Here’s a link accusing the World Trade Organization’s plans to inhibit the manufacture and sale of common supplements throughout the world so drug companies can corner the health industry in the future. I’m quite alarmed but feel free to draw your own conclusions:
http://www.sumeria.net/health/hpb-codex.html
A copy of the 2005 codex proposal was forwarded to me via e-mail. If anyone wants a copy, simply PM me.
Please note, the proposal is in Abode Acrobat format.
Peace be with all.
Everyone should be alarmed at this as they are trying to sneak this in with another trade agreement. The end result would be a panel of Australians ( who have extremely rigid laws on supplements) deciding the safe levels of nutrients for products in America. The real end result is, as always, the almighty dollar. Drug companies starting to see the trend of people taking nutritional healing into their own hands and taking money out of their pockets. Americans are starting to wake up and realize that these synthetic drug medications aren’t solving any problems just treating symptoms. In many cases they are creating more problems. Everyone should do their part to stand against CODEX as it screws us all really, weither you use nutrients for for performance enhancement or for healing.
codex is a non issue -see my other post on this topic.
I read your post but I still don’t see how this is a non-issue. Maybe not our most important demon as far as this goes but the CODEX guidelines can be used to limit what you can do about getting good nutrients. This goes beyond being voted for in our Congress. Yes we have representatives, like Dr Barbara Schneeman of the FDA, who is one of the key U.S. representatives to CODEX. We need to voice our opinions as citizens of this great country that we wish to protect our own choices. A good example of this is the Dietary Health and Education Act 0f 1994 (DSHEA). Understand that if the one worlders get their way, your choices on supps will fall like they did in the EU.
The real problem is the WTO being able to use the CODEX guidelines( which are sure to be extremely low as far as the safe upper limits of nutrients) to settle trade disputes. Another reason how CODEX can affect us is the EU Food Supplements Directive, which will surely impact countries in the CODEX. This directive creates a “positive” list vitamins that are ok to have in products, but it leaves off 200 vitamins & minerals which don’t make that list. While normally you would need to prove a supplement dangerous to be removed from the public, this directive would make it so that you would have to prove that a vitamin or mineral is safe first to get it on the positive list. This process can ge very costly. Ask Tim or TC how they would like to pay for all the research to prove that every single ingredient in Alpha Male or Surge is safe to WTO & CODEX standards!
Some things you need to look out for here in the states is legislation like the Dietary Supplement Safety Act, Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act and the Safe Food Act 0f 2004. All of these could ultimately have deleterious effects on the DSHEA of 1994 which is all you’ve got right now to keep your choices as is.
Healthactioncenter.org is a great sight to find out about these bills which affect every one in this great T-Nation of ours. I think it shows you how to find your local representative too so you can tell them how you feel. If you think its not your problem or you don’t have the time to write a quick letter to your representative then please do not bitch about it, after the fact, if the hammer does fall.
[quote]Atreides wrote:
codex is a non issue -see my other post on this topic.[/quote]
[quote]storey420 wrote:
Ask Tim or TC how they would like to pay for all the research to prove that every single ingredient in Alpha Male or Surge is safe to WTO & CODEX standards![/quote]
Since 1993, the FDA has threatened our rights to purchase coenzyme Q10, selenium, amino acids, herbals, and high potency vitamins. Thanks to millions of educated Americans who inundated Congress with letters, faxes, & phone calls, the FDA’s proposed ban was halted. Alarming to note, the 2005 Codex proposal calls to label supplements like coenzyme Q10 “drugs” because no RDA regulation has been assigned to such products. Whenever this change in classification occurs, prices soar, consumers need prescriptions to gain access to these beneficial compounds, and WE THE PEOPLE end up paying the bill.
“If Codex and the HPB have their way, your favorite supplements will be replaced by expensive, patented, over-the-counter or prescription drugs. Just look what has already happened to amino acids like tryptophan. Once available for under $20 for a bottle of 100 tablets of 500 mg at your local health food store, the same tablet is now only available at a cost of over $120 by prescription.”
If the 2005 Codex is implemented, and the U.S. government refuses to adopt RDA regulations for supplements such as A7E, tribulus terrestris, eurycoma longifolia, and 5-methyl-7-hydroxy-isoflavones, you can kiss most of your Biotest supplements goodbye. I’m surprised T-Nation hasn’t been proactive in establishing an official document/petition against these potential threats on the supplement industry. Perhaps now is the time.
Peace be with all.
WTO regs or for that matter Codex will never supersede US law without an act of Congress. There is no legislation in the current Congress to do such.
You are in some ways correct. The three bills I mentioned in my previous post were brought up last year in the 108th session of Congress. These same bills are expected to be reintroduced in the current session in the next couple of months just with different bill numbers. This is, as Atreides hopefully is pointing out, is the real present danger.
As far as how this all relates to CODEX:
The United States Federal Register, October 11, 1995, FDA Policy on Standards, states that " where a relevant international standard exists , or completion is imminent, it will generally be used in preference to a domestic standard." Now for those that haven’t kept up with the bs going on with conflict of interest with people in the FDA having ties with drug companies please understand that this kind of shit goes on. I’m not a conspiracy theorist but understand that in business, money rules the fucking world. Who do you think stands to profit tremendously from limiting nutraceutical options to people?
[quote]Atreides wrote:
WTO regs or for that matter Codex will never supersede US law without an act of Congress. There is no legislation in the current Congress to do such. [/quote]
[quote]storey420 wrote:
You are in some ways correct. The three bills I mentioned in my previous post were brought up last year in the 108th session of Congress. These same bills are expected to be reintroduced in the current session in the next couple of months just with different bill numbers. This is, as Atreides hopefully is pointing out, is the real present danger.
As far as how this all relates to CODEX:
The United States Federal Register, October 11, 1995, FDA Policy on Standards, states that " where a relevant international standard exists , or completion is imminent, it will generally be used in preference to a domestic standard." Now for those that haven’t kept up with the bs going on with conflict of interest with people in the FDA having ties with drug companies please understand that this kind of shit goes on. I’m not a conspiracy theorist but understand that in business, money rules the fucking world. Who do you think stands to profit tremendously from limiting nutraceutical options to people?
Atreides wrote:
WTO regs or for that matter Codex will never supersede US law without an act of Congress. There is no legislation in the current Congress to do such.
[/quote]
I’m with Atreides and I’ve posting on this same topic before as well. You ask your question at the end making it seem like big business benefits from limiting supplements to people… but how? Would Biotest, EAS, Met-RX, Twinlab, etc. get anything over a more limited market that would probably require a doctor’s prescription? I highly doubt it. The FDA conflicts of interest issue, while important, is a separate one from this because that goes more to drug approvals and such. This is a different kind of animal all together. I have a hard time believing drug companies would get into this supplement business given the fact that their current line of business is a lot more specialized/proprietary and not subject to the same amount of commoditization as the supplement industry where the truly unique supplements are few and far between.
In addition, we simply do not act in any way, shape or form like the EU. Given our own tenuous (at times) relationship with the U.N., I somehow doubt that the U.S. is going to cave in to the “one world government” types ever. It’s just not in our national make-up, certainly not under the current administration (regardless of your feelings on them). In addition, you have people like Senator Hatch who represent states with a lot of nutrition and supplement companies and they will not allow this kind of thing to proceed.
Kuz
I guess you’re right in that aspect Kuz. I’m coming from an aspect of nutritional medicine really being the worst off. Who gives a shit(drug company-wise) about some BB company’s protein powder. Now if Biotest came up with something that could directly enable people’s body to heal itself from an affliction that people use drugs currently, bet your ass that drug companies would take notice.
I truly belive in and have experienced the healing potential of the body with high quality nutrients. I believe that the American public is beginning to wake up and realize our current health care system is unacceptable and that these synthetic drug medications in many cases are doing more harm than good. Especially when there are perfectly natural ways to heal the body. But I digress…
If you don’t give a shit about that you should at least contact your represntatives to encourage them to co-sponsor H.R 2627, the Dietary Supplement Tax Fairness Act. This would allow you to deduct expenses on dietary supplements and other natural health products as medical expenses. This is where we need to be going in this country. rewarding people for preventative measures and reducing the burden on our health care system.
[quote]storey420 wrote:
If you don’t give a shit about that you should at least contact your represntatives to encourage them to co-sponsor H.R 2627, the Dietary Supplement Tax Fairness Act. This would allow you to deduct expenses on dietary supplements and other natural health products as medical expenses. This is where we need to be going in this country. rewarding people for preventative measures and reducing the burden on our health care system.[/quote]
Amen brother
Here’s another article that reinforces how and why economics takes precedence over science in determining supplement availability. It does show there is logic behind apparently illogical statements we hear in the popular press. Follow this link:
http://www.iahf.com/leibovitz/jon.html#CROSS
and scroll down to:
NUTRIENTS AS DRUGS: THE “USE PATENT” GAME.
I don’t recall if this point has been so clearly emphasized in the T-Nation editorials. Thought it deserved some display on this Forum.
From the Lee Labrada newsletter:
A new FDA guidance document, published on their website reveals plans to reclassify virtually all of these as “drugs.” The FDA is accepting comments until April 30th [2007] — that’s next week.
Is this correct? I’ve seen nothing highlighted on this forum. This thread has been inactive for some time. What’s going on in Washington? Are they back at it again, so soon? Or false alarm??
[quote]RACMadeira wrote:
From the Lee Labrada newsletter:
A new FDA guidance document, published on their website reveals plans to reclassify virtually all of these as “drugs.” The FDA is accepting comments until April 30th [2007] — that’s next week.
Is this correct? I’ve seen nothing highlighted on this forum. This thread has been inactive for some time. What’s going on in Washington? Are they back at it again, so soon? Or false alarm??[/quote]
See http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1543402 for the latest discussion on this topic.