In 1956, Victor Irons was charged with 6 misdemeanor counts of selling "Misbranded articles of Drug." One "Drug" article was GreenLife®, a dietary supplement containing a mixture of dehydrated juice of barley, oats, rye, and wheat grass, alfalfa, bone meal, brewer´s yeast, fish liver oils, and kelp. On the 22nd of October, after a lengthy and costly trial, Irons received "…a verdict of guilty of the offense of Violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, (Title 21 U.S.C. 331 and 333)."

In a plea bargaining session prior to sentencing, the prosecutor and judge Francis J.W. Ford promised Irons he would not go to prison or pay any fine if he would just plead guilty and promise never again to claim that there was a need in human nutrition for the wholesome vitamins, minerals, fiber, and herbs he was selling, for which FDA said no need had ever been established. FDA and government prosecutors also insisted he agree to never again claim or imply that "…nearly everyone in this country is suffering from malnutrition or in danger of such suffering because of demineralization and depletion of soils and the refining and processing of foods…" Irons refused this plea bargain, stating that, "He would see them all in Hell before he signed his name to a bunch of lies and falsehoods." He was fined $6,000 and sentenced to 6 years, one for each count. He paid the fine and served 6 months at the federal penitentiary at Danbury, Connecticut rather than recant his teachings.

Irons became a national health hero to thousands of health food store owners and enthusiasts who were equally "guilty" of selling therapeutic foods that FDA said were legally "drugs". The Food and Drug Law was clear. It defined a "drug" as "…any article intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man." That, of course, is exactly the "intended" use of health foods.

After his release from prison, Irons helped found the National Health Federation, and served on its Board of Governors for more than 20 years. He gave thousands of dollars and hours of service to NHF to help make it the most powerful health freedom lobby organization in America. NHF was able to get the Proxmire Vitamin Bill introduced and unanimously enacted by Congress in 1976. It prohibited FDA from banning vitamins and minerals as drugs based on their potency.

Victor began a second family at the age of 72 and fathered his last child at the age of 80 - proof of his vitality and vigor. He passed away in 1993 at the age of 98 years old from complications of a car accident.

Thousands of people have benefited from his teachings of eating whole natural foods, fasting, and colon cleansing. He dared to read, think, speak, write and teach about health in a simple way that drew thousands to his lectures. His students, wife, family and friends loved him. Sonne’s Organic Foods, Inc. continues to be a family owned and operated company that preserves his integrity, principles, and reputation in every product we have manufactured and distributed for over 70 years.