Below you will find examples of a typical U.S. citizen who has contacted
their representative on the issue of Codex as a specific threat to
individual health-freedom. For those of you who encounter a
representatives "pat" reply such as the example shown, you may use the
reply below to assist you in responding to your representatives.
Dear Mr. Smith
Thank you for your letter regarding the United Nations'
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and your support for current U.S.
regulations for dietary supplements. It was good to hear from you on this
important topic.
Codex is an international intergovernmental body
responsible for developing international guidelines for certain dietary
supplements, specifically those containing vitamins and minerals. The
primary objectives of the Codex for food products is to protect consumer
health and facilitate world trade by establishing uniform international
food standards. Those standards can be in the form of guidelines, codes of
practice, and other advisory provisions aimed at promoting the standard's
objective. It is important to note that any guidelines established by
Codex are not binding on any country, unless the provisions are
incorporated into the laws of that country.
I understand that many Americans
rely on alternative medicine, including
dietary supplements, as part of a healthy lifestyle. In fact, a recent FDA
study indicated that over 15.8 million Americans regularly consume dietary
supplements. I believe that dietary supplements can aid those in search of
a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, I believe it is important for Americans
to know that the supplements they take are safe and without serious side
effects. Thus, please know that should legislation regarding this issue
come before me on the House floor, I will keep your thoughts in mind.
Again, thank you for contacting me. It is an honor to
serve you in Washington. If you would like more information on issues, or
would like to share your thoughts with me via e-mail, you may visit my
website at sullivan.house.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me again
should you have further concerns on federal legislation or programs.
Dear Mr. Representative:
While I appreciate your response, it obviously reflects just the
mainstream view that is largely out of step with what we have since
learned is going on with Codex and other international bodies that are now
busily establishing standards for food supplements that will definitely
affect us all.
The errors in your information are reflected, too, by the figure you
give for supplement takers in the United States. You are off by one
important decimal point! The figure is 158 million supplement takers in
the
United States, not a paltry 15.8 million! Please check your facts.
Further, those organizations, such as the National Health Federation
(the nation's oldest nonprofit, consumer health-freedom organization, 50
years old, at www.thenhf.com), that have been
following the Codex
Alimentarius meetings and attending those meetings for years have been
warning us about the dangers of Codex. As they have shown, the
international standards being set by Codex are not intended simply to
cover
international trade but are being specifically written to become mandatory
within a nation as well. This was recently done by the elimination in
Paris of the acceptance-and-rejection procedures by countries of the Codex
standards, by Article 3 of the WTO, Article 6 of CAFTA (if that is passed
and which specifically mentions Codex), by the specific goal of the Food
and
Drug Administration, announced by them repeatedly to harmonize our
domestic
laws with international standards. I could go on but I think you get the
point.
I am asking you to help us stop this and to protect the Dietary
Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 by voting against the CAFTA
treaty and by joining with others to replace all of our U.S. government
delegates with persons who will actually fight to protect our American
interests, including DSHEA.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
_________________________
