Who Speaks for the Guinea Worms?
As you read this, a cartel of powerful organizations is conspiring to exterminate a living endangered species from the planet. And almost no one is doing anything about it. The Guinea Worm has few defenders. Guinea Worms are neither cute nor fluffy. An animated Guinea Worm with a humorous voice has never appeared in a Disney movie. Yet the Guinea Worm is as endangered as any species today. When the last one has been killed, the earth’s biodiversity will have been irrevocably harmed. Unlike elephants, tigers, and other charismatic megafauna, the Guinea Worm has few advocates. While more photogenic species benefit from worldwide attention and seemingly-inexhaustible efforts to preserve their small numbers, the Guinea Worm struggles in silence against an organized worldwide effort of supposed “health” experts who have little or no awareness of the damage they pose to worldwide biodiversity. Ironically, as a parasite the Guinea Worm is dependent on humanity to complete its life cycle. The
