In spite of all of his accomplishments, Jim was a very humble man. I remember sitting in a Voice for Hope meeting, and Jim was taking questions. One of the members mentioned that acupuncture needles had become reclassified in the US, but Jim never mentioned that he was the lead attorney in making that happen. I miss him so much. What a heart!

Dear Jim, Thank you again for all I learned through you and because of you. I especially cherish memories of the workshop with Arthur Gilman, as well as gatherings on the Hill with Voice for HOPE. I hope you are pleased with my current activities.

One hears "they broke the mold..." fairly often, but where Jim Turner is concerned, it really applies. Jim was a uniquely GREAT person. Thinking of him in the past tense still seems odd, because his energy and legacy live on in so many ways.                                                                

Jim accompanied myself and several other nutrition colleagues to meetings at FDA HQ in Maryland. Our task that day was to defend DSHEA and the continued access to safe nutritional supplements. How many of us take supplements rather than, in many cases, overly medicate with OTC or Rx meds? We shared our concerns with FDA staff across the table that day, and it seems to have helped matters. Thanks to Jim.

And then there was the time the National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP) asked Jim to help us defend our profession and livelihood in California. Jim came to our aide so that Certified Nutritionists and Educators (not only RN's and MD's) are legally allowed to talk about food in health care and other settings. Crazy that it came to that, but it's what we were up against. We successfully lobbied at the federal level. Thanks, again, to Jim.
                                                  
And last but definitely not least, Jim Turner worked tirelessly on behalf of a small coalition to petition the FDA on an urgent matter. In this case, the Citizen Petition Jim helped to craft and subsequently file asked for stronger guidelines for man-made radiation in the US food supply due to the ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster. No matter how busy he was helping others, he always had time to take a phone call or meeting with us. The work continues now for many reasons but mainly, I believe, because Jim would want it that way. 
                              
Recently the Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network (FFAN) honored Jim with an online tribute at our annual event. Our focus was to collect more comments on the Citizen Petition that he originally implemented. People are amazed at how much Jim had accomplished in his lifetime. The myriad of natural health tools we take for granted: acupuncture, organics, non-GMO's, safe nutritional supplements, and more, all thanks to Jim. I was very proud to share his tribute from Citizens for Health and will continue to do so.

I'll end with one story. One day it fell to Jim to drive the CN's to Rockville for a meeting at FDA HQ. Some of us were nervous, but certainly not Jim. It was quiet in the car until a song came on the radio. From that point on Jim regaled us with reasons why Dirty Dancing is the best movie of all time. Really?? My mom had recently passed away, and I could never understand her fanatical love for the same movie. Jim explained that it was one for their generation, and these were all the reasons why it mattered. By the time we arrived at FDA and drove past the armed guards at the gate, the CN's were at ease. Now whenever I hear the Jennifer Warren song (I've had) The Time of My Life, how can I help but think of our mission that day. Thanks, yet again, for that memory.


                                                               

Barbara and I will always cherish our time together with Jim Turner. We celebrate the life of a legend who was one of my best friends. Barbara loved him like a wise “older brother” and was enriched intellectually every time we got together with Jim and Betsy. Jim was love personified with a servant’s heart. We spoke to each other on a regular basis for over 40 years. Jim was a visionary and one of the most creative and significant thinkers of our age. Jim’s passion and dedication inspired everyone who had the privilege to know and work alongside of him, and I know that he will be deeply missed by everyone that knew him. I have been truly blessed to know incredible people who have made a difference in life during my journey on the planet, and I must sincerely say that Jim was one of the most intelligent and intuitive people that I knew, and he had an incredible sense of humor, imagination, and an ability to think of various future possibilities by transcending prevailing values, assumptions, and myths. He had great wisdom and was always there for Barbara and me. He was a spiritual warrior who fought for health freedom and consumer choice, never complaining that the fight was often long and arduous, like two steps forward one step back. Jim believed in achieving health and wellness through the best of eastern and western medical traditions. Barbara and I, with Betsy’s help, will carry on that fight in his name. Jim was and always will be our hero! We loved him dearly and will miss his smile, his face, his laugh, and his unique perspective on life. Our hearts still ache each time we realize anew that he is gone.
David & Barbara Allen

Jim enriched my life in many ways. My poem about him:

Starting with "The Chemical Feast, '
His activism never ceased.
Keeping people out of trouble,
Bursting the Big pharma bubble.
Reader, writer, strategist,
His public service will be missed.
Inspired, let's all do some thing
With courage, insight, love, and zing.

Jim was a great man and fine friend to my dad, Elwood Richard, founder of NOW Foods. I had the privelage of knowing Jim, and he actually began writing a book for my former publishing company about the CODEX controversy -- of course he was in the thick of opposition to its regulatory restrictions upon health freedom. Unfortunately, due to his many other commitments, that book was never published. However, I came to know Jim's honesty, intelligence and courage during the time I knew him and worked with him.

I was pleasantly surprised, in 2004, when Ana Micka reached out to me at the suggestion of Jim Turner. The CUNY Graduate Center in New York City was holding a symposium on globalism --- and Citizens needed somebody to talk about the EU Supplements Directive and Codex, and about how common ground could be found between consumers and industry.

Finding common ground and forging alliances to achieve social good was at the heart and soul of so much of what Jim believed, exemplified and taught to all of us.

However as a former U.S. NAVY officer, and later one of Nader’s Raiders, Jim also knew that if fighting was needed to achieve justice, then so be it. Whether it was mobilizing Americans to win passage of DSHEA after the Tahoma Clinic Raid, or serving as the lead attorney on a petition that led to the mainstreaming of acupuncture, or successfully defending chiropractors and holistic dentists, and so many other times. I’m so glad that I was able to fight alongside with Jim on many issues after these.

Aside from when he was laughing, Jim had the gravitas that I imagine the Founding Fathers had. With his powerful mind and sharp wit, Jim always had what I thought was the perfect response to any question that was ever asked of him by a reporter or anyone.

I miss Jim, and that he is not physically here anymore to help us find the way forward. But I am deeply grateful that his life of accomplishment, duty and dedication is shining a bright light to inspire all of us and whole new generations of Americans.

Jim was a giant. A brilliant and generous man with a heart of gold---and a mind that saw far beyond what was happening on the surface--whether 1) in politics, 2) legal or regulatory matters, 3) in activism, or 4) in relations between people--he was equally as interested in the facts as he was in what energies were trying to come through and why.

As we all know, Jim was a macro thinker, who could very clearly see the big picture, and also take in and remember the details of many, many views, all of which he considered essential to finding deeper truths and balanced solutions.

But what was quite unique about Jim beyond these extremely well-developed abilities was that his center of gravity, most of the time, was in the Larger Field, the bigger whole. The Knowing Field.
It was the harmony in this larger energetic space that for Jim was True North.

He could see that all of life is trying to move---often in fits and starts--in this direction. That we are all in a process of aligning with this larger field--individually and collectively.

Jim supported clients, activists and innovators who all--in one way or another-- were seeking to Remove Impediments to the greater flow of energy, impediments to Freedom...most of them wanting power to move further to the periphery, from the center...to get to a place where all voices, and concerns, and new knowledge are allowed to be expressed, and be heard ...contributing actively to the ongoing transformation of our culture.

On a final note, even though Jim was a GIANT, with an EXTRAORDINARY MIND, his work was also unquestionably humble, service work.
Not based on self-aggrandizement, or the desire for accolades, but coming purely from a place of caring and wanting to constructively contribute. Serving Life.
And what a role model he was!

Jim lived his life "chopping wood and carrying water"-- committed to a healthier and more harmonious world.
Thank you, Jim!
RIP.

We send you off with the greatest respect, admiration, gratitude and love.

When Steve Levin and I sought help in creating a way for the fledgling science of biotensegrity to become more established, it was Jim‘s idea to create an archive, and it’s been the perfect vehicle for us. As my sister and sisters-in-law and I were developing The Soft Answer Verbal T’ai Chi, Jim encouraged us to think more expansively, and to apply the concept of using soft skills to manage verbal attacks to political discourse and bullying behaviors in the online world.
Always, Jim was as supportive as he was fearless, and he delighted in posing those tough but necessary questions. Jim understood how change happens (whether in a person, a group dynamic, or in a global movement spanning centuries); his grasp of systems was profound.

I count myself lucky and grateful to have been mentored by Jim, for to know Jim was to learn. Thanks to Jim, my critical thinking skills are better, and I’m able to expand my frame of reference and ask better questions than I ever would have been able to without him enriching my life. And I even know how to lobby Congress (thanks to Voice for Hope and Michael Ostrolenk)!

I’m endlessly grateful for Jim’s insight, optimism, and generosity of spirit, and I endeavor to, daily, extend the generosity I received from him to all I can, trusting that they will do the same.

I think we all do this; Jim’s good works will ever continue to radiate outward.

with gratitude and deep respect,

Susan Lowell de Solórzano
Stephen M Levin Biotensegrity Archive

So grateful to Jim's tireless servant leadership as we advocate for health freedom. Jim was always available, a brilliant and creative thinker, truly an inspiration to us all as we continue to stand for individual health rights. Jim your legacy lives in our hearts and I know each of us will continue on the roads you have paved over the years; With deep gratitude

I am sorry I was not available for the entirety of Jim's memorial today, but was moved by what I had the privilege to view.
I have been involved with Citizens for Health in some form or another since 2005, so I did not know Jim as long as some folks have. But my respect for Jim was instantaneous and grew quickly the more I worked with him. His energy and passion for his work was motivating; his persistence was inspiring; and his confidence in me was empowering. I have learned so much over the time we collaborated, and consider myself fortunate just to have experienced his wisdom, his commitment, and his spirit.
A proverb comes to mind, American Indian, I believe: If the eyes had no tears, the soul would have no rainbow.

From John Steiner and with Margo King

Like so many others, my wife and working partner, Margo King, and I were privileged to have had a long and remarkable relationship with Jim – and with dear Betsy. We loved Jim like a father, like a Founding Father to a new era. We also loved him like a brother, like a friend. He was always a trusted wise, political counselor and with Margo and Betsy a long time transpartisan buddy.

Margo and I often had what we called Sunday morning church with Jim – volleying around various issues of the day. We also shared a love of sports and his beloved Ohio State. I grew up in Cincinnati.

I’ve been known for hyperbole. Sometimes, it’s justified!

Jim was an unassuming genius, a wizardly weaver, an aikido-like master, a somewhat secret national treasure – truly an original. He had an astonishingly creative, curious, fertile, wide ranging and perhaps uniquely integrative heart-mind -- and memory -- for anyone he ever met, for anything he ever read and for anything he ever did.

He was spiritually awake – which was part of the profundity of his offerings everywhere and to everyone.

While engaging in a full time, public interest law and consulting practice, how he seemed to be always there for Margo, me and so many others – family, friends, colleagues, clients, friendly combatants -- with whom he worked and loved will always be a mystery to us.

He was indeed a Man for All Seasons. We will never see anyone like him again! While there is a great rent in the fabric, we know his irrepressible spirit and deep presence continues on with us.

Jim had influenced my life before ever meeting him. After suffering medically-induced consequences of female surgery, I began seeing an acupuncturist in Bethesda. During treatment, acupuncture needles became reclassified for used in the United States.

The journey to meet Jim seemed spiritually guided. At an unrelated event, a diviner read cards for me. I told her the surgical consequences that had impacted my life, and she told me I would meet someone who would help me. She said he was a powerful force and there was something military about him in the way he carried himself. Jim was powerful and his power was in his love.

One of the first meetings I attended after meeting Jim and becoming a member of Voice for Hope was a Betsy’s house where we viewed a documentary film about Harry Hoxsey. I knew then that I was where I was supposed to be. There are many in the fields of alternative health who claim, the body can heal itself. While I believe this is true, Hoxsey said, “If you give the body what it needs, the body can heal itself.” The first part of his statement is crucial.

There are those who believe we know what is needed for healing, but when women’s organs have been removed for over a century and our notions about their bodies and health have been completely ignored for just as long, we are not giving women what they need.

Jim was one of the few who stood by me with support I had never before known. He was one of a kind and will be sorely missed.

Jim was the most unusual conversational partner I met in my life. His fast, clear, sharp and witty mind knew no taboos. When Monica and I lived in Betsy's house on Glendora in Oakland in 1981-1983 he and Betsy would occasionally visit. He seemed to be never tired. He would drill right to the point in a completely non-confrontational way. Even though later on we hardly had any contact he is in the top five of angels in my life.

Jim was an inspiration to all who knew him. Though we knew him for just the last few years of his life, it was truly a special honor to work with him. His impressive career of always standing for the truth and what was right place him among those few but much admired individuals. We enjoyed his intellect, his humor and especially his kindness and decency. He will be missed by those like us who were fortunate to know him and by the millions who benefitted from his efforts on their behalf. A life well lived, Jim! We miss you.

I first met Jim Turner under the most curious of circumstances. Over 30 years ago while researching food residues for the fumigant methyl bromide, I was told by an FDA employee that while moving a desk in her office a letter was found from an attorney in D.C. who knows “all about methyl bromide.”

I called the number she gave me right away, and “that attorney” came right to the phone. It turned out that Jim was well versed in brominated vegetable oil (BVO) – a food additive that was relegated to the agency’s “interim” list when found to cause heart damage in rodents. That special list, created in the early ‘70s, was of great interest to Jim, representing as it did a way for the FDA to say that something may not be safe, but “don’t worry folks, we’re looking into it!” (BVO remains on that list to this very day).

Although Jim didn’t have the answers I was looking for about methyl bromide, I quickly realized that I had found an important ally, someone who not only knew the legal ramifications of issues, but knew the ropes of the system, and had more insight into the workings of the entire food-approval process and FDA maneuverings than anyone else I had ever contacted. Of course, his genius for analysis and knowledge of how the regulatory process worked extended far beyond the FDA.

My friendship with Jim continued for decades, and I can truly say that because a letter was found behind a desk with his name on it, it changed my life. Jim was a true friend, always there to answer my questions, tell me about issues that would make great stories and guide me thorough the maze of legalese and lies. Everything I’m doing today, whatever successes I’ve managed to achieve, have Jim’s imprint upon them.

Godspeed Jim Turner. Your contributions to our cause and to the quality of our lives will never be forgotten.

While I only had the honor of meeting Jim late in life, 4 1/2 years ago, I offer to him my highest personal praise and gratitude - he was someone who made my life better by simply knowing him.

The Chiropractic profession along with all chiropractors, owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Turner. We should all be so blessed to have such purpose and passion in our lifetimes to such an honorable principle in promoting and protecting humanity. The world has lost a warrior. Thank you God for sharing him with mankind. Many blessings to his family and loved ones.

Jim was my most profound and significant mentor as well as an invaluable colleague and friend. I worked for him the summer of 1969 as an intern on his book, The Chemical Feast.  At that time, and continuing for the rest of his life, he was a provocative and unique force in my life. I feasted often on his original, insightful, bold, and brilliant perspectives — on history, society, politics, and human behavior.  Jim was so curious, generous, and fun — and yet so modest and egoless. He was always open and curious and wondrous and questioned everything. He was wonderfully, madly, intelligent and seemed to enjoy teaching us. 

I am so grateful for Jim. He had a major influence on my own life and a penetrating and permanent effect on our nation’s laws, policies, and understanding of health and wellness. He uplifted and transformed so many of us. We all owe Jim endless love and gratitude for all he was and all he did for us. We were blessed by his life, his kindness, his presence. 

A master. A truly great man.

When we at Biogetica embarked on the mission of giving "nature's medicine the respect they deserved" our mentor Dr Rustum Roy put me in touch with Jim Turner knowing that our collaboration would be essential to overcoming any issues that may arise. When issues arose Jim helped us craft a message and strategy that insured that these issues would be resolved. The message ended with the line "no one can come in the way of your right to know and choose". Jim truly has done more for health freedom than anyone else I know. He did so selflessly and honestly and has been been my guiding light in these matters all along. It is sad to know that he's gone from the physical plane but his truly was a life that needs to be celebrated and we are even more determined to continue the work he started. Hoping that all of us that have written here stay coordinated and cooperative as this is a battle that one cannot win alone.

I had the honor of meeting Jim after my friend, Betsy, graduated from UC Berkeley’s Boldt School of Law and headed for DC. Jim lived life vividly! Being fully present and witty while taking on challenges that need to be nurtured or stopped completely were his forte! Opening necessary arches when there were no doors were daily doin’s for Jim. In 2003, I invited Jim Turner and Neva Goodwin, principal at Tuft’s GDAE (Global Development and Environment Institute) to facilitate the discussions among international candidates who will be scoping new economic metrics through a product—a Loaf of Bread—for the Our Daily Bread International Prize. Serious extrapolations were had and minds were buzzing as the group disbursed. Jim was heading out at the end of the session and had two minutes of so to read on his airplane Sci Fi paperback. He was always ready to stretch his own mind and the minds of others—a great gift to us all!

Jim immersed himself in many necessary actions to elevate life in a democracy. One such action, as a Democrat, with Republican Lawrence Chickering, Jim co-authored Voice of the People: The Transpartisan Imperative in American Life. Jim was also the co-founder and co-editor of the online journal, The Transpartisan Review. Together they presented an alternative perspective to the left-right dichotomy, incorporating where people stand regarding ‘Order’ and ‘Freedom’. He proposed the creation of new approaches to allow the range of viewpoints in the four quadrants of the left-right, order-freedom matrix to be expressed, including those of the 137 million registered independent and non-registered potential voters today who do not feel either of the two parties meet their needs. (Excerpted from Manhattan Neighbors for Safer Telecommunications, 2/14/2022.)

Betsy and Jim often had reasons to come west and were warmly welcomed by a long-standing cadre of friends eager to visit and play. I know Betsy and Chris will carry Jim’s legacy forward. But the advocate for enabling breakthroughs in our thinking with an emphasis on social justice and equity, health and vitality, was the torch held high, a brilliant provocateur, James S. Turner. 

We would like to recognize Jim Turner as one of the finest true man and warrior/lawyer there ever was. When other lawyers gave up on our case as the odds were against us, Jim did not back down. Jim's integrity and commitment to personal liberty and personal health choices will be forever remembered and respected.  Jim and his teams perseverance and tenacity protected and still protects our Rights to choose our own personal health care. The families at Harmony Cone are forever grateful for protecting us and others from tyranny. 

After our first meeting with Jim and Betsy I said to Beth, "He's not a lawyer, he's a philosopher." We liked him and Betsy immediately. As my grandmother used to say, "What's not to like?"

Jim saved us when we were attacked by the Federal Trade Commission. We had gone through two or three law firms, each more expensive and incompetent than the prior one. Every week we were getting more threatening letters from the FTC. We were scared.

Jim Turner lived up to his name and turned things around almost immediately. Suddenly the government's attacking halted. I asked him why he succeeded while other lawyers, former FTC employees, were useless. He said, "They want to go back to the agency one day, they respect the FTC. I do not."

The FTC dropped the investigation and we had a party in DC to celebrate. Even Harris Coulter was there! Jim knew everyone it seemed.

At a conference my beloved wife Beth humorously referred to Jim as "The Brain" after watching him sit quietly with his eyes closed at a table and within moments someone would sit down, Jim would spring to life and begin to speak. The person would thank him, move away, Jim would close his eyes again, and after a minute another person would sit down and Jim would would spring to life again and have another conversation. This happened over and over.

Beth said, "The scene reminds me of those machines at a fun house, where you'd put a dollar in the slot and the wise man would come to life a card would drop out of the bottom slot with some wisdom." She designed a picture of such a fun house machine with Jim's photo superimposed over the face of the "wise man" with the phrase "Ask the Brain."

We gave it to Jim as a gift and he kept it in his office. I hope Betsy puts it up sometime.

Watching Jim work was watching a master at aikido. Jim told me he used his opponents' energies and diverted it away. For example, he'd tell them, "Yes, we agree there is health fraud, but it's not coming from my client. Let's work together get those who are truly dishonest."

After he beat the pants out of the gov't lawyers they shook his hand and smiled. "How did he do that," I wondered.

Then the quackbusters went after us - Jim handled the entire case with finesse and even humor. More than knowing the law, he knew the forces behind the law.

Jim was my protector, my mentor, my friend. Beth and I loved being with him and he enriched our lives with his wisdom. Betsy is helping continue his work and we wish her all of G-d's blessings in doing so. We know Jim is watching over her and helping her to continue his mission.

My husband and I met Jim Turner through Tedd Koren DC, and Jim represented us in the US FTC v. Daniel Chapter One.
I have many fond memories of Jim. He was accomplished and brilliant, yet unpretentious: humble and kind and gracious, a real gentleman in and out of the unpleasantries of depositions and courts. His calm demeanor and sense of humor made it all bearable!

We deeply appreciate all Jim has done to further Health Freedom in this country, and for fighting hard for us; for his understanding of the vitalistic v mechanistic approach to sickness and healing, and for his passion to protect the God-given right of every individual to choose their own way.

I had the great pleasure and honor of knowing Jim and Betsy from either 1979 or 1980 when we were all part of the New World Alliance.

SOOOO many wonderful conversations and interactions with Jim over the years....

I still feel the very strong connection with him. And I know that he still has our backs - and that he's enjoying his wings and continuing to share his love and awareness with us, and receiving ours as well.

And that this is Forever.

SO very grateful to have known you in this lifetime, Jim.

The homeopathic community is DEEPLY grateful to Jim Turner for his long-time advocacy for homeopathy and for his commitment to maintaining access to these natural medicine despite the various challenges that the FDA regularly creates. 

Jim got introduced to homeopathy by our mutual friend, Harris Coulter, PhD, who was an eminent medical historian. Jim has had a tendency to befriend brilliant advocates of radical cultural reformations...and Harry Coulter certainly fits these qualities. And heck, it is my honor to have been a friend and colleague of Jim's!

Such a bright, illuminate man. I am from Ohio and now I know why his was such a familiar ethic. Some of the best conversations -- ever. Weaving the transcendental with the practical! He saw and protected what is possible. We will meet in the beyond and learn why what could be is not what can be. Sad for the loss. Sad for that so much brilliance applied so brilliantly could appear to be misappropriated. But then, as we discussed so many times - what seems reasonable is no promise of actualization -- AND, we would continue with the grand aspirations and daily toil just because, that is what we do!

Betsy and Jim visited Beverly Rubik and myself a few times at our Institute for Frontier Science lab in the Bay Area. We had always spirited conversations about current and future science. Jim had a knack to ask probing questions that brought out the best of all participants. I could get him really excited about Tesla and the aether concept, but unfortunately we never had the chance to explore the topic deeper in a scientifically rigorous way. Right now Jim is probably at a place where he gets all his aether questions answered. We all greatly miss him, his spirited and inspiring persona and his extraordinary wit. Our heart goes out to Betsy and all the other loves ones and friends he left behind.

Jim Turner was my dear friend, mentor and founding board member and I loved and appreciated him deeply. And still do…

He was indefatigably cheerful, somehow managing to be twinkly and hearty
simultaneously - exuberant, curious and fiercely caring about the planet and his family and friends.

We were honored and blessed to have Jim and Betsy as friends since 1999 and founding board members since 2003 for our non-profit organization, the Ecological Options Network, EON. In the following years our lives intertwined with projects, friends and mutual co-collaborators on various issues, health freedom, EMF safety issues, environmental, etc… Betsy and Jim often hosted us while we were in Washington, DC, as well as even hosting our friends! Together we explored the periphery where Jim wisely perceived the action to be.

Through him we had fascinating glimpses of the workings of to me, exotic sectors: Chinese medicine practitioners, Chi Gung masters, energy healers using frequencies, organic products producers, cutting edge nostrum inventors, energy-based products, and more. He had a voracious appetite for championing legal challenges for folks in all these spheres.
Once I asked a Slavic man next to me at a Chinese Medicine conference where Jim was speaking how he came to know Jim. He answered that he'd looked up who had filed the most lawsuits against the FDA and found Jim! He needed Jim's expertise for his battle against the FDA.

Jim loved the arts and he and Betsy treated us to performances we would never have seen otherwise – Les Miserables and Cirque du Soleil, for instance.

Jim was always up for an intellectual romp with folks via phone. He specialized in brilliant out-of –the-box brainstorming and managed to converse with people from all over the country daily. No matter how busy he was, he always made me feel he was happy to talk.

He represented some of the most interesting people and was friends with countless other planetary light workers.

I treasure the times we’ve had with Jim and with Betsy throughout the last 22 years. But I can’t help myself wanting to have had even more. I’m working on accepting the hole in my life Jim left when he passed away. But I am very grateful that we had such rich adventures together. You are deeply missed, Jim Turner. Thanks for being in our lives.

02/22/22

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/chd-remembers-james-turner-food-safety-advocate/

CHD Remembers James Turner, Food Safety Advocate Who Fought to Ban Dangerous Sweeteners From Kids’ Foods

Attorney James Turner, a consumer crusader and champion in the fight against chemical sweeteners will be remembered for his courageous battle to ban aspartame. Turner, 81, died Jan. 25.
By Children's Health Defense Team


The Children’s Health Defense team was deeply saddened to learn of the death of attorney James Turner on Jan. 25.

Turner, 81, was a consumer crusader and champion in the fight against chemical sweeteners who began his public advocacy career as one of Ralph Nader’s Raiders.

In 1970, Turner wrote “The Chemical Feast, a best-seller that exposed the food industry’s failure to protect the food supply. His fight to remove cyclamate from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Generally Recognized as Safe list led to the book being removed from the market, but it was republished in 1976 by Penguin Books.

A graduate of The Ohio State University (OSU) on a U.S. Navy scholarship, Turner served in the OSU student senate for three years. He received his law degree from The Ohio State University College of Law (now Moritz College of Law) where he served as Chief Justice of the Moot Court.

Between undergraduate and law school, Turner was a lieutenant on active duty in the U.S. Navy. He graduated with distinction from the Naval Justice School and served as a nuclear weapons handling officer and gunnery officer aboard the U.S.S. Purdy and the U.S.S. Austin.

Turner played a major role in the fight against the artificial sweetener aspartame. He also worked with Dr. John Olney in the late 1960s during the Senate hearings about monosodium glutamate (MSG) in baby foods.

Turner was concerned about Olney’s research proving aspartame caused brain lesions in baby rats and he fought to make sure it would not get approved as an artificial sweetener. He discovered that the aspartic acid in aspartame had similar properties to glutamate — an ingredient in MSG.

Representing a Washington, D.C. public interest group, Consumer Nutrition Institute, Turner and Olney filed formal objections with the FDA and challenged the validity of some of the key aspartame safety tests that the manufacturer, Searle, had submitted to the FDA.

Turner and Olney highlighted evidence that aspartame was causing brain damage, brain tumors, seizures and changes in animal brain chemistry and therefore it may have the potential to affect pregnant women and young children.

Turner and Olney were worried there was no way to control how much NutraSweet (aspartame) children were ingesting. Searle had not tested aspartame on humans and safe dosage data for children was not available. Turner and Olney insisted if children ate too many products containing NutraSweet they could easily cross the threshold that could trigger seizures.

After the Ramazzini Institute studies in Italy demonstrated for the second time that aspartame was a multipotential carcinogen, Turner wrote:

“When I testified before Congress in 1987 … I stated that just because a substance reaches the market it should not be treated as sacrosanct. It must be recognized that over time a substance that we know harms people will continue to harm people… If the standard of food safety is that a substance that only harms some people, but not all people is going to be allowed on the market, then special policies should be adopted to protect those at risk.

“This was never done… victims of aspartame continue to develop neurodegenerative disease, suffer diabetes, drug interactions, obesity, heart disease and loss of vision. Never has the public been warned that it triggers birth defects, a catastrophe the eminent Dr. Louis Elsas warned Congress about.

“In fact the average consumer of aspartame is not aware that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says that an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame is 40 milligrams/kilogram of body weight ¬— about the amount in a six-pack of diet soda for a 10-year-old boy. Nor do they now know how to tell if that amount is being exceeded by intake of the more than 5000 food and drug products currently sweetened with aspartame.”

Turner worked fiercely to get aspartame banned — especially after Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino wrote a bill to ban it in 2007 with the help of Stephen Fox of Mission Possible NM in Santa Fe.

In a documentary on aspartame, “Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World,” Turner definitively points out that Donald Rumsfeld had total complicity in the forced approval of the toxin.

In 2021, Turner was instrumental in forcing the FDA to release its documents on aspartame.

At the time of his death, Turner had been preparing a lawsuit to get aspartame banned, using the Delaney Clause, incorporated into the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by the Food Additives Amendment of 1958. The clause requires the FDA to ban food additives found to cause or induce cancer in humans or animals as indicated by testing.

He wrote:
“The only responsible thing to do is ban the sweetener. And if they refuse to ban it then it should carry heavy warnings… To loose upon an entire unwarned continent a chemical that destroys the fetus, triggers mental illness and cancer, and sickens millions without a word of warning is corrupt and depraved. EFSA is responsible to prevent such depredations, not simply protect the greedy pockets of the poison producers.”

Turner’s longtime friend and associate, Dr. Betty Martini, stated:
“I’ve known Jim for decades. Never once has he deterred from his passion to get this toxin removed. He told me the FDA told Dr. Olney and him that they would never allow children to ever get aspartame because it causes birth defects and mental retardation, yet it’s in countless children’s products, and many have perished.”

Martini said she was exhilarated about Turner’s upcoming bombshell suit against the FDA — a gigantic step in finally removing aspartame from the marketplace.

Unfortunately, Turner became ill, robbing him of the chance to complete his last courageous act to free people from the dreadful addictive excitoneurotoxic, carcinogenic drug masquerading as an additive, she said.

Dr. Ralph Walton said of Turner: “The world has lost a powerful, courageous and consistent voice in the decades-long effort to demonstrate the hazards of aspartame.”

We, at the Children’s Health Defense Team, salute a great man who spent decades working to remove deadly toxins like aspartame from the market making the food and drug supply a safer place for the public.

Many more of his accomplishments could be listed but this is what he should most be remembered for.

Watch this podcast in which Turner discussed the horrors of aspartame.

https://livehealthybewell.com/podcast/jim-turner-exposes-horrific-dangers-and-corrupt-approvals-of-aspartame-and-other-products-episode-22/

Jim saw the world from the mountain top. His vision encompassed and contained so much: history, spirituality, understanding of human nature, balance, optimism, joie de vivre, candor, clarity, flexibility mind...always ready to consider new ideas. Jim was always on the "right side" of issues...ahead of his times - and as Ellie said, had our backs. Jim, your presence will be sorely missed as will your kindness and fun-loving disposition. We will carry on listening to the echo of your life reverberating around us inspiring our path forward. 

We are so grateful and blessed to have known Jim and had his support with the Lightfield Foundation. Jim was a generous humanitarian and will be greatly missed. Thank you for all that you have done to make the planet a better place Jim. Our love goes out to you!

Jim was a brilliant advocate, deep thinker, and good friend and neighbor. He was a fierce champion of consumers, including our right to choose the kind of health care we want such as homeopathy. He drew on wide knowledge and deep wisdom to give excellent advice to many social change activists and citizens.

Thank you, Jim!

I had the pleasure of meeting Jim several times and I was impressed with his brilliance and kind manner. Whenever I would email for advice he would respond promptly with excellent advice. I was stunned when he flew in for the court hearings for the San Francisco cell phone right to know legislation. He was with us 200% and he always had our backs. I will miss him terribly and my heart goes out to his family. Thank you for sharing him!