that run rampant in fish farms can attack wild salmon swimming nearby .
Fishermen on the west coast have reported seeing wild salmon swimming near fish farms infected with sea lice .
“ Before there were fish farms they [ sea lice ] did not pose a significant problem .
They roamed the ocean looking for salmon , which make up a tiny minority of the fish population .
One or two might attach themselves to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live with the parasites until it returned to the river .
Sea lice can not live long in fresh water , so they fall off and die in the river .
Until farming , sea lice survived but never found huge schools of salmon on which to feed .
Now they find salmon farms with hundreds of thousands of salmon trapped in one spot .
The lice eat the salmon ’ s skin .
It is difficult to penetrate the scales so they attack the head and neck .
They will completely skin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will die of exposure .
Farmers find the dead fish with raw skinned heads at the bottom of the pens .
It is not unusual to lose a quarter of a pen .
Sea lice are a huge financial loss for fish farmers.
” Another problem with fish farming is that the companies that raise farmed fish aren ’ t exactly truthful about their practices .
Mowi USA , the world ’ s largest producer of Atlantic salmon products , is accused of misleading consumers with false marketing claims .
Organic Consumers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in August 2020 against Mowi and Mowi Ducktrap for deceptive marketing and advertising of smoked Atlantic salmon products sold under the Ducktrap River of Maine brand .
Many popular smoked Atlantic salmon brands lure in consumers with misleading claims such as “ all natural , ” “ healthy and nutritious ” or “ sustainably sourced.
” But the truth is that all smoked Atlantic salmon products are made from salmon raised on massive industrial fish farms that , in some cases , are nowhere near the Atlantic Ocean .
As Katherine Paul of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Atlantic salmon — a species once abundant in the wild but now nearly extinct — is prohibited in the U.S .
In the Gulf of Maine , they are even protected under the U.S .
Endangered Species Act .
Similarly , in Canada , wild Atlantic salmon in the Bay of Fundy ( located in the Gulf of Maine ) are protected under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk .
That means all Atlantic salmon sold to consumers in food stores and restaurants — whether fresh , frozen , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” To take action on this issue , please sign the petition telling Ducktrap of Maine to stop falsely claiming its smoked Atlantic salmon is “ all natural.
” From the toxic drugs and chemicals used in fish farming , to its environmental impact on wild fish and the false and misleading marketing claims used by multinational fish farm companies , there are plenty of reasons to avoid farmed fish .
Instead , I only recommend eating safer seafood choices such as wild-caught Alaskan salmon , sardines , anchovies , mackerel and herring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk of contamination yet are high in healthy omega-3 fats , without the problems posed by fish farming .
You ’ ll want to opt for sustainably harvested wild-caught fish as well .
One of the best options toward this end is to look for the Marine Stewardship Council ( MSC ) logo , which features the letters MSC and a blue check mark in the shape of a fish .
The MSC logo ensures the seafood came from a responsible fishery that uses sustainable fishing practices to minimize environmental impacts.22 The views @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Children ’ s Health Defense .
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth , peace , and freedom news .
Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE !
Follow us on SoMee , HIVE , Parler , Flote , Minds , MeWe and Twitter .
Provide , Protect and Profit from what ’ s coming !
Get a free issue of Counter Markets today .

By B.N. Frank
You want to eat fish. Unfortunately, according to research, fish from American waters have been significantly affected by pollution. Fish from industrial fish farms have been severely compromised by the farmers themselves.
From Children’s Health Defense via Dr. Mercola:
Industrial Fish Farms Threaten Human Health and Environment
An increasing amount of fish on the market is sourced from large-scale industrial fish farms that rely on a toxic cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides and even genetically engineered crops.
A growing interest in health and heath food has helped drive consumer demand for fish to an all-time high. A diet rich in fish has grown so popular that global fish consumption jumped 122% from 1990 to 2018, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Fish is often viewed as a healthier alternative to meat due to the so-called “benefits” to human health and the environment. But is it really healthier for you and the planet? That all depends on what kind of fish you’re eating and where it’s sourced from.
An increasing amount of fish on the market — in restaurants and grocery stores — is sourced from large-scale industrial fish farms. These farms rely on a toxic cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides and even genetically engineered crops such as soy.
Industrial ocean fish farms or factory fish farms, where fish are raised numbering in the hundreds of thousands or millions, often in net pens in the open ocean, pollute the environment with massive amounts of fish waste and threaten already vulnerable wild fish with disease.
Fish raised in crowded and unsanitary conditions are, unfortunately, on the rise. The number of fish produced on fish farms skyrocketed 527% from 1990 to 2018, according to FAO. There are a couple of reasons for this spike, one being the world’s appetite for fish is growing. Another reason is that, by 2016, 90% of the world’s wild fish stocks had already been depleted due to overfishing.
The result is more people are eating farm-raised fish produced on land in massive tanks or in open ocean net pens. In fact, the world now produces more farmed fish than it does beef. And, 50% of the fish eaten worldwide is now farm-raised.
Health benefits of farmed salmon versus wild-caught salmon
Salmon is one of the most widely sold types of factory farm fish, and salmon farms are now the fastest-growing type of food production system in the world. A fan favorite among fish eaters, salmon is often a go-to for health-conscious consumers. Loaded with vitamins, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, salmon has all the characteristics associated with healthy food.
But salmon is only healthy if it is wild-caught, meaning it was fished from its natural habitat, where it fed on natural organisms. Salmon is not healthy for you if it is farm-raised. Farmed salmon actually has more in common with junk food than healthy food.
Farmed fish are raised on a diet of processed, high-fat, high-protein feed that can include everything from genetically engineered soybeans and pesticides, to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins, to antibiotics. The dry pellet feed given to farmed salmon is what makes it so toxic to you when you eat it.
The toxins in farmed salmon feed accumulate in salmon fat. One study, which tested 700 salmon samples collected from around the world, found PCB concentrations in farmed salmon are, on average, eight times higher than in wild salmon.
Farmed salmon in general contain higher levels of contaminants than wild salmon, in part because of their elevated fat content. So even when raised in similarly contaminated conditions, farmed salmon will absorb more toxins than wild fish.
Farmed salmon also does not have the nutritional profile of wild salmon, containing far higher amounts of omega-6, which can have deleterious health ramifications, seeing how most people are deficient in omega-3 while getting far more omega-6 than they need.
Majority of salmon eaten in the U.S. comes from fish farms
With all the farmed salmon floating around, you might be surprised to learn that the U.S. captures nearly one-third of the world’s wild salmon. But more than half of it is sent overseas, where it’s deboned and processed using cheap labor.
There was a time when our wild-caught salmon would be shipped back to us after processing but, today, the majority of it stays in Asia as a result of Japan’s shrinking fish supply and China’s improved economic status, which allows its citizens the luxury to purchase it.
The result is more farm-raised salmon for Americans. Two-thirds of the salmon we eat here in the U.S. is imported, mostly from industrial fish farms in Chile, Canada, Norway and processing factories in China.
Similar to industrial animal agriculture, farming salmon (and fish in general) on a large scale results in a massive amount of animal waste or, in this case, fish waste. According to The Guardian:
“A pen with 200,000 fish produces an enormous amount of waste. In nature, animal waste is not harmful; in fact it is often beneficial. But large concentrations of it can be destructive. The waste of wild fish swimming around is not harmful, but the waste of hundreds of thousands staying in the same spot is.”
Ocean water fish farms are invisible factory farms
From an outward perspective, the environmental impact of large fish farms can easily be obscured. Similar to factory farms on land, which house large numbers of cows, pigs and chickens yet are often kept out of public view, ocean fish farms are hidden from the public eye. The fish pens are placed up to 164 feet beneath the surface of the water.
These seemingly invisible underwater pens can hold up to 200,000 fish each. In Norway — which has a huge farmed salmon industry — some fish farms have eight to 10 pens. That means factory fish farms can house up to 2 million fish, which is more fish than the wild Atlantic salmon population of the entire world.
Fish farms of this scale require a lot of capital, which is why most salmon farms are owned by large multinational companies.
Escaped farmed salmon threaten vulnerable wild salmon
Another major problem with open ocean fish farms is fish that escape. Whenever Atlantic salmon are farmed near wild Atlantic salmon, mixing occurs. When males escape, they usually die off because they aren’t tough enough to compete with wild males during the spawning process.
But when females escape, they lay eggs that are fertilized by wild males. This is problematic because the genes of farmed fish are not equipped to survive in the wild. Farmed fish also lack the basic survival skills that wild fish have.
“Farmed salmon are not greatly different from one pen to another. They have been selected for fast growth, and growing fast seems to be their major skill. They do not have all the special survival skills of the wild stock. Although fast-growing, they only grow for a short time and never achieve the size of the more slow-growing wild salmon.
“This is one of the reasons that they do not reproduce at the same rate as the larger wild fish. A salmon living in the wild that has a farmed parent or even grandparent is much less likely to survive at sea, and, in fact, sea survival has declined in places with farming.”
Farmed salmon that escape from ocean net pens are so common that more than one-third of “wild-caught” salmon from the Faroe Islands, tucked between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean (and politically part of Denmark), are actually escaped farmed fish.
Fear of farmed fish escaping into the wild and threatening wild fish is why fish farming is now banned — and will be phased out by 2025 — in Washington state. In 2017, a fish-farm spill occurred off Cypress Island when a net pen holding 263,000 salmon gave way.
The farm’s owner, Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, tried to downplay the seriousness of the spill and initially said only around 160,000 Atlantic salmon had escaped. But it was later confirmed that the number was as high as 263,000.
Fish farms spread parasitic sea lice to wild salmon
Cooke blamed the damaged pens on a solar eclipse that brought “exceptionally high tides and currents.” But an investigation by the state of Washington found that Cooke was negligent because the company failed to properly clean the nets on the pens. This led to an excessive buildup of mussels and other sea life on the nets, The Seattle Times reported.
The spill threatened native wild salmon including the endangered Chinook. The concern was the farmed Atlantic salmon would crossbreed with the wild Pacific salmon and expose the wild fish to disease and pests such as sea lice.
Sea lice are a major problem for farmed salmon, and thanks to industrial ocean fish farms, it’s now a problem for wild salmon, too. Sea lice that run rampant in fish farms can attack wild salmon swimming nearby. Fishermen on the west coast have reported seeing wild salmon swimming near fish farms infected with sea lice.
“Before there were fish farms they [sea lice] did not pose a significant problem. They roamed the ocean looking for salmon, which make up a tiny minority of the fish population. One or two might attach themselves to a salmon, and the fish would live with the parasites until it returned to the river. Sea lice cannot live long in fresh water, so they fall off and die in the river.
Until farming, sea lice survived but never found huge schools of salmon on which to feed. Now they find salmon farms with hundreds of thousands of salmon trapped in one spot.
The lice eat the salmon’s skin. It is difficult to penetrate the scales so they attack the head and neck. They will completely skin a fish’s head and then it will die of exposure. Farmers find the dead fish with raw skinned heads at the bottom of the pens. It is not unusual to lose a quarter of a pen. Sea lice are a huge financial loss for fish farmers.”
‘All natural’ Atlantic salmon come from fish farms
Another problem with fish farming is that the companies that raise farmed fish aren’t exactly truthful about their practices. Mowi USA, the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon products, is accused of misleading consumers with false marketing claims.
Organic Consumers Association (OCA) filed a lawsuit in August 2020 against Mowi and Mowi Ducktrap for deceptive marketing and advertising of smoked Atlantic salmon products sold under the Ducktrap River of Maine brand.
Many popular smoked Atlantic salmon brands lure in consumers with misleading claims such as “all natural,” “healthy and nutritious” or “sustainably sourced.” But the truth is that all smoked Atlantic salmon products are made from salmon raised on massive industrial fish farms that, in some cases, are nowhere near the Atlantic Ocean. As Katherine Paul of OCA writes:
“Commercial fishing of Atlantic salmon — a species once abundant in the wild but now nearly extinct — is prohibited in the U.S. In the Gulf of Maine, they are even protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Similarly, in Canada, wild Atlantic salmon in the Bay of Fundy (located in the Gulf of Maine) are protected under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk.
That means all Atlantic salmon sold to consumers in food stores and restaurants — whether fresh, frozen, or smoked — comes from industrial salmon farms.”
To take action on this issue, please sign the petition telling Ducktrap of Maine to stop falsely claiming its smoked Atlantic salmon is “all natural.”
Enjoy safe and delicious fish
From the toxic drugs and chemicals used in fish farming, to its environmental impact on wild fish and the false and misleading marketing claims used by multinational fish farm companies, there are plenty of reasons to avoid farmed fish.
Instead, I only recommend eating safer seafood choices such as wild-caught Alaskan salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel and herring. All of these are at low risk of contamination yet are high in healthy omega-3 fats, without the problems posed by fish farming. You’ll want to opt for sustainably harvested wild-caught fish as well.
One of the best options toward this end is to look for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) logo, which features the letters MSC and a blue check mark in the shape of a fish. The MSC logo ensures the seafood came from a responsible fishery that uses sustainable fishing practices to minimize environmental impacts.22
Published with permission from Mercola.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Children’s Health Defense.
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Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE! Follow us on SoMee, HIVE, Parler, Flote, Minds, MeWe and Twitter.
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activistpost--2020-11-29--Survey:  85% of Pharmaceutical Firms Paid Penalties (Totaling Billions) and Most Engaged in Illegal

Survey:  85% of Pharmaceutical Firms Paid Penalties (Totaling Billions) and Most Engaged in Illegal Activities for 4 or More Years

The “ Opioid Crisis ” isn ’ t the only scandal perpetrated by Big Pharma , the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) , and unethical doctors .
Thanks to Children ’ s Health Defense for alerting us to more Big Pharma corruption .
The peer-reviewed study found that 85 % of the pharmaceutical firms surveyed paid penalties and most engaged in illegal activities for four or more years .
A Belk College of Business researcher is examining the price large pharmaceutical firms pay for their illegal practices .
The study , authored by Denis Arnold , professor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Professor of Business Ethics in the Belk College , found that over the past 13 years , large pharmaceutical firms surveyed were penalized and paid over $ 33 billion in penalties .
Published Tuesday , Nov. 17 , in The Journal of the American Medical Association the peer-reviewed study found that 85 % of the firms surveyed had paid penalties and most engaged in illegal activities for four or more years .
The most common penalties were pricing violations , off-label marketing and kickbacks .
Four firms had no penalties assessed during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ six papers on the pharmaceutical industry , including two papers that document the industry ’ s failure to adhere to their own self-regulatory guidelines regarding direct-to-consumer advertising .
Co-authors of the study are Oscar Jerome Stewart , Ph.D. , San Francisco State University , and Tammy Beck , University of Nebraska-Lincoln ( UNC ) .
Stewart is an alumnus of UNC Charlotte ’ s interdisciplinary Organizational Science doctoral program , and Beck previously served as a faculty member in the Belk College .
Arnold offers this insight from the study : As someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are there any takeaways from your research ?
The fact that four firms in the study had no incidences of misconduct is an indication that it is possible to govern and lead large pharmaceutical firms without engaging in illegal activity .
Also , the fact that when misconduct takes place , it does so over a period of many years , indicates that it is intentional and not accidental , again indicating poor governance and poor leadership .
As pharmaceutical firms gear up for mass vaccinations and treatments for COVID-19 , based on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be looking out for ?
Absolutely .
Firms with high historical incidences of illegal activity are more likely to engage in the fraudulent representation of research data , the suppression of negative side-effects , and the false marketing of their products .
It is very much related to COVID-19 research in that a firm with a history of misconduct would have a higher probability of lying about the efficacy of their vaccines or therapeutic treatments .
Are penalties just part of doing business ?
It is only part of doing business if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legitimate business strategy .
Otherwise , it is an indication of poor governance and leadership .
Further , research I have done with Belk College colleagues Ted Amato ( Economics ) and Dean Jennifer Troyer ( Economics ) provides evidence that links illegal activity with reduced drug innovation .
In other words , cheating is a substitute for innovation .
The billions of dollars in penalties — nearly $ 10 billion in the case of GlaxoSmithKlein — could instead have been spent on research and development .
What can government regulators learn from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are vital to ensure that pharmaceuticals are safely utilized and that pricing is consistent with federal regulations .
In particular , to deter such behavior , it will be important to act on 2015 guidance from the Department of Justice , which requires that executives , and not just shareholders , be held liable for corporate misconduct .
In addition , providing consistent and strong incentives for whistle-blowers is essential .
Finally , there is ample room for additional regulation to better protect Americans from false or misleading information regarding drug efficacy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the health of citizens , should big pharmaceuticals be held to a higher standard ?
All large pharmaceutical companies pledge to improve human welfare .
Yet , the majority use marketing and pricing strategies that harm patient welfare to improve their bottom lines .
Because of this hypocrisy , the pharmaceutical industry consistently ranks at the bottom among Gallup ’ s U.S. industry reputation rankings .
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Children ’ s Health Defense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maintained by the Office of University Communications ; campus communicators , who include individuals representing academic… Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy , Jr. and the Children ’ s Health Defense .
CHD is implementing many strategies , including legal , in an effort to defend the health of our children and obtain justice for those already injured .
Your support is essential to CHD ’ s successful mission .
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth , peace , and freedom news .
Send resources to the front @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Follow us on SoMee , HIVE , Parler , Flote , Minds , MeWe and Twitter .
Provide , Protect and Profit from what ’ s coming !
Get a free issue of Counter Markets today .

By B.N. Frank
The “Opioid Crisis” isn’t the only scandal perpetrated by Big Pharma, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and unethical doctors.
Thanks to Children’s Health Defense for alerting us to more Big Pharma corruption.
Big Pharma Paid Billions in Penalties for Illegal Practices, Study Shows
The peer-reviewed study found that 85% of the pharmaceutical firms surveyed paid penalties and most engaged in illegal activities for four or more years.
By Inside UNC Charlotte
A Belk College of Business researcher is examining the price large pharmaceutical firms pay for their illegal practices. The study, authored by Denis Arnold, professor of management and Jule and Marguerite Surtman Distinguished Professor of Business Ethics in the Belk College, found that over the past 13 years, large pharmaceutical firms surveyed were penalized and paid over $33 billion in penalties.
Published Tuesday, Nov. 17, in The Journal of the American Medical Association the peer-reviewed study found that 85% of the firms surveyed had paid penalties and most engaged in illegal activities for four or more years.
The most common penalties were pricing violations, off-label marketing and kickbacks. Four firms had no penalties assessed during the period.
Arnold has authored or co-authored six papers on the pharmaceutical industry, including two papers that document the industry’s failure to adhere to their own self-regulatory guidelines regarding direct-to-consumer advertising.
Co-authors of the study are Oscar Jerome Stewart, Ph.D., San Francisco State University, and Tammy Beck, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNC). Stewart is an alumnus of UNC Charlotte’s interdisciplinary Organizational Science doctoral program, and Beck previously served as a faculty member in the Belk College.
Arnold offers this insight from the study:
As someone who studies and teaches business ethics, are there any takeaways from your research?
The fact that four firms in the study had no incidences of misconduct is an indication that it is possible to govern and lead large pharmaceutical firms without engaging in illegal activity. Also, the fact that when misconduct takes place, it does so over a period of many years, indicates that it is intentional and not accidental, again indicating poor governance and poor leadership.
As pharmaceutical firms gear up for mass vaccinations and treatments for COVID-19, based on this research, is there anything we should be looking out for?
Absolutely. Firms with high historical incidences of illegal activity are more likely to engage in the fraudulent representation of research data, the suppression of negative side-effects, and the false marketing of their products. It is very much related to COVID-19 research in that a firm with a history of misconduct would have a higher probability of lying about the efficacy of their vaccines or therapeutic treatments.
Are penalties just part of doing business?
It is only part of doing business if one believes that illegal activity is a legitimate business strategy. Otherwise, it is an indication of poor governance and leadership. Further, research I have done with Belk College colleagues Ted Amato (Economics) and Dean Jennifer Troyer (Economics) provides evidence that links illegal activity with reduced drug innovation. In other words, cheating is a substitute for innovation.
The billions of dollars in penalties — nearly $10 billion in the case of GlaxoSmithKlein — could instead have been spent on research and development.
What can government regulators learn from your research?
Aggressive oversight and enforcement are vital to ensure that pharmaceuticals are safely utilized and that pricing is consistent with federal regulations. In particular, to deter such behavior, it will be important to act on 2015 guidance from the Department of Justice, which requires that executives, and not just shareholders, be held liable for corporate misconduct. In addition, providing consistent and strong incentives for whistle-blowers is essential. Finally, there is ample room for additional regulation to better protect Americans from false or misleading information regarding drug efficacy and overpricing.
Since prescription drugs are critical to the health of citizens, should big pharmaceuticals be held to a higher standard?
All large pharmaceutical companies pledge to improve human welfare. Yet, the majority use marketing and pricing strategies that harm patient welfare to improve their bottom lines. Because of this hypocrisy, the pharmaceutical industry consistently ranks at the bottom among Gallup’s U.S. industry reputation rankings.
Published with permission from Inside UNC Charlotte.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Children’s Health Defense.
Inside UNC Charlotte
Inside UNC Charlotte is produced and maintained by the Office of University Communications; campus communicators, who include individuals representing academic…
Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Children’s Health Defense. CHD is implementing many strategies, including legal, in an effort to defend the health of our children and obtain justice for those already injured. Your support is essential to CHD’s successful mission.
Become a Patron!
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE! Follow us on SoMee, HIVE, Parler, Flote, Minds, MeWe and Twitter.
Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


activistpost--2020-11-29--Law Review Addresses Legal and Social Challenges of “Internet of Bodies” and “Internet of Things”

Experts have warned for years about serious privacy and security risks associated with Internet of Things ( IoT ) technology ( see 1 , 2 ) .
Reports about medical implants and utility “ Smart ” Meters being extremely vulnerable are beyond scary .
Experts have also warned about the serious privacy , security , and social implications of Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) applications – Internet of Bodies ( IoB ) , robots , etc .
Both technologies continue to be promoted as valuable , wonderful , and even necessary .
Surveys indicate that some people worldwide are buying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t .
This Article introduces the ongoing progression of the Internet of Things ( IoT ) into the Internet of Bodies ( IoB ) —a network of human bodies whose integrity and functionality rely at least in part on the Internet and related technologies , such as artificial intelligence .
IoB devices will evidence the same categories of legacy security flaws that have plagued IoT devices .
However , unlike most IoT , IoB technologies will directly , physically harm human bodies—a set of harms courts , legislators , and regulators will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such , IoB will herald the arrival of ( some forms of ) corporate software liability and a new legal and policy battle over the integrity of the human body and mind .
Framing this integrity battle in light of current regulatory approaches , this Article offers a set of specific innovation-sensitive proposals to bolster corporate conduct safeguards through regulatory agency action , contract , tort , intellectual property , and secured transactions and bankruptcy .
Yet , the challenges of IoB are not purely legal in nature .
The social integration of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As bits and bodies meld and as human flesh becomes permanently entwined with hardware , software , and algorithms , IoB will test our norms and values as a society .
In particular , it will challenge notions of human autonomy and self-governance .
Legal scholars have traditionally considered Kantian autonomy as the paradigmatic lens for legal determinations impacting the human body .
However , IoB threatens to undermine a fundamental precondition of Kantian autonomy—Kantian heautonomy .
Damaged heautonomy renders both Kantian autonomy and deliberative democracy potentially compromised .
As such , thisArticle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ animating legal principle for governance of IoB bodies .
The Article concludes by introducing the companion essay to this Article , The Internet of Latour ’ s Things .
This companion essay inspired by the work of Bruno Latour offers a sliding scale of “ technohumanity ” as a framework for the legal and policy discussion of what it means to be “ human ” in an age where bodies are the “ things ” connected to the Internet .
Other disadvantages : all of this technology emits Electromagnetic Fields ( aka “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmentally harmful .
More technology = more toxic E-Waste as well .
What ’ s not to NOT love ?
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By B.N. Frank
Experts have warned for years about serious privacy and security risks associated with Internet of Things (IoT) technology (see 1, 2). Reports about medical implants and utility “Smart” Meters being extremely vulnerable are beyond scary.
Experts have also warned about the serious privacy, security, and social implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications – Internet of Bodies (IoB), robots, etc.
Both technologies continue to be promoted as valuable, wonderful, and even necessary. Surveys indicate that some people worldwide are buying into this lifestyle though some still aren’t.
One William and Mary Law Review article explores additional disadvantages.
The Internet of Bodies
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol61/iss1/3/
Andrea M. Matwyshyn
William & Mary Law Review FULL ARTICLE HERE:
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3827&context=wmlr Abstract
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol61/iss1/3/ This Article introduces the ongoing progression of the Internet of Things (IoT) into the Internet of Bodies (IoB)—a network of human bodies whose integrity and functionality rely at least in part on the Internet and related technologies, such as artificial intelligence. IoB devices will evidence the same categories of legacy security flaws that have plagued IoT devices. However, unlike most IoT, IoB technologies will directly, physically harm human bodies—a set of harms courts, legislators, and regulators will deem worthy of legal redress. As such, IoB will herald the arrival of (some forms of) corporate software liability and a new legal and policy battle over the integrity of the human body and mind. Framing this integrity battle in light of current regulatory approaches, this Article offers a set of specific innovation-sensitive proposals to bolster corporate conduct safeguards through regulatory agency action, contract, tort, intellectual property, and secured transactions and bankruptcy. Yet, the challenges of IoB are not purely legal in nature. The social integration of IoB will also not be seamless. As bits and bodies meld and as human flesh becomes permanently entwined with hardware, software, and algorithms, IoB will test our norms and values as a society. In particular, it will challenge notions of human autonomy and self-governance. Legal scholars have traditionally considered Kantian autonomy as the paradigmatic lens for legal determinations impacting the human body. However, IoB threatens to undermine a fundamental precondition of Kantian autonomy—Kantian heautonomy. Damaged heautonomy renders both Kantian autonomy and deliberative democracy potentially compromised. As such, thisArticle argues that safeguarding heautonomy should constitute the animating legal principle for governance of IoB bodies. The Article concludes by introducing the companion essay to this Article, The Internet of Latour’s Things. This companion essay inspired by the work of Bruno Latour offers a sliding scale of “technohumanity” as a framework for the legal and policy discussion of what it means to be “human” in an age where bodies are the “things” connected to the Internet. Repository Citation
Andrea M. Matwyshyn, The Internet of Bodies, 61 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 77 (2019), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol61/iss1/3
Other disadvantages: all of this technology emits Electromagnetic Fields (aka “Electrosmog”) which is biologically and environmentally harmful. More technology = more toxic E-Waste as well. What’s not to NOT love?
Become an Activist Post Patron for $1 per month at Patreon.
Activist Post reports regularly about unsafe technology. For more information, visit our archives and the following websites:
Become a Patron!
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE! Follow us on SoMee, HIVE, Parler, Flote, Minds, MeWe and Twitter.
Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


activistpost--2020-11-29--Public and Media Excluded from Global RadioFrequency Radiation (RF) Health Briefing

An international briefing on RF health research , known as GLORE 2020 , was held online , November 9-12 , featuring updates on the second phase of the U.S. National Toxicology Program ( NTP ) project and the Japanese-Korean partial repeat .
The WHO presented a status report on ten ongoing systematic reviews of RF health effects .
Government and industry representatives from Australia , Canada , France , Japan , Korea , New Zealand and the U.S. participated , as did an assortment of academics .
The public and the press were not invited .
GLORE , short for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of RF Electromagnetic Fields , holds annual reviews for member states and their guests .
This year ’ s meeting was organized by Health Canada and Innovation , Science and Economic Development Canada ( ISED ) , formerly known as Industry Canada .
Everything about GLORE 2020 is being kept secret .
“ The groups organizing this meeting will not make the agenda , attendees list nor the presentations publically available , ” ISED ’ s Josette Gallant told me by e-mail last week .
( She did send her “ warmest regards.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ virtual ” meeting held on the Microsoft Teams platform .
The press offices of both the NTP and Health Canada also declined to release any information .
Jesse Saffron , an attorney with the NTP ’ s Office of Communications and Public Liaison , would only say that the meeting was closed .
He suggested that I try under the Freedom of Information Act .
( My last NTP FOIA request dragged on for more than two years . )
Microwave News has obtained a copy of the agenda ( available here ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( see below ) .
Among the American participants from outside the government were Frank Barnes of the University of Colorado , Boulder ; C.K .
Chou , formerly with Motorola and now a consultant based in the San Francisco Bay area ; and James Lin , the editor of Bioelectromagnetics and a past member of ICNIRP .
In an e-mail exchange , Chou said that he was invited as a representative of the IEEE ’ s International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety ( ICES ) to provide an update on IEEE standards .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Croft , the current chair of ICNIRP , and Joe Wiart , a France Telecom alumnus .
Croft briefed the group on the commission ’ s revised exposure guidelines , as well as what ICNIRP is working on now ( see slide below ) .
Croft ’ s full presentation is here .
Some GLORE sessions have been restricted in the past , often with one day open and the next day closed .
But , the meetings have never been so shrouded in secrecy .
I covered one of the early GLORE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) and posted this report : “ Industry Rules RF ” .
( Here ’ s the 2004 attendance list ; some of the same names as now . )
Michael Wyde of the U.S. NTP presented an update on his ongoing RF toxicology project .
Phase 1 of the project found “ clear evidence ” that RF radiation can lead to malignant tumors .
Phase 2 is on the search for mechanisms to explain the cancer link .
The primary focus is on 3G and 4G , but “ potentially ” also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposure facilities , designed and built by the IT ’ IS Foundation in Zurich , have been installed and are in the process of being tested .
The NTP is in the process of “ working out kinks and gearing up to conduct studies , ” Wyde said .
Details of the Phase 2 studies are in Wyde ’ s PowerPoint presentation , available here .
The briefings on the Japanese-Korean partial repeat of the NTP RF study revealed that the experiment may begin within a couple of months ; at least that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ project has been dubbed “ NTP Lite ” because it will be limited to male rats exposed to CDMA cell phone radiation .
The same experiment will be run in each country .
There were two presentations : one by Japan ’ s Katsumi Imaida of Kagawa University medical school and one by Korea ’ s Young Hwan Ahn of Ajou University School of Medicine .
They reported that 28-day validation studies have been completed .
The Japanese group found that rats exposed to 4 W/Kg consumed less food and put on less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experiment , but later recovered during the second half .
Rectal probes confirmed that body temperatures did not rise by more than 1ºC .
The protocols for the two-year exposure study are nearing completion .
The project ’ s seven-member international advisory committee , which includes Wiart , Wyde and Michael Repacholi , held its second meeting —on Zoom— last month .
WHO ’ s Emilie van Deventer offered the following details on the ten systematic reviews on RF health , commissioned by the WHO last year : • They will be published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journal Environment International .
The timing is not known , but no earlier than late 2022 .
• There were on average three proposals for each of the topics under review , except for heating , which failed to attract any bids in the first round and received only two in the second .
See tally on slide below ; the x/y numbers in the applications column are those for which there were two rounds of requests for proposals .
• Human cancer studies was the most competitive review with nine proposals .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as yet unnamed , for the “ Task Group ” which will prepare a revision of the RF Environmental Health Criteria ( EHC ) monograph .
The other panel members have not been selected .
van Deventer ’ s complete PowerPoint presentation is here .
She did not respond to a request for comment .

An international briefing on RF health research, known as GLORE 2020, was held online, November 9-12, featuring updates on the second phase of the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) project and the Japanese-Korean partial repeat. The WHO presented a status report on ten ongoing systematic reviews of RF health effects.
Government and industry representatives from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the U.S. participated, as did an assortment of academics.
The public and the press were not invited.
GLORE, short for Global Coordination of Research and Health Policy of RF Electromagnetic Fields, holds annual reviews for member states and their guests. This year’s meeting was organized by Health Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), formerly known as Industry Canada.
Everything about GLORE 2020 is being kept secret. “The groups organizing this meeting will not make the agenda, attendees list nor the presentations publically available,” ISED’s Josette Gallant told me by e-mail last week. (She did send her “warmest regards.”) GLORE 2020 was a “virtual” meeting held on the Microsoft Teams platform.
The press offices of both the NTP and Health Canada also declined to release any information. Jesse Saffron, an attorney with the NTP’s Office of Communications and Public Liaison, would only say that the meeting was closed. He suggested that I try under the Freedom of Information Act. (My last NTP FOIA request dragged on for more than two years.)
Microwave News has obtained a copy of the agenda (available here) as well as some of the presentations (see below).
Among the American participants from outside the government were Frank Barnes of the University of Colorado, Boulder; C.K. Chou, formerly with Motorola and now a consultant based in the San Francisco Bay area; and James Lin, the editor of Bioelectromagnetics and a past member of ICNIRP. In an e-mail exchange, Chou said that he was invited as a representative of the IEEE’s International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES) to provide an update on IEEE standards.
Also present were Australia’s Rodney Croft, the current chair of ICNIRP, and Joe Wiart, a France Telecom alumnus. Croft briefed the group on the commission’s revised exposure guidelines, as well as what ICNIRP is working on now (see slide below). Croft’s full presentation is here.
Some GLORE sessions have been restricted in the past, often with one day open and the next day closed. But, the meetings have never been so shrouded in secrecy. I covered one of the early GLORE meetings (the 8th, in 2004) and posted this report: “Industry Rules RF”. (Here’s the 2004 attendance list; some of the same names as now.)
NTP RF Phase 2: “Working Out Kinks”
Michael Wyde of the U.S. NTP presented an update on his ongoing RF toxicology project. Phase 1 of the project found “clear evidence” that RF radiation can lead to malignant tumors. Phase 2 is on the search for mechanisms to explain the cancer link. The primary focus is on 3G and 4G, but “potentially” also on 5G, Wyde said.
New exposure facilities, designed and built by the IT’IS Foundation in Zurich, have been installed and are in the process of being tested. The NTP is in the process of “working out kinks and gearing up to conduct studies,” Wyde said.
Details of the Phase 2 studies are in Wyde’s PowerPoint presentation, available here.
Japan and Korea’s “NTP Lite” Project To Begin Soon
The briefings on the Japanese-Korean partial repeat of the NTP RF study revealed that the experiment may begin within a couple of months; at least that’s the current expectation. The project has been dubbed “NTP Lite” because it will be limited to male rats exposed to CDMA cell phone radiation. The same experiment will be run in each country. There were two presentations: one by Japan’s Katsumi Imaida of Kagawa University medical school and one by Korea’s Young Hwan Ahn of Ajou University School of Medicine.
They reported that 28-day validation studies have been completed. The Japanese group found that rats exposed to 4 W/Kg consumed less food and put on less weight during the first half of the experiment, but later recovered during the second half. Rectal probes confirmed that body temperatures did not rise by more than 1ºC.
The protocols for the two-year exposure study are nearing completion. The project’s seven-member international advisory committee, which includes Wiart, Wyde and Michael Repacholi, held its second meeting —on Zoom— last month.
RF Systematic Reviews in Environment International
WHO’s Emilie van Deventer offered the following details on the ten systematic reviews on RF health, commissioned by the WHO last year:
• They will be published in a special issue of the Elsevier journal Environment International. The timing is not known, but no earlier than late 2022.
• There were on average three proposals for each of the topics under review, except for heating, which failed to attract any bids in the first round and received only two in the second. See tally on slide below; the x/y numbers in the applications column are those for which there were two rounds of requests for proposals.
• Human cancer studies was the most competitive review with nine proposals.
• van Deventer has appointed a chair, as yet unnamed, for the “Task Group” which will prepare a revision of the RF Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) monograph. The other panel members have not been selected.
van Deventer’s complete PowerPoint presentation is here. She did not respond to a request for comment.


activistpost--2020-11-29--Was the Constitution Defeated By Endless Wars? Interview With Michael Maharrey

I recently appeared on the Conflicts of Interest podcast hosted by Kyle Anzalone to talk about the pernicious impacts of America ’ s endless , unconstitutional wars .
Kyle and I discussed the ongoing U.S. military actions in Yemen and Somalia and their constitutional ramifications .
We discussed constitutional war powers , how Congress has pawned off its responsibility to the president and why the founders didn ’ t want a single individual making decisions about war and peace .
We also touched on the cost of these endless wars .
Kyle and I also talked about some of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elections and touched on the growing momentum behind the Defend the Guard bill to limit National Guard deployments to foreign combat zones without a congressional declaration of war .
• The Unconstitutional War in Yemen Grinds Life and Liberty Under Its Wheels • Thirty-Six and Counting : More States Legalize Marijuana Despite Federal Prohibition Michael Maharrey [ send him email ] is the Communications Director for the Tenth Amendment Center .
He is from the original home of the Principles of ’ 98 – Kentucky and currently resides in northern Florida .
See @ @ @ @ @ @ @ archive here .
He is the author of the book , Our Last Hope : Rediscovering the Lost Path to Liberty .
You can visit his personal website at MichaelMaharrey.com and like him on Facebook HERE Subscribe to Activist Post for truth , peace , and freedom news .
Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE !
Follow us on SoMee , HIVE , Parler , Flote , Minds , MeWe and Twitter .
Provide , Protect and Profit from what ’ s coming !
Get a free issue @ @ @ @ @

By Michael Maharrey
I recently appeared on the Conflicts of Interest podcast hosted by Kyle Anzalone to talk about the pernicious impacts of America’s endless, unconstitutional wars.
Kyle and I discussed the ongoing U.S. military actions in Yemen and Somalia and their constitutional ramifications. We discussed constitutional war powers, how Congress has pawned off its responsibility to the president and why the founders didn’t want a single individual making decisions about war and peace. We also touched on the cost of these endless wars.
Kyle and I also talked about some of the big wins for nullification in the November elections and touched on the growing momentum behind the Defend the Guard bill to limit National Guard deployments to foreign combat zones without a congressional declaration of war.
For Further Reading
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
Michael Maharrey [send him email] is the Communications Director for the Tenth Amendment Center. He is from the original home of the Principles of ’98 – Kentucky and currently resides in northern Florida. See his blog archive here and his article archive here. He is the author of the book, Our Last Hope: Rediscovering the Lost Path to Liberty. You can visit his personal website at MichaelMaharrey.com and like him on Facebook HERE
Image: Anthony Freda Art
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Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE! Follow us on SoMee, HIVE, Parler, Flote, Minds, MeWe and Twitter.
Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.