Fuelling change
by David W. Morris
David Morris is a leading figure in the disability movement and works as a policy adviser to the Mayor of London. In a personal capacity he has always been interested in alternative approaches to medical orthodoxy.
Over the last few months colostrum has become an integral part of my life. Six months ago I had no idea it existed or maybe only some slight peripheral knowledge. I still feel slightly peculiar when I get evangelical about a dairy product, but my life is like that sometimes. It is worth saying a few things to give you a context about me. My driving force is for equality and justice. I am a radical by nature, a pragmatist by experience, a humanist by instinct and an anti-dogmatist in principle. I'm instinctively inquisitive, open to new ideas and always looking at the alternative. We need alternatives to make change. Many of our existing structures are destructive, unsustainable, unworkable and inherently unfair. As a disabled person I face the consequences of society that excludes most of the time and my work is about changing this, challenging stereotypes, asking questions about fixed thinking and providing a counterpoise to that boring mundaneness of normality. My impairment means that I have very limited muscle functions, have problems with energy and stamina and am prone to infection from time to time; particularly respiratory infection. I also have ongoing issues with stress which affects my skin. On top of this I have a punishing work and social schedule. I am a full-time electric wheelchair user and need assistance with most things. This is part of my self and part of my life and I'm part of society's beautiful matrix of difference. I avoid the medical profession like the plague usually. They view me as something broken and in need of fixing. As a child I went through a process of being categorised and labelled, involving lots of prodding and poking and attempts to medically intervene which have left me scarred and wary about drugs and doctors. I'm also wary of the idea of scientific truth and sceptical about the pharmaceutical industry. I am however interested in alternatives and I'm very open to the power of ourselves to bring about change and sometimes use homoeopathy and reflexology.
So what has all this to do with a dairy product? I met the team from holvita™ at the back end of last year in my office at City Hall in London. Quite often people approach me to try and sell me a range of different technologies and ideas and projects. As I said above, I am inquisitive and you only find out about the revolutionary if you are open to it finding you. I also like the incongruous and meeting a German doctor and vet and antifascist artist to talk about liquid colostrum at lunchtime on a Friday fitted the bill. The presentation was straightforward and the logic very simple. A unique combination of nutrients designed by nature to kick-start life can have an important impact on how the body heals itself. Not a cure, not a therapy, but a product that can fuel change in the body and have a positive impact in many ways. What sold me however were three things. First of all the possibility that a product so simple, so natural, so sustainable, could have profound implications for millions of people. Secondly the fact that the driving interest I picked up from the team was about benefiting people. Finally the overall logic of what I was being told made absolute sense. This wasn't quackery and I wasn't being sold a cure.
I came away from the meeting with some bottles of the liquid and agreed just to try out the product and see if it had any impact. Now I understand the usually this is not the case, but I took some later in the afternoon. It was the end of the week and I was feeling pretty exhausted and had an evening meeting to go to. Within about an hour I noticed that my energy levels seem to be raised. Something was definitely happening. I didn't think much about it and thought it was probably psychosomatic, but had a good evening and had some more before I went to bed. I woke up feeling less done in then I thought I should do after a long evening with Billy Bragg and other antifascists. So I continued to take it morning and evening and it became something of a ritual pretty quickly and I also liked the taste-not many people do!. It also got renamed to cow juice.
So after four-months on cow juice what has changed. Well actually a lot in my life-it has been a roller coaster and a time of multifaceted stress. As I said to the holvita™ team one evening recently over a glass of wine and looking out over my new panoramic view from the East End, I absolutely know that I would not have coped without this elixir. It has fuelled my change. Practically I have more energy, I get me more restored overnight and don't suffer so much when burning the proverbial candles. My skin has changed. It is softer and sleeker and the dry red scabby patches have gone. My digestion is much better-although it took about two weeks to change and actually seemed to make it worse at the beginning. It also makes me Fart like a cow occasionally! I have been able to cope with the cold much better-cold weather affects me greatly and my extremities freeze up really quickly. There has been a difference Oh and I haven't had a cold even though all around me people have succumbed to viruses.
There is no doubt that this dairy product has a power. It is a natural fuel of change and growth. It is not a miracle, but I've seen some pretty amazing consequences. It is not a cure for anything but it certainly is curative. In a world that is increasingly artificial and chemical, a natural food may provide some answers to our future challenges.
David W. Morris
October, 2007