When I lived in Germany, the pharmacists and doctors were always trying to prescribe me some sort of homeopathic remedy, but I didn’t get it. Love the guide and excited to try it!
Not Boiron— thats Bayer. Its important to use a reputable lab and manufacturer. I would suggest as a Homeopath to have your practitioner order from Helios(UK) or Remedia (Austria). Hahnemann and IO Organics in the US have less reliable remedies.
Long time. Pharma has been buying up in Europe, Canada and the US to control the labs. The only Boiron products I recommend are the Arnica and Calendula gels/creams. I never use their remedies. Note that have discontinued many of the more obscure remedies. Very corporate. I would also say that HomeoCan has also gone the corporate route. https://homeocan.ca/en/pages/our-story
Great article about a topic I've been involved with since 1988. As a dairy herdsman back then, I was *so* into homeopathy and wanted to learn more in depth how homeopathy worked. It was actually a main reason for going to veterinary school. Of course I didn't learn anything about it there, but I did realize that it is the immune system responding to challenge - and ways to stimulate/modulate the immune system - that made animals better. So I did learn how homeopathy "worked" in a sense.
Fast forward to my first summer in dairy practice (1995)... I was reading the James Duke book about Medicinal Plants of the East. It talked about a lot of plants the native Indians used, plants with the same names as I had put to memory when using homeopathy: Cimicifuga racemosa, Caulophyllum thalictroides, Atropa belladonna, Aconitum napellus, etc. And it got me wondering about things, especially potency of remedies I was using as a herdsman (usually a 30C or 200C) and seeing how the Indians used the actual plant material for the same indications. Long story short, I came to the conclusion that as a licensed veterinary practitioner, while I would still diagnose the right remedy to use based on symptomology, I would use homeochord potencies i.e., a combo 2X, 4X, 12X, 30C, 200C of a single remedy to get the best of both worlds (a bit of plant juice as well as the energetic essence).
Then an innocent use of natural treatments meets the FDA Pasteurized Milk Ordinance... In dairy practice, only FDA-approved drugs are allowed to be used (due to the pharmaceutical wagons circling to protect very expensive approved drugs and making sure that there are no residues according to beloved Appendix N, which actually only lists antibiotic residues to check for). Remedies 100 years old, including good old aspirin, have no listing in Appendix N (nor do any other natural treatments), so they are trashed by the pharmaceutically backed university researchers who are also deeply embedded in the veterinary guilds that are consulted by regulatory personnel at the FDA. Only due to my properly filled out Rx label upon homeopathic and other natural products did my farmer clients not get penalized by FDA inspectors.
As the seeming sole torch bearer for naturopathic treatments in farm animals- homeopathy, botanicals and other traditional biologicals - I have taken the issue to the top: had a meeting with Dr. Makary and the head of the FDA Center for Vet Med (CVM) last July. Nothing has come of it yet. I've asked for another meeting and am awaiting a response.
Thank you for making me aware of the new bill being presented by Rep. Pete Sessions. Fortunately homeopathy is duly protected by statute: listing in the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the US does so by definition. The story of how Dr/Senator Copeland got the HPUS into the FD&C Act of 1938 is fascinating. It would be nice if the current FDA would give greater latitude to grand-fathered drugs which are found in the 1936 USP/NF and the HPUS.
I can tell I'm going to enjoy reading more of your entries here on Substack. A nice mix of medicine and policy from obvious in-the-trenches experience. Thank you!
California is also protected by legislation due to a very dedicated group of Homeopaths there (John Melenchuk). As a Canadian Homeopath I am aware of several states ensuring through legislation the rights of homeopathic practitioners.
Back in 1996 (early in my practice life), the PA head Milk Sanitarian Jim Dell arranged for a meeting of milk inspectors in New Holland, PA to go over what my mentors Dr. Ed Sheaffer and Dr. Joe McCahon worked out with the state in regards to inspectors finding homeopathic remedies and other natural remedies on Grade A dairy farms which are inspected to the PMO. It was their work which paved the way for allowance of using properly filled out Rx labels on natural products. Interestingly, this must have been approved by the FDA Milk Safety Branch folks. And in an April 2006 memorandum, M-I-06-5, the FDA set out how those rules can be followed in the PMO. But recently at the last Interstate Milk Shippers Conference in Minneapolis April 2025 (IMS helps write the PMO, with the FDA having the last word) are trying to categorically prohibit natural treatments, explicitly homeopathy, botanicals and other pre-1938 medicines. This is the battle I'm fighting currently. Hey, my parents were from the Netherlands and I know how to push water up hill!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience - fascinating! I didn’t realize that Dr. Makary had heard directly from you or any other homeopathy advocates. That’s very good news, but yes, we are still nowhere. Let’s hope that changes. And thank you so much for your support!
On my latest request to meet with him, I got punted by Dr. Makary's office into the stratosphere of the general Ask@cvm.hhs.gov email. So I directly contacted Dr. Schell via LinkedIn (he is now director of CVM and was at the meeting last year). I can understand that Dr. Makary has different and higher priorities than naturopathic treatments in Grade A dairy cows. I get that. I was honored to have a meeting with him at all. I hope I have the right people lined up now, including the Deputy Commissioner of Foods, whose position oversees the Milk Safety Branch inspectors.
I could probably get a masters degree in the topic of regulatory affairs and naturopathic medicine for dairy cows!
Yes! I’ve given talks to producer groups up there that wanted to learn about naturopathic treatments like homeopathy and botanicals. Gathering mainly in local community halls and later in their barns for hands-on training.
If you have any insights, I'm open to them. This 1 topic is near and dear to my heart and my years long pursuit of it is basically as an amicus so hard working USDA certified organic dairy farmers aren't penalized for using natural treatments as they produce food without contact with antibiotics (prohibited in Organics).
When I lived in Germany, the pharmacists and doctors were always trying to prescribe me some sort of homeopathic remedy, but I didn’t get it. Love the guide and excited to try it!
Yes, there’s no risk with a reputable brand, so it’s always worth a try!
Not Boiron— thats Bayer. Its important to use a reputable lab and manufacturer. I would suggest as a Homeopath to have your practitioner order from Helios(UK) or Remedia (Austria). Hahnemann and IO Organics in the US have less reliable remedies.
Thanks Carol! I didn’t know Bayer owned boiron!!
Long time. Pharma has been buying up in Europe, Canada and the US to control the labs. The only Boiron products I recommend are the Arnica and Calendula gels/creams. I never use their remedies. Note that have discontinued many of the more obscure remedies. Very corporate. I would also say that HomeoCan has also gone the corporate route. https://homeocan.ca/en/pages/our-story
Hi Doc,
Great article about a topic I've been involved with since 1988. As a dairy herdsman back then, I was *so* into homeopathy and wanted to learn more in depth how homeopathy worked. It was actually a main reason for going to veterinary school. Of course I didn't learn anything about it there, but I did realize that it is the immune system responding to challenge - and ways to stimulate/modulate the immune system - that made animals better. So I did learn how homeopathy "worked" in a sense.
Fast forward to my first summer in dairy practice (1995)... I was reading the James Duke book about Medicinal Plants of the East. It talked about a lot of plants the native Indians used, plants with the same names as I had put to memory when using homeopathy: Cimicifuga racemosa, Caulophyllum thalictroides, Atropa belladonna, Aconitum napellus, etc. And it got me wondering about things, especially potency of remedies I was using as a herdsman (usually a 30C or 200C) and seeing how the Indians used the actual plant material for the same indications. Long story short, I came to the conclusion that as a licensed veterinary practitioner, while I would still diagnose the right remedy to use based on symptomology, I would use homeochord potencies i.e., a combo 2X, 4X, 12X, 30C, 200C of a single remedy to get the best of both worlds (a bit of plant juice as well as the energetic essence).
Then an innocent use of natural treatments meets the FDA Pasteurized Milk Ordinance... In dairy practice, only FDA-approved drugs are allowed to be used (due to the pharmaceutical wagons circling to protect very expensive approved drugs and making sure that there are no residues according to beloved Appendix N, which actually only lists antibiotic residues to check for). Remedies 100 years old, including good old aspirin, have no listing in Appendix N (nor do any other natural treatments), so they are trashed by the pharmaceutically backed university researchers who are also deeply embedded in the veterinary guilds that are consulted by regulatory personnel at the FDA. Only due to my properly filled out Rx label upon homeopathic and other natural products did my farmer clients not get penalized by FDA inspectors.
As the seeming sole torch bearer for naturopathic treatments in farm animals- homeopathy, botanicals and other traditional biologicals - I have taken the issue to the top: had a meeting with Dr. Makary and the head of the FDA Center for Vet Med (CVM) last July. Nothing has come of it yet. I've asked for another meeting and am awaiting a response.
Thank you for making me aware of the new bill being presented by Rep. Pete Sessions. Fortunately homeopathy is duly protected by statute: listing in the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the US does so by definition. The story of how Dr/Senator Copeland got the HPUS into the FD&C Act of 1938 is fascinating. It would be nice if the current FDA would give greater latitude to grand-fathered drugs which are found in the 1936 USP/NF and the HPUS.
I can tell I'm going to enjoy reading more of your entries here on Substack. A nice mix of medicine and policy from obvious in-the-trenches experience. Thank you!
California is also protected by legislation due to a very dedicated group of Homeopaths there (John Melenchuk). As a Canadian Homeopath I am aware of several states ensuring through legislation the rights of homeopathic practitioners.
Back in 1996 (early in my practice life), the PA head Milk Sanitarian Jim Dell arranged for a meeting of milk inspectors in New Holland, PA to go over what my mentors Dr. Ed Sheaffer and Dr. Joe McCahon worked out with the state in regards to inspectors finding homeopathic remedies and other natural remedies on Grade A dairy farms which are inspected to the PMO. It was their work which paved the way for allowance of using properly filled out Rx labels on natural products. Interestingly, this must have been approved by the FDA Milk Safety Branch folks. And in an April 2006 memorandum, M-I-06-5, the FDA set out how those rules can be followed in the PMO. But recently at the last Interstate Milk Shippers Conference in Minneapolis April 2025 (IMS helps write the PMO, with the FDA having the last word) are trying to categorically prohibit natural treatments, explicitly homeopathy, botanicals and other pre-1938 medicines. This is the battle I'm fighting currently. Hey, my parents were from the Netherlands and I know how to push water up hill!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience - fascinating! I didn’t realize that Dr. Makary had heard directly from you or any other homeopathy advocates. That’s very good news, but yes, we are still nowhere. Let’s hope that changes. And thank you so much for your support!
On my latest request to meet with him, I got punted by Dr. Makary's office into the stratosphere of the general Ask@cvm.hhs.gov email. So I directly contacted Dr. Schell via LinkedIn (he is now director of CVM and was at the meeting last year). I can understand that Dr. Makary has different and higher priorities than naturopathic treatments in Grade A dairy cows. I get that. I was honored to have a meeting with him at all. I hope I have the right people lined up now, including the Deputy Commissioner of Foods, whose position oversees the Milk Safety Branch inspectors.
I could probably get a masters degree in the topic of regulatory affairs and naturopathic medicine for dairy cows!
The Mennonite (like Amish) communities here in Ontario have been practicing like this for many years.
Yes! I’ve given talks to producer groups up there that wanted to learn about naturopathic treatments like homeopathy and botanicals. Gathering mainly in local community halls and later in their barns for hands-on training.
This is so interesting!! God bless you for your efforts!
If you have any insights, I'm open to them. This 1 topic is near and dear to my heart and my years long pursuit of it is basically as an amicus so hard working USDA certified organic dairy farmers aren't penalized for using natural treatments as they produce food without contact with antibiotics (prohibited in Organics).