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Oct/Nov 2005
The Andressohn Story as told by Steven Gibb
The Andressohn's Criminal Trial is being covered by Court TV. Check time and channel in your area. In Southern Florida it is Channel 33.
Other parents following a raw food lifestyle have had their children taken away. It is difficult to get other raw families with children to come out to support because they are afraid of reprisals. I will be reporting on this in the future but don't want to confuse the issue now. It is important to stay focused on the Andressohn case because it will set a precedent for future cases. The Andressohns are fighting for all of us who want to keep our right to choose the food and lifestyle we want to follow for ourselves and our families.
We
hold a good thought and strong visualization.
We see the Andressohn family reunited and happy once again.
In a message
dated 10/18/05 9:20:09 AM, W writes:
Where do you
get your "facts" in this case?
Why don't you open this up for discussion instead of just posting your opinion
of what happened and saying that it is fact.
Misleading people into believing things that are untrue should be a crime.
Dear W,
I get my opinion from speaking with many people who know the Andressohns, from
speaking to the Andressohns myself many times, and from examining the way the
case was handled and how the Andressohns were treated by the police and government
authorities.
I am not running a forum on my website, except at the time when my Hotlines
(newsletters) come out. At those times I do post people's opinion of my newsletter
or of the subject at hand. There are many websites that have forums for discussion.
Why are you so hostile to the possibility of the Andressohn's innocence? Do
you have some different information to offer me?
Thank God that expressing one's opinion in the USA is not a crime, at least
not according to our Constitution.
Rhio
In a message
dated 10/18/05 11:53:03 AM, W writes:
I am not hostile to the possibility that the Andressohn's could be innocent.
On the contrary, I would like to hear/see evidence that they did everything
in their power to keep their beloved child from the painful and horrific death
that has been alleged.
Why is it that you can be so blindly accepting of a child?s death?
All I read today was from sites such as yours, that promote veganism, and say
that the Andressohn's did nothing wrong and that people are being persecuted
for their beliefs. I want to know who will be the voice of this young angle
that never had a voice.
I do have friends that are raising their children vegan, and I know the trouble
that others cause while judging them and jumping to conclusions.
I certainly do not want to be one of these people BUT... a child died. A child
suffered, and I have not heard/seen any attempt by the Andressohns to keep this
from happening. In fact I have found is that Mrs. Andressohn would not even
breast-feed her child. Doesn't this go against the natural order of things?
All of the vegans that I have spoken with know that breastfeeding is essential
to babies? health.
I guess I just don't understand, as a mother, as a friend to veganism, as a
proud American... I just don't understand
Dear W,
The baby was born with two birth defects. One, it did not have a thymus gland.
Humans cannot live without a thymus gland. It was amazing that the baby survived
as long as it did without a thymus gland.
If you are reading newspaper accounts of the "facts" then you are
not getting the truth of the situation. The newspaper accounts are slanted,
saying things like the baby looked like a concentration camp victim that was
deliberately starved to death by the parents feeding her a raw food diet. I
don't know what babies without thymus glands would look like, but you can't
blame the parents for birth defects... or if you did want to blame them or their
diet for birth defects, then you would have to be fair about it... by then blaming
parents who feed themselves and their children cooked food who give birth to
babies with birth defects and there are hundreds of thousands of those cases...
But, because their cooked food diet does not raise a red flag to the authorities...
they do not lose their family and suffer the traumatization of separation from
their children or of being imprisoned, or of not being able to work because
of house arrest, or of being thrown out of their section 8 apartment, and many
other indignities that they've suffered.
It just doesn't make sense to blame them because we, in our limited human vision,
don't know enough about what causes birth defects to happen as yet. What causes
5 healthy children to be born (one was born after the death of Woyah), and then
one not healthy? We know that frogs and toads are suffering birth defects because
of the poisoning of our environment with human-made chemicals. Perhaps Lamoy
was unknowingly exposed to some chemicals during the time she carried the child.
We just don't know.
The couple's other children are (or were while in their care) very healthy.
I don't know about the breat-feeding issue. I do know that Lamoy was breastfeeding
her latest child, so I don't understand why she wouldn't do that with Woyah.
Perhaps she did breast feed and that has been misreported. I didn't ask her
that question.
Look, if you don't want to be one of these judgemental people, as you say, why
not call the Andressohn's yourself? Talk to them in a kindly manner and they
will tell you their story.
With blessings,
Rhio
Dear W.
I spoke with Lamoy Andressohn today and I asked her the question as to whether she breast fed her baby Woyah. This is her response to me. She did breast feed Woyah for 2 1/2 months but then her breasts became very tender, torn and bleeding and though she tried to heal them by applying aloe vera and letting them dry between feedings, the feedings became excrutiatingly painful because the breasts would repeatedly tear again. That is when she switched to feeding her baby almond and sesame milk (vegan substitutes for cow's milk), coconut water and diluted wheatgrass juice.
With blessings,
Rhio
August 12,
2005
Having just read these most despicable acts against this family makes me wonder
what kind of people really live in that country - are they truly from this planet!!!
It's a flagrant abuse of human rights and should be taken to the highest
courts in your land.
I am going to do a western union money transfer for $100 to the family with
the details on the page and if you can let them know it needs picking up that
would be truly appreciated.
Lololi
London UK
In a message
dated 10/19/05 2:48:55 PM, Nicole writes:
Let me preface this by telling you our family does not follow a raw food diet.
I feel that adults should have a right to eat what they feel is best for them.
The key word in this statement is "adult". I would be interested in
seeing, if there are any, medical studies that state that a raw food diet provides
adequate nutrition to growing children. Children need protein, and carbohydrates
and fats to grow. Their bodies and their brains need these other types of foods.
The fact that the Andressohn's infant daughter was severly malnourished and
that their other children were also severly malnourished is very concerning.
You say that the infant was diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome. But per the court
documents they didn't take the children to doctor's and gave the children some
kind of wheat germ enema to cure them when they were sick. I don't understand
why these parents couldn't see that their infant daughter and other children
were terribly malnourished. Why did this mother not breast feed her infant as
her primary source of nourishment as has been being done for thousand of years?
This appears to be a very dangerous lifestyles for growing children who NEED
nourishment in the forms of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. I will wait to
see what happens in this trial but as a mother of four children I can tell you
it is my responsibility to keep my children healthy and NOURISHED. This whole
situation is terribly sad.
Sincerely,
Nicole
Dear Nicole,
As a supporter of the Andressohn's complete exoneration in this matter, I will
try to answer your questions as best I can.
If you are relying on the newspaper accounts of this case then you are getting
an extremely biased picture.
First things first. A varied raw food diet does contain carbohydrates,
fats and proteins. You can ask any nutritionist or even look it up in any good
book on nutrients. Just because the food is raw does not mean that the carbohydrates,
fats and proteins are missing. On the contrary, these nutrients are available
in their optimal form, undamaged by heat or processing.
On my website, in the Articles section under Raw Food Concepts, there are many
articles on the raw food lifestyle; some of them cover studies that have been
done.
But even using one's common sense, you can see (hopefully) that the diet of
every other species on this planet is raw, except humans and their domesticated
animals. And we can also see that the animals, when they are not impacted by
the rampant toxic pollution unleashed by humans, are in much better condition
than any human.
More proof for the efficacy and healing power of raw/live foods can be found
by studying the Gerson Diet & Protocols, The Hippocrates Diet, The Gonzalez
protocols, the Weston Price studies through his book Nutrition and Physical
Degeneration, The Pottenger Cat studies, and for the genesis of disease, the
works of Antoine Bechamp, Claude Bernard and Gunther Enderlein, and many, many
others. The proof is out there, but of course it is not supported by the allopaths
because then they would be mostly out of business.
Lamoy (the mother), did breastfeed Woyah for 2 1/2 months, but at that time
her breasts became very tender, torn and bleeding and though she tried to heal
them by applying aloe vera and letting them dry between feedings, the feedings
became excrutiatingly painful because the breasts would repeatedly tear again.
That is when she switched to feeding her baby almond and sesame milk (vegan
substitutes for cow's milk which contain protein, carbohydrates and fats), coconut
water and diluted wheatgrass juice. These are also the same items that she fed
her previous babies (as well as breast milk of course) and they thrived on it.
Lamoy's other children were given a clean bill of health. This was established
through the Family Court last month when the Judge in the case, Judge William
Thomas, denied the prosecutors the "termination of parental rights"
that they were seeking. During that trial, it was proven through x-rays and
blood work that the other children are healthy and NOT malnourished as
reported in the press. The judge also established that once they get their children
back, the children can be fed a vegan diet and the only suggestion made about
diet was to add some soy milk.
The Family Court, if you are not familiar with it, holds to a much higher standard
than Criminal Court (where the Andressohn's are being tried now). In Family
Court there has to be "clear and convincing evidence" either of parental
competence or neglect.
In Criminal Court, if there is a "reasonable doubt" as to guilt, then
they will be exonerated.
Basically, the "red flag" in this case is the fact that the couple
followed a raw food diet and lifestyle. If these parents had been feeding themselves
and their children the conventional cooked and processed food diet, they would
never have been arrested and subjected to the indignities that they've had to
endure. People who feed themselves and their children cooked food also have
babies that are born with birth defects and they are not blamed or imprisoned
for it. Such instances number in the hundreds of thousands. The sole divergent
factor here is the raw food diet and the judgement of people who do not understand
it or want to accept it.
Six children were born to Lamoy, one of them was born after Woyah. All five
remaining children are healthy. Can we say we know what causes birth defects
to occur in every case? And can we then blame the parent's diet and lifestyle
for the defects? If so, then to be fair, we would have to include the parents
on conventional diets with children with birth defects, and not single out one
diet philosophy over another.
Respectfully,
Rhio
In a message
dated 10/24/05 11:16:58 AM, Nicole writes:
Dear Rhio,
Thanks so much for taking the time to patiently explain some of the raw foods diet to me. As I said in my email I am not a raw food vegan and was uneducated on this type of nutrition. Unfortunately for the Andressohn's this case will bring a lot of attention to this type of lifestyle diet choice. But, hopefully by opening the discussion and by having people like you who are willing to talk about it and give information more people will become educated.
It was sad
to see Lamoy's face when the children were testifying. She obviously misses
her children and as a mother I can't imagine the devastation of not seeing her
children for 2 years especially after the death of the baby. Also as a mother
who breastfed all 4 of my children I wish that she had seen an IBCLC, or la
leche league for help. I too had mastitis, cracked and bleeding nipples and
extreme pain but with help was able to continue successfully breastfeeding.
Its tough to know what to believe. The defense says the baby had DiGeorge syndrome,
but the craniofacial anomalies normally present were supposedly not there in
Woyah. I wonder if they had a Doctor diagnose Woyah before she died when she
was failing to thrive. I guess all that will come out during the trial. But
I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me and not just attack my
questions as was done by another person.
On a side note any great ideas to get my 3 older kids to eat more veggies?
:-) My oldest likes squash, zucchini etc.. but my two girls will really only
eat cukes, romaine lettuce and tomatoes. Can't seem to entice them....although
I did grind up a zucchini and put in the spaghetti sauce at the last minute
to disguise it and they ate it up! I would love a resource for veggi shy kids
recipes.
Again thank you.
Nicole
Dear Nicole,
I have a radio show on the internet and either this Thursday or the following
Thursday (it depends on whether they receive the show on time), a segment will
be airing where I brought out some of the issues we've been discussing about
the Andressohn Family. You could tune in at: www.healthylife.net (look for Hooked
on Raw with Rhio & Felicia).
The show runs Thursdays at 1 pm West Coast time or 4 PM East Coast time and
at all different times around the world based on the 1 PM West Coast time.
I don't blame people for thinking the way that they do, because, firstly, only
the prosecution has presented it's case as yet and secondly, the news articles
that have come out on the case are biased. So, I'm more than happy that my "patient"
explanation was able to shed some light.
Yes, I too have thought that Lamoy could have used some guidance from those
organizations that you mentioned. I believe some of them even have a Mother's
Milk Bank, although, of course the milk is pasteurized, and I do not know if
it is available in all areas. But, Lamoy, is still a young mother, she readily
admits that she has made mistakes. I'm glad that you could perceive the love
that she bears for her children on her face. She has been steeling herself and
trying to stay calm and focused for the trial, but privately I know that it
has been very very difficult and heartbreaking.
From what I have been able to glean from the internet on Di George Syndrome,
it may or may not be accompanied by those cranio-facial anomalies that you mention.
I do not know the answer to the other questions that you ask, but I'm sure that
they will come out in the trial.
A good book to get, with recipes for children was written by two children (teens),
Sergei and Valya Boutenko. It is called Eating Without Heating. If the Boutenko
children like the recipes (which they created), I'm sure other children will
like them too.
You have to be patient with children, keep introducing different fruits and
veggies, some they will like, others will be rejected but the main thing is
that it is consistently presented. Children will usually emulate their parents,
especially younger children and toddlers. So if you are also eating or introducing
raw food to your diet, they will eventually come around. Children usually like
fresh fruit, fruit and nutmilk smoothies, pancakes (which can be made raw/there's
a recipe is in my book Hooked on Raw), candy made with nuts and dried fruit,
and cracker and cookie type treats easily made in a food dehydrator. Veggies
may take longer to get accustomed to, but not impossible. You could find a really
good raw dressing or dip that they like and then serve it with a crudite; cut-up
raw vegetables that they can dip into the dressing or dip. This next suggestion
takes more work but it does capture children's imaginations. Cut the veggies
into shapes of stars, half moons or animals (probably too much work, but maybe
for a special occasion).
If there are some raw food potlucks available where you live, that is a good
place to meet others of like mind and the children can meet other children who
have been introduced to raw. Children like to fit in. There is a lot of peer
pressure, but if you plant the seed within them that Nature's food will keep
them healthy, one day it will take root.
Sometimes, depending on the area in which you live, there are organic farms
or CSAs that have special visiting days where you can go and visit the farm
and then there are the U-Pick it farms where you go and pick blueberries, raspberries,
etc. This is a good way to show children where their food really comes from
and to reconnect them with the source of our sustenance. Most children today
tend to think food comes from the supermarket, and they are never introduced
to what is beyond.
If you have access to a little bit of land, kids LOVE to play in the garden
and see things grow. I've seen looks of absolute wonder on children's faces
when they grab hold of a carrot top and the carrot comes out of the ground in
their hands. It is magical.
With blessings and peace,
Rhio
To
make a donation or to communicate with the Andressohn Family:
Joseph and Lamoy Andressohn
10740 SW 175th Street
Miami, Florida 33157
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