"'Cause they're ugly" - Part III

          Glenn Gauvrey of ERDG was equally emphatic.  “I can connect every man, woman and child and domestic animal in the world to the horseshoe crab.”  He re-emphasized that humans are not going to stop having kids or animals vaccinated and that those same humans are not going to stop having knee replacements and hip replacements.  By the same token, medical personnel and pharmaceutical companies are not going to stop testing for the presence of endotoxins.  “All of that is directly related to horseshoe crabs – whether those crabs were harvested from the Atlantic Ocean or whether the products made from those crabs were eventually used in Nevada, Louisiana, or Wisconsin.”

            “We’re all connected to this animal because there’s something that takes its place in terms of insuring the safety of the pharmaceutical products we take.”  Gauvrey made the point that the pharmaceutical industry is growing, on average, about 5% -10% per year.  As a result, “There are more products, more devices, and more procedures – all of which need or require the use of LAL to ensure the safety of the general population.  If we’re interested in our health and our neighbor’s health and our children’s health and our animal’s health, we need to be concerned about this animal.  Because it’s giving of itself to help us.” 
            Gauvrey’s passion ramped up several degrees.  The enthusiasm in his voice and the intensity of his words was palpable.  “The horseshoe crab gives its blood to the biomedical industry, it gives it eyes to research, it gives its eggs to the shore birds, and it gives its body to the fishermen.  It gives all these things and as a result of all these gifts that it gives, it’s just barely breaking that line with a certain majority of people who choose to pay attention, barely!”