History of VRF
The history of the Violence Research Foundation is intertwined with the life of its founder, Everett L. "RED" Hodges. Driven by his experience with a troubled son, this passionate oil man set out to find the causes of attention-deficit / hyeractivity disorder and aberrent,violent behaviors.
His tireless quest led him to research that suggests excessive exposure to the heavy metal manganese causes attention-deficit / hyeractivity disorder and aberrent,violent behaviors. Based on his findings and the critical need for more research and exploration in this area, Red and his wife Mary, established the Violence Research Foundation in 1985. The Foundation has pioneered the effort to produce valid research, educate the public and promote legislative action. Listed below are some of the major milestones in the history of the Violence Research Foundation:
A group of scientists from Argonne National Laboratories, headed by Dr. William Walsh, reported that head hair samples from individuals with violent histories in Statesville Penitentiary exhibited "weird" metal patterns. One of the metals found in these head hair samples, in excess of normal, was manganese.
From 1985-1990 Louis A. Gottschalk, MD, PH.D, Chair, Dept of Psychiatry, University of California, Irvine collected head hair samples from repeat aberrant, violent criminals in California jails and prisons. Dr. Gottschalk was looking for a "metal marker", and, as reported in 1990 in the peer review journal "Comprehensive Psychiatry", manganese was 300% higher in the head hair of aberrant,violent criminals vs. 11% in non-aberrant, violent matched criminals. Read his study.
In 1994, The Violence Research Foundation, in partnership with Citizens for Health, successfully petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to continue its ban on the manganese- laden gas additive MMT. The work of Canadian neurotoxicologist , John Donaldson PhD., of McGill University, in Monteral, Canada was a vitial part of the success of this case. Dr. Donaldson was researching the role played by excess manganese exposure to Parkinson's dementia and other neurological disorders. He believes manganese works as a disinhibiting agent in the brain, allowing for more violent behavior in certain individuals. In his article entitled “Manganese Madness” Clues to the Aetiology of Human Brain Disease Emerges From a Geological Anomaly. He notes that the Greeks, in 200BC, observed aberrant, violent propensities in men working in the manganese mines. The Greeks called manganese, “Magana”, the madness metal.
Roger Masters, Ph.D., of Dartmouth College, investigated areas throughout the United States with high ambient (airborne) manganese levels, based on the Federal Toxic Release Index (15 cities in all). All of these areas, according to FBI Violence Crime Statistics, recorded 200% more aberrant,violent behavior than surrounding areas. Read his study. San Bernardino County California has the highest ambient manganese levels in California. The city of San Bernardino has been rated one of the top 10 most violent cities in the United States including one year as the most violent city. Read his study Manganese, Lead & Violent Crime in California: The Case of San Bernardino.
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, Davis conducted animal and primate studies and published results reporting significant dopamine destruction in animals fed soy based infant formula, in which manganese content is 50 or more times higher than found in mother's breast milk.
Senator Robert Presley's SBI07. In 1989 California Governor Deukmejian signed Senator Robert Presley's SBI07 into law. This bill allowed a nutritional intervention controlled study in the California Youth Authority with 450 inmates participating, and had a 5-year window. The study was controlled and jointly managed by UC-Berkeley and Cal State-Stanislaus. This six-month nutritional intervention generated a statistically significant 38% decrease in Level B offenses. Each Level B offense adds 3.7 months on to an inmate's prison sentence. The cost of the nutrients to this one group of 143 participants for six months was approximately $10,000. Existing staff participated in the administration of the nutrients. The estimated cost savings to the State of California was $110,000 during this six-month period.
