Apropos the Swine Flu
by Jesse Schwartz,Ph.D.
President, Living Tree Community Foods

It has become clear that the swine flu is a man-made artifact. On the one hand, it has to do with the unspeakable conditions in factory farms:-

Animals kept in industrial conditions, crowded into small pens next to each other, fed unnatural diets, and kept ‘healthy’ with a regime of veterinary drugs, will have greatly weakened immune systems and will effectively act as living Petri dishes in which this virus and others may combine and recombine to become unique strains that, in theory, can also be uniquely virulent.

On the other, it tells us how, due to the conditions of life and nutrition in the late industrial world, the ability of people to resist disease has been vastly diminished. This, for a variety of reasons, beginning with the consumption of highly processed foods originating in the bowels of chemical plants. Then there is the pollution of the air we breathe and the water we drink. There is yet another sort of pollution, namely, the electromagnetic energy emanating from cell phone towers and wireless devices. (In this regard, the disappearance of masses of bees is a warning,as surely, they are but the canaries in the coal mine.)

Then there is yet another element, the onset of the economic crisis. 11 million Americans are unemployed and the number is growing -no wonder there is so much fear. What sort of population could be more vulnerable than one in danger of losing their jobs, who moreover are clogged with chemicals, overweight, breathing polluted air and drinking polluted water?
Contagions do not just appear -they arise when there is a severe imbalance.

What then do we find in the popular press? Namely the fantasy that for no reason at all, a bug just happened to mutate and furthermore started misbehaving in a rather untoward way. (Reminds me of when I was a kid,would wonder why it was that aliens from outer space invariably had some rather nasty intentions-why I wondered,if they were so smart-couldn’t they take a more constructive or considerate attitude toward this long suffering human race?!!)

Now there has been a lot of talk about the influenza epidemic of 1918. It is said that it was responsible for the death of somewhere between 50 to 100 million people. Now the pundits of mechanistic science attribute this to a random mutation. They ignore the fact that the epidemic broke out just as World War I was drawing to a close. It was an orgy of slaughter and indescribable horror. It can be understood, I feel, as a sort of collective orgasm:the bursting forth of centuries of repressed emotions culminating in the hypocrisy of the Victorian era. It is estimated that 60 million soldiers were mobilized across Europe out of which there were 40 million casualties, of which there were 20 million deaths (including civilians). Two-thirds of the soldiers mobilized ended up either dead or injured, a staggering statistic. Soldiers crowded in trenches under conditions of appalling filth and stench. The line of trenches ran across France from the Atlantic coast to the Swiss alps. Now war is a very unsatisfactory way to release sexual tension, and in the aftermath with nothing to show for it but slaughter and desolation people were understandably despondent and depressed. I challenge anyone to give any sane reason for World War I and furthermore to justify in any way, the entry of the United States into the cauldron of madness. Humanity was in a state of shock and despondency, this plus of the destruction and upheaval created a situation in which a pandemic just had to occur. No mention of this, of course...,a mere detail to those who think it was a random bug, that for no apparent reason, just happened to mutate!

Make no mistake,epidemics are in a very real sense man-made. Furthermore they will appear again and again as no effort has been made to address their underlying causes.

Instead we see an alienated science racing to develop this or that the vaccine while people cower in fear ,convinced that they are helpless. A most tragic result is that people have surrendered their power to a impossibly remote technology. Of course no one will dream of asking the question- what is going on in people’s guts?!

Moreover,the entrepreneurial spirit has not been slow to capitalize upon the situation with every type of supplement, “magic food”, “super food”, “miracle food” “probiotic” or whatever- all supposedly to confer some sort of immunity. To this we answer:- parsley lettuce celery, kale and Swiss chard! Put them in a blender with some spring water, and press the button and you have a magnificent green drink! What can be more healing then finely divided greens?! I have a green drink at breakfast and at dinner. How refreshing and energizing it is!

Now it is rather curious, that nowhere have I seen mention of one of the most obvious and powerful measures, namely, fasting. In my own experience I have found fasting to be exceedingly effective. I fast for 36 hours at the beginning of each week. It makes the rest of the week possible. Can’t remember when I’ve had as much as a sniffle or cold. Alas, one can not package it or bottle it and sell it at a ridiculous price!

We recommend, to those who wish to explore this further, Professor Arnold Ehret’s classic Rational Fasting. Written nearly 90 years ago, it is altogether cogent. A safe and sane approach by a master. (Of course, a fast of any duration should be supervised by a licensed practitioner.)

Not many, in the late modern world, have the possibility of doing a fast of any duration but I find that the regime that I follow of brief weekly fasts is effective.
We suggest that you rejoice with organic living greens, periodic cleansings, vigorous exercise and plenty of sleep. You have more power than you know. Go out and play in the sun!