How important are vitamins and supplements to you? Did you know that there have been several attempts in the past to regulate the supplement industry? Let’s see how this whole idea started.
The Codex Alimentarius was created in 1962 as a UN trade commission to control international food trade. Its initial intentions may have been altruistic, but it has been taken over by corporate interests, notably the pharmaceutical, pesticide, biotech and chemical industries. The World Trade Organization (WTO) backs sanctions on non-compliant nations who would face huge economic punishment in Codex court.
One of the dangers of Codex is the “Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses” (CCNFSDU). Dr. Rolf Grossklaus, a doctor who believes that nutrition has no role in health. Dr. Rolf is the ‘leader’ of Codex nutrition policy and has stated that ‘nutrition is not relevant to health’.
So what stands in the way of Codex outperforming our vitamins? It is the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA, 1994), an American law that classifies our supplements and herbs as foods (which cannot have an upper limit set on their use), passed by unanimous consent of Congress after a massive grassroots support organized by health food stores.
The problem now is that the Codex Alimentarius will go into global implementation on December 31, 2009 and $758 million is being spent lobbying Congress by Big Pharma. There are members of Congress who are trying to overthrow DSHEA and allow Codex to reign supreme in favor of Pharma. If protective laws like DSHEA are destroyed, the sanctioning power of the autocratic WTO kicks in, and it will be impossible to get out of the Codex Alimentarius. We can protect our access to high-potency nutrients and prevent an adulterated food supply only by putting pressure on Congress.
Another interesting headline posted recently reads: “The Bush administration has abruptly halted a government program that tests pesticide levels on fruits, vegetables and field crops, arguing the $8 million a year program is too costly, a decision that Critics Say It Might Take It Harder To Protect Consumers From Toxins In Their Food This is from the Chicago Tribune on September 27, 2008.
In short, the stage is being set to take away our rights to buy vitamins freely and put them under the control of pharmaceutical companies. This means much lower doses, higher prices, and a prescription from a doctor is needed. This also opens the door for chemical companies to increase their use of pesticides on crops, as Codex dictates.
Where is Congress in all this?
As we see with the recent events on Wall-street and the bailouts, even when we, the public, aggressively oppose certain bills introduced, Congress passes them anyway. So what would be your assumption regarding the Codex? There is also a push to legalize the prescription of cholesterol medication to an 18-month-old child,
what is nourishing? Here are two definitions:
1. Intentionally causing the death of a body of knowledge and information about the healing and health-promoting attributes of herbs, foods, and food components.
2. Intentionally causing the death of large numbers of people through nutritional manipulation.
We each have our opinions on “why”, but I think we can all agree that this is not for the average person’s sake. This wouldn’t be as important if it weren’t for the declining nutrition in our food. Our bodies cannot be healthy with ding dongs and twinkies.
Find out what is good for your body.