Here's an interesting article on research conducted on how acupuncture works:

Acupuncture's Molecular Effects

Sterculiae (pang da hai) is used for sore throats, tonsillitis, and more

Sterculiae (pang da hai) is a seed used for sore throats, tonsillitis, hoarseness, and cough. Pictured right is what it looks like in the dried form.

Boil a pot of water, then steep two or three seeds for 10-15 minutes in a cup of hot water. The seed softens and swells into a large gelatinous mass which you see top right. Then drink the tea every four hours. The tea has a mild flavor, so it's perfect for children. The seeds will expand 2-3 times their original size when steeped. Sterculiae is also used for constipation.

WSPA sapm reply from Sherwood Block

Dear East Earth Trade Winds,
Thank you for your reply to my message.I apologize if you are getting unwarranted requests from consumers. Even if I am not your customer, I would hope that an inquiry would be welcomed on this serious issue affecting your industry. As to whether or not I have been duped by the WSPA, how else would this matter be brought to the attention of the public without their help? If you do indeed truly deplore the treatment of bears in traditional Chinese medicine, then I would hope you would welcome an investigation into this matter. Your problem with so called spam mail will go away quickly once you resolve this issue with WSPA.
I might add that it would help if you had something on your website too that indicated that you do NOT use Bear Bile or other products such as Rhinoceros horn or Tiger parts. This is a serious issue for world wild life conservation. You display many products on your website that have no indication what they are made of- what for example is in the Prostate Gland Pills? There is nothing on your site to reassure a consumer that you do not use these products."Traditional Chinese Medicines" are the worst offenders and if you think about it- you should get out ahead of this issue rather than blaming the messenger, because it is a problem. These are endangered species.
As a concerned consumer I do not buy products that test on animals or use animal parts, most especially those species that are endangered. I do not buy products that do not guarantee their ingredients. So until I have that guarantee, it is true, I will not be your customer
Thank you
Sherwood Brock

My reply:

Dear Mr. Brock,
I have been well aware of this problem since I started studying Chinese medicine in the early 1980's. It is not news to me nor my real customers. As I mentioned before we don't sell or advocate the use of these products. Had the WSPA made even a small effort to contact me then they would not have put my company name on the spam list. However, their method is like setting a trap for a wild animal - they don't care who or what gets caught in it as long as they get their message out. It's shameful.
Had you or everyone else who spams me actually been a customer or potential customer it wouldn't be a problem but when I get hundreds of identical letters from people claiming to be customers you should be able to see the problem.
By the way, I have sent letters to the WSPA over six months ago and they don't reply. I suggest you see if you can get an answer from them on who chose companies to get spammed and what research they did to put them on their list.

If you are, as you say, a consumer that does not buy products that test on animals or use animal parts then you should be using Chinese medicine. All pharmaceuticals, including OTC's, have been tested on animals. Chinese medicine has been tested on people over thousands of years not on animals.

Sincerely,
Michel Czehatowski
EETW

PS: Do you know what makes Cherry Coke red?



Answer: the color in Cherry Coke comes from a crushed insect.

Andie's WSPA Spam reply

Wow, that was an angry letter. I understand that your annoyed but you don't have to be so condescending.
I'm sorry you feel wrongly targeted.
However, I don't see anything about this campaign that specifically targets Asian distributors.
The only people this campaign targets are the suppliers that openly farm bears and the distributors that look the other way.
If your not the latter than it's a huge selling point which you should be taking full advantage of. Getting vocal about the integrity of your products can be a huge market advantage if your not just green-washing.
Your company website makes no claims as to your eco-integrity, nor could I find any reviews of your company or sourcing practices online.
While the endorsement of those authors (which I couldn't readily find) is valid, it's not enough. Specific, verifiable claims about your sourcing and business practice are essential to insuring the integrity of your industry.
As a proprietor of medicinal goods, the ball is in your court to be as thorough & informative as possible. How do you screen suppliers for pesticides, fungicides and ambient chemical content?
Do you work with small or large farmers? What do you know about them?
Do you support suppliers that use Bear Bile -even if you don't stock those specific products?
Why do I have to write you company to get those questions answered?
Why not start a blog or at least and FAQ page to preemptively address these concerns while educating people?

Best Regards,
Andie Oliver

My reply:

Dear Ms. Andie,
If you received hundreds of letters in one day all from people claiming to be your customer but who have never even taken the time to go to your website I'm sure you would be irritated also.

As for getting vocal for marketing purposes, my position is that doing the right thing in life is not something to boast about. Actions speak louder than words. so we just do the right thing. For example, we have been using recycled paper in our catalogs for over 22 years yet we don't advertise it on our catalogs. We just do it.

The problem with the WSPA, as stated in my letter, is that they never contacted me about my company. I am presumed guilty. Furthermore, I answer all these letters personally as I have to defend my credibility.

I would like you to ask the WSPA how companies are put on their list and who verifies that that company has a problem. I suspect they won't answer you (They've ignored me) but if they do answer please forward it to me.

Sincerely,

Michel Czehatowski
EETW

WSPA spam

From B. Smolinski,
In response to your letter if it is as you say then I most certainly apologize for thinking that your company sells any product with bear bile. I support several rescue organizations that are trying to end the use of bear bile and the barbaric farms that imprison them. It needs to be outlawed along with tiger bone, snake blood and all other methods that humans come up with to so call cure disease. Again I am sorry that your company was listed as being one of the many that was included. B. Smolinski

My reply:

Dear Ms. Smolinski,
I appreciate your apology. I suggest you write WSPA and ask them why my company was singled out and who was responsible for putting my company on a spam list without contacting me.
If they reply (I doubt they will) I would appreciate you sending the answer to me.
Once again I appreciate the time you took to reply to me.

Sincerely,
Michel Czehatowski
EETW

WSPA spam continues

A few people respond EETW:

Dear Michel Czehatowski, Owner Thank you very much for your prompt response to a question that greatly disturbs me and my family. I want you to know I had and have no intention or interest in "spamming" you or your family business. I am happy to hear you have been in business successfully for a very long time, and I am sure your regular customers have 100% faith and trust in you and yours to provide for their needs. I am well aware that most companies that sell TCM products do not use bear bile, and I am extremely glad for that knowledge. I also know that most TCM products use herbal supplements that are just as effective and probably more so than this odd ingredient. Firstly, Please understand that ultimately the petition I signed says nothing to degrade or deface your business, nor does it outrightly accuse you and yours of using such products. It merely asks you as a business if any of your products contain bear bile, and does NOT in the process assume that you do sell such products. Then it proceeds to inform you of the situation at hand, asking if you have heard of these goings-on. Also, how long you have been in business in reality has nothing to do with the subject at hand other than through experience you have learned what products work for your consumers. I, as an informed consumer have every right to ask questions to make sure that products I buy now or in the future are safe for me and mine, and are NOT harming wildlife, etc. Even if I have to ask 5 million times, you should still look at me and answer the question, and not be offended to do so. Just because the label says so, does not mean it is. Labels are not Gods. Secondly, I was not duped into anything. Please do not doubt the intelligence of someone you do not know. I fully read and researched(and agreed with, mind you) this petition on my own, thank you, and felt I still needed to ask. And there is nothing wrong with that. Just because I am not a "now" customer does mean I will not be a future customer. And just because you are a supporter and activist in this and that, does not mean that a product might slip through with this particular ingredient. It has happened many times with many companies. So again, do not be so offended when someone asks you to check your products. Again I state: By right as a consumer, I am allowed to inquire of any business, whether I use them or not, as to what is in their products, or what it is they are selling. Thirdly, as for the racial slur, I do not agree with you. There is nothing racial about this issue. If we were doing it here in America, as Americans, I would sign that petition too. I do not hate Chinese nor Chinese products. As a matter of fact, I am probably one of the few who still thinks the boycott of Chinese products because of scares and such is completely ridiculous. Everyone makes mistakes and no one(or business) is perfect. A good example is the E-coli tainted food that was carried in from California: I questioned every fruit and vegetable that came in from Cali, but I did not boycott the sale of Cali produce. You merely have to be informed, and wait it out. It had nothing to do with "OMG, Californians are trying to kill us, ooooooohhhhh!" Of course not. I am not an idiot, thank you. I would not be a good consumer if I did not ask. I thank you for actually taking the time to read my reply, and know that a small weight has been lifted knowing that your products are free and clear of this ingredient. I was actually looking at some of your teas and have a great curiosity as a studying herbalist to try some of them. Thank you for the invitation to shop, and know that I will most certainly do so at some point. Sincerely, Winter Johnson

My Answer:
Dear Ms. Winter,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my letter. I agree that as in individual you want to know what you are buying. The problem is when hundreds of people send in a form letter claiming to be customers of ours ask for the same information. I can't ignore them because my company has already been presumed guilty so I answer every one personally.
I'm sure there are more things we can agree about than disagree on so I'll leave it at that.
I would like to ask you a favor though. Please write the WSPA and find out why they singled out my company. (I'll be shocked if they actually reply to you).
Best wishes and thanks again for your feedback.

Sincerely,
Michel Czehatowski
EETW

WSPA Spamming Chinese merchants

One person who spammed East Earth Trade Winds replied:
Thanks for bringing this to my attention - i will contact WSPA in regards to this matter. Do you sell any products obtained by cruelty?

Also, if WSPA made a mistake in this case than i apologize for disrupting your day but I stand by WSPA 100%. "Humanity" senselessly brutalizes animals on a mass scale. Far too many participate or look the other way. I'm so grateful that organizations like WSPA exist; if not, we may have destroyed our existance years ago, instead of soon enough.

Do you speak out aginst bear bile and other forms of senseless cruelty? This is asked just out of curiosity.

Again, my apologies. Maybe I was "duped" but it opened up communication and I do plan on staying in touch. I'm looking forward to visiting one of your stores. Also, how long has WSPA been including you in their anti-bear bile campaign?

Jim

My response was:

Dear Jim,
Let me assure you that you were "duped". Few people respond to my personal reply but from those with a conscience tell me they had no idea what was happening.
We do not sell products "obtained by cruelty". I agree that we should protect wildlife but as I said the WSPA has never made an effort to contact my company prior to setting up their spam campaign. Furthermore, my letters to them are ignored. You should reconsider your allegience to them since you are just a pawn in their campaign.
The WSPA has been doing this for about 8 months. We sporadically get batches of spam. It is particularly bad the last 24 hours however I I reply to all personally.
I hope you take time to investigate my company. Our mission is to provide natural herbal remedies as alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs.