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The Latest Bio-Piracy: Big Pharma Co-Opts Ancient Flower That Heals 96% Of All Diabetics

 

When pharmaceutical companies can’t recreate mother nature’s astounding healing abilities, they simply co-opt them. Of course, they do this so that they can patent a drug, when a real plant is freely available to the world in a non-pharmaceutical form, to make billions off of their ‘invention.’ Big Pharma’s latest attempt to profit from the offerings of the natural world comes in the form of an ancient flower. This stocky, furry-stemmed plant with yellow buds has been found to practically cure diabetes Type 2. Does the modern medical establishment promote the use of the whole flower? Nope. They can’t make any money off of that remedy. Instead they eagerly take it to a lab and start trying to mimic its ‘active’ compounds and isolate them.

Israeli scientists conducted studies on Chiliadenus iphionoides, also known as sharp varthemia. Dr. Jonathan Gorelick of the Judea Research and Development Center recently presented the published findings at a conference. They concluded that, “Chiliadenus iphionoides exhibits considerable anti-diabetic activity, although the mechanism of action remains to be determined.”

This is the rub. Scientists often can’t figure out exactly how a plant does its magical, miraculous healing, so they dissect it to bits, and create a drug. The problem is that the isolated phytoactive compounds are often either chemically reproduced, or they simply don’t account for the synergistic way that multiple plant compounds and phytonutrients work together to make a plant’s medicine efficacious.

Though scientists who studied sharp varthemia discovered the flower worked on both cellular and animal models to help control blood sugar – the researchers admit they don’t know exactly how this is possible. That didn’t stop Big Pharma from jumping on the findings to try to recreate a marketable drug.

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Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.