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Traditional, or Alternative Medicine is being sought out more
than ever before in the Western world. A billion dollar industry which
is giving the allopathic doctors some serious competition is being
"legitimized" through science at every turn. The pharmaceutical
industry has not turned a blind eye to the moneymaker. Common
over-the-counter drugs now boast their improved versions containing
"natural" elements. Perhaps this is because of the widespread belief
that allopathic or Western medicine is failing. Due to high costs,
impersonal and often unsuccessful treatment, HMOs and the illusion that
the medical community is blind to this reality, if not even part of the
problem, patients are growing ever more impatient.
Advancing human health by improving the environment is the focus of
ecological medicine. Special interests, hazardous chemicals and general
degradation of our habitat have altered the human condition. Some
scientists believe that the only reasonable solution for the future of
human health is to improve the environment and preserve our botanical
resources. Carolyn Raffensperger, director of the Science and
Environmental Health Network (SEHN) explains, a "truly holistic
medicine extends beyond the mind-body connection to the human-planet
whole." The increase in interest in Traditional
Medicine in the West, however, has had a tremendous impact on
biological resources and diversity. Biopiracy, the theft of biological
and genetic resources indigenous to a country, is the term coined to
describe the efforts of pharmaceutical companies who are trying to cash
in on our demand for alternatives. Deforestation and serious
exploitation of the Himalayan region is a serious issue, not to mention
the damage done to the rain forest and coral reefs.
Our responsibility is to care for the Earth, to do all that we can to
preserve her resources. We need to be conscious of the products we buy,
as well as, to support ethical wild crafting. It is through our own
efforts that we will protect the Earth from ourselves. Tee L Guidott,
MD, MPH, FRCPC, CCBOM said, "The earth is no longer a self-correcting
natural system; the planet now requires human intervention to stabilize
its most basic functions and to reconstruct the degraded systems on
which life ultimately depends."
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