In 58 posts with close to 100k words, we shared a lot in 2024! Explore 2024’s biggest geopolitical shifts, cultural battles, and bold insights with Drishtikone’s year in review. See you in 2025! Happy New Year! Be safe!
When you see Russia get into existential war over Ukraine, or Israel bomb Syria or India battle with Pakistan or Bangladesh, it is not because of some whim. It has a historical and geographical context. That is critical to understand for analyzing geopolitics.
Dive into the shadowy world of the Deep State—its hidden structures, powerful networks, and the far-reaching impact on global events and control.
The Case against Patanjali by Indian Medical Association and the tone of Judiciary is alarming. We need to look into its historical and global context to fully grasp its ramification.
In terms of governance, let us go through a few terms:
Pathocracy: A system of government created by a small pathological minority that takes control over a society of normal people
Kakistocracy: A state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens
Dikastocracy: A state where the "Society ruled by Judiciary." It is a state in which the Judiciary makes all the important political decisions.
You see, in the case of Dikastocracy or kritarchy, there is an inherent admission that people and their representatives are not the deciders of their fate anymore. Instead, a few elitist individuals with no accountability to the public are.
What a country installs is not just a factor of printed documents like the Constitution. But which forces take over the decision-making on the back of their supposed moral superiority?
It is for the people to understand and fight for their own rights and ensure that they get the governance system they aspire for.
India has been fashioned since its independence as a Pathocracy coupled with Kakistocracy.
That pattern was broken in 2014.
So the powers that be used another way to ensure control.
On the latest front, the history and the war that is being addressed is far deeper and damning than we can imagine.
Let us go through it.
What we do takes a lot of work. So, if you like our content and value the work that we are doing, please do consider contributing to our expenses. Choose the USD equivalent amount in your own currency you are comfortable with.
Today, let us discuss one such case threadbare including the powers and impacts that are playing on the larger issue at hand.
The Supreme Court of India has been involved in legal proceedings against Patanjali Ayurved, specifically addressing issues related to misleading advertisements for their medicinal products. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) filed a petition against Patanjali, accusing it of making false claims that its products could cure various diseases and denigrating modern medicine.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in August 2022 after Patanjali published an advertisement titled ‘Misconceptions Spread By Allopathy: Save Yourself And The Country From The Misconceptions Spread By Pharma And Medical Industry’. The petition mentioned the instances where Ramdev called allopathy a “stupid and bankrupt science", and made claims about allopathic medicine being responsible for Covid-19 deaths. The IMA also accused Patanjali of contributing to vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic. The IMA stated the “continuous, systematic, and unabated spread of misinformation" comes alongside Patanjali’s efforts to make false and unfounded claims about curing certain diseases through the use of Patanjali products. (Source: "What is Misleading Advertisements Case Involving Ramdev’s Patanjali? Why has SC Slammed Yoga Guru?" / News18)
During the proceedings, Baba Ramdev, the yoga guru associated with Patanjali, appeared before the court and tendered an unconditional apology for the misleading advertisements. However, the court expressed dissatisfaction with this apology, characterizing it as "lip service" and noting that the advertisements had crossed many legal boundaries, including those set by the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. This act prohibits advertising that claims to diagnose, cure, or prevent lifestyle diseases without substantiation.
Ashish Bhargava
The Supreme Court sternly warned Patanjali that failure to comply with its directives would result in a significant fine. Specifically, the court indicated that a penalty of Rs 1 crore could be imposed if Patanjali continued to make such claims. The court's actions highlight a rigorous enforcement of laws aimed at protecting consumers from misleading health claims, particularly during sensitive times such as the Covid-19 pandemic, during which some of Patanjali's claims were made.
This was the advertisement that the Supreme Court went after.
And in its Messiah Complex-induced enthusiasm, the Supreme Court justices threatened the Uttarakhand Licensing authority with the promise to "We will Rip you Apart".
The court came down hard on the State Licensing Authority for its inaction on the issue and said it is not going to take it lightly. “We will rip you apart,” the bench said in an unusually stern reprimand. (Source: "‘We Are Not Blind’, ‘Will Rip You Apart’: SC Rejects Ramdev's Apology In Misleading Patanjali Ads Case" News18)
It is indeed a sad day.
Patanjali is just a symbol.
This battle really is against the indigenous medicine systems. That the advertisement which hit at the very efficacy of the allopathic medicine system became the lightning rod clearly shows that it ruffled feathers across many groups.
Why would that be so?
Money and Greed.
We will explore this story of money and greed today.
This is India's pharmaceutical market and its projected growth.
Here is the market in Europe. In the next 6 years, India will equal the size of two of the largest European countries in terms of Pharma revenues combined!
It is in this large market that Ayurveda is slated to grow at a rate of 15% on a CAGR basis.
India's Ayurveda product market is projected to reach $16.27 billion or Rs 1.2 trillion by FY28 from $7 billion or Rs 57,450 crore at present, according to a study. Ayurveda product market has experienced significant growth due to rising demand for natural and herbal remedies in local and international markets, increase in ayurvedic medical practitioners, government initiatives, and emergence of new entrepreneurs, Ayurveda tech startup NirogStreet said. (Source: "Ayurveda products market in India to reach Rs 1.2 trillion by FY28: Report" / Business Standard)
The future of global pharmaceuticals will be at stake in India.
The foundational belief that "the soil is more important than the seed" shapes many Ayurvedic treatment methods. In Ayurveda, health and disease are influenced by a delicate balance between bio physiological forces (doshas) and one's inherent constitution (prakriti), with critical roles also played by the mind and metabolic processes (agni).
The main therapeutic goal of Ayurveda is to restore this balance harmoniously. Humanity is seen as a microcosm of the universe, sharing a common structure with all matter, animate and inanimate, suggesting that every substance has medicinal potential.
Ayurvedic remedies often consist of complex herbal-mineral mixtures, crafted according to specific pharmacological rules concerning their preparation, compatibility, and administration. Some intricate processes involve transforming raw metals and minerals into potent medicinal forms known as bhasmas.
Although classical texts provide standard formulations, traditional Ayurvedic practitioners frequently adjust these to match an individual’s unique constitution, which influences their susceptibility to diseases and response to treatments, thereby ensuring the safety and effectiveness of the medications. The therapeutic potency of an Ayurvedic formulation is determined by its overall composition rather than any single ingredient.
In this tradition, the molecular structure, significant in modern science, does not influence the healing properties of a formulation. Ayurveda acknowledges the uniqueness of each individual, even those with similar health issues.
This approach extends to dietary, exercise, and lifestyle recommendations, integral to its healing practices. Ayurvedic physicians rely on nuanced clinical techniques rather than laboratory tests or imaging to diagnose conditions and gauge the effectiveness of treatments.
Specifically with the Indian government launching the AYUSH ministry. What is it?
The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) is a governmental body in India dedicated to developing education, research, and propagation of indigenous alternative medicine systems, including Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy, and other natural health practices.
One of the most significant activities that AYUSH is doing is to set up regulatory frameworks to ensure the quality and standards of AYUSH drugs and therapies. For example, it has set up - Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy. (Source)
This ministry is pushing the cause of the indigenous medicines by backing research through various scholarships, grants, and collaborations with other research bodies.
In a further push, the Indian government is pushing to create new start-ups in the field of Ayurveda.
Not content to create the ecosystem for Ayurveda and other indigenous medicine systems within India, the AYUSH ministry is setting up centers in other countries as well.
As of now, Ministry of AYUSH has signed 25 Country to Country MoUs for Cooperation in field of Traditional Medicine and Homoeopathy namely Nepal, Bangladesh, Hungary, Trinidad & Tobago, Malaysia, WHO Geneva, Mauritius, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Germany (Joint declaration), Iran, Sao Tome & Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, Cuba, Colombia, Japan (MoC), Bolivia, Gambia, Republic of Guinea, China, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Suriname, Brazil and Zimbabwe. 23 MoUs for undertaking collaborative research in AYUSH systems of medicine and 13 MoUs for setting up of AYUSH academic Chairs have been signed have been signed with various foreign institutes/ universities. Ministry of AYUSH under its Fellowship Scheme extends financial support to the eligible foreign nationals for undertaking UG, PG and Ph.D courses in various premier AYUSH Institutes in India. The Fellowship Scheme aims at achieving recognition and acceptance of our traditional medicine systems abroad. (Source: "Promoting Ayush Practice in the International Sphere" / PIB)
The Indian government is strongly positioned and has a firm intention to push the indigenous systems of health within India and abroad.
Given the size of India's economy and population, this will come at the cost of another system of medicine - allopathy.
So when Patanjali took that advertisement out where the allopathic world of medicines was shown to be a villain and indigenous systems to be more powerful, it was taken to be an assault.
An assault by a company - and a civilizational narrative - against the might of an empire.
Let us understand what we mean by that.
In the late 1800s, a business tycoon started growing his business. His name was John D Rockefeller.
In the year 1870, John D. Rockefeller created an enterprise in the new and growing oil industry, collaborating with his brother William Rockefeller, chemist Samuel Andrews, industrialist Henry M. Flagler, and financier Stephen V. Harkness. Together, they established the Standard Oil Company of Ohio, a venture that concentrated on the refining aspect of the oil business. This strategic focus on refining was chosen due to its more predictable and stable costs compared to the more speculative and capital-intensive processes of oil exploration and drilling
From a modest start, he at one point owned 90% of all oil refining in the United States.
While free-market capitalism led to the creation of numerous oil companies, it also, to Rockefeller, created unpredictable chaos in the industry, with oil refiners undercutting each other on prices, creating wide fluctuations. In order to remove this “marketplace inefficiency,” Rockefeller began acquiring competing oil refineries. Within the first three months of 1872, he had bought out, shut down or bankrupted 22 of his 26 Cleveland competitors. Unsympathetic to goodwill pricing, he offered a “fair market price” for refineries that were losing money with outdated equipment. However, as muckrake journalists later pointed out, the refineries were losing money because of Standard Oil’s monopoly. Its very size meant that Standard Oil, unlike other refineries, could negotiate a railroad discount by promising 60 carloads of oil daily, which appealed to railroad owners wanting to maintain a high and steady volume. These train rebates helped Standard Oil keep transportation costs low; other refineries could not compete. Oil and railroad tycoons proposed a deal to fix transportation costs, called the Southern Improvement Company, but public outcry quickly stopped further negotiations. In 1882, Standard Oil Trust created a network of Standard Oil companies throughout the country, led by a board of trustees, where Rockefeller owned over one third of the certificates. By the late 1880s, Standard Oil controlled 90% of American refineries. (Source: Standard Oil Established / Library of Congress)
His wealth, adjusted for inflation in today's terms would dwarf that of the richest today. His wealth was anywhere from 1.5 to 3% of the entire GDP of the United States. For context, Bill Gates's wealth in 2018 was 0.45% of the US GDP.
The richest American ever is widely considered to be John D. Rockefeller, worth about $400 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars, or about 2% of the United States GDP. Members of his family continue to be some of the wealthiest people in U.S. history. (Source: "The Wealthiest Historical Figures and How Much They Would be Worth in Today’s Dollars")
With a monopoly, Rockefeller had ruffled enough feathers. Finally, in 1911, the US Congress got to him.
In 1911, the Supreme Court found Standard Oil in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. As a result, Standard Oil was split into 34 independent companies, although over time these corporate descendants regrew into large integrated oil companies that still dominate the market, such as ExxonMobil. (Source: Standard Oil Established / Library of Congress)
Around this period, organic chemists discovered that petrochemicals could be used not only to create plastic but also to synthesize organic chemicals.
This discovery provided Rockefeller with an opportunity to expand into the chemical and medical industries.
So how would he do that?
He decided to change the medicine sector from the ground up. To push medicines based on organic chemicals, he had to completely destroy the dependence on natural and other systems of medicine.
So, not only had the medicine, its education and the larger sector had to be changed, but even the associations which controlled the sector had to be owned.
Although medical schools and the American Medical Association (AMA) had been established by this time, medicine lacked the unity and standardization at that time
So, Rockefeller saw his opportunity. He wanted to standardize allopathic medicine and eliminate competition from other sectors.
Together with steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, he established the Council on Medical Education (CME), a branch of the AMA.
The CME hired Alexander Flexner to evaluate all the medical schools in the U.S. and Canada to standardize the field. This evaluation resulted in the well-known Flexner Report.
The Flexner Report became the most significant landmark in medical history.
It paved the way for Western Modern medicine and the standardized one-size-fits-all system of medical schools took over the world.
However, Flexner's report didn't only highlight the merits of the new system of "Western medicine".
It showcased his clear contempt for non-traditional and non-conformist medical practices. He called them "unscientific quackery". This term was derogatorily used not just for alternative medicinal practices, but also for psychology.
Flexner's own medical training influenced his views. This led him to question the reliability and effectiveness of natural and alternative therapies. His disdain and tirade had considerable repercussions.
The Flexner report precipitated a significant decline in the power of alternative medical practice in the U.S. Its impact was so immense that many schools known for practicing alternative medicine had to close. In extreme cases, practitioners of these alternative medicines were even imprisoned.
Sounds familiar?
The push toward standardized allopathic medicine was further fueled by Rockefeller's financial support.
He donated millions of dollars to medical schools and hospitals to push them to the new system. For this, Rockefeller created the "General Education Board" (GEB).
The GEB was incorporated in 1903 to foster “the promotion of education within the United States of America, without distinction of race, sex, or creed.”Show Citation 11John D. Rockefeller, Sr., (JDR Sr.) made an initial commitment of $1 million to the organization, but his contributions quickly grew to $43 million by 1907. The total of these donations marked, at the time, the largest gift to a philanthropic organization in the history of the United States. (Source: "Without Distinction of Race, Sex, or Creed”: The General Education Board, 1903-1964" / Rockefeller Archive Center)
This substantial financial backing was instrumental in the rise of standardized medicine and the burgeoning pharmaceutical industry, pushing alternative medicine further to the periphery.
There was another problem with the herbal and alternative-style medicines.
They could not be patented.
So the profits were limited. Not so with the medicines based on organic chemicals derived from petroleum.
Rockefeller was not content with just donations and philanthropy to change the direction of the hospitals. He wanted to completely and ruthlessly control the very basis of medicine. So his Foundation created the International Health Division (IHD). It had offices in Paris, New Delhi, Colombia, and Mexico doing the same work that helped establish the new system of medicine as the benchmark of the medical world.
Rockefeller's business, scientific, and philanthropic advisers Frederick T Gates, Charles Wardell Stiles, and Wickliffe Rose perceived anaemia-provoking hookworm disease to be both a key factor that explained the economic “backwardness” of the USA's southern states and an impediment to its industrialisation. These men helped orchestrate the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission for the Eradication of Hookworm Disease that operated from 1910 to 1914. This campaign uncovered the possibilities of public health in eliminating the disease through an anthelmintic drug; the promotion of shoe-wearing and latrines; and public health propaganda. Following this success, the RF created an International Health Board, which was reorganised as the International Health Division (IHD) in 1927.The IHD—which had a sizeable bureaucracy including an executive staff and advisory board in New York, as well as field offices in Paris, New Delhi, Colombia, and Mexico, and hundreds of in-country officers—befriended dozens of governments around the world by tackling diseases deemed to cause underdevelopment, helping build and modernise health institutions, promoting the importance of public health among countless populations, and preparing vast regions for investment and increased productivity. It also funded schools of public health in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, including at Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Toronto, and São Paulo universities, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and sponsored 2500 public health professionals to pursue graduate study. (Source: "The Rockefeller Foundation and the international health agenda" / The Lancet)
Thus the entire ancient wisdom of the Native Americans in the US, the Greek and Roman culture in Europe, and traditional medicines in China, India, and South America were attacked and for the most part, destroyed by the greed of one oil barron who wanted to dominate the bodies of the entire planet!
So do you think it is a coincidence that the bugle against Ayurveda has been blown in India by targeting a company that has worked closely with the AYUSH ministry?
The story of Rockefeller's entry into the field of medicine needs proper understanding. Why would the world's richest - by far! - man change his lane and business to control a completely different sector?
What did an Oil Barron gain entering the field of organic chemicals and medicine?
Let us start the story with the German conglomerate called IG Farben.
IG Farben was the largest chemical conglomerate in the world following its establishment in Germany in 1925, maintaining this status until its breakup by Allied forces after World War II.
The conglomerate was modeled on the American trust structures of the time, particularly taking inspiration from Standard Oil.
IG Farben was formed through a merger involving several German companies that specialized in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and dyes.
The major companies that were part of this merger include what are known today as BASF Aktiengesellschaft, Bayer AG, and Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft. It also included the Agfa-Gevaert Group, which was formed when Agfa merged with the Belgian company Gevaert in 1964, and Cassella AG, which became a subsidiary of Hoechst in 1970.
The company had a very dark side to it as well.
IG Farben, a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate, played an infamous role during the Nazi era as a key supplier to Hitler's regime.
Most notably, it produced Zyklon B, the lethal cyanide-based pesticide that was repurposed for the mass extermination of European Jews and others in concentration camp gas chambers during the Holocaust.
The company's deep entanglement with the Third Reich extended beyond chemical production; it was a significant donor to the Nazi Party and, following the Nazi rise to power in 1933, became a major government contractor.
IG Farben's operations during World War II included the use of slave labor from concentration camps such as Auschwitz, where it built the world's largest synthetic rubber and oil facility, infamously known as "I.G. Auschwitz."
In June 1941, at the height of World War II, the German chemical giant IG Farben launched a factory to make synthetic rubber, a vital material for military purposes, at Monowitz, an Auschwitz satellite. The manpower was thousands of forced laborers, most of them Jews, who suffered from hunger and cold and died from the harsh working conditions. After the war two senior executives were tried for crimes against humanity. (Source: "U.S. Chemical Corporation DuPont Helped Nazi Germany Because of Ideology, Israeli Researcher Says" / Haaretz)
The company's actions during this period have left a dark legacy, with several of its executives later facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity
Well, IG Farben had a very close relationship with Standard Oil of the Rockefellers. This was brought together by the head of the Standard Oil.
Walter Clark Teagle was president of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey from 1917 to 1937 and was chairman of the board from 1937 to 1942. As a director of IG Farben's American subsidiary, he allied Standard Oil with the German company and conducted research jointly.
By now it is no secret that during the 1930s, when Walter C. Teagle was head of Standard Oil, the company forged close ties with I.G. Farben, a firm that supported the Nazis and used concentration camp labor. Charles Higham (a former New York Times writer and biographer) writes in his book Trading With the Enemy: ‘From the 1920s on Teagle showed a marked admiration for Germany’s enterprise in overcoming the destructive terms of the Versailles Treaty. His lumbering stride, booming tones, and clouds of cigar smoke became widely and affectionately known in the circles that helped support the rising Nazi Party’. (Source: "About ExxonMobil" / ExxonMobil)
One of the pioneers of the organic chemicals derived from petroleum products and processes necessary to do so was Standard Oil.
That company in conjunction with the largest conglomerate of the biggest chemical companies set in motion a new behemoth.
A global change that would fundamentally alter the very well-being and health of all humanity and indeed of the planet itself!
In the 1920s, the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Company, later part of Union Carbide, pioneered the use of petroleum in the production of organic chemicals. This led to the manufacture of ethylene glycol from ethylene. As gasoline production surged to meet the demands of the increasing number of automobiles in the US, more olefins became available, which are by-products of the refining process. These olefins were used as raw materials for chemical manufacturing processes. This contributed to the rapid growth of the petroleum-chemical industry, which produced explosives, synthetic rubber, and other materials. The industry's size quadrupled in the decade from 1940 to 1950. By 1973-74, petroleum accounted for 90% of the global production of organic chemicals.
The largest companies that led the organic chemicals industry were:
BASF and Bayer: These German companies were pioneers in the chemical industry, including the development of synthetic dyes and other chemical processes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their work laid the foundation for the chemical synthesis of drugs. Bayer, in particular, was instrumental in developing aspirin in 1897, which, while not directly related to petroleum, marked a significant advancement in synthetic pharmaceuticals.
IG Farben: Formed in Germany in 1925 through the merger of several chemical companies including BASF, Bayer, and others, IG Farben played a crucial role in the development of synthetic drugs and the use of organic chemicals. They were involved in the production of various chemical intermediates that would later be important for pharmaceutical synthesis.
DuPont and Monsanto: In the United States, companies like DuPont and Monsanto started as chemical companies but eventually expanded into materials and products that intersected with pharmaceutical applications. DuPont, for instance, developed nylon and later got involved in producing precursors and intermediates for pharmaceuticals.
With that backdrop, let us understand how the chemicals that come from petroleum have taken over our lives.
Where do organic chemicals come into the pharmaceutical industry? Well, in short - at every step!
Before we go further, let us look at this graph. Spend a couple of minutes to fully grasp the message that it conveys.
Over the years, something drastic has happened to the way we live our lives and cancer is rising at such a drastic pace.
First, let's discuss Solvents.
In the pharmaceutical industry, petroleum-based solvents such as benzene, toluene, and xylene hold significant importance. They are widely utilized in various crucial processes, a vital one being the extraction and purification of drugs. These solvents have a unique capability of dissolving drug compounds and other substances, which in turn, simplifies their processing and formulation, making these processes more efficient.
The role of Solvents is not limited to just dissolution. These solvents also facilitate the consistent distribution of active ingredients throughout the formulation, ensuring a uniform potency in each dose of the medication. Moreover, they are also involved in the preparation of solutions for parenteral (injection) drugs, where a solvent is required to dissolve the medication for injection.
The pharma drugs also use intermediates and reagents created from petroleum. These substances are integral to the chemical reactions that occur during the production process, ultimately leading to the creation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). These APIs are the core components that give medications their therapeutic effect.
Chemicals such as acetic acid and acetone, which are derived from petroleum, have a crucial role in the synthesis of a wide range of commonly used drugs. They are used for complex chemical reactions, contributing to the molecular structure of these drugs.
Not just these, but preservatives and excipients that are used in medications like parabens and certain phthalates, help stabilize formulations and extend their shelf life.
What are these "Parabens" for example? They are found in everything we consume these days - from shampoos and hair products to our food!
Neda Ulaby
And even though the "Cancer Research" organizations and FDA keep saying that these are not linked to cancer, the researchers have to tip-toe their way in order to convey the very opposite. See this for example.
Can you sense the delicate balance these researchers have to keep while trying to toe the "official line" and at the same time conveying the message regarding the damning impact of the Parabens?
Let's go further.
In recent times, certain pharmaceutical applications have necessitated the use of specialized drug delivery systems. For example, patches, implants, and controlled-release formulations.
Central to the effectiveness of these systems are components known as plasticizers. petroleum-derived plasticizers increase the durability of the polymers, effectively lengthening the lifespan and effectiveness of the drug delivery systems.
Read Plasticizer Excipients, Role of plasticizer in membrane coated extended release oral drug delivery system - to know more about Plasticizers.
This is how the organic chemicals rule the pharmaceuticals sector.
In recent times, petroleum-based organic chemicals have also become a central part of processed foods as well.
Here are some examples:
The one thing that caught one's eye was the cooking oil which is also known as "Vegetable Oil". Well there is no such thing as "Vegetable" in the "vegetable oil". This is fully derived from crude oil. Here is the process.
You can also read about this whole process here:
No wonder, vegetable oils are linked to not just cancer but Alzheimer's disease.
The new movement towards creating "vegan meat" like the Impossible or Beyond burgers is also not free from the impact of petroleum-based chemicals.
Here are some of the ingredients:
Hexane: Hexane, a byproduct of gasoline refining, plays an important role in the production of vegan meat substitutes. It is primarily used as a solvent, a substance that has the ability to dissolve other substances. In the context of vegan meat substitutes, hexane is used to separate soy proteins from fats. This separation process is crucial in obtaining the desired texture and consistency in the final product.
The Impossible Burger and most other vegan meat replacements are made from soy protein isolates and concentrate. These are made by separating soy proteins from fats. In order to do this, manufacturers bathe soybean flakes in a solvent called hexane — a byproduct of gasoline refining. (Source: "7 Harmful Chemicals in Vegan Meat; how much do we dare to question our eating ideology?" / Karolina Stawinka)
Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ): It is a synthetic preservative that prevents discoloration in processed foods. The FDA has limited the amount of TBHQ allowed in foods because studies suggest a link between TBHQ and cancer.
A study shared in the FASEB Journal showed something startling.
Studies from our lab and others have demonstrated immunomodulatory roles for Nrf2, including effects on macrophages, dendritic cells, and T cells. The tBHQ-mediated decrease in Th1 polarization led us to hypothesize that consumption of the Nrf2 activator, tBHQ, would impair the T cell-mediated immune response to acute influenza infection. To test this hypothesis, mice on either a low-dose tBHQ or control diet were infected with influenza A/PR/8/34 (H1N1). tBHQ exposure impaired CD8+ T cell infiltration in the lung, CD4+/CD8+ T cell activation and effector function, the numbers of influenza-specific T cells in the draining lymph nodes, and viral clearance. Interestingly, although we did not observe a decrease in the number of TH1 cells with tBHQ exposure at this timepoint (10 days post-infection), there was an increase in the expression of the immunosuppressive proteins, CTLA-4 and IL-10. Of importance, the impaired immune response during primary infection correlated with more severe weight loss and prolonged infection during subsequent infection with a related strain of influenza (x31), indicating that tBHQ impaired the heterosubtypic memory response. Notably, an impaired heterosubtypic memory response would be expected to reduce vaccine efficacy. Overall, this study shows that tBHQ, at a dose relevant to human diet, impairs the primary and memory immune responses to influenza infection. (Source: The Immune Response to Influenza is Suppressed by the Synthetic Food Additive and Nrf2 Activator, tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) / FASEB Journal)
Worse, according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), studies have found that tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) can cause liver enlargement in laboratory animals. TBHQ is a synthetic antioxidant with antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. It's also used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products,
Also, this chemical is known to cause cancer-causing effects.
Tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) is a food additive commonly used as a more effective protectant in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. However, the long-term exposure to TBHQ at higher doses (0.7 mg/kg) results in substantial danger to public health and brings a series of side effects, including cytotoxic, genotoxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic effects. (Source: Alarming impact of the excessive use of tert-butylhydroquinone in food products: A narrative review / National Library of Medicine)
This is what we are dealing with when it comes to our food.
We have recently given a detailed review of how the global food industry is being taken over and large business barrons want to control every aspect of it to make profits.
Desh Kapoor
Food, chemical-based food is one aspect of the debilitating health crises that mankind faces.
The other side of the story is medicine.
They both go hand in hand.
One makes the body sick. The other, has chemical concoctions to attack the health disorders to do just enough to make one feel better to make profits.
It is a revolving door of unlimited profits while controlling the destiny of humanity and making it fundamentally disorientated.
Those who mistake the vicious attack on Patanjali in the language that it was launched as a business issue are mistaken.
Badly!
Because it is a continuation of a movement that was set in motion at the turn of the last century to completely dominate the human body around the planet in ways never seen before.
The language, the arguments and the condescension without any scientific rigor to evaluate medical systems like Ayurveda and Naturopathy used by the Indian Supreme Court judges, the Indian Medical Association, and modern doctors (specifically in India) are just the same as that in the Flexner Report!
When Ayurveda and Yoga are researched in American and Western universities, it is to digest the knowledge and not acknowledge it. And, even that comes after an overwhelming superior claim in healing over the mainstream allopathic treatments!
What is being accomplished via AYUSH is tremendous. And, Patanjali has shown that a business built on Ayurveda, Yoga and traditional research can be profitable as well.
That is a blow. To the greedy robber barrons of the health and food sectors.
Patanjali and Swami Ramdev may not be perfect in everything that it does. But they have done something unheard of.
A David vs the Goliath proportions.
Little knowing the dangers ahead.
If Patanjali loses this battle, it won't just be a business that is losing the battle. It will be us. The Humanity itself.
We are the target!
When you see Russia get into existential war over Ukraine, or Israel bomb Syria or India battle with Pakistan or Bangladesh, it is not because of some whim. It has a historical and geographical context. That is critical to understand for analyzing geopolitics.
Dive into the shadowy world of the Deep State—its hidden structures, powerful networks, and the far-reaching impact on global events and control.
While game-playing the future, one of the main flashpoints we came across, where the global conflict can start, was the Arctic. We look at it in complete detail.
North Korea launched its most advanced monster missile yet. China is readying its 'mysterious' amphibious ship. Russia is advancing in Ukraine while losing men. America goes to poll and civil uncertainty. Global economy is on the brink. What is coming? Let's game plan it.
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