The Natural Solutions Foundation made an 11 hour round trip (by car) from New York to Washington, DC, to present 5 minutes of comments to the US CODEX Office Public Hearing on CODEX June 9, 2005.
It was an amazing experience!
In DC, we met Dr. Ed Scarbrough, US Manager for CODEX ALIMENTARIUS.
Dr. Scarbrough, a seemingly pleasant silver-haired gentleman, who has obviously been doing this sort of thing for a very long time, recognized me when I introduced myself before the meeting and mentioned our Citizen’s Petition.
I asked whether we should make our remarks at the end of the meeting, devoted to the dietary supplements issue, or the beginning, the public policy section since our Citizen’s Petition deals with global US CODEX policy, not just nutrients. He and his assistant felt that since the CODEX ALIMENTARIUS Vitamin and Mineral Standard is coming up for ratification in July, we should speak at the end of the meeting.
Delegate after delegate reported on the work that the Committees they attend does and what the US Policy toward each measure in July will be.
When we got to the topic of dietary supplements, Dr. Scarbrough announced that the US Policy was to endorse the Vitamin and Mineral Standard in July and opened the floor for discussion. I was the first speaker. And, as it turned out, I had the opportunity to speak a number of times as did General Stubblebine. We have a transcript of my presentation at the CODEX public hearing, in PDF format. Click on the link to read my prepared comments for the meeting.
I pointed out to the hearing and to the record, that the US Policy on this measure (CODEX Vitamin and Mineral Standard) violated US Law and would result in vast harm both here and abroad. Dr. Scarbrough listened with apparent calm and began a very useful process: he asked us to put our questions in writing and acknowledged that he was intending to answer our petition.
Over and over again, whether the speaker was General Stubblebine referring to his 32 years of service to this country in defense of its freedoms and his unwillingness to lose them to corporate special interests, or the pleas from folks who spoke of their urgent personal requirements for high potency supplements to maintain themselves out of hospitals, or my questions about law, Dr. Scarbrough asked us to put our comments in writing.
When Dr. S. stated that there was no scientific literature showing that nutrients were safe, I told him that was simply not true. He said that he was not unaware of any such literature. His lack of awareness of such literature is not in alignment with the reality that such scientific literature does indeed exist. Thus, US policy to support the Vitamin and Mineral Standard is based on the (false) belief that nutrients are not proven safe! This is severe disconnect from the science of nutrition, plain and simple.
So I asked him publicly if the US policy on the CODEX Vitamin and Mineral Standard, officially determined on June 16, was subject to change in the face of information such as a dossier of scientific literature proving nutrients to be safe…
… and he answered that there was a possibility of changing that policy. I pressed him (still publicly) to find out if the possibility was a practical reality or just a theoretical one. His answer?
“Theoretical.”
Dr. Scarbrough has actually done us a favor by asking for questions and comments in writing. We will be putting all our questions and objections on the record.
If you care about health freedom, I advise you to do the following (your support is critical):
1. Join in the Citizen’s Petition via our 6 Easy Steps to Protecting America from CODEX.
2. Send your comments and questions to F. Edward Scarbrough, Ph.D., U.S. CODEX Manager by email at USCodex@fsis.usda.gov. Remind Dr. Scarbrough that you are aware that US Policy on the Vitamin and Mineral Standard violates US law as indicated in the Natural Solutions Foundation Citizen’s Petition and request a written response from him. Include your personal reason for not wanting the US to support this (deadly) standard. Tell Dr. Scarbrough that it is the legal and moral obligation of the US to support our own DSHEA law as the national standard, not the dangerous Vitamin and Mineral Standard of CODEX backed by the undemocratic World Trade Organization.
3. Email us a copy of your letter telling us if we may publish it on the web site to share with others.
4. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper (or national one, for that matter) and make it clear that the US Policy on the CODEX Vitamin and Mineral Standard, as indicated by Dr. Scarbrough, violates US law. But still, in spite of its deadly impact nationally and globally, the CODEX Vitamin and Mineral Standard is being pushed for (you can show the editor our Citizen’s Petition to explain the case for US CODEX Policy being in violation of US law).
5. Spread the word to everyone you know to do the same. If you have a mailing list, please distribute information about HealthFreedomUSA.org, our Citizen’s Petition, and our 6 Easy Steps to Protecting America from CODEX.
Put our questions and comments in writing, Dr. Scarbrough? Get written opinions from the US Government on why they are violating US law and supporting a standard which will lead to the death and preventable suffering of nearly uncountable numbers of people? Create a record of our objections to these illegal doings which REQUIRES an answer from the government?
YOU BET!
Thank you, Dr. Scarbrough.
Yours in Health and Freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MD
Medical Director
Natural Solutions Foundation
P.S. And if you haven’t already, make sure to take action yourself on the 6 Easy Steps to Protecting America from CODEX.