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CBC television broadcast

Our reactions to the CBC program in three short videos:


In January 2007, Canada’s CBC aired a television news report about FreeLife® and Himalayan Goji® Juice. Some parts of the program conveyed the positive impact our business and products are having on people’s lives, but several others were inaccurate and misleading.

We have addressed our concerns in three letters. To view them, click here: Letter 1, Letter 2, Letter 3.

To see why health practitioners around the world recommend Himalayan Goji Juice, click here.

Our overall views on the program follow.

Credentials

We were surprised and disappointed that Earl Mindell’s professional credentials were questioned.

Earl Mindell is a Registered Pharmacist who earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University and a Ph.D. in nutrition from a California-licensed educational institution.

He has decades of relevant experience and has published many papers and books on nutrition, including the all time best-selling nutritional book, the Vitamin Bible for the 21st Century, which has over 10 million copies in print. He has spent years studying the health benefits of the goji berry and is acknowledged as an expert on the subject. For more on Earl Mindell, click here.

Science 

There is a substantial and growing body of independent research into the benefits of the goji berry. One source of independent information is www.pubmed.gov, a service of America’s National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Currently, there are more than 80 research citations about Lycium barbarum (goji’s Latin name) in that database.

Many of the research studies are related to the goji berry’s unique polysaccharide molecules, which are standardized, maximized and balanced in the production of our Himalayan Goji Juice. The CBC broadcast never mentioned the word “polysaccharide” and none of its tests explored their health benefits.

For the record, we welcome existing and new research to improve scientific understanding of goji, and we are working hard to develop and encourage more valid studies.

Fairness

We have questioned the fairness of the program, and we’re certainly not the first to do so. Other respected journalists and media commentators in Canada have challenged it on several occasions.

To read what others credible sources have said about CBC reporting, click the following links. Link1, Link2, Link3 (PDF format).

If CBC had wanted the full story about FreeLife, Earl Mindell and Himalayan Goji Juice, then they would have accepted our numerous invitations to interview us at our corporate offices – a fundamental practice in the CBC’s own professional standards. However, the CBC never took us up on our invitation to visit our offices or accept our repeated offers for discussions, before or after the broadcast aired.

A passionate voice

Earl Mindell is an intense advocate of the goji berry and is driven to spread the word about its benefits. During the CBC interview, he became frustrated that he wasn’t being given a full opportunity to present the facts and his point of view. As the interview proceeded, his responses were frequently cut off by the reporter, whose questioning became hostile. At one point, Earl lost patience and decided to end the interview. CBC aired this, a choice we believe reflected the network’s commitment to high ratings over fair, balanced, and responsible journalism. 

The bottom line

We support Earl Mindell. We love his passion and understand his disappointment as the interview became overwhelmingly negative. When one’s professional qualifications and career’s work are strongly challenged, and when they are denied the opportunity for a full and fair response, frustration and anger are understandable, if regrettable, responses.

We hope other organizations will speak out, as we are here, when they feel they have not been given an opportunity, by a reporter or others, to tell their side of any story.