DOCSLIB.ORG

The Medical Voodoo

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Medical Voodoo THE MEDICAL VOODOO By ANNIE RILEY HALE Author of "These Cults," "The Natural Way to Health," etc. Gotham House New York 1935 The Medical Voodoo, Copyright, 1935, by Annie Riley Hale. Manufactured in the United States of America. To my son, Shelton Hale "Theoretical immunology, now considered the newest branch of scientific medicine, is in reality the oldest clinical science. The medicine men of the Congo, and the jungle doctors of the Orinoco, have today an immunological theory that is more detailed and of wider clinical application, than the boasted immuno-science of Nordic medicine. "There is not a fundamental deduction from present- day infections theory, that was not known, predicted or parodied, by the pre-dynastic Osiers of Ancient Egypt— 50 centuries before the 19th Century renaissance of the same deductions." Dr. W. H. Manwaring, Professor of Bacteriology and Experimental Pathology at Leland-Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. FOREWORD This book issues a flat challenge to so-called "scientific immunology," and is an arraignment of the crimes committed in its name. The arraignment is based on statistical facts of record, derived mainly from medical sources, and on well- authenticated medical opinion. Only the bigots and fanatics of "regular" medicine will seek to discredit the ground-work of this indictment because it is prepared by a lay research- worker. Facts are facts—regardless of who brings them. If to some readers the conclusions reached appear too harsh in some instances, I can only say: It is not I, but the facts which render judgment. Too many lives have already been sacrificed to a squeamish regard for the family doctor, who—if the truth were known—is in many cases also the victim of the same system of medico-political rule under which the "scientific immunology" is taking its frightful toll. If the book shall serve no other end than bringing to public attention the much neglected though eminent medical voices—past and present—raised in dissent and protest against the vaccine-serum method of "disease prevention," it will have supplied a long-felt need. Very many persons do not even know that such dissenting voices exist; and if the matter must be settled for us solely upon medical authority, then surely it is only fair to the public having a vital interest in the settlement, to permit them to hear from all the authorities. "He who knows only his own side of a question, doesn't know that very well." The book aims to present "the other side" of the medical controversy over so-called "preventive medicine" for those who never heard that there is another side. A. R. H. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Where Seer and Healer Met 13 II. The New Necromancy 24 III. Natural vs. Artificial Immunology 41 IV. Just What Is the Smallpox-Vaccine? 53 V. Some Early and Later Fruits; Statistics vs. Statistics 70 VI. Who's Who Among Anti-Vaccinists 94 VII. Enter Pasteur with the Microbe 123 VIII. The Death Trail of the Microbe Hunters 154 IX. The Voodoo and the Cancer Riddle 193 X. The Voodoo and Vivisection—Animal and Human 212. XI. A White House Interpretation of Child Welfare 233 XII. Medical Jurisprudence Plus Medical Ethics 253 XIII. Medical Voodoo and the Public Health 270 XIV. Medical Voodoo and the Business World 292 XV. Medicine, Religion and Government 302 CHAPTER I Where Seer and Healer Met When we consider the mysterious nature of the Life Principle—as great a mystery to the most learned physician as to the most illiterate layman—the hidden physiological processes, and the more or less psychic elements in all disease problems, it is not surprising that the earliest religious faiths of the world were inseparably linked with primitive notions about the origin and control of disease; and that the offices of priest and shaman (medicine man) met in the same person. The seer, the ecclesiastic, and the healer, functioned as one. And although in succeeding ages these offices became distinct and separate professions—pursued by different groups, trained in different schools—the essential root-idea in the two callings persisted, and down' to the present day the doctors of the body and the doctors of the soul have much in common. Their popularity rests on the most omnipresent human infirmity—fear. In all ages fear of pain and sickness has driven the human race into the arms of the doctor; fear of death and hell into the arms of the priest or parson. And in all ages learned clerics, mitred prelates, eminent physicians and surgeons—equally with the soothsayers and witch- doctors of primitive peoples—have not scrupled to make free use of the fear-appeal in the prosecution of their business. Fear, ignorance, superstition and credulity have ever been the hand maidens of the sacerdotal and healing cults, modified in all times by the degree of civilized advancement and cultural development of their votaries. Pre-historic man interpreted such natural phenomena as cyclones, cloudbursts, earthquakes and drought as the outward and visible signs of angry gods. The conception of power unaccompanied by the desire to use it malevolently, appears to have been beyond the primitive mind. Hence disease was likewise believed to be the work of demons and evil genii, or of an offended shade of the dead, or in certain cases it was traced to the malicious spell of a human enemy possessed of extraordinary powers—witchcraft and sorcery. The remedy was, in the one case, propitiation of the offended divinity or shade—with burnt-offerings and sacrifice; or the punishment of the human disease-conjurer, with flagellation and death. Hence the barbarous practices of witch-burning and flogging of the insane—accused in savage superstition of "demoniacal possession." "The common point of convergence of all medical folk- lore," says Dr. Fielding Garrison in his History of Medicine, "is the notion that spirits or other supernatural agencies are the efficient causes of disease and death. Ancient and primitive medicine, whether Assyro-Babylonian or Scandinavian, Slavic or Celtic, Roman or Polynesian, has been the same—in each case an affair of charms and spells, plant-life and psychotherapy, to stave off supernatural agencies." According to another medical historian, Alexander Wilder, these medical superstitions are coeval with the earliest traditions on all other subjects. "Every country having a literature of ancient periods of its history," says Wilder, "possesses some account of a healing art, whose history is therefore as old as the history of the race; and properly speaking, we have no 'Father of Medicine' except in eponym." The elder Pliny ascribed the origin of medicine as an art and pursuit to the Egyptians. Others traced it to Arabia, and others still to Chaldea. Inasmuch as the relative antiquity of the different countries is a disputed point, giving preference to any one of them in priority of the healing art is not important. But the superior knowledge and skill of the priest- physicians of Egypt, the pastiphori, as they were called, entitles them to special mention. According to Garrison, their knowledge of chemistry went far ahead of any of their contemporaries. Indeed the word chemistry is derived from Chemi—the "Black Land"—the ancient name of Egypt, and chemistry in the early time was known as "the black art." Garrison also accredits the Egyptian priest-physicians with unusual skill in metallurgy, dyeing, distillation, preparation of leather, making of glass, soap, alloys and amalgams; and says "in Homer's time they probably knew more about anatomy and therapeutics than the Hellenes." The Egyptian reverence for a dead human body forbade its dissection as sacrilege; but it was from their extraordinary custom of mummification—an outcome of their religious regard for the body—that they acquired their knowledge of anatomy; and in perfecting their art of embalming the dead, the pastiphori also gained their knowledge of chemistry and became pioneers in that branch of medicine. But with all their knowledge and skill in the secular arts, the ancient Egyptians were intensely religious. The pastiphori mingled prayers and invocations of the national gods with the compounding of their prescriptions, and the patients to whom they were administered were instructed to look to the appropriate divinity for the cure. Isis, "the Great Mother and Madonna," was also Goddess of the Secret Shrine and patroness of the healing art. Their god Thoth—called by the Greeks variously the "Egyptian Hermes" and the "Egyptian Apollo"—was the god of astrology and alchemy, and the tutelary deity of all sacred and sacerdotal learning. Six of the Books inscribed to him were devoted to medicine and surgery, and the various treatises were set forth as special revelations from Thoth. Our knowledge of the status of medicine in ancient Egypt is partly derived from the works of Homer and Herodotus, partly from hieroglyphics on temple walls and monuments, but chiefly from the famous papyri, of which the best known and most complete are the Ebers translations dating from the earliest reigns. From all these it appears that medical practice among the ancient Egyptians took on some of the features of modern procedure. According to Herodotus, they had specialists not unlike our moderns. He says: "Each physician treats a single disorder and no more. Thus the whole country swarms with medical practitioners, some undertaking to cure diseases of the eye, others of the head, others of the teeth, others again the intestines, while still others treated complaints which are not local—their maxims being even if but a small part of the body suffers, the whole body is ill." In this respect ancient Egyptian insight into the fundamentals of disease appears superior to that of some medical men of our own time.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • {PDF} Diet for a Small Planet Ebook, Epub
    DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET PDF, EPUB, EBOOK F. Moore Lappe | 482 pages | 01 Feb 1992 | Random House USA Inc | 9780345321206 | English | New York, United States Diet for a Small Planet PDF Book Our farm economy is fueled by a blind production imperative. Then in late , in my basement library hideaway, I discovered a few facts about the U. In the "capitalist" Philippines, for example, there are very few signs of democratic participation. Jung called it enantiodromia - a shadow racing towards its opposite when pressures are heightened. Guide to Vegan Protein. Well researched but would be out of date in this day and age. Producing a one-pound steak uses up 2, gallons of water. She looks at the economics of the food supply. This text can be changed. Show More. Get A Copy. And although not many people know it, much of the food we're buying from Third World nations is contaminated with dangerous pesticides like DDT. Power, you know, is not a dirty word! Since then it has sold close to two million copies in a half dozen languages. Categories : non-fiction books Vegetarian cookbooks Vegetarian-related mass media Ballantine Books books Dieting books Vegetarianism in the United States. But being a woman has also been a great advantage, because it allowed me to keep from being locked into society's expectations and institutions and enabled me to stand outside, ask the unorthodox questions, and uncover some of the central myths of the hunger issue. Just look back about 25 years ago, to the first introduction of hybrid seeds and modern machinery into Third World agriculture.
    [Show full text]
  • Charlotte Bronte and the 19Th-Century Health Reformers Author
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE Title: The Good, the healthy and the natural : Charlotte Bronte and the 19th-century health reformers Author: Nina Augustynowicz Citation style: Augustynowicz Nina. (2014). The Good, the healthy and the natural : Charlotte Bronte and the 19th-century health reformers. W: J. Mydla, A.Wilczek, T. Gnat (red.), "Nature(s): environments we live by in literary and cultural discourses" (S. 137- 147). Katowice : Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego. Nina Augustynowicz University of Silesia The Good, the Healthy, and the Natural: Charlotte Brontë and the 19th-Century Health Reformers The body in Charlotte Brontë’s novels is an arena where ideologies meet and engage in conflict. Various, often contradictory forces operating within the spheres of religion, gender, and class make the body a site of struggle. Thanks to Michel Foucault, the body has been understood as a cultural phenomenon, a corporeality in which the borders between psyche and soma, as well as between the inside and the outside are porous, allowing for these realms to overlap. Consequently, any external disturbances may become internalised, for example as illnesses. In the context of such materializations, the issue of health, both on the personal and national level, must gain primary importance. The moment the physical well- being of individuals is located at the intersection of numerous modes of thinking about the aforementioned matters, it starts to signify outside the strictly physiological domain. In other words, bodily symptoms indicate not only diseases of the flesh, but also ideas about morality, beauty, and the nature-culture opposition.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams
    THE SEXUAL POLITICS OF MEAT A FEMINISTVEGETARIAN CRITICAL THEORY Praise for The Sexual Politics of Meat and Carol J. Adams “A clearheaded scholar joins the ideas of two movements—vegetari- anism and feminism—and turns them into a single coherent and moral theory. Her argument is rational and persuasive. New ground—whole acres of it—is broken by Adams.” —Colman McCarthy, Washington Post Book World “Th e Sexual Politics of Meat examines the historical, gender, race, and class implications of meat culture, and makes the links between the prac tice of butchering/eating animals and the maintenance of male domi nance. Read this powerful new book and you may well become a vegetarian.” —Ms. “Adams’s work will almost surely become a ‘bible’ for feminist and pro gressive animal rights activists. Depiction of animal exploita- tion as one manifestation of a brutal patriarchal culture has been explored in two [of her] books, Th e Sexual Politics of Meat and Neither Man nor Beast: Feminism and the Defense of Animals. Adams argues that factory farming is part of a whole culture of oppression and insti- tutionalized violence. Th e treatment of animals as objects is parallel to and associated with patriarchal society’s objectifi cation of women, blacks, and other minorities in order to routinely exploit them. Adams excels in constructing unexpected juxtapositions by using the language of one kind of relationship to illuminate another. Employing poetic rather than rhetorical techniques, Adams makes powerful connec- tions that encourage readers to draw their own conclusions.” —Choice “A dynamic contribution toward creating a feminist/animal rights theory.” —Animals’ Agenda “A cohesive, passionate case linking meat-eating to the oppression of animals and women .
    [Show full text]
  • Catharine J. Cadbury Papers HC.Coll.1192
    William W. Cadbury and Catharine J. Cadbury papers HC.Coll.1192 This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit February 23, 2012 Describing Archives: A Content Standard Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections 2011 370 Lancaster Ave Haverford, PA, 19041 610-896-1161 [email protected] William W. Cadbury and Catharine J. Cadbury papers HC.Coll.1192 Table of Contents Summary Information ................................................................................................................................. 3 William Warder Cadbury (1877-1959)......................................................................................................... 6 Catharine J. Cadbury (1884-1970)................................................................................................................ 6 Administrative Information .........................................................................................................................7 Related Materials ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................7 Related Finding Aids.....................................................................................................................................9 Collection Inventory...................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • An Old Family; Or, the Setons of Scotland and America
    [U AN OLD FAMILY OR The Setons of Scotland and America BY MONSIGNOR SETON (MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY) NEW YORK BRENTANOS 1899 Copyright, 1899, by ROBERT SETON, D. D. TO A DEAR AND HONORED KINSMAN Sir BRUCE-MAXWELL SETON of Abercorn, Baronet THIS RECORD OF SCOTTISH ANCESTORS AND AMERICAN COUSINS IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR Preface. The glories of our blood and state Are shadows, not substantial things. —Shirley. Gibbon says in his Autobiography: "A lively desire of knowing and recording our ancestors so generally prevails that it must depend on the influence of some common principle in the minds of men"; and I am strongly persuaded that a long line of distinguished and patriotic forefathers usually engenders a poiseful self-respect which is neither pride nor arrogance, nor a bit of medievalism, nor a superstition of dead ages. It is founded on the words of Scripture : Take care of a good name ; for this shall continue with thee more than a thousand treasures precious and great (Ecclesiasticus xli. 15). There is no civilized people, whether living under republi- can or monarchical institutions, but has some kind of aristoc- racy. It may take the form of birth, ot intellect, or of wealth; but it is there. Of these manifestations of inequality among men, the noblest is that of Mind, the most romantic that of Blood, the meanest that of Money. Therefore, while a man may have a decent regard for his lineage, he should avoid what- ever implies a contempt for others not so well born.
    [Show full text]
  • Fifty Years of Food Reform
    No.ffy. FIFTY YEARS OF FOOD REFORM A HISTORY OF THE VEGETARIAN MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND. From 1ts Incept1on 1n 1847, down to the close of 1897: WITH INCIDENTAL REFERENCES TO VEGETARIAN WORK IN AMERICA AND GERMANY. BY ; CHARLES W. FORWARD, WITH UPWARDS OF TWO HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS. Percy Bysshe Shelley. MDCCCXCVIII. LONDON : THE IDEAL PUBLISHING UNION, LTD., MEMORIAL HALL, FARR1NGDON STREET. MANCHESTER : THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY, 9, PETER STREET. (L- THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 127291II AVTOR. LENOX ANT) TIU'TN FOl NDATIONS P 1941 L ffff^fv^^f^^ffmvvvvrfv X . .- «fflo i • ' I■ ' 1 t ,1,1 H B ■ i lis rWr ^^Ml 14* 19 QJ L' ■ ■^«iwri » Inter1or of Northwood V1lla. [The Room where the Vegetarian Society was founded in 1847.) Northwood V1lla, Ramsgate. {.Hydropathic Infirmary and Restdence 0/ Mr. W. Horscll, in 1847. Now (1897) a Sea-sUe Home for Boys in carnation with the Ragged School Un1on. THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED (BY KIND PERMISSION) TO MY FRIEND AND FELLOW-WORKER IN THE CAUSE OF VEGETARIANISM, ARNOLD FRANK HILLS, WHOSE HIGH IDEALS, UNFAILING EXAMPLE, AND INEXTINGUISHABLE ENTHUSIASM, HAVE INSPIRED MYSELF /■ AND MANY OTHERS •; [■. WITH RENEWED FAITH AND ENERGY, • AND DEEPENED THE CONVICTION THAT' THE TRIUMPH OF VEGETARIANISM, WHICH HE HAS DONE SO MUCH TO PROMOTE, IS DESTINED TO BRING WITH IT A REIGN OF" PEACE, GOODWILL, AND UNIVERSAL HAPPINESS WHICH MANKIND HAS. BEEN VAINLY SEEKING THROUGHOUT PAST AGES. PREFACE. HE task of writing a historical survey of the Vegetarian Move ment in England is one which I did not seek, and I should not have undertaken had I foreseen the difficulties it entailed.
    [Show full text]
  • Vegan History
    Vegan History Veganism has origins that date back to ancient India and Mediterranean societies. Vegetarianism is known to be mentioned by the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras around 500 BC.(1) Veganism can be traced to the Indus Valley Civilization in 3300-1300, particular to northern and western ancient India. An early known vegan was the Arab poet al-Ma’arri, 973-1057 AD. He based his view on equal justice not only for humans, yet for animals as well. His philosophy was based in health, the transmigration of souls, and animal welfare. (2) In the 19th century vegetarianism became a significant movement in UK and USA, with a minority of vegetarians avoiding all animal foods. In the early 1800’s poet Percy Bysshe published “A Vindication of Natural Diet” and a London doctor, William Lambe said “water and vegetable diet could cure cure anything from tuberculosis to acne.” (3) Around 1830 many vegan communities were established. The Temple School opened in 1834 in Massachusetts in the USA, and Fruitlands in 1844. 1838, in England James Pierrepont Greaves founded the vegan community the Concordium at Alcott House. Then in 1843 members from the Alcott House formed the Vegetarian Society in UK. In this time vegetarians opposed veganism, calling it impractical and thought it may oppose their vegetarian crusade. In 1944 when The Vegetarian Society didn’t support the emerging Vegan movement, Donald Watson started his own publication called The Vegan News, and coined the word vegan. The publication inspired others to give up dairy, such as George Bernard Shaw. November 1st is World Vegan Day, which also marks the founding of The Vegan Society in UK.
    [Show full text]
  • Vegetarianism and Human Health
    Vegetarianism and Human Health Usha R. Palaniswamy SUMMARY. Vegetarianism dates back to a time before recorded history and, as many anthropolo- gists believe, most early humans ate primarily plant foods, being more gatherers than hunters. Human diets may be adopted for a variety of reasons, including political, esthetic, moral, environmental and economic concerns, religious beliefs, and a desire to consume a more healthy diet. A major factor influencing the vegetarianism movement in the present time is primarily associated with better health. Epidemiologic data support the association between high intake of vegetables and fruit and low risk of chronic diseases and provide evidence to the profound and long-term health benefits of a primarily vegetarian diet. Vegetables and fruit are rich sources of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber as well as biologically active nonnutrient compounds that have a complementary and often multiple mechanisms of actions, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, and hypolipidemic properties, and mechanisms that stimulate the human immune system. Because of the critical link established between diet and health, consumers have begun to view food as a means of self-care for health promotion and disease prevention. Functional foods are targeted to address specific health concerns, such as high cholesterol or high blood sugar levels, to obtain a desired health benefit. Functional properties identified in a number of plant species have led to a modern day renaissance for the vegetarian movement. t is often asserted that humans are naturally vegetarian because the human body resembles plant eaters, not carnivores. However, Ihumans are omnivores, capable of eating either meat or plant foods, or general feeders, with more generalized anatomical and physi- ological traits.
    [Show full text]
  • HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES-Wednesday, January 1'5, 1969 the House Met at 12 O'clock Noon
    700 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- HOUSE January 15, 1969 The United States Congress ls going to miss which issued the report "Strategy and Tactics world into mass violence and disorder t.o be two distinguished, gracious la.dies-Rep. of World Communism." :followed by an era of totaUtartan, Commu­ Frances P. Bolton, R-Ohio, and Rep. Edna One of her bills sought the return of nist regimes." Kelly, D-N.Y. 28,000 Greek children kidnaped by Commu­ Mrs. Kelly knows the facts and she used Spry and active octogenarian Frances Bol­ nist guerrillas during the Red insurrection her knowledge with distinction as chairman ton entered the House 28 years ago when she in Greece. of the Subcommittee on Europe on the Com­ was elected to fill the unexpired term of her In 1953 President Eisenhower named Mrs. mittee for Foreign Affairs. late husband, Chester C. Bolton. Bolton a delegate to the General Assembly Since entering the House in 1949 in a spe­ A dynamic and energetic reformer, she of the United Nations. cial election in Brooklyn she was active on a served on many committees including the Her decorations would fill pages. A private number of congressional subcommittees in­ Committee of Foreign Affairs since 1941. She law authorized Mrs. Bolton to wear the cluding national security, the Middle-East was a member of subcommittees whose at­ French Legion of Honor "Officer Class" con­ and East-West trade. tentions focused on Europe, the Near East, ferred to her for her work during and after She came to be respected and loved by the Balkans and Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • Christianity and Vegetarianism 1809 – 2009
    EDEN’S DIET: CHRISTIANITY AND VEGETARIANISM 1809 – 2009 by SAMANTHA JANE CALVERT A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham June 2012 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The vegetarian teachings of the Salvation Army, Quakers, the Seventh Day Adventists and other Christian groups have been largely neglected by academics. This study takes a prosopographical approach to the development of modern Christian vegetarianism across a number of Christian vegetarian sects, and some more mainstream traditions, over a period of two centuries. The method allows for important points of similarity and difference to be noted among these groups’ founders and members. This research contributes particularly to radical Christian groups’ place in the vegetarian movement’s modern history. This study demonstrates how and why Christian vegetarianism developed in the nineteenth century and to what extent it influenced the secular vegetarian movement and wider society. It contextualizes nineteenth-century Christian vegetarianism in the wider movement of temperance, and considers why vegetarianism never made inroads into mainstream churches in the way that the temperance movement did.
    [Show full text]
  • How Athletes Are Going Vegan and Staying Strong from Ballerinas to Tennis Champs This Diet Is Way More Than a Trend
    How Athletes Are Going Vegan and Staying Strong From ballerinas to tennis champs this diet is way more than a trend. Jessica Ciencin Henriquez I’ve been dancing since I was 3,” says Juliet Doherty, an 18-year-old ballerina. “When I was training, I was told protein, protein, protein all the time, but I would get so lethargic.” In an effort to increase her stamina, Juliet started eliminating meat from her daily menu little by little and began seeing an improvement. By the time she cut out all animal products, Juliet knew she was onto something. “With a vegan diet, the food is dense nutritionally but not necessarily calorically, so you have to keep eating a lot throughout the day instead of just three heavy meals,” she explains. Juliet credits the continuous consumption of concentrated nutrients for her sustained stamina while en pointe. “When I’m performing or I have long days at the theater, I still feel like I have a lot of energy,” she says with a bounce in her voice. In fact, since going vegan, the talented dancer has added another gold medal to her collection of awards: at the finals in the Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition. Juliet attributes her success to a combination of discipline, communication, and hard work — and becoming a vegan hasn’t hampered her one bit. Judging by the nearly half million Instagram photos tagged #veganathlete and #poweredbyplants, more and more people are beefing up without the beef, and awareness of this plant-filled lifestyle is creeping into the mainstream.
    [Show full text]
  • Water and the Search for Public Health in London in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
    Medical History, 1984, 28: 250-282 WATER AND THE SEARCH FOR PUBLIC HEALTH IN LONDON IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES by ANNE HARDY* THE history of water supplies in England is a poorly documented subject. Although various accounts of the history of water technology, and learned articles on the political and administrative aspects of water supply have been written, the history of water in relation to public health remains largely unexplored. As this is, especially concerning the nineteenth century, a voluminous subject, the present paper attempts no more than a broad survey of the process by which water came to be recognized as a vital element in public health, of the gradual discovery and application of criteria for water purity, and of the means by which supplies satisfactory in quantity and quality were obtained. The roots of the modern concern with environment and its effect on health lie in the eighteenth century, and in this period the first indications of interest in the quality and physical effects of water are found. Health and cleanliness were treated as personal matters in the eighteenth and earlier nineteenth centuries: in the first parliamentary inquiry into water quality in 1828 there is little evidence of any wider concern with the health of the general population. It was only in the later 1 830s and 1840s that the idea of public health in its widest, or modern, sense began to gain currency, and only in the second half of the nineteenth century that the term came to have, for certain social elements, a further dimension of public morality as well.
    [Show full text]