* Crossposted from: AHEALTH
Message about CODEX treaty on supplements (shortened version)
      Cross-posted from the Internet USENET news group:  alt.health
 
 -=> Quoting Pilothigh to  <=-
 Pi> The future availability and legal status of herbs, vitamins,
 Pi> amino acids, minerals and all other supplements in the U.S.
 Pi> and throughout the world, may be determined by a committee
 Pi> made up of 146 nations called the Codex Alimentarius
 Pi> Commission, which operates in conjunction with the United
 Pi> Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO).
 Pi> Established in 1962 for the purpose of setting international
 Pi> standards and codes for foods, the Codex Commission is over-
 Pi> whelmingly composed of German and International
 Pi> Pharmaceutical Corporations. Over 90% of the international
 Pi> organizations ALLOWED to send delegates to the meetings
 Pi> represent giant multinational pharmaceutical corporations.
 Pi> The only consumer organization is the International
 Pi> Organization of Consumer Unions.
 Pi> In October, 1996, Codex met in Bonn, Germany to make radical
 Pi> changes in the rules governing dietary supplements for
 Pi> member nations. The proposals of greatest concern were those
 Pi> made by the German delegation (see the proposed Draft
 Pi> Guidelines for Dietary Supplements) and is being sponsored
 Pi> by Hoechst, Bayer and BASF. These are the three drug
 Pi> companies formed when the Nuremberg War Trials disbanded IG
 Pi> Farben, manufacturer of the poison gas used in Nazi
 Pi> concentration camps. This is not the first time that the UN
 Pi> has been linked closely with Nazi war criminals. Ostensibly,
 Pi> their purpose is " . . .to create a set of international
 Pi> standards to guide the world's growing food industry and to
 Pi> protect the health of consumers.
 Pi> The pharmaceutical company backed proposals call for the
 Pi> following:
 Pi> 1. No vitamin, mineral, herb, etc., can be sold for
 Pi> prophylactic (preventative) or therapeutic reasons.
 Pi> 2. Natural remedies can be sold as food but they must not
 Pi> exceed the potency (dosage) levels set by the commission.
 Pi> This means that consumer access to dietary supplements will
 Pi> be limited to the RDA dosage as a maximum limit for vitamins
 Pi> (Vitamin C - 60 mg. Vitamin E - 15 mg., etc.) Supplements
 Pi> without an RDA (e.g. coenzyme Q10) would be illegal to sell
 Pi> because they would all become drugs.
 Pi> 3. Codex regulations for dietary supplements would become
 Pi> binding, eliminating the escape clause within the General
 Pi> Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that allows a nation
 Pi> to set its own standards. This applies to all member
 Pi> countries of the UN. Any nation that does not accept these
 Pi> new standards will be heavily fined by the World Trade
 Pi> Organization (WTO) creating the potential for crippling
 Pi> entire sectors of that nation's economy.
 Pi> 4. All new supplements would be banned unless they go
 Pi> through the Codex approval process. Five steps have already
 Pi> been taken in the Codex process over the past few years.
 Pi> Remember Canadian Bill C-7 which was passed eventually in
 Pi> Canada as C-8? The similarity of the process, the secrecy,
 Pi> and the wording between the Codex proposals and the Canadian
 Pi> laws is uncanny. Voting in favor of adopting the German
 Pi> proposals has been overwhelming (16 for 2 against in the
 Pi> most recent vote). The Codex process is now at Step Five -
 Pi> formalization and debate concerning the specific features.
 Pi> In two years, Codex could jump from Step 5 to Step 8 to
 Pi> finalize these restrictions.
 Pi> it would never pass through congress. However, by taking the
 Pi> stance that they have, the FDA WILL ACCOMPLISH ITS GOALS BY
 Pi> LETTING CODEX DO ITS UNACCEPTABLE DIRTY WORK. The
 Pi> pharmaceutical companies are planning a global takeover of
 Pi> the vitamin-herb industry and within a few short years, they
 Pi> will have succeeded by pushing competitors out of the field.
 Pi> They are planning to do it very quietly and carefully
 Pi> through GATT and the Codex Commission. They will succeed if
 Pi> they are not exposed and their plan is not given national
 Pi> headlines.
 Pi> This is the last wake-up call that may be given before it is
 Pi> too late. It is of the utmost importance that everyone
 Pi> become aware and voice their displeasure with the leaders of
 Pi> their respective governmental agencies. In the U.S., it is
 Pi> imperative that everyone call and write to their local
 Pi> congressmen. Phone the White House. Call the FDA. Tell
 Pi> everyone you know to do the same. Call your local newspaper
 Pi> and alert them to what is really going on here. If we don't
 Pi> take action now, our freedom to choose will be taken away
 Pi> without most of us even being aware that it had happened!
 Pi> President Bill Clinton,
 Pi> The White House, Washington, DC 20500
 Pi> Phone: 202-205-5372 Fax: 202-260-8957
 Pi> E-mail: president@Whitehouse.gov
 Pi> Dr. Elizabeth Yetley, Director
 Pi> Office of SpecialNutritionals, HFS-45
 Pi> US Food and Drug Administration
 Pi> 200 C Street S.W. Washington, DC 20204, USA
 Pi> 202-205-4168 FAX: 202-205-5295
 Pi> E-mail: eyetley@bangate.fda.gov
 Pi> * * * * * * * * * * About the author * * * * * * * * * * *
 Pi> Jackie Buchanan has 26 years experience in the medical and
 Pi> textbook publishing field. She may be reached at Buchanan
 Pi> Publishing, P.O. Box 732 Collinsville, Illinois 62234 Email
 Pi> address: gypsy@MO.NET
 Pi> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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