I spent most of my time at the WAPF Wise Traditions Conference meeting with sponsors. And my photos reflect that. Here are some pictures I took of all the wonderful people who bring us food and books and supplements, etc.:

Dave Wetzel of Green Pasture Products (makers of the fermented cod liver oil and butter oil):

At the Green Pasture booth, they were doing a cod liver oil tasting. We sampled the new flavors they are working on for the fermented cod liver oil. My favorites were chocolate and lemon-orange.

(By the way, Green Pasture is having a sale right now on the cod liver oil/butter oil blend capsules. They are 27% off!)

This is Scott Gryzbek from Zukay Live Foods:

They have the most delicious probiotic salsa and relish. And they just opened their new online store — order online and they will ship nationwide. I think a box of naturally fermented salsa would make a wonderful holiday gift.

Here’s McKenzie Disselhorst from U.S. Wellness Meats:

They were offering free samples of their liverwurst, head cheese, and Braunschweiger. They all taste really good — and it’s an excellent way to get your organ meats in. I decided I like the Braunschweiger the very best. I put one on hold and I’m glad I did — by Sunday they were completely sold out of everything.

I’m about to place an order for a whole bunch of the Braunschweiger. I like to keep it in our freezer in the garage and serve it on sandwiches (or with a salad) for lunch. It goes really well with mustard, pickles, and a nice German beer. I swear it does not taste like liver.

U.S. Wellness Meats has lots of other stuff too, like beef tallow and chicken feet — stuff you often can’t find locally. And all from pastured animals eating grass in the sunshine and fresh air.

If you haven’t ordered anything from them, try it! It’s easy and they ship fast — anywhere in the country. Just go to U.S. Wellness Meats and enter my code, “cheese20” at the checkout. You will get 20% off your first order.

I have a lot more photos — too many for one post.

Here’s Mark McAfee and his daughter, Kaleigh of Organic Pastures Raw Milk Dairy:

Organic Pastures ships raw milk, butter, cheese and colostrum all over the country. I am so grateful for Mark and his family and how hard they work to provide us with these wonderful products. We couldn’t live without them!

This is Tim Wightman of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation:

I love this guy. Kind, friendly, modest, and really smart. We are so lucky to have people like Tim fighting to defend our small farms. If you’re not familiar with it, the mission of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund: “To defend the freedoms and to broaden the rights of sustainable farmers and their consumers to produce and consume local, nutrient-dense food.”

If you’re not a member, go to their site and give them a donation. You can also support them by buying one of their fabulous t-shirts. I bought three while I was at the conference. I especially love my shirt that says, “THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE PASTEURIZED.” On the back it says, “DRINK RAW MILK.” I wear it proudly. (It looks like all the shirts are not posted on their site — email them and ask them if they can post the other designs — there are some great ones! These would make fabulous holiday gifts.)

Here’s Jessica Prentice of Three Stone Hearth:

Three Stone Hearth provides prepared nutrient-dense foods to the San Francisco Bay Area. They make such delicious, healthy food!

Jessica is very pregnant — due in January. Poor thing — had to put her feet up after working at the booth all day and doing a book signing and everything else.

Here’s the Chaffin Family Orchards booth:

Chaffin Family Orchards is a family farm in northern California. They have fantastic olive oil. Really, some of the best olive oil I have ever tasted. So smooth and mellow. Our LA chapter is going to do a bulk order. You can order online here. I am going to buy a couple of gallons of the olive oil — I want this neat container it comes in — looks so vintage! Gee, that’d make a nice holiday gift, too.

This is Mario Repetto from Grindstone Bakery:

I love Mario! He is so Italian. And I love Italians. They are so warm and effusive and full of life. Plus he has a passion for food and baking that is palpable. If you haven’t tried his bread, you can order online. Our local chapter orders in bulk and Mario gives us the wholesale rate. I’m not sure how much you have to order but whatever the price it’s worth it. This is fantastic bread!

Finally, here is Sandy Agarwal from Pure Indian Foods:

Sandy sells organic ghee from grass-fed butter from small farms. He is such a great guy — I really enjoyed meeting him. I got a jar of his ghee and I’m excited to start eating it soon (as soon as I can introduce ghee on my GAPS diet). And yes, you can get this ghee wholesale if you buy in bulk.

There were so many other great sponsors at the conference. I wish I could have gotten photos of them all. I truly enjoyed meeting Annette and Ken from Wilderness Family Naturals, and Randy and his crew from Vital Choice Seafood, and so many others — too many to list. And this post is long enough already!

We are so lucky to have people like these who are running these businesses that support good nutrition and health and sustainable farming and food production. Even if you live somewhere that doesn’t have a farmer’s market or a Three Stone Hearth and the only place to shop is a Wal-Mart (ugh!), thanks to the internet, you can get these quality products for your family.

We certainly have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

This is primarily a food blog, extolling my love of cheese, raw milk, butter, and so on. But it is also fundamentally a blog about health and nutrition. Which is why I’m writing this post. I get so excited about the power of food to heal, I just have to share when I see something amazing happen.

I had a couple pretty awesome experiences in the past week that I want to share with you. Both events underscored how powerfully nutrition impacts the human body.

Vitamin D and Bronchitis

I was diagnosed with bronchitis a few weeks ago. The doctor said it was viral, and my only hope was to just rest and wait it out. He gave me antibiotics anyway, in case it turned bacterial. I got worse and worse so I finally took the antibiotics (as much as I don’t like them). They didn’t help.

Nor did anything else. Chicken broth, vitamin C, coconut oil, cod liver oil, Holy Basil, lemon, garlic cayenne. I was miserable, wheezing and coughing and sneezing for weeks on end.

Finally about a week ago, I came across a website that said you could kick a virus with very high doses of vitamin D3.

If you do get a virus, you can treat it with high doses of Vitamin D for seven days after onset of symptoms. My friend K.A. tried this last week when she came down with a bad flu and she wrote, “It really worked…I took just 4 [16,000IU of D3] and it worked… it was miraculous….I was on the mend and so surprised! Source

I figured it was worth a shot. So I took 1 1/2 tablespoons (about 16,000 IU of vitamin D) of fermented cod liver (Green Pasture’s Blue Ice brand) oil once a day for 4 days straight. [UPDATE: Please see comments below — I did the math wrong! 16,000 IU = about 3.5 TBS of fermented cod liver oil liquid version and about 3 TBS of the gel.]

And it worked! No more sneezing or coughing. Just like that.

This is interesting to me because it reflects the studies that are being done lately regarding low vitamin D levels and susceptibility to colds and flu.

Levels of flu-fighting vitamin D reach their lowest point in the winter when ultraviolet light disappears.

Michael Holick, a vitamin D researcher, said that immune cells have a vitamin D receptor, and that the cells activate vitamin D as a response to infection.

“What vitamin D really does is play a sentinel role,” said Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine.

First, it is used by immune cells to fight the virus. Then, it helps temper the overall immune response and limit inflammation.Source

Considering that 70% of American children have insufficient levels of vitamin D, I believe we should all be having our vitamin D levels checked going into flu season. I just ordered my test, and am ordering tests for Kate and Seth, too.

Here’s where to order vitamin D tests at a discount: Vitamin D Council

While you can take synthetic vitamin D3 pills or drops, I really recommend taking cod liver oil. It is much easier for the body to absorb and it’s a real food, not a synthetic vitamin. It also contains vitamin A which works synergistically with vitamin D. My favorite brand of cod liver oil is the naturally fermented Green Pasture’s Blue Ice brand. Because it’s actually fermented, it also contains vitamin K2 and probiotics.

For sources of fermented cod liver oil, see my resources page.

Iodine for Moles

I have had an ugly mole on my thigh for a couple of years now. No idea why this mole showed up but it’s been growing and becoming darker ever since it appeared. I have been putting off going to the doctor to get it removed.

A couple of weeks ago I got my new Wise Traditions quarterly journal from the Weston A. Price Foundation, which I always read cover to cover. I read in the Letters section someone reporting that they had had success removing a mole with iodine.

Then I went on the Earth Clinic website and read a whole bunch of stories about people using iodine to remove moles. I figured I had nothing to lose. If it didn’t work, I could just go to the doctor and have it removed.

I started putting iodine on the mole a couple of weeks ago. Three weeks maybe? I don’t know — I’ll have to check the date I started. Anyway, I can definitely see a difference. It’s several shades lighter for one thing. It’s also starting to disappear.

I wish I had taken a “before” picture but of course I didn’t. However, I took a photo two days ago to show you what it looks like now. Sorry the photo is a bit dark (only had my iPhone).

Here’s the mole as of two days ago:

I drew a line around it to show you how big it used to be:

Isn’t that amazing?

I’ll take another one in another week or two and update you.

By the way, I am using Lugo’s 2.2% concentrated drops. I have heard that you can use regular iodine tincture (the kind you buy at the drug store for a buck or two) but I think the Lugol’s is more concentrated so it might work faster.

I have no idea why this works. If anyone knows why iodine would work on moles, please comment.

Disclaimer: I can’t say this will work on all moles, nor can I say the vitamin D will work on everybody’s bronchitis. (I’m not a doctor so please don’t construe this as medical advice! Please get advice from your doctor.)

Photo credit: jaded on Flickr

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

I just opened up the latest edition of the Wise Traditions journal which arrived in my mailbox a few days ago. I love getting my Wise Traditions Journal, which is the quarterly publication from the Weston A. Price Foundation.

I was blown away by a couple of the letters in the Letters to the Editor section. I had to share a couple excerpts with you all. I know you’ll find them as fascinating as I do.

High-Vitamin Butter Oil for Thyroid Health

“My father was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in February 2008. We had already been getting raw milk and eating a WAPF diet, so continued with that. In the summer of the same year, my parents went on holiday to the US and Canada. They ate raw dairy wherever they could. I also sent them raw butter and cheese.

“On returning to New Zealand, Dad definitely looked better and had put on some weight. He saw his specialist and his T3 and T4 were definitely starting to come down. We continued with the raw milk.

“In May 2009 I discovered that we could buy fermented cod liver oil here so bought some instantly! Dad’s levels of T3 and T4 contineud to improve after starting on the cod liver oil and his specialist lowered his medication. But the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) refused to budge from less than 0.01.

“When we could no longer get the regular fermented cod liver oil, I switched us all to the (fermented) cod liver oil and butter blend. This was near the end of last year. Approximately three months later Dad went to see his specialist — the TSH levels were starting to increase!

“Dad visited his specialist again a couple months ago and found that his TSH level was now 0.45! Now all his levels are in the normal range, and his medication was lowered again.

We are thrilled. I’m sure the raw dairy and regular fermented cod liver oil all helped, but things really seemed to get going when Dad changed to the combo with the high-vitamin butter oil.“

— JF, New Zealand

What a powerful testimonial!

Dr. Weston A. Price wrote often about the synergistic effects of taking these two super foods together. High-vitamin butter oil, made from cows on pasture, is one of the best sources in the world of vitamin K2, which Dr. Price called “activator X”. Dr. Price said he saw the best results with his patients when he gave them both the cod liver oil and the butter oil.

We’ve been taking the Green Pasture brand fermented cod liver oil for over three years now. I’ve been meaning to the cod liver oil/butter oil blend for at least a year. This clinches it. I’m going to order mine TODAY.

To order fermented cod liver oil and butter oil, please click here to visit my resources page.

Lard for Tremors

“In the late winter of 2009, my hands developed a mild tremor that became progressively worse over the next six months or so. The shaking, which eventually became nearly constant, was severe at times, especially when I was doing something intentional, like trying to scratch my nose or hold something still. I am an artist and need steady hands in order to create paintings.

“In the 1980s, after five years of poor eating habits, I began to correlate a variety of health problems, including hand tremors, with my diet and slowly began eating healthier food. When my hands began to tremble, I experimented with additional changes. Although I didn’t drink much coffee, I stopped drinking it entirely. I also began taking additional B-complex vitamins, over and above that supplied in the multivitamin I was taking. Slowly, over the course of several months, the tremors went away.

“But the shaking of my hands returned in early 2009. At the time, I was eating a very “good” diet, including lean red meat, pork, chicken, eggs, and fish, along with abundant vegetables and fruit and a variety of vitamin and mineral supplements, including fish oil. I avoided most grains, especially wheat, since I have a family history of diabetes and am sensitive to carbohydrate overload. However, I ate rice occasionally. I also avoided dairy products as they seemed to cause flair-ups of arthritis in my hands. I wasn’t eating butter so the only fat I was eating, other than those provided in foods and the fish oil supplement, were olive and coconut oil.

“I started thinking about other possible dietary causes for the tremors and began to wonder whether it was possible that I wasn’t eating enough animal fat. I knew that the myelin sheath of nerves is composed mainly of fat and that healthy myelin is critical for proper nerve function. Reasoning that I am an animal, not a plant, it seemed possible that my reliance mainly on plant oils (olive and coconut) had resulted in a deficiency of some type of fat that might be more availalbe in animal fat.

“Since I wasn’t eating butter, I decided to add lard to my diet to see if it could help. I started using it liberally for cooking foods. To my amazement, within two days there was a noticeable decrease in the severity of the shaking. Intrigued, I continued to use the lard for cooking, added it to soups, and even added it to my herbal tea. The shaking in my hands improved so much that within several months, there was only a minor tremor. Now, about a year after I started including lard in my diet, there is no noticeable tremor in my hands except, very rarely, when I am really tired.“

— LB, Colorado

I think this one is particularly fascinating since this woman was eating healthy (a variety of meats, lots of fruits and vegetables, avoiding allergens) for decades. She was also eating healthy fats (olive oil and coconut oil).

However, that was not enough. Clearly her body needed animal fats. As I always say, eat your fat — that’s where the vitamins are!

Where to Buy Fermented Cod Liver Oil and Butter Oil

To order fermented cod liver oil and butter oil, please click here to visit my resources page.

Get the Wise Traditions Journal

If you don’t get the quarterly Wise Traditions journal, you need to! The letters are this amazing in every issue. Click here to become a member of the Weston A. Price Foundation — as a member, you will receive the quarterly journal, as well as the excellent and very thorough annual shopping guide.

And when you become a member, you’re also supporting the world’s most cutting edge non-profit organization that is fighting every day to educate people with the truth about real food, nutrition and health. Become a member today!

Do You Have a Food Testimonial to Share?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo credit: Johnny Stiletto on Flickr

Have you been and your family been taking fermented cod liver oil (FCLO)? You will want to watch this video. Dr. Kaayla Daniel, former Vice President of the Weston A. Price Foundation published a “whistleblower” report on August 23, 2015 that raised questions about a natural vitamin supplement that many people in the real foods community have been taking religiously in the belief that it was a healthy, traditional, and safe food.

According to Dr. Daniel, fermented cod liver oil (FCLO) may have contributed to serious health problems, including heart failure, arrhythmias, digestive distress, skin disorders, and pulmonary embolisms.

Click here to download Dr. Daniel’s free report: Hook, Line & Stinker: Hook, Line and Stinker!: The Truth About Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: Exclusive Video Interview with Whistleblower, Dr. Kaayla Daniel

Show Notes

Dr. Kaayla Daniel’s Bio

Dr. Kaayla Daniel holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and Anti-Aging Therapies from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, and is certified as a clinical nutritionist (CCN) by the Clinical Nutrition Certification Board of the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists in Dallas. A former investigative reporter, Dr. Daniel is the author of two books, The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food and Nourishing Broth: An Old-Fashioned Remedy for the Modern World (co-written with Sally Fallon Morell, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation). In 2005, Dr. Daniel was the recipient of the Weston A. Price Foundation’s Integrity in Science Award.

Rebuttals to Dr. Daniel’s Report

There have been a number of rebuttals and responses published that criticize Dr. Daniel’s report, including WAPF and Green Pasture Products:

The Weston A. Price Foundation Official Response
Response from Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D.
Fermented Cod Liver Oil Label Clarification (Green Pasture Products)
What Do the Scientists Say? (Green Pasture Products)

Oceana’s One Name, One Fish Campaign

Oceana Report, One Name, One Fish: Why Seafood Names Matter (see video below)

Check Back Tomorrow for More Videos

This is the first in a series of video interviews about the potential hazards of fermented cod liver oil.

Check back tomorrow for the next video, my interview with Dr. Ron Schmid, naturopathic doctor, longtime WAPF member and sponsor and author of two books, The Untold Story of Milk and Primal Nutrition, who tells why he believes fermented cod liver oil was the cause of his advanced heart disease that he “miraculously reversed” when he got off the FCLO.

Read More About The FCLO Scandal

To learn more about the history of the FCLO scandal and get my take on it, please read my post, My Take on the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal.

Share Your Comments

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

This is the second video in the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal interview series.

In 2012, Dr. Ron Schmid was hospitalized for advanced congestive heart failure and given 3-6 months to live. In this video, he explains why he believes it was the fermented cod liver oil he had been taking that caused his heart failure.

Dr. Ron says it was Dr. Kaayla Daniel, former WAPF Vice President and whistleblower that gave him the courage to tell his story. In August, 2015, Dr. Daniel published a report with the data from 5 independent labs that show that the fermented cod liver oil is rancid, contains trans fats, and is made from pollock.

Dr. Ron and Dr. Kaayla have since been ostracized by the Weston A. Price Foundation and attacked by many in the organization for coming forward with this information.

Click here to download Dr. Daniel’s free report: Hook, Line & Stinker: Hook, Line and Stinker!: The Truth About Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: Video Interview with Dr. Ron Schmid

Show Notes

Dr. Ron Schmid’s Bio

Dr. Ron Schmid is a naturopathic physician, owner of a supplement company, Dr. Ron’s Ultra-Pure, and the author of two books, The Untold Story of Milk and Primal Nutrition: Paleolithic and Ancestral Diets for Optimal Health. He was also a longtime member, sponsor and honorary board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation, which actively endorses the Green Pasture Products fermented cod liver oil.

Check Back Tomorrow for Another Video in the Series

This is the second in a series of video interviews about the potential hazards of fermented cod liver oil.

Click here to watch yesterday’s video interview with whistleblower, Dr. Kaayla Daniel.

Check back tomorrow for the next video, my interview with Cathy Raymond, longtime WAPF member and staff member of WAPF and FTCLDF. Cathy shows her shocking before and after pictures of a head-to-toe skin rash. She was rushed to the emergency room and the dermatologist told her the rash was caused by the fermented cod liver oil she was taking. Cathy also tells the shame she felt when she was pushed out of the Weston A. Price Foundation after she spoke up to try to include more Paleo members.

Read More About The FCLO Scandal

To learn more about the history of the FCLO scandal and get my take on it, please read my post, My Take on the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal.

Share Your Comments

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

This is the third video in the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal interview series.

Cathy Raymond has worked behind the scenes at the Weston A. Price Foundation and Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund for a decade.

This past winter, after being shunned by the Weston A. Price Foundation, Cathy Raymond lost her job and ended up homeless. She developed a bright red skin rash that ultimately spread from head to toe. In today’s video, Cathy tells how after she quit taking fermented cod liver oil, her rash “miraculously” disappeared. Not only that, but she effortlessly dropped 35 pounds in 3 months.

Click here to download Dr. Daniel’s free report: Hook, Line & Stinker: Hook, Line and Stinker!: The Truth About Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Can’t Watch the Whole Video Right Now But Dying to Know What Happens?

Here are the Cliff Notes:

1. Skip to 14:30 in the video to see the pictures of Cathy’s horrible skin rash.

2. Skip to 43:45 to find out how Cathy ended it up homeless after she lost her job at WAPF/FTCLDF. You’ll be shocked when you find out why Cathy was pushed out… I’ll give you a hint. It starts with a “P”.

3. Oh, and it turns out, cutting out the FCLO might be a new weight loss diet. Skip to 30:00 in the video to hear how Cathy lost 36 pounds in 3 months by doing one simple thing — throwing the FCLO into the trash can.

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: Video Interview with Cathy Raymond

Show Notes

Cathy Raymond

Cathy Raymond, MS received her degrees from Auburn University in fiber arts and fashion merchandising. Early in her eclectic career, she led the continuing medical education department at a large nonprofit hospital system, conducting thousands of educational activities a year. Until, that is, alternative medicine healed a long standing health problem, exacerbated in part by conventional medicine.

No longer able to support the conventional medical model, Cathy explored alternative healing methods including becoming a Reiki Master. Next, she explored the healing power of emotional release and mindset upleveling – coaching clients in EFT, BSSF and TAT. Nutrition was her next field of interest, and she ran the outreach efforts at Weston a Price Foundation where she was tapped to start up the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

Her work at the FTCLDF as early administrator, and later, fundraiser culminated at the Vernon Hershberger trial wherein she finally got to see the fruits of their efforts provide substantial relief to a courageous raw milk farmer and his community. It was one of the weeks of her life, right there next to being the mother of two astonishingly brilliant sons, who, wiser than their mother, hated getting FCLO in their stocking at Christmas. Go figure.

Check Back Tomorrow for Another Video in the Series

This is the third in a series of video interviews about the potential hazards of fermented cod liver oil.

Check back tomorrow for tomorrow’s video!

Read More About The FCLO Scandal

To learn more about the history of the FCLO scandal and get my take on it, please read my post, My Take on the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal.

Share Your Comments

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

This is the fourth video in the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal interview series.

Archie Welch as been a member of the Weston A. Price Foundation and Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund for a decade. In recent years, Archie has worked with fellow WAPF member, Dan Corrigan as a partner in the company, Corganic which was founded to help provide nourishing foods and supplements to people who need them, especially children on the autistic spectrum. Corganic sold fermented cod liver oil for a short period of time (about 8 months) but when they got too many complaints from their customer base largely comprised of “canaries in the coal mine,” they stopped selling the Green Pasture products.

People on the spectrum are greatly helped by cod liver oil, so they wanted to find another form that they could sell. In the process of looking for an alternative, Archie did extensive research on the history of cod liver oil and published a pamphlet which he distributed at the WAPF conference in 2012. The information in that pamphlet is now published on their website.

Archie’s wife, Dee died in childbirth with their son Jack in 2008 of a pulmonary embolism. It turns out that Dee was “religiously” taking fermented cod liver oil before she died. Archie said he never suspected a connection until more information came to light just within the past year. Archie tells their heart-breaking story in this intimate video.

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: Video Interview with Archie Welch

Show Notes

Read more about Archie Welch and his history with the WAPF here.

Click here to download Dr. Daniel’s free report: Hook, Line & Stinker: Hook, Line and Stinker!: The Truth About Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Check Back Tomorrow for Another Video in the Series

This is the fourth in a series of video interviews about the potential hazards of fermented cod liver oil.

Check back tomorrow for tomorrow’s video!

Read More About The FCLO Scandal

To learn more about the history of the FCLO scandal and get my take on it, please read my post, My Take on the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal.

Share Your Comments

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

This is the fifth video in the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal interview series.

David Gumpert is a journalist, author of The Complete Patient blog, and the author of three books, The Raw Milk Revolution; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Food Rights; and The Raw Milk Answer Book.

In this video, we talk about the FCLO scandal and “WAPFGATE”. David expresses concerns about how the Weston A. Price Foundation has reacted to the scandal and how he has been attacked and criticized. In fact, WAPF chapter leaders have been “excommunicated” by Sally Fallon Morell for linking to David’s blog. David also shares that some WAPF chapter leaders will be attending the conference at the new PPPF organization.

Check out David’s blog (especially the juicy comments), The Complete Patient here: http://davidgumpert.com/blog

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: Video Interview with David Gumpert

Show Notes

Nourished and Nurtured original blog post about FCLO, published in January, 2013

David Gumpert’s blog post about Green Pasture & Corganic published in October, 2014

Click here to download Dr. Daniel’s free report: Hook, Line & Stinker: Hook, Line and Stinker!: The Truth About Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Check Back Tomorrow for Another Video in the Series

This is the fifth in a series of video interviews about the potential hazards of fermented cod liver oil.

Check back tomorrow for tomorrow’s video! I’ll be talking with Steve Tallent, owner of Beeyoutiful and longtime WAPF member and sponsor. They pulled out of sponsoring this year’s WAPF conference in Anaheim and have published articles on their website criticizing WAPF and GPP. They also recently stopped selling Green Pasture Products in their online store.

Tomorrow Steve and I discuss his concerns with the Green Pastures’ fermented cod liver oil, from sourcing to production processes to labeling. He also challenges Chris Masterjohn’s rebuttal.

Read More About The FCLO Scandal

To learn more about the history of the FCLO scandal and get my take on it, please read my post, My Take on the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal.

Share Your Comments

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

This is the sixth video in the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal interview series.

Steve Tallent (with his wife, Stephanie) is the co-owner of Beeyoutiful.com, an online store that sells supplements and personal care products. Steve and Stephanie have been members of the Weston A. Price Foundation for several years, as well as sponsors of the annual conference.

This year, after Dr. Kaalya Daniel’s report on fermented cod liver oil came out, Steve and Stephanie decided to pull out as sponsors of the WAPF annual conference in Anaheim happening next month. Not only that, but they have since stopped selling Green Pasture products on their website.

Steve has been very vocal online about his concerns with Green Pastures’ FCLO. In this video, he discusses his problems with the company, mainly due to their lack of transparency, which includes issues with sourcing and labeling. He talks about what it means to be a “Full Disclosure company,” which Beeyoutiful is (and Green Pasture, clearly, is not.)

Steve also addresses the Chris Masterjohn rebuttal to Dr. Daniel’s report.

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: Video Interview with Steve Tallent of Beeyoutiful

Show Notes

Beeyoutiful’s First Response to the FCLO Controversy

Beeyoutiful’s Second Response to the FCLO Controversy

Chris Masterjohn Rebuttal to Dr. Daniel’s Report

Click here to download Dr. Daniel’s free report: Hook, Line & Stinker: Hook, Line and Stinker!: The Truth About Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Check Back Tomorrow for Another Video in the Series

This is the sixth in a series of video interviews about the potential hazards of fermented cod liver oil.

Check back tomorrow for tomorrow’s video! I’ll be talking with Dr. Rudi Moerck, one of the world’s leading experts on fish oil and omega 3 fats. You will be shocked at what he has to say about Green Pastures and fermented cod liver oil.

Read More About The FCLO Scandal

To learn more about the history of the FCLO scandal and get my take on it, please read my post, My Take on the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal.

Share Your Comments

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

This is the seventh video in the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal interview series.

Dr. Rudi Moerck, President and CEO of nutraceutical company, Valensa International. Dr. Moerck holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry and is one of the world’s leading experts on marine oils and omega 3 fats (scroll down for his bio).

He joins us today to talk to us about the history of fermented cod liver oil. He explains how cod liver oil was traditionally made in barrels in rural communities in Norway. He answers the question, “Is this method of production safe?”

Dr. Rudi explains the health hazards of rancid oil, including cancer and heart disease. He outlines what causes fish oils and other PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids) to oxidize or go rancid. He talks about what it would take to use the “old method” of fermenting cod livers to make cod liver oil in a safe way that would prevent rancidity and produce a product that is safe for human consumption.

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: Video Interview with Dr. Rudi Moerck

About Dr. Rudi Moerck

Dr. Rudi Moerck is the President and CEO of Valensa International, a nutraceutical company which he has run for almost a decade. Prior to that, Dr. Moerck worked for pharmaceutical companies and chemical companies for over 30 years. He holds a B.S. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry.

Dr. Rudi Moerck’s resume on Linked In

Click here to download Dr. Daniel’s free report: Hook, Line & Stinker: Hook, Line and Stinker!: The Truth About Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Questionable Information on the Green Pasture Products FAQ Page

I’ve spent some time looking at the Green Pasture Products FAQ page. I noticed some interesting things, and some changes to the page that occurred after Dr. Kaayla Daniel’s whistleblower report was published in late August, 2015.

Here are some things I observed on the Green Pastures FAQ (with some comparisons to their old FAQ, and other cod liver oil companies’ FAQ pages (note: click on the images below to increase the size of the images):

1. “Solar Activation” or Exposure to Sunlight

Prior to Kaayla Daniel’s whistleblower report, the Green Pasture FAQ page said that they exposed their cod liver oil to sunlight.

Quote:

Do you solar activate your oils as Dr. Price did early in the 20th century?

We solar activate all our products as Dr Weston A Price did. Solar activation is simply exposing the product to the sun. Our Plant is a solar plant and we ensure that all our oils are exposed the the sun, moon and stars.

Source: Green Pasture Products FAQ Page from August 9, 2015 (viewable via the Wayback Machine, or archive.org)

Some time after the report was published (published on Aug. 23, 2015), the Green Pasture FAQ page was changed to say that they do NOT expose their oil to sunlight.

Do you solar activate your oils as Dr. Price did early in the 20th century?

Our plant is exposed the sun but this does not equate to solar activation as Dr. Price discusses. Dr. Price had a specific protocol and definition for the term solar activation and it does not occur unless uv rays are directly exposed to the products. In our plant the products are not exposed to solar uv.

Source: Green Pasture Products FAQ Page Today

I find this very suspicious. Why change the FAQ? Is the oil exposed to sunlight or not? As Dr. Rudi explains in the video interview, (paraphrase) “if the oil is exposed to sunlight, it is definitely rancid”.

We need David Wetzel to shed some light (pardon the pun) on this and show us how his oil is produced. Is the oil exposed to the “sun, moon and stars” as he has said on his website for nearly a decade, or is it not?

2. No Antioxidants Added

Green Pastures says they don’t add an antioxidant. They say they used to, but then they stopped. As you will hear in the video interview with Dr. Moerck, he says adding an antioxidant slows the PUFA from going rancid. This is a common practice to help protect fish oils from rancidity.

Archie Welch also said in his video interview that Rosita does add an antioxidant to their EVCLO cod liver oil. Many other companies do this as well, such as Nordic Naturals.

Here is what Nordic Naturals says on their FAQ about why they add antioxidants to their cod liver oil:

Here is what Rosita/Corganic says on their FAQ about their EVCLO:

Here is the explanation on the Green Pastures FAQ as to why they do not add antioxidants to the FCLO:

If you read what Wetzel says, he claims:

Studied stability of the product through peroxide study. The product is stable. Zero Benefit to added anti-oxidants

If he is talking about the rancidity markers in the lab tests, this makes sense. Dr. Rudi explained in the video, just as Dr. Kaayla Daniel did in her report, that the rancidity markers go up when the oil first starts to go rancid, and then, as it becomes more rancid, those numbers actually go down. So in that case, he wouldn’t have seen a change in the markers.

3. How to Store Fermented Cod Liver Oil

In the video, I told Dr. Rudi that Dave Wetzel told me that I could store the FCLO in my cupboard (no refrigeration necessary) for 6 months to a year.

Dr. Rudi said the notion of storing cod liver oil in the cupboard is “ridiculous” and said it should always be refrigerated, and it will stay fresh in the fridge for a limited amount of time. This is what it says on the FAQs of other cod liver oil and fish oil companies as well. Refrigeration slows oxidation or rancidity.

On the Green Pastures FAQ, it says:

How do I store cod liver oil?

Refrigerate, cupboard or freezer. Some lots become solid when at refrigerated temperatures.

Cupboard. And no information about how long it lasts.

4. Dosage Recommendations

There is a video featuring WAPF board member, Sarah Pope of The Healthy Home Economist blog on the Green Pasture FAQ page. In Sarah’s video, she says that she takes 1 teaspoon of the FCLO using “the big spoon”.

She says most people think this is a tablespoon, but it’s actually a teaspoon. In fact, that is a tablespoon. I measured a few different sets of flatware and the bigger spoon always measured one tablespoon. It is the smaller spoon that is a teaspoon.

So Sarah Pope, if she’s following her own advice, has been taking one tablespoon daily for a long time.

I bring this up because when Sarah blogged about her reaction to Dr. Kaayla Daniel’s whistle blower report back in August, she blamed Dr. Ron Schmid for “extreme behavior” and “poor judgement”.

Quote:

Such extreme behavior that few if any medical doctors would recommend is not the fault of a product, but rather the fault and poor judgment of the individual taking it. It also indicates a potential lack of objectivity in the report that is concerning.

This was later repeated in the official WAPF statement from Sally Fallon Morell:

This is very disingenuous on the part of the Weston A. Price Foundation, since their website also recommended up to 2 TABLESPOONS per day until… yep, you guessed it. They removed that page after the whistle blower report came out.

Weston A. Price Foundation cod liver oil page before the report (via archive.org):

Weston A. Price Foundation cod liver oil page after the report:

Whoops! Page not found.

Is this suspicious to anyone else? They blamed Dr. Ron’s heart disease on the fact that he “took too much” — and yet they themselves were recommending up to 2 tablespoons up until the report came out.

Just an error, you say? Maybe it was just that one page that had a typo? Unlikely, because I have heard from many, many people that they were told they could take up to 1-3 tablespoons per day by the WAPF.

To the WAPF, I say, if you made a mistake, own it. Don’t just take the web page down and then blame someone who nearly died after following your recommendations. This makes me very angry, and I think we should all be outraged.

Check Back Tomorrow for Another Video in the Series

This is the seventh in a series of video interviews about the potential hazards of fermented cod liver oil.

Check back tomorrow for tomorrow’s video!

Read More About The FCLO Scandal

To learn more about the history of the FCLO scandal and get my take on it, please read my post, My Take on the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal.

Share Your Comments

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

Just a quick video with an update on the fermented cod liver oil scandal. More adverse health reactions are being reported every day. Just today I spoke to two friends. One said her husband was taking the FCLO and was diagnosed with cancer. The other, a very prominent figure in the WAPF community, reported FIVE people she knew of who were taking FCLO who all almost died from heart attack, cancer, and pulmonary embolism.

I also posted a slew of adverse health reactions here on my blog: Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: Many FCLO Customers Report Health Problems

We don’t know that the FCLO is causing these health problems. But isn’t it strange that in this community of people who eat a very clean, organic, Weston Price diet, so many are getting sick? What is causing this? Is it just a coincidence? Or is it possible that Dr. Kaayla Daniel’s report was on to something?

It’s possible that there is nothing wrong with the FCLO… but what if there is? What if people are getting sick from it? Isn’t this something we need to look into?

Let me put it this way… many of us drink raw milk in this community. If there was a raw milk farmer who was not being transparent with his or her practices… and what if if people were reporting adverse health reactions when drinking this farmer’s milk, wouldn’t we all be up in arms? Wouldn’t we all want the farmer to do the right thing and protect people from an unsafe food product?

Gosh, guys, this is common sense to me. I don’t understand why we are protecting Green Pasture the way we are. If people are reporting possible illnesses, this is SERIOUS and action needs to be taken.

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal: How You Can Help

Many, many people are staying silent, sitting on the sidelines. And I understand why. It’s not easy to stick your neck out and risk being attacked and ridiculed. It’s “political”. I get it. Believe me, I know how hard it is.

That said, I know there are a LOT of people who are very concerned, because these posts are being shared by hundreds of people. If you weren’t concerned, you would not be sharing.

Right now there is a small group of us who are being very vocal, standing up and asking questions. And the rest are quietly watching.

And for those of us who are being vocal, it’s HARD. I’m exhausted and actually starting to get sick. Hey, I’m not complaining — and I WILL keep going. But it’s not right for a small number of us to be shouldering the burden. We need our tribe members to stand up and speak out.

We desperately need to hear YOUR voices. Whether you believe you have had an adverse health reaction to FCLO, or you know someone who has, or you are just worried and concerned like me… Please. Don’t stay silent. Speak out.

You might just be saving someone’s life. It could be a baby or a young child. Or somebody’s mommy or daddy or husband or wife.

Here are some things you can do to stand up and make a difference.

1. Report Your Adverse Health Reaction to the FDA

If you believe you have had an adverse reaction to fermented cod liver oil, you can report it to the FDA.

Especially those of you who were hospitalized and/or have lab tests.

If the FDA gets enough of these adverse reactions, they will take action and investigate. If the product is not safe, they will take action to protect consumers.

Look, guys, I know we don’t want to have to report someone to the FDA. Not one but THREE companies have stopped selling this product due to customer complaints and possible adverse health reactions.

If people are getting sick and the manufacturer is NOT listening to the complaints, something MUST be done.

2. Post Your Story on Yelp

If you don’t want to report your adverse the FDA, why not set up a Yelp page for Green Pasture Products and let people leave comments there? Anyone can do it. It’s easy to set up a page for a business, and then people can leave their reports there. The business owner cannot delete the feedback.

If someone wants to initiate this, please comment below.

3. Post Your Review on Amazon

Green Pasture customers can also leave reports of adverse health reactions on Amazon. Again, these reviews will not be deleted. Just search for Green Pasture Products on Amazon and share your stories.

4. Share Your Stories with Me

Share your stories on my blog post in the comments or email me at annmarie @ village green network dot com. If you want to remain anonymous, I will not use your name.

5. Share These Posts and Videos

Please share on Facebook and via email. Tell your friends and family. Help us spread the word to people who may not know about this.

6. Got Other Ideas? Share in the Comments

What other ideas do you have? Please share your ideas in the comments.

Thank You

Thanks, everyone!

I’m gonna keep hanging in there and you can expect the next video in the next day or two.

Thanks to everyone who is texting and emailing and “liking” on Facebook. Your support means so very much to me and to the other amigos.

Hugs to everyone out there in our global tribe.

I wanted to write an update on the fermented cod liver oil scandal and WAPF-Gate. I posted a whole series of articles and videos on my blog last fall. Here’s the first post I wrote: My Take on the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Scandal (there are several more that I wrote after that.)

One of my readers sent me a link to this article by Jaclyn Harwell on her blog, The Family That Heals Together: The Weston A. Price Foundation Vindicated Kaayla Daniel in the Fermented Cod Liver Oil Controversy.

It’s worth reading. The author makes some interesting points.

I especially like the timeline in the post that clearly illustrates how the whole thing went down. Click over to the post to see the timeline.

The timeline shows:

• In 2014, Dr. Kaayla Daniel, former Vice President of the Weston Price Foundation (WAPF), requested that the WAPF board do independent testing of the Green Pasture brand fermented cod liver oil (FCLO). The WAPF had always published Green Pastures’ testing data and had never done independent testing.
• The WAPF board voted no on the independent testing. Keep in mind, the WAPF board is appointed, not elected. All members are appointed by WAPF President, Sally Fallon.
• In 2015, Dr. Kaayla Daniel sent the products out for independent testing and published her “whistleblower report” in August, 2015 (one year ago). Daniel was promptly removed from the WAPF board.
• In November 2015, WAPF finally does independent testing of the FCLO (after heavily promoting it for over a decade). The results were very close the independent test results in Dr. Kaayla’s whistleblower report.
• As of August 2016, the Weston Price Foundation and Green Pasture Products still have not updated their websites with the data from the independent test results WAPF published almost a year ago.

Again, please click over to Jaclyn’s website to get a visual of the timeline. It’s very well done.

My Take On All Of This

I am disgusted by the lack of integrity we have seen from both the Weston A. Price Foundation and Green Pasture Products. These two organizations have worked in tandem over a decade to promote a product, FCLO, that is very questionable in terms of safety.

The mislabeling of the nutritional value and the ingredients is one thing… but the potential rancidity of the product is a much bigger issue.

Is Fermented Cod Liver Oil Rancid?

To this day I cannot understand how this “FCLO” (or perhaps it should be called FPLO since the reports found they were using pollack as opposed to cod) is not rancid.

All the fish oil experts I interviewed (and I spoke to three different people, but I only posted one of the interviews on my blog) said that fish oil goes rancid and becomes toxic when it is exposed to light, air, and heat.

This is why fish oil manufacturers go to great lengths to protect these delicate oils from exposure to light, air, and heat. This is also why fish oil manufacturers recommend on their websites that you should store fish oil in the refrigerator after opening. Because when you open the bottle, the oil is exposed to air. Storing it in the fridge helps to slow down the rancidity. Rancidity is inevitable with all marine oils which is why they recommend that you store it in the fridge and buy it in small bottles and use it quickly within a matter of a couple months.

But we have yet to hear how Green Pasture Products’ fermented cod liver oil is processed. The owner, Dave Wetzel, has gone on record repeatedly saying that the FCLO is exposed to light and air. He has also never come forward to explain how he processes the oil.

I emailed Dave Wetzel and Sally Fallon asking for more information last year. Neither one of them ever wrote back. If the manufacturing process at Green Pasture Products does not expose the oil to light, air, and heat, why hasn’t Dave Wetzel, in almost a year, come forward in the spirit of transparency to share what his processes are? We have no information from him about how he protects this oil from rancidity.

When I compare that to the interviews I’ve done with three different sources, all three people who are very involved in fish oil manufacturing… they spoke at great length and in great detail about how they protect their marine oils from exposure to light, air, and heat, from boat to bottle and capsule. They have many processes that protect the oil, such as manufacturing plants with dim lighting and processes to remove the air from the bottle when they package it.

But here it is, almost a year later, and we haven’t heard a peep from David Wetzel or Sally Fallon about how he is manufacturing this oil.

Brushing Off Heart Disease By Claiming It Was the Dosage

On the WAPF website, Sally Fallon wrote last year that “IF” Dr. Ron Schmid’s heart disease was caused by taking cod liver oil, it was because he took “too much”. She says that the WAPF recommendations are to take 1 teaspoon per day.

Here is what Fallon wrote on the WAPF website:

However, on the Green Pasture Products FAQ page, under the part about how much we should take, there is a video of Sarah Pope, WAPF board member and author of The Healthy Home Economist blog, recommending that people take 1 teaspoon of FCLO per day.

In the video, Sarah Pope says, “A large spoon is a teaspoon, believe it or not. It’s not a tablespoon.”

Except the spoon she holds up is a tablespoon, not a teaspoon.

Here’s the video (it’s set to start playing when she holds up the tablespoon):

Last year, after I rewatched Sarah’s video, I measured a number of large spoons from various flatware settings. All measured a tablespoon, not a teaspoon. I guess Sarah did not actually measure it?

So Sarah Pope, by her own admission, has (unwittingly) been taking 1 tablespoon of FCLO for years… and Sally Fallon said on the WAPF website that could cause heart disease.

Let that sink in.

Can you trust these people?

More Misinformation

And that’s not the only misinformation they have published… you can still find gems like these on the WAPF website:

According to a recent WAPF-funded analysis by UBE Laboratories, fish eggs contain 17,000 IU vitamin D per tablespoon!

17,000? Really?

According to the USDA, salmon roe, or caviar, has 19 IU of vitamin D.

Um… that’s kind of a HUGE difference. Just to give you an idea of how outrageous this is, one 3-ounce salmon filet contains 447 IU of vitamin D.

You would have to eat 38 servings of salmon to get 17,000 IU of vitamin D. That’s over SEVEN pounds of salmon! How is it possible that one tablespoon of salmon roe has the same amount of vitamin D?

Sadly, when you google “salmon roe vitamin D”, the number one search result is WAPF board member, Sarah Pope’s article, Fish Eggs: Superior Vitamin D Boost in which she repeats that same number, 17,000 IU in a tablespoon of fish eggs. There are even commenters questioning her on the post… but she just says it’s from a study WAPF did.

This incorrect information has been published on multiple websites, all parroting the same number: Nourishing Our Children, Real Food Forager, The Coconut Mama, Holistic Squid and others.

Integrity Matters

For all of these reasons, I continue to be suspicious of Green Pasture Products and WAPF, as I think we all should be.

I’m also disappointed in most of the bloggers in the WAPF community who have not questioned or reported on this scandal. The same bloggers who promoted FCLO for years have been silent throughout this whole scandal. The ones who have not been silent continue to promote FCLO.

For all of the reasons above, as I relaunch Cheeseslave, I am in the process of removing all links to the Weston Price Foundation from my website. As much as I appreciate what I learned from “Nourishing Traditions” and Sally Fallon, and as grateful as I am for all the connections and community that I built from the WAPF, I feel that this lack of integrity is egregious and I can no longer trust anything they say or publish.

My integrity is everything. If my readers cannot trust what I publish, there is no reason for you to read my blog. I cannot link to a website run by an organization that refuses to act in a responsible way.

It’s very sad to me when people don’t take responsibility for their actions. I guess many people are making money off of the current setup, so they don’t want to speak out. And maybe they don’t want to “rock the boat” or “burn bridges”.

I think what Kaayla did by publishing her whistleblower report, and the people who supported her, showed a lot of integrity. It’s never easy to be the one pointing things people don’t want to hear. It’s never easy to stand out. But oftentimes that is what has to be done in order to make the world a better place.

Thank you to Jacklyn who wrote the post over at The Family That Heals Together. I’m grateful that you took the time to inform us and I am grateful for your display of integrity.