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The Radiant Mission Podcast | Episode 43
Host: Rebecca Twomey @theradiantmission
Co-Host: Rachel Smith @rachelsmithsmith
Thank you for listening to The Radiant Mission podcast! We are on a mission to encourage and inspire you on your walk with Christ and as you journey through life.
In Episode 43 we tie together Pharmakeia with Rockefeller and the History of Western Medicine.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this episode is NOT medical advice.
In This Episode on Rockefeller and the History of Western Medicine:
- We begin by recapping our discussions in ep 41 and 42. These episodes bring us to the history of Western medicine and how we are where we are with medicine in our world today.
- When researching this topic, I found a really helpful article titled How Rockefeller Created the Business of Western Medicine. The author of this article details the story of John D. Rockefeller, who was born in 1839 and died in 1937. He is considered the wealthiest American of ALL TIME, and the richest person in modern history. He is the most famous for securing a monopoly in America’s oil market. By the turn of the 20th century, Rockefeller controlled 90% of all petroleum refineries in American throughout ownership of the Standard Oil Corporation (later split into Mobil, Chevron, Exxon, etc.).
- At the same time, the scientific world was getting excited about the new “petrochemicals” and the ability to create a variety of new compounds from oil. Some of the first products derived from petrochemicals were plastics, but organic chemists knew that oil had the potential to create more than just plastic toys.
- So, what does this have to do with Rockefeller? Well, he was smart enough to see what was going on as a big business opportunity, especially as it related to petroleum. He saw the connection between petroleum, chemicals, and the medical world.
- Natural and herbal medicines were very popular in America during the early 1900s. Almost one half the medical colleges and doctors in America were practicing holistic medicine, using extensive knowledge from Europe and Native American traditions. Rockefeller knew that to get total control of the medical industry he would have to expunge the competition.
- With new laws in place, Rockefeller teamed up with Andrew Carnegie and started funding medical schools all over America on the strict condition that they only taught allopathic medicine.
- After removing traditional medicine from medical schools, Rockefeller made sure to secure his monopoly by launching a targeted smear campaign against his competitors. Homeopathy and natural medicines were discredited and demonized through the newspapers and other media of the time. Some doctors were even jailed for using natural medicine trea
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