The Benefits of Medical Alternatives Outweigh The Benefits of Allopathic Medicine. An Environmental Analysis

Over the past decade, medical advancements have impacted diverse communities who utilize healthcare through allopathic medicine and medical alternatives. According to Avalon University School of Medicine (2022), located in Willemstad, Curaçao that was founded in 2003, allopathic medicine uses medication, lab testing, and imaging to cure infirmities. Lisa Kisling and Regan Stiegmann (2024), a triple-board certified physician with a masters degree in public health (Ro, 2024), defines alternative medicine by describing how, “Alternative practices focus on stimulating the body’s ability to heal via energy alignment, herbal supplementation, and other balancing techniques.” The efficiency of these processes are expected when illness occurs meaning its influence on the planet must also be a priority. The demand of these products has transformed health systems, however the details of fabrication and utilization are being neglected. Some associations believe that allopathic medicine’s urgent process greatly increases survival rates to boost inhabitants in rural areas while others believe that medical alternatives use the earth’s resources in an organic composition to preserve its productivity. Overall, allopathic medicine impairs the earth’s activity by contributing to climate change and creating strains on ecological systems from its non-eco-friendly composition. Due to the carbon dioxide creation from distinct pharmaceutical productions and the plastic pollution of packaging, the benefits of allopathic treatments do not outweigh the benefits of medical alternatives.

While the industrialization of products is constantly increasing, the development of allopathic creation has caused more damage due to the burning of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. According to Ziyan Gao et al. (2019), who studied at the China-UK Low Carbon College that focuses on carbon emission solutions, in China, “...the increase of total energy consumption (including both primary and secondary energy sources), from 6.94 million tons of standard coal in 2000 to 16.37 million tons of standard coal in 2016”. The author’s background implies that China is of concern considering it is the second highest in pharmaceutical production which leaves possibilities for further patterns in adjoining areas. Due to burning coal being the main source of carbon dioxide, not having a solution to regulate amounts released confirms that allopathic medicine will continue to power climate change. Adding on, Jeffrey Kluger (2019), an editor of Time Magazine’s Science Reporting and author of Apollo 13, describes how an allopathic product used by millions is contributing to a breaking planet. In the United Kingdom, metered dose inhalers with aerosol pumps account for 70% of asthma pumps which deliver around 635,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually (Kluger, 2019). In addition to the creation of allopathic medicine producing carbon dioxide, the products for healthcare also negatively add. Furthermore, if citizens advocate for allopathic treatments, its climate change impact may obstruct agricultural crop yield which is used in medical alternatives such as herbal medicine. Although Ziyan Gao’s research was focused on the mass fabrication of allopathic medicine while Jeffery Kluger discussed precise equipment, the concerns of an international carbon emission crisis are equally expressed. The impairment of allopathic medicine on the atmosphere by the expansion of climate change generates fewer benefits compared to medical alternatives.

Plastic pollution is most commonly caused from the misconduct in landfills, however allopathic material waste is not an issue of lack of recycling, but a lack of correct composition. According to Katrina Megget (2021) from the Society of Chemical Industry, an organization established in 1881 that has members in over 70 countries, over 85% of drugs sold in Europe are in the form of blister packs. These are unable to be processed into recycling centers due to their materials of aluminum foil located around the desired plastic, meaning each layer requires separation in order to accurately repurpose (Megget, 2021). As a result of certain allopathic products not being biodegradable, many of their negative chemicals and debris could deface habitats necessary for maintaining a stable food chain, making shoreline revitalization challenging. Areas in close proximity to medical facilities may find a decrease in animal species that rely on marine wildlife as a main producer. Similarly found in Durban, South Africa, eNCA (2016), South Africa's top rated and most watched news channel founded in 2008, researched a shoreline located at the end of the Umgeni River in South Africa. Residents of the area were discouraged when four beaches ceased operations from the plentiful amount of medicine bottles and syringes (eNCA, 2016). Due to eNCA being a news channel and receiving personal concerns from local citizens, it makes the situation more invasive from not only impacting the beaches, but community activities that use its resources.The inconvenience of allopathic products to recycling centers means a higher probability that patients with prescriptions will dispose of them incorrectly, therefore sending many single-use polypropylene plastics into our waterways. The common use of complex plastics from allopathic medicine that leads to pollution results in medical alternatives having greater benefits due to their lack of lab designed medication.

Despite the carbon footprint and plastic pollution of allopathic medicine, some opponents of medical alternatives believe that allopathic treatments provide greater beneficial healthcare for elaborate illnesses. According to Robert Shmerling (2024), an editorial advisory Board Member at Harvard Health Publishing, “It's undeniable: modern medicine offers ever-expanding ways to heal and prevent disease.” If the lives of more humans can be preserved with the aid of allopathic medicine, it has greater significance than consideration for the planet. Scientists will continue to investigate ecosystem flaws as medical advancements evolve but the relationships between individuals are unrepairable. However, the author omits all lives such as animals which lose populations due to the creation of allopathic medicine. To disprove Shmerling’s allegation, German Animal Welfare Federation (n.d.), an organization founded in 1881 that aims to protect animals with their 550 shelters throughout Germany, points out practices of animal testing. In the European Union during 2020, over 7,000 monkeys were killed in pharmaceutical testing conditions such as confined cages (German Animal Welfare Federation, n.d.). When developing allopathic medicine, its complex chemical composure requires test subjects before being released into the public for safety precautions. Although the amount of casualties in the study may have been a result of a global disease in 2020 that required an increase in vaccine testing, allopathic medicine production is continuing to expand. The benefit of allopathic urgent care does not justify killing animals (such as endangered species) for the convenience of lab-manufactured medication, expressing that the medical alternative’s approach is a more useful utility.

Overall, allopathic and medical alternatives are competitive sources of medical management that patients rely upon. Although allopathic medicine may provide a more particularized treatment with a higher productivity rate, it includes carbon dioxide emissions transfiguring into climate change, coastal areas overflowing with plastic debris, and the decline of wildlife populations. When countries experience population growth, it is necessary that experimental medications be developed to regulate new ailments. As a result, there is a coherent demand for equipment that optimizes allopathic medicine’s harm on environs. As introduced by Ecosteryl (2024), a treatment and recycling machine manufacturer based in Mons, Belgium and has spread to over 60 countries, the R-Steryl sorting operator makes decomposing contaminated medical waste into plastic granules attainable and remaining 100% electric. This allows for medical facilities to manage allopathic waste which can protect patients from a littered environment. More countries should adopt this operation into their waste management funding to prevent further accumulation. A hindrance to the global spread of this machine in the other 135 countries may include the fair to afford this extortionate price when involved in military conflicts. Oftentimes governments will prioritize advancing the national security of an area over solutions to allopathic medicine waste that don’t pose immediate threats. Additionally, more research should be conducted with the benefits of medical alternative ingredient’s cultivation associated with soil fertility. Because many countries are unable to afford allopathic waste solutions, substituting this with medical alternative’s advantages will lessen carbon emissions, plastic pollution, and animal cruelty.

References

Avalon University School of Medicine. (2022). Allopathic vs Osteopathic: A Difference in Medical Philosophy. Avalon University School of Medicine. https://avalonu.org/allopathic-vs-osteopathic-2/

Ecosteryl. (2024). Medical waste treatment and recycling. Ecosteryl. https://www.ecosteryl.com/en/

eNCA. (2016). Medical waste found on four Durban beaches (Video). Youtube. https://youtu.be/TPVS-EaWK1o?feature=shared

Gao, Z., Geng, Y., Wu, R., Chen, W., Wu, F., & Tian, X. (2019). Analysis of energy-related CO2 emissions in China's pharmaceutical industry and its driving forces. Journal of cleaner production, 223, 94-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.092.

German Animal Welfare Federation. (n.d.). Animal Testing On Monkeys. Deutscher Tierschutzbund. https://www.tierschutzbund.de/en/animals-topics/animal-testing/affenversuche

Kisling, L. A., Stiegmann, R. A., (2024). Alternative Medicine. StatPearls Publishing.

Kluger, J. (2019). How One Commonly Used Asthma Inhaler is Damaging the Planet. TIME. https://time.com/5717676/asthma-inhalers-and-climate/

Megget, K. (2021). Blistering Waste. The Society of Chemical Industry. https://www.soci.org/chemistry-and-industry/cni-data/2021/11/blistering-waste

Ro.(2024). Lisa Kisling Thompson, DO. Ro. https://ro.co/network-physician/lisa-kisling-thompson/

Shmerling, R., H. (2024). Health care should improve your health, right? Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/health-care-should-improve-your-health-right-202406203050