I was stunned to learn, in a recent issue of The Daily, that members of the “McGill science community” were so “deeply disappointed” with recent articles in the Health & Education section that they took to the pages of this hallowed publication to form a rebuttal (“Lies, damn lies and pseudoscience,” Commentary, January 28, page 7).

This letter does not attempt to argue against what I assume are well-researched counter-claims on homeopathy (who amongst us could argue against the ineffable study by Shang et al., which needs no explanation but its name?) and radiation from cell phones (their safety is proven by a cursory Google search! Duh!).

In a publication that “recognizes that all events and issues are inherently political, involving relations of social and economic power and privilege,” it seems ironic that Palus and Sheridan would, after ostensibly recognizing the value of criticizing science, patronizingly demand the caveat that those criticizing science would “not conflate other kinds of speculation, or critical thinking, with science.”

In other words, feel free to criticize science, just make sure to do it with scientific language.

To borrow a word from The Daily’s own vocabulary, this demand is problematic. There are countless examples in the history of science and medicine where the language of empirical proof and scientific reasoning has been used to justify practices that later caused great harm. McGill graduate Frances Kelsey, for example, was reticent to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the drug thalidomide, despite evidence from Europe cited by her colleagues that ‘proved’ its innocuity. The drug, which causes severe birth deformities if taken when pregnant, affected countless babies in the 1950s and 1960s.

The implication that science is somehow a separate, august entity, made up of purely rational and empirical facts is simply untrue, ridiculous, and unfortunately perpetuated by the aforementioned writers.

—Peter Shyba

Daily Health&Education Editor, 2011-2012

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But I was not journeying home, nor to get food, nor to go to a warehouse party, nor to get bagels. Instead, I was going to a screening of the long-lost 1974 Leonard Cohen documentary Bird on a Wire at the Mile End Chavurah, an event I had seen advertised on Facebook earlier that day. Given that it was Sukkot, the documentary was projected on the wall of the Chavurah’s sukkah. (For those unaware, Sukkot is a once-a-year Jewish holiday that is celebrated by building a sukkah – or wooden hut in which people generally eat and sleep in for the duration of the week – which represents the way Israelites had to live in exile after fleeing Egypt).

Stopping at a dep to get cheap red wine – the price of which could not be found, which resulted in the proprietors’ telephone call to someone who might know – we recalled our favourite songs by Leonard to pass the time. Mine: “Bird on the Wire,” “Chelsea Hotel no. 2” and “Un Canadien Errant.” Hers: “Hallelujah.”

In an alley between Clark and St. Laurent, the sukkah was hard to find. When we did finally find the entrance, we were greeted by members of the Chavurah (a Chavurah, by the way, is a community-based, egalitarian centre of Jewish learning which focuses both on the teaching of Jewish values). Before long, the projector was set up, guests trickled in, sat on transplanted kitchen chairs, and began to watch. The wind whipped the fabric walls of the sukkah, distorting the image at times, but adding to the overall experience.

Directed by Tony Palmer, the documentary follows Cohen on his 1972 World Tour through the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, and Israel. When it debuted in London in May of 1974, Cohen was reportedly unsatisfied, spending six months in England re-editing the film himself. According to the Chavurah’s Facebook page, the re-edited version was shown just once before being lost. “Almost forty years later, director Tony Palmer painstakingly recreated Bird on a Wire from hundreds of decaying film reels found in rusting tins in a film vault.”

Bird on a Wire presents disorganized and technically fraught performances and an emotional Cohen, coming to understand his newfound fame and the pressure of recognition – as Cohen says in the movie, “success is survival.” By following the poet in this particularly stressful period of his life, the film portrays an obviously thoughtful and introspective artist in the context of a demanding tour with an equally demanding audience. The result is not an altogether flattering portrait of Cohen, although, perhaps, this is one of the artist’s biggest draws in the first place – a honest testimonial of his flaws despite a resounding belief in the power of family, life, and love.

The post Flawed, fragile, but authentic appeared first on The McGill Daily.

If not, you aren’t alone.

October is Occupational Therapy Month in Canada, which aims to raise awareness of the profession within Canada while highlighting the increasing role of occupational therapists (OTs) in Canadian Society.

Kelly White, the McGill representative to the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, describes OT as “a healthcare profession where therapists work with clients in a partnership, helping them in adapting their environment or in getting them back to their work and leisure activities.” Clients of occupational therapists vary, including people with mental disabilities, those who have experienced trauma, the elderly, and more.

The job description of OTs is equally wide, assisting clients within areas of leisure, work, and self-care. Ultimately the role of this discipline is broad and seeks to assist in all aspects of a client’s life. As White says, “if something is meaningful to you, we’re going to help you try and achieve it.”

The OT program at McGill is relatively inchoate, as is the standardization of the practice in Canada; it only became mandatory in 2008 for occupational therapists to hold a masters of science in order to practice. At McGill, the degree conferred to Occupational Therapy students is a Masters in Rehabilitation Sciences with a major in Occupational Therapy, and there is no required area of undergraduate study.

The nascency of occupational therapy likely contributes to a widespread misunderstanding of what the program is, but White sees this as temporary.

“It’s hard to explain it all the time, but that’s why we’re out here [at the Y-intersection] today, to try and spread the word and define it, because it’s really valuable.”

McGill community members stopping by the booth set up by McGill’s OT students seemed responsive to the group’s goal of raising awareness. A game using ‘props’ from OT was used to show the role of adaptive technologies, splints, and more, emphasizing the role of ingenuity in the program.

Chloe Grover, a U3 physiology student, admitted that she’d “heard the phrase occupational therapy before, but wasn’t that familiar with it.”

“I definitely have a better idea of it now.”

The post What is Occupational Therapy? appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Numerous Republican politicians have begun to distance themselves from Akin. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Akin’s comments were “inexcusable, insulting, and frankly, wrong” and called for his withdrawal from the race. Even the indefatigable Ann Coulter called Akin a “selfish swine” and suggested a write-in campaign in Missouri to salvage Republican chances in the state.  While Akin subsequently apologized for his comments, saying he “used the wrong words in the wrong way,” the fact remains that reproduction knowledge amongst some pro-lifers is obscured by scientific arguments that give no credence to fact.

Akin’s fundamental argument appears to be that a woman’s body requires orgasm – or at least pleasure – for a pregnancy to be viable. If sex is coerced, and not pleasurable, pregnancy would be impossible and the female body would “shut down” the gestational process. By way of lampooning Akin, some have argued that his beliefs were medically correct – as long as your point of medical reference lies with ancient medical theorists like Galen of Pergamon. Yet while many medieval Galenic doctors did hold that pregnancy required female pleasure and orgasm, they would be loath to agree wholly with Akin. Galenic doctors never argued that a woman’s body could “shut down” pregnancy after intercouse, and medieval courts never overturned a rape conviction when the victim became pregnant.

Interestingly, Akin is not the first Republican politician to declare that in the case of rape, a woman’s body can spontaneously prevent a pregnancy, and he will likely not be the last.

In 1980, Arkansas attorney John Leon Holmes published a letter concerning his pro-life politics reading, “Concern for rape victims is a red herring because conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami.” In 2003, Holmes was nominated to the United States District Court by George Bush, where, during confirmation hearings, he apologized for the remarks, calling their rhetoric “strident and harsh.”

In 1988, a Republican state representative from Pennsylvania, Stephen Freind, stated in a radio interview that the chances of pregnancy from rape were “one in millions and millions,” and that “[after being raped] a woman secretes a certain secretion, which has the tendency to kill sperm.” Freind apologized for the comments, saying they were “hyperbole,” but maintained that the pregnancy rate for female rape survivors was lower than for those who engaged in consensual sex.

Lastly, in 1995, Henry Aldridge, a Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (and a dentist!) ignited controversy during a hearing as to whether or not to eliminate abortion funding for low-income women. Aldridge remarked that, “The facts show that people who are raped — who are truly raped — the juices don’t flow, the body functions don’t work and they don’t get pregnant. Medical authorities agree that this is a rarity, if ever.”

So, while the Republican party of 2012 might be distancing itself from claims that rape cannot lead to pregnancy, it is clear that, at least to some pro-lifers, the science behind female reproduction is beholden to something other than scientific objectivity.

The post Shutting it down appeared first on The McGill Daily.

So where can aspiring yogis find classes whose price tags won’t leave them weeping in child’s pose? Thanks to a new website called Share the Love Yoga, which aims to make yoga more affordable, the activity’s inaccessibility doesn’t have to get you down as a downward facing dog anymore.

The website, co-founded by McGill english alum Amanda Star in 2011, provides a weekly schedule of local yoga classes run for free, as wells as community classes, those run by donation, and popular “karma classes.” The website currently displays classes in Montreal, Toronto, and New York, with more to come in the near future.

The founders of Share the Love see yoga as a precursor for social change. According to it’s founders, “Yoga is a journey, an evolution and a mindful exploration of ourselves and to those people, places, and things to which we are connected. Share the Love Yoga is not just for practicing yogis on a budget; it also benefits local studios and their owners, new practitioners to yoga, and the city as a whole.”
Share the Love Yoga’s ultimate mission is to provide yoga to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. To them, combating the commercialization of Yoga is the best way to bring the activity to everyone, and not just those who can afford it.

To access Share the Love Yoga’s schedule of affordable classes and get your vinyasa on, visit sharetheloveyoga.com

The post Yoga on the cheap appeared first on The McGill Daily.

I should contextualize. My mom grew up in a town called Weyburn, Saskatchewan, about an hour and a half south of Regina. My nonagenarian Oma and Opa still live there – and have for nearly fifty years, since they moved from Germany to Canada. A couple of times every year – usually in the summer – various family members trek ten hours east from Calgary to visit them. It was during one of these trips, two years ago, that I found myself in the company of my sister and older cousin. Slipping away after the traditional German afternoon snack of coffee and cake (which my Opa always prefaces with “how about a cup coffee and piece cake?”), we found ourselves victims of our own curiousity.

Driving aimlessly around town looking for something to do, we soon found ourselves on the outskirts of town, turning down the thin, tree-lined road to the Weyburn Mental Hospital, colloquially known as just “the mental”.

The treed road to the hospital provides a bizarre introduction to the main building. Over a kilometre long, it’s lined with overhanging deciduous trees, creating an aura of Transylvania-cum-Saskatchewan, almost like a cartoon-like image of something haunted. At the end of the long road, there is a clear view of the imposing turreted entrance, evoking the overused – but here apropos – theme of Foucault’s panopticon.

We neared the building and parked the car around back, hiding any evidence that we might be illegally trespassing. Walking around the building, we made jokes about the horribly done graffiti (“GoD HAtEs YoU”? Really?) and periodically looked into open windows. Through one of them we saw a cell with peeling blue paint, filled with garbage, the door askew. We had trouble deciding if it had been a prison cell or a patient’s room.

We talked about how scary it would be to actually go in and explore the building. Very gradually, these ruminations became more serious plans. It was in this stage of mounting seriousness that we came across the open door we would use to try to get into the Weyburn Mental Hospital.

* * *

The hospital was opened on December 29, 1921 with a capacity of 900 patients and sixty live-in nurses. The initial building was roughly 275,000 square feet, which costs the equivalent of $27,000,000 in today’s dollars. It was demolished in the winter of 2009 after being unused for almost twenty years, the advent of modern psychiatric drugs making the treatment of mental illness increasingly focused on outpatient, rather than inpatient, therapy.

In a period spanning the latter-19th century, formal pyschiatric institutions like Weyburn became widespread. Early psychologists like Thomas Story Kirkbride founded what would come to be known as the Kirkbride plan for building psychiatric hospitals, which dictated that hospitals be built in a staggered V, with the most “troubled” patients being housed in the wards further out. The Weyburn hospital, although not an archetypical Kirkbride, was obviously inspired by such a plan.

The treatments at the hospital, while often at the forefront of contemporary psychiatric research, were troubling. They included electroshock therapy, lobotomies, insulin therapy, and hydrotherapy. A history of the institution describes the latter process as follows: “The patient was restrained in a bathtub by means of canvas sheets, then ice cold water was run into the tub….In some cases, ice was added directly to the tub to further lower the temperature. Naturally this caused hypothermia in the patient and no doubt would dramatically reduce the activity level. Without doubt they were in a state of real shock.”

But what “the mental” is most famous for is that it was here where Dr. Humphrey Osmond first tested Lisurgic Acid, or LSD, on patients.

Osmond, a Cambridge trained biologist, hypothesized that psychological disorders like schizophrenia were caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. Since the effects of Lisurgic Acid  (LSD) mimicked that imbalance by increasing levels of dopamine in the body, it could possibly assist in treating the disease. According to “Under the Dome: The Life and Times of Saskatchewan Hospital, Weyburn,” an almost yearbook-like account of life at the hospital, “such exotic drugs as LSD, peyote, muscatel, and magic mushrooms were used in these experiments”. Indeed, according to an article in the Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, the taking of LSD by hospital staff was seen as a rite of passage.

While one would likely not describe the Weyburn Mental Hospital as “groovy”, it is interesting to note that because of  Osmond, Weyburn is considered to be the birthplace of the term “psychedelic” due to his experiments with LSD.

* * *

We came back at night with a crowbar stolen from my grandpa’s garage, a screwdriver, a flashlight, and a renewed sense of courage. We were really going to do it.

We parked the car near the entrance we had found and walked to the plywood door, armed with a flashlight and sweaty palms, our fight or flight responses on red alert.

Thus began the effort of opening this portal to the hospital. We started by attempting to remove the many green screws holding the plywood, which boarded the door to the hospital shut. Being successful with some and stripping others, we felt confident enough to bring in my grandpa’s blue, rusted, foot-long crowbar to finish the task. We gained leverage, and the plywood began to peel back.

We slipped a wooden block behind the plywood to secure the leverage we had gained. The wedge created a roughly 15 degree angle, and a promise that entrance was close. I began to work again, lower on the board, to gain the final pry. As I was about the deliver the final hard thrust, we heard what sounded like water rushing in the pipes above us, bizarre for a building that had been abandoned for twenty years. Then suddenly, a magnificent, visceral, booming SLAM came from behind the plywood. The plywood snapped back into its original position, shutting the entrance with a gust of air.

And we ran.

Throwing our tools into the back of the car and flooring the gas, we maintained our blood-curdling screams until the end of the road.  Stopping the car at the downtown 7/11, there was a period of detente. Adrenalin production stopped; we began breathing more slowly, and we began to reflect.

What had we just seen? Could it have been just a force of physics, slamming the plywood back onto us? We went back to the picture evidence. From the photos, we could see that there was a blue light behind the door, and it was fucking spooky. There was no reason for there to be any light on in that building.

To this day, we still have no idea. It makes a better story that way. The summer we broke into “the mental” will sit in our repertoires for some time.

The post We flew over the cuckoo’s nest appeared first on The McGill Daily.

On September 16, Paws ‘R’ Us Kennel, a rural dog breeding facility located in Quebec’s Clarendon Township, about 90km outside of Gatineau, was found to be in violation of the Quebec Animal Welfare Act (QAWA). That weekend, employees and volunteers from the Humane Society International (HSI) and Le ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) removed over 500 dogs from the facility.

Rebecca Aldworth, director of HSI, spoke with The Daily concerning the conditions at the rural Quebec kennel, where over 40 breeds of dogs were found.

“I have participated in removals before, and I can say that this was the largest breeding facility I have encountered, where the most basic needs of these animals were not being met,” she said.

The Quebec Animal Health Protection Act, known as P-42, states that, “Safety and welfare of an animal is jeopardized where [it] has no access to drinking water or food in quantity and quality compatible with the biological requirements of its kind.”

The bill also states that fines for an owner or custodian of an animal whose treatment violates the conditions regarding the safety and well being of animals or the facilities in which they live, range from $400 to $3,600.

According to Aldworth, an inspection on early Friday morning was “warrant for immediate removal.” Videos posted online by HSI show the condition of the dogs as they were being evacuated from the kennel.

The owner of the operation, Charlene Labombard, insisted that there was no wrongdoing on her part. According to the Ottawa Sun, Lambobard said that the seizure was part of an ongoing campaign by a former customer to slander her.

In a 2009 ruling by the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario, a former customer of Paws ‘R’ Us, Lorie Gordon, was forced to pay $14,000 in reparations for slandering Labombard’s business.

Gordon owned two dogs born at Paws ‘R’ Us: one was euthanized after being diagnosed with hip dysplasia – which can be easily bred out with genetic testing, a common practice with most breeders – and one which had mange, a skin disease.

The crux of the case was Gordon’s online description of the business being a puppy mill. The judge used the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada (PIJAC) definition of a puppy mill to deem Gordon’s description slanderous.

PIJAC defines a puppy mill as “a high volume, sub-standard dog breeding operation, which sells purebred or mixed breed dogs to unsuspecting buyers.” The definition continues to list common characteristics of a puppy mill, including the failure to provide socialization, safe housing, maintained sanitary facilities, veterinary care, and husbandry.

During the evacuation, Labombard spoke to reporters, stating, “I just wanted to breed dogs so that they could go to families and be loved… I am losing my livelihood and I’m very upset.”

The intervention is the latest incident that adds to Quebec’s poor animal rights record. Quebec was called “the best province to be an animal abuser” in a report released by the U.S. Animal Legal Defense Fund earlier this year.

The evacuation has sparked calls for reformation to P-42.

“HSI has been working with the Quebec government on new legislation that will be coming out in [the next few] days that will help shut down some of the worst offenders,” Aldworth said.

Higher fines and jail sentences for offenders were among changes that Aldworth felt could be effective.

HSI is also calling for people to stop buying dogs and cats at pet stores, especially ones who do not actively trace the origin of the pets they sell.

Aldworth said that the onus is on pet owners to be aware of where their dog is coming from. “People don’t really know what they’re buying. They see a cute little puppy in the window and have no idea where that dog comes from.”

Katherine Macdonald, an employee at the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the president of McGill’s Animal Liberties Club, tied the weekend seizure to a lack of public awareness.

In an email to The Daily, Macdonald wrote, “The closure of Paws ‘R’ Us is yet another example of the overpopulation problem, especially in Quebec…there aren’t enough inspectors to cover all of Quebec, making the probability of a puppy mill being discovered slim.”

Due to an editorial error, in the printed version of this article (News, pg. 7, Sep 26) inaccurate information is given regarding the nature of the basic needs of animals not being met in the breeding facility. The Daily regrets the error.

The post Hundreds of animals seized from Quebec dog breeding facility appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Vitamin D is a good example of this phenomenon. Vital for human functioning, the vitamin aids in the creation of the hormone calcitriol when skin is exposed to sunlight.  It has long been known that the vitamin’s primary purpose is to aid in calcium absorption in the body, helping prevent osteoporosis in seniors and the strengthening of bones in adolescents. New research, however, has broadened its possible mechanisms of action, and led to its most recent label as a potential “nutrient of the decade” by the New York Times. Research gives hope that vitamin D could help in either the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, depression, autism, obesity, and numerous cancers.

The Canadian Nutrition Society released a document last November advising Canadians to drastically increase their intake of vitamin D, from 200 International Units (IU) to 600IU per day.  According to research cited by the Society, vitamin D deficiency is the cause of 37,000 premature deaths and $14 billion in health care costs annually in Canada. The current amount recommended falls in line with the 600IUs recommended by the CNS, but critics argue that this still falls far short of what is necessary.

David Hanley, a professor at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine and the author of numerous studies on Vitamin D, advocates for doses based on age and risk factors. The Osteoporosis Canada Guidelines, a report coauthored by Hanley, “suggest a range of doses, which include the IOM (Institute of Medicine) dose recommendations, but also go higher.  For people under age fifty, we recommended an intake from supplements of 400-1,000 International Units (IU) perday, and over age fifty, 800-2,000 IU per day.”

Vitamin D, unlike most other vitamins, is not found abundantly in common food sources. Fatty fish, including salmon, tuna, and catfish, as well as beef liver and eggs, contain small amounts of the vitamin. Dairy products, although not a natural source, have been supplemented with vitamin D Canada-wide. One cup of milk contains, on average, 100 IU.

But by far the strongest natural source of the vitamin, and likely the reason so many Canadians are deficient, is UVB rays from the sun. In order to get enough vitamin D per day, an individual must spend 15 to 20 minutes in direct sunlight. Because most Canadians spend much of their time in the winter indoors, it’s easy to understand why this deficiency can be considered an epidemic.

There is agreement that vitamin D is good for people, but the recommended dosage varies depending on who you talk to, and, among other things, how much funding that person has received from either the tanning industry (for vitamin D) or the sunscreen and cosmetic industry (against vitamin D). Michael Holick, or “Dr.   Sunshine,” a member of the former group, advocates massive doses of both sun exposure and supplements, sometimes up to 6,000IU for pregnant women.  In 2004, he was fired from the dermatology department at Boston University (BU) because the chair of the department “couldn’t have someone promoting [sun] exposure.” This promotion could perhaps be explained by those who fund his research: the American UV Foundation (a branch of the Indoor Tanning Association) gave $150,000 to BU during his tenure.

Recently, promising research seemingly free of bias has been done on the positive effects of vitamin D. A study published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychology and Neurology examined 1,766 men and women in Britain, measuring the levels of vitamin D in their blood. The study showed that those in the lowest quarter of vitamin D levels were 2.3 times more likely to be cognitively impaired than those in the top quarter.

In response to these studies, Canadians are demanding more blood work to determine their levels of vitamin D, much to the chagrin of the federal government and overburdened family doctors.  In Calgary, testing for deficiency has increased 700 per cent in the past three years, accounting for $2 million locally.  Ontario recently stopped covering blood work for vitamin D, citing the financial burden of unnecessary testing.  Hanley suggests that testing be reserved only for those at high risk, while everyone else should simply take a supplement.

People are excited that such a simple and inexpensive vitamin could increase both quality and duration of life by preventing a host of diseases.  Now it’s just a matter of how much one needs, and how much one pays.

The post Solar supplements appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Between 2.5 and 10 million Russians are estimated to be alcoholics, causing a ten-year difference in the life expectancy between genders (with men dying younger), the highest such gap in the world. The endemic effects of alcoholism are seen not just in Russia, but among the whole block of former Soviet countries. While the rest of the developed world has progressed in terms of life expectancy, former Soviet Union countries have largely lagged  behind.

New measures implemented by Russian president Dmitry Medvedev last winter that set a minimum price of vodka at $3.00 per pint (around half a litre) are meant to offset the detrimental effects that alcohol has not only on the international image of Russia, but also on its economic stability. According to a Time Magazine poll, an estimated $8 billion from the Russian economy is lost per year to drinking, due in part to the fact that roughly 25 per cent of Russians admitted to drinking before work, while another 20 per cent drink during work itself. While it’s too early to tell now if the measures have been effective, one can presume that the laws, meant to deter the poorest of Russians from imbibing too frequently will in fact backfire. Russians will continue to drink, and those who can’t afford the $3 minimum may turn to illegal vodkas.

Bloomberg Business estimated that the black market accounts for 1.2 billion litres of alcohol consumption, half of the Russian yearly average. In addition, bootlegged vodka accounts for about 127.6 billion rubles (just over $4 billion) annually. There are two types of unofficial vodkas drunk in Russia. The first is alcohol that is made in factories “off book,” when factory workers manufacture extra vodka to sell for profits above their usually low wages. The second and more dangerous is vodka which isn’t actually vodka at all, but rather chemicals like household products or medicines mixed with water. In 2004 the Yekaterinburg district of Russia suffered three deaths and dozens of hospitalizations when residents drank disinfectants passed off as vodka.

Perhaps the most interesting facet of this problem is the seeming paradox it presents to the liberal-minded international development community. Hobbes’s statement that life is “nasty and brutish and short,” true for many Russians  (life expectancy for men is roughly sixty years old), has become an indelible call to arms for demographers and social scientists as a community, who constantly challenge this statement and implement policies with the primary intention of increasing life expectancy and disproving the verisimilitude of Hobbes’s famous claim. Logic follows that as liberal democracies have seen a dramatic increase in life expectancy and quality of life, then development strategies that encourage liberalization (economically, politically, and socially) will, in turn, increase life expectancy, health, and wealth. Why then, did life expectancy peak in Russia in the 1960’s (arguably at the peak of the USSR)? Why then is the gap in male and female health outcomes continuing to widen even though Russia is becoming relatively more liberal? The answer may lie at the bottom of the vodka bottle.

There are few things more stereotypically Russian than vodka, and the drink holds a fervent national significance. According to the Claremont Institute, in 1977 Poland filed a claim to an international trade court that its nation was in fact the inventor of vodka and as such was the only country with the right to market the drink. If the claim had been accepted, Russia would have been forced to market their vodka as “bread wine,” an idea that didn’t sit well with the USSR. This claim ignited a fierce battle between the two countries, with Russian “scholars” claiming the drink was first brewed in Moscow in 1440. In an era of intense domination by the Soviet superpowers, Poland was unable to present the facts fairly; according to research done by Vice Magazine, it was in fact it was very likely Poland that first brewed vodka, technically giving them the exclusive right to market the drink. The outcome of this battle would prove to be economically significant to the Russians. Vodka is now one of the world’s most popular spirits, with sales in the billions of dollars. Sales of top-shelf brands such as Grey Goose have risen particularly quickly, (the French-made Grey Goose was sold for $2.2 billion in 2002, the largest brand takeover in history).

In the Soviet Union, alcoholism was touted as a “relic of capitalism,” where it was presumed that men were led to drink because of the exploitive nature of factory work.  The belief was that through communism, alcoholism would eventually fade away. But the Soviets didn’t do their homework. Alcoholism has been an issue in Russia since about 986 CE, when Muslim Bulgars encouraged Grand Prince Vladimir I to adopt Islam. He declared “Drinking is the joy of the Rus. We cannot exist without that pleasure.”

Thousands of years (and many hangovers) later, Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, ordered a country-wide prohibition during the First World War. Already on the brink of revolt, the Tsar’s decision further loosened his tenuous grip on power. In 1985, Gorbachev did the same as a part of Glasnost and Perestroika. He ordered limited hours on liquor stores and decreased the amount of alcohol restaurants could serve to patrons. Many began to drink cologne and rubbing alcohol and one woman was even killed in a liquor store stampede when a stiletto heel crushed her skull. Six years after that prohibition, the USSR was no more. Alcohol consumption seems to be a frequent and important aspect of Russian history, if not culture.

This history of alcoholism may give us some answer to the question of Russia’s poor life expectancy. Those dwelling in the former Soviet Union have historically been prone to alcoholism, in part, because there have been few occasions in history when these countries have been ethnically and nationally determined. It would seem that without autonomous leadership, these countries fall victim to a sense of pervasive helplessness, which in turn leads to a dependence on alcohol to escape. Their alcoholism, in my opinion, is a somatization of their political repression.

Even now, under what is called “democracy,” Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, and other former Soviet bloc dwellers live under intensely paternalistic governments. Russian people specifically rely on their government to set rules regarding consumption. There are few rehabilitation centres, support groups, or government policies to help with prevention. The Russian government, now officially a “democracy,” refuses to let go of Soviet-style paternalism when it comes to the health outcomes of its people. By extension, the stranglehold that Russia still has on its former satellites prevents them from truly liberalizing healthcare.

Ukrainians are just now starting to get their footing as a free country. The Orange Revolution has signalled the Ukraine’s desire to end Russian dependence and join the European Union, and may be the exact freedom the Ukrainian people desire. Maybe then, once wealth can be created and the Russians lose their dominance over the region, will the former Soviets have a reason to stay alive, and sober.

The post Historical hard-drinking appeared first on The McGill Daily.

With the museum set up in chronological order, the history of healthcare in Montreal begins in the 17th century with the arrival of Catholic missionaries in Montreal to evangelize and treat the sick and impoverished living in what is now primarily the Old Port. In those times, the hospital was reserved for the poor, as the wealthy would be treated within their own homes away from what they believed to be the dangerous, germ-rich hospital. This segregation of medical care was seen again after the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s and 1850s brought typhus-infected Irish immigrants to Montreal. The museum describes them being quarantined in “sheds” in Griffintown to protect the French Canadian population from contracting the deadly disease. These attempts failed, however, when young boys escaped detainment and began begging on the streets.

From an era when McGill was still an all-male institution, Musée des Hospitalières displays a large picture of a smog covered Lachine Canal in the heyday of Montreal’s industrial revolution, describing the time as an era of increased “illegitimate births, improper funerals, low church attendance, and high mortality rates.” Montreal was known for having the highest mortality rate of any city in North America at that period. Reminders of this period are now hard to find among all the billboards for industrial lofts in the newly gentrified neighbourhood of Griffintown.

In concurrence with the Board of Montreal Museum Directors’ cultural initiative “Montréal Ville de Verre (City of Glass),” a year-long event emphasizing “all facets of glass,” the Musée des Hospitalières is also currently displaying glass artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries in its temporary exhibits section. The items on display range from glass bedpans to containers for liquid remedies, to syringes and ophthalmological lenses. The pieces on display show both the dramatic changes that have occurred in medicine as well as the technologies (like vials and beakers for laboratory work) which have remained the same.

The range of uses for the glassware also varied. One syringe relied on asbestos rather than a rubber plunger to deliver medicine, while various bottles held liquid medicine ranging from insulin (likely an earlier form of Sir Frederick Banting’s discovery, taken from the pancreas of cows) to Peter Fahrney’s panacea, which promised to “nettoyer le sang.”

L’Hôtel-Dieu has recently warranted the attention of Quebec film director Phillipe Lesage, who will present his documentary Ce coeur qui bat (The Heart that Beats) at this year’s Recontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal (International Montreal Documentary Fesival). The film follows patients around l’Hôtel-Dieu, and sets out to explore “some of society’s most devastating ailments: solitude, psychological distress, social conflict, run-down bodies and minds that have reached their wits’ end.”

Health care in Montreal has certainly come a long way. Although at times treatments may have been less than fair or ideal, they were expressions of a compassionate medical tradition that still exists today.

L’Hôtel-Dieu and the Musée des Hospitalières are at 201 des Pins O., open Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

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While the FDA has already approved the use of cloned animals in agriculture, this would be the first approval of a GE animal in American history. In an avalanche of rhetoric, wealthy activists and liberal college students alike have vocally declared that approval of AquaBounties Salmon would be opening Pandora’s box: plans for a less-polluting pig (dubbed “enviropigs” by University of Guelph researchers) are already in the works.

The idea of this salmon being the only product firmly keeping Pandora’s box shut is interesting, as fish have indeed become a hot topic amongst food commentators in the United States and Canada. It would seem recent, apocalyptical reports of the world running out of fish by 2050 have been the impetus for their commentary.

At last fall’s General Assembly, Greenpeace McGill brought forth a resolution to ban “red-list” fish from being sold in the Shatner building. The “red list,” organized by SeaChoice, is a detailed list of fish separated into three categories: “Best-choice, some concerns, and avoid.” Interestingly, SeaChoice, a Canadian sustainable seafood organization, lists wild Pacific salmon under the “some concerns” category, specifically labelling Fraser River sockeye salmon under “worse alternatives.” In reality, the Fraser River had near record levels of Sockeye salmon in 2010, even prompting British Columbia fish population researcher Barry Rosenberg to say, “Eat some, catch some, or buy some – it’s a great opportunity.” It doesn’t sound like there is much need for “some concern” there.

The international fishing and aquaculture industry is now conservatively estimated to be worth almost $250 billion worldwide, and in many areas is the only viable industry. Knowing this sheds some light onto how contentious of an issue genetically-modified salmon has become. Ruth Salmon, of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance said in a recent interview with the Vancouver Sun, “Our industry does not support producing GMO salmon for human consumption…we are not interested in it at all.”

As one of the most profitable industries in B.C. (the world’s fourth largest producer of salmon), a product which can effectively grow in half the time to a higher gross weight and likely at lower cost is understandably threatening. Along with the economic threat, B.C. interest groups like the First Nations Fishery Council have good reason to be against GE salmon. The first nations in that area have survived off of wild salmon for thousands of years. The difference between then and now, however, is an in increase in population of about 3,500 per cent and a globalized economy demanding their product.

Whether activists realize it or not, GE food has become an integral part of our diet and an undeniable method of both increasing crop size and decreasing crop disease. Up to 75 per cent of the processed foods we eat in North America already contain genetically modified ingredients, and genetically engineered products are now as being used by the Gates Foundation as a method to increase crop yield for food-scarce African nations.

We have two options. The first is to accept that the world’s food supply is going to have to become more flexible to accommodate a rising population and embrace genetically engineered foods. The second and more difficult is to come to terms with is the fact that the age of plenty is over and reduce global food intake, especially in developing nations like China who are eating more meat as they become wealthier.

With that being said, there is a glaring problem with the approval process. Genetically-engineered foods are not obligated to be labeled as such, effectively leaving consumers in the dark. I would argue that if the product was extraordinary enough to need approval by the FDA, there would certainly be need for an accurate GE label. Should the consumers then decide that it’s not for them, that is their prerogative. Consumer hesitation to purchase an item labeled as “genetically engineered” might just be the victory which those against the AquAdvantage salmon have been fishing for.

So let’s forget about a Pandora’s box of genetic modification; it has been open for a long time and will remain that way. If used properly and safely, GE foods could bring some balance to food instability. If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t; if you are merely against technology for technology’s sake, well then write me an opinion letter from Walden.

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Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winning economist widely believed to be the father of microcredit, started the Grameen Bank in 1983 in order to facilitate the lending process among the people of Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank now has assets of over $855 million U.S., and has diversified its business to include an energy company, a cell phone company, a fishery, and a clinic network. Yunus calls these ventures “social businesses.”

Asked to comment recently about the world economic crisis, Yunus said, “I am not blaming [American bankers]; I am blaming the theory which produced them. … We can create money in the business; also we can change the world in business. That changing the world…is what I am calling social business.”

In his recent book, Creating a World without Poverty, Yunus describes “social business” as enterprises with social objectives like building a clinic or the sale of mosquito nets that must be profitable and able to pay back investors their initial contribution. Social business differs from other development initiatives because it isn’t a handout, nor is it a loan with an unreasonable rate of return (see: the World Bank’s Structural Adjustment programs), but rather a for-profit business which has an incentive to make its programs work.

The issue of seemingly worldwide doctor shortages has affected the rural population of Bangladesh immensely. In an effort to train more doctors, last October, Grameen Health along with representatives from Emory, Duke, and McGill Universities signed a Memorandum of Intent to create a learning centre in Dhaka. While still in its nascent stages, the centre will create degree programs for training doctors and nurses. It will act as a hub of planning and research in Bangladesh’s health sector. Yunus said during the World Health Care Congress that “while initial evaluations of the Grameen Clinic network and its health impact are positive, continuous improvements in coverage, disease prevention, quality of care, and sustainability remain as top priorities.”

In Bangladesh, rates of moderate-to-severe youth malnourishment hover around an extraordinary 55 per cent. In response to this, the Grameen Bank partnered with the French dairy comapny Danone to create Grameen-Danone in 2006. They produce nutrient-rich, full-cream yogurt, which the company sells for around ten cents a cup. The yogurt is sold door-to-door by women who would otherwise be unemployed, giving income to one of the country’s most vulnerable populations. The business, which employs around 1,600 people, has been incredibly successful, and Danone’s community trust reports holdings of nearly €35 million. Danone plans on reinvesting those profits into new social business models in Bangladesh and around the world.

Another important social business headed by Yunus is Grameen Kalyan (meaning well-being in Bengali), a network encompassing 50 clinics across the country. Each clinic serves up to 50,000 people in the immediate vicinity, many of whom are users of Grameen’s health insurance program that offers full insurance for around $2 USD a year per family. The network of clinics includes a pathology library, pharmacy, and emergency services.

As part of a new partnership with General Electric (GE) and the Mayo Clinic, Grameen Kalyan plans on expanding its care network throughout Bangladesh. Yunus has appealed to GE to create more portable, accessible, and less expensive ultrasound devices that women from around the country can be trained to use. According to Yunus, “Young women…will be encouraged to become entrepreneurs who go house to house and operate and sell the use of this equipment.” Using a partnership with GrameenPhone (another Grameen Bank social business), the images from these ultrasounds in rural areas can be sent to doctors in the cities for consultation.

Canadians, who have a perennial fear of the words “business” and “health” in the same paragraph, may wonder whether it is justified for a business like Grameen Health to act as a health care provider in lieu of the government. Highlighting the social business aspect of Grameen, Keat Yang of the McGill Student Network for Economic Development commented, “It is one thing to look at privatization of public goods in askance, but there is a distinction between social enterprises and firms that seek to maximize only profit.”

Indeed, while Grameen may profit from its Grameen Kalyan network, its mandate would force the reinvestment of that excess money into the community. According to Shelley Clark, a McGill Sociology professor specializing in global health, “When the government has failed to provide adequate care for decades, I personally see no reason why businesses couldn’t lend a hand.”

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