A Little Off Topic.....FDA Inaction Leads To Dire Consequences

[kmall]

As we all bare witness to the mass extinction of creatures on this planet, which eventually will lead to ourselves unless drastic action isn't taken by all nations around the globe, I found this article of interest since the FDA has the ability of approving a synthetic alternative for Limulus Amebocyte Lysate or Horseshoe Crab blood. Europe has already green lighted the synthetic version, and companies like Eli Lilly and Roche have/are making the conscious decision to use this alternative and terminate the harvesting of Horseshoe Crabs which in turn effects a vast number of other species, birds in particular, who are reliant on their eggs as a food source. Shame on the FDA for not taking immediate action on something that seems blatantly obvious in this day and age where everything we can do to help stop the destruction of life can hopefully help turn the tide and sustain our world before it's to late. -Kmall

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/10/11807614 ... accountabi

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/h ... story.html

[kmall]

And the debate rages on.

Meanwhile the FDA can approve a synthetic alternative. The EU has.

If you live in the Northeast and frequent the shoreline then you've noticed the steep decline as I have. Big Pharma needs to step up and stop supporting this inhumane practice which threatens several bird species as well as the horseshoe crab itself. -Kmall

https://fortune.com/2023/07/31/horsesho ... otics/amp/

[biopearl123]

Kmall, I never knew any of this. Thank you for teaching. I want to think about it for a few days. Many important points. We take the gifts of nature for granted while slowly (and not so slowly) killing it.

[kmall]

Bp - I remember as a kid visiting my grandparents on the north shore of Long Island, we would go to the beach and there would be hundreds of horseshoe crabs. Now you barely see them anymore. My wife and I did discover a spot while kayaking many years ago in that area where quite a number were congregating. It was June, I believe and it appeared they may have been spawning. We noticed many with tags, with a website from the FWS to record any you may find. On numerous occasions over the next 2 or 3 years going out there, we would photograph and submit any tag numbers we could. A great program and easy for the average person to try and be a part of a solution towards conservation.

https://www.fws.gov/crabtag/

Flash forward to the summer of 2000 and we end up in the Chesapeake in Cape Charles, VA getting hauled out and working on a saildrive. A stones throw away down the road was a nature reserve with a trail leading to the beach. Turns out that a majority of the land and the boardwalk trail was donated and maintained by the Fuji Film Company. They have a "lab" there in the middle of the woods, not far from the docks. Anyway, never a car in the parking lot, and the landscaping is kept up like a full functioning facility would be. We've been back on several occasions, and it's still the same. I've yet to see a car there during the day.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Job ... I7OqV5032k

Obviously the harvesting of horseshoe blood is big business. Reading one of those articles it mentions Fuji Film in MD. Point is, that several Big Pharma are moving away from using horseshoe blood as it is not sustainable and there's a synthetic alternative which has been proven just as effective. The FDA drags it's feet while horseshoe crab numbers plummet as well as the migratory shore birds who depend on their eggs as a food source. It's a cycle, and we as humans need to stop for a second and take a good look at what we're doing to this planet on numerous levels. Big Pharma here in the good old USA should step up to the plate and be a champion for these animals without a voice. It needs to stop. The EMA made the conscious decision to do so years ago. Seems like a no brainier to me? -Kmall

[biopearl123]

Kmall, so right. All we have to do is look around. Not that hard to tell, the future is. For example we saw Nvida as gaming was taking off (and now AI), Apple when wireless communication was taking off, Tesla when e cars were taking off, Intuitive Surgical when robotic surgery was taking off. Maybe, future Geron treatments for MPD?). All we had to do was look around and see something obvious and do something. You have a sharp eye for the littoral zone as a life long student of the sea and shore, and see big changes. As for everyone else all we have to do is look at a thermometer, but do we actually see into the future? Will we all look back and say we should have seen it and done something? (By the way I never knew that horseshoe blood was blue—it’s kind of fascinating and sickening at the same time.). Yes, the FDA should do their part in anyway they can. So much inhumane thoughtless stuff out there (remember when some company was shooting monkeys in the face to test ballistics and facial trauma?—that’s not a conspiracy theory, by the way.) The responsibilities of the FDA and small and large pharma, and the way they do business is definitely fair game for this board. Best Regards, bp

[Ryan]

I’m disgusted by the plight of the horseshoe crab. Over 400 Million years they have existed on this earth, and humankind is driving them to extinction in a about 50.

As we all bare witness to the mass extinction of creatures on this planet, which eventually will lead to ourselves unless drastic action isn't taken by all nations around the globe, I found this article of interest since the FDA has the ability of approving a synthetic alternative for Limulus Amebocyte Lysate or Horseshoe Crab blood. Europe has already green lighted the synthetic version, and companies like Eli Lilly and Roche have/are making the conscious decision to use this alternative and terminate the harvesting of Horseshoe Crabs which in turn effects a vast number of other species, birds in particular, who are reliant on their eggs as a food source. Shame on the FDA for not taking immediate action on something that seems blatantly obvious in this day and age where everything we can do to help stop the destruction of life can hopefully help turn the tide and sustain our world before it's to late. -Kmall

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/10/11807614 ... accountabi

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/h ... story.html

[kmall]

Ryan - It's crazy that this is even an issue. There's an effective synthetic version. The FDA, FWS, WWF, EPA and every other agency that is involved or can help, needs to step up and stop this. It's barbaric, it's unnecessary and it's threatening multiple species. It's totally shameful that this continues to this day and is even a topic for discussion! -Kmall

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/11899645 ... untability