It’s enough to pull our slumbering BoldRush bear out of hibernation! The U.S. government has disregarded the border and is appropriating northern cranberries as their own!
Now most people know that northern cranberries, officially referred to as vaccinium oxycoccus, are the magical ingredient in BoldRush power drinks, injecting strength and endurance into its loyal following. The BoldRush website tells the story of how the little northern cranberries’ powers couldn’t be mentioned in Canada because of Canadian labeling laws. So while we’ve been whispering about magical photonutrients and powerful anthocyanins, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been cross-breeding the powerful little vaccinium oxycoccus with what it calls a typical American cranberry.
BoldRush was born in Canada’s Yukon, so it seems more than a little bit rash that the American government has renamed this little nordic berry, which is indigenous to all circumpolar countries — the Alaskan Cranberry. 
American researchers discovered what James stumbled upon in the Yukon wilderness — the amazing ability of the berries to regenerate, preserve and enhance the body’s ability to withstand, bear (pardon the pun) and prevail when facing adversity and challenge. (And, to maintain an honest line of attribution, James also stumbled upon what indigenous northern peoples have always known.)
However, the United States government and their government scientists put the berry under a microscope and discovered that the little northern berry’s glucose-linked anthocyanins are found in the wild northern berries at a rate of 50% compared to just 5% in the southern berry. They suspect that this difference is one of the characteristics holding the key to the cherished benefits of cranberries in general — protection against aging, cancer, and heart disease.
My first hit was one of envy — American corporations incurring huge cost savings by having the government do their research and development for them. But then, pondering government involvement and the appropriation of a northern berry to an American state (another government), more questions arose. There may be a deeper and more insidious side to this. It is the stuff that United Nation committees work on year after year. It pertains to the Convention on Biodiversity and their deliberations on intellectual property, plant genetics, patents, traditional knowledge and indigenous peoples.
The intent of the Convention on Biodiversity is to achieve the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. That means that northern people should somehow benefit from the genetic code provided to the American government scientists which they may turn over to American multi-national corporations. It’s likely easier for scientists to manipulate genetic patents if the cranberry is American or Alaskan.
What a world! Genetically enhanced cranberries for more people through corporate distribution (Ocean Spray controls two-thirds of the cranberry market), or higher prices for the lovely First Nation women we bought our cranberries from. In the fall, when the berries were ripe, one of them couldn’t sleep if there were still berries out there waiting to be picked.
These food science newsletters I still subscribe to, make me lose sleep as well.
