Shortly after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, Organic Consumers Association (OCA) set out to provide the best health-related information and resources, and the best available reporting on the origins of the virus.

On health, OCA’s coverage focuses on how best to minimize the risk of becoming infected with the virus—and for those already infected, how to minimize the severity of the symptoms. We emphasize the link between improving overall health, especially through good nutrition, including by boosting Vitamin D levels.  

As the pandemic has unfolded, doctors and scientists have reported that those in the high-risk category include people who suffer underlying health conditions, including diet-related illnesses such as obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and hypertension.

We continue to provide updated information as it relates to food, nutrition, health and the prevention of COVID-19.

Where did it come from?

On the origins of COVID-19, we believe it’s of critical importance that the origin of this virus becomes known, in order that the necessary steps can be taken to reduce the risk of future pandemics.

Some scientists posit that COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease that jumped from a bat to humans, possibly via another animal such as a pangolin, and subsequently infected someone at a wet market in Wuhan, China. 

Zoonotic diseases are responsible for past pandemics, some of which originated in the wild, others in industrial factory farms. Industrial agriculture, which is responsible for widespread wildlife habitat destruction and factory farms that create the perfect conditions for zoonotic diseases, has been at the root of several pandemics, including the H1N1 Swine Flu. 

Though not directly implicated in the COVID-19 pandemic, industrial agriculture should be viewed as a potential source of future pandemics.

Other scientists argue that COVID-19 is the product of gain-of-function research conducted by humans in a lab, likely in Wuhan, using genetic engineering and animal experimentation. Scientists in this camp reject that the virus could have evolved naturally, in part because of the fact that COVID-19 is by leaps and bounds far more infectious and transmissible than any of the naturally evolved coronaviruses studied in the past.

Gain-of-function research, alternately referred to as “biomedical,” "biodefense” or "biowarfare" research, is highly controversial. In 2014, more than 300 scientists called for a moratorium on gain-of-function research. The scientists, known as the Cambridge Working Group, argued that the benefits of these experiments in no way justifies the potential risks.

Getting to the truth, politics aside

No definitive proof exists for either the zoonotic or lab-created theory. Unfortunately however, the debate has taken on political overtones that threaten to preclude or derail any honest and thorough investigation into the origins of the pandemic. 

OCA believes the lab-created theory is far more plausible, based on the evidence uncovered to date. We also believe that, as with any story or investigation involving large sums of money, government involvement, big egos, big industries and huge stakes, it will require relentless investigation and bold reporting to uncover the whole truth. We are committed to both.