Codex Alimentarius is meeting on Monday, July 4th, Independence Day, to vote on limiting the freedom of the whole world to grow, own, or buy health supplements. Our delegation issued a statement yesterday saying that they will endorse the Codex recommendations.
This includes Vitamin C, iron, folic acid, and every other ordinary vitamin currently sold over-the-counter.
Before someone replies with a "this was already diaried," yes, it was diaried yesterday and a few months ago, but it hasn't gotten much play and it's VERY important.
More below...
Okay, here's the breakdown:
According to their Website Codex Alimentarius is a body that determines international guidelines for "purity" of foods in trade.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this Programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
July 4 - July 9, Codex is meeting to vote on regulations that would require vitamins and other dietary supplements to be removed from the "Food" category and placed in the "Chemicals" category. Therefore they will be regulated substances and you won't be able to buy them OTC. They will have to be prescribed.
Their argument is basically that people get enough nutrients from food and don't need supplements. Okay, people, how many times do you hear: "make sure you get your calcium so you don't get osteoporosis" and "women should always take folic acid whether they are pregnant or not, because the damage will already be done if they don't get enough from food and they get pregnant"? Etc, etc. No one, NO ONE, gets enough of ALL nutrients every day, even from a pretty well-balanced diet. That's why we all take multivitamins. As do children, which is another rant.
Among Codex's "General Principles" (scroll down when you click the link) include "Food Additives" and "Contaminants" -- here's where it gets scary.
The FDA has a whole FAQ on why we shouldn't worry about the Codex guidelines:
- WTO and WTO dispute panels do not have the power to change U.S. law. If a WTO decision in response to a dispute settlement panel is adverse to the U.S.,
only Congress and the Administration can decide whether to implement the panel recommendation, and, if so, how to implement it.
- For dietary supplements, it is unlikely that another country will accuse the U.S. of imposing a trade barrier for the importation of supplement products into the U.S. marketplace because the U.S. laws and regulations are generally broader in scope and less restrictive than the international standard.
- However, other countries with more restrictive laws and regulations for dietary supplement products than the U.S. may create trade barriers to the importation of products manufactured by the U.S. dietary supplement industry. Thus, the U.S. government's involvement in the setting of international standards can help minimize the potential of trade barriers to U.S products in international trade.
See that last part in italics? Ok, pay attention, folks:
Contrary to our own Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, the U.S. Delegation released a statement yesterday (I can't find it anywhere online or I'd link it -- if anyone can, let me know) that said they will be backing the proposed recommendations. The "US government's involvement" is rubber stamping the document.
And as far as the WTO? They do have the power to enforce any of these regulations should there be a trade dispute. And the EU and the US have been having continuing disputes over GM foods and our crappy beef. Even if it doesn't lead to a lawsuit by the WTO, the potential is there. And if/when it happens, if we lose, which we would if we weren't complying (as the above FDA quote suggests), we would be required to change our laws to regulate supplements.
I don't have any concrete evidence, but I would suggest that Big Pharma is not against this as they stand to gain the most. See here to see what happened to prices. Either way, it has the potential to screw us all. For a great breakdown: go here.
Note: So far, according to NAMC Newswire:
Representatives Ron Paul (R, TX), Dan Burton (R, IN) and Peter DiFazio (D, OR) sent a joint Congressional Letter to the U.S. CODEX Manager, Dr. Ed Scarbrough, demanding that he direct US Delegates to the 28th CODEX ALIMENTARIUS Commission in Rome next month to oppose ratification of the restrictive VMG. Their bipartisan letter noted that "the VMG... threatens our rights and laws in serious ways. This standard represents a violation of the significant protection offered to us in this country by laws like DSHEA and similar statutes."
Write and thank them!!
Also see this open letter to Evan Bayh about S722 and HR 3377, which support Codex.
TAKE ACTION
Write to your Congresspeople!! Contact all of the news outlets that have been totally silent -- not one piece anywhere in the major outlets!
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