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Wednesday, July 27, 2005


CAFTA circumvents U.S. health food laws

Editor:

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on the Central American Free Trade Agreement and, according to Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, "One little-known provision of this agreement desperately needs to be exposed to public view."

Paul claims CAFTA, like the World Trade Organization, may serve as forum for restricting or even banning dietary supplements in the U.S.

He claims the pharmaceutical companies want government to control the dietary supplement industry so only they can manufacture and distribute supplements. These supplements would then become synthetic in form and limited in potency.

Recently, a U.N. body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, met in Rome and "approved a regulatory framework that would eventually phase out over-the-counter sale of vitamins, minerals, herbs and other food-based nutritional aids."

This ruling would nullify the United States Dietary Supplement, Health and Education Act of 1994, which was enacted after the federal Food and Drug Administration threatened to ban vitamins and other non-drug supplements. This is why the drug companies support WTO and CAFTA. They see international trade agreements as a way to do an end run around American law and restrict supplements through international regulations.

The public also needs to be aware there is an active "disinformation campaign" concerning Codex. The Council for Responsible Nutrition is not a friend of health freedom. Its membership is Pfizer, Bayer, Monsanto, etc. -- manufacturers of some supplement ingredients, but not supplements.

According to Rep. Paul, "any dietary supplements could become available by prescription only and at a much higher cost, if available at all, and this alone is sufficient reason for Congress to oppose the unconstitutional, sovereignty-destroying CAFTA bill."

For more information, go to www.stop cafta.com and www.citizens.org.

RACHEL MOROSKY

Norwich

Originally published July 27, 2005