This is sort of last minute, and I'm really sorry I didn't blog about this much earlier, but... the time for action is NOW. The US Senate has scheduled a vote on the amendments to and the final reader of Senate Bill 510, the "Food Safety" Act, for about 9:30 AM Eastern on Tuesday, November 30, 2010. A companion bill has already passed the House, and it would go to a conference committee for final language.
I strongly object to the bill on several fronts, and urge you to contact your Senators, either by phone, or by e-mail ASAP to see if we can't get this thing stopped.
First, if you're like me, you like wandering into a "health food store" and buying various vitamins and supplements that you choose to use for your health. I have taken 3,000 mg or more of Vitamin C per day when I've been sick, and I usually take at least 1,000 mg per day as a maintenance dose.
Under S. 510, you could no longer do that. The bill calls for "harmonization" with the Codex Alimentarius, a set of "standards" set by the UN's Food and Agriculture Office and the World Health Organization. For a fuller discussion, please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alimentarius
What should be most disturbing is the following, taken from the Wikipedia article:
It is reported that in 1996 the German delegation put forward a proposal that no herb, vitamin or mineral should be sold for preventive or therapeutic reasons, and that supplements should be reclassified as drugs.[4] The proposal was agreed, but protests halted its implementation.[4] The 28th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission was subsequently held July 4 - July 9, 2005.[5] Among the many issues discussed were the "Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements"[6], which were adopted during the meeting as new global safety guidelines.[7]
If you follow the links in the paragraph above for the Vitamin and Food Supplements "recommendations," you'll notice that, for Vitamin C, they suggest 90 mg.as the daily requirement, with a max of 2,000 mg. The paragraph also goes on to say that they are only "suggestions" and that member countries do not have to "impose" them.
Maybe someone should have told that to the European Union, which has legislated such guidelines in their member countries. Any Vitamin C tablets more than 100 mg must be obtained by prescription only.
"Harmonization" with the Codex will allow the FDA to require the same mandates here, and they're champing at the bit to do so. They have tried unsuccessfully for several years. This bill will give them carte blanche to impose it.
Secondly, the bill will allow the introduction of Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) into our food supply. Now, if you want to allow GMO carrots into the market, for example, I have no real problem with that. Just tell me that the carrots are modified, and I'll make the choice whether to buy or not. I'll tell you now, I won't buy them.
However, this bill does not require informing the consumers that the foods they are purchasing are GMOs.
Now, follow the money trail for a moment. What companies are heavily into GMO research and development? How about Monsanto (who also owns the General Nutrition Center [GNC] chain)? How about ConAgra? Archer Daniels Midland? What do they all have in common? They're all Big Agra. And, yes, they're all very well politically connected. Yes, and they lavish their largesse on both the Dems and the Reps.
Finally, I object because the rules that govern calling produce "organic" would be so badly relaxed that almost anything could be called organic, and the consumer loses the freedom to choose again. After all, since many (including me) are willing to pay a slight premium on organic produce, what's to stop anyone from saying that their produce is organic -- even when it's not -- and charging the extra price?
I'm hoping that something happens to extend the time period on the vote, so we can rain messages on our Senators and get them to stop. At the very least, the next Congress should take it up, and we've got time to nip it in the bud there.
For Maryland residents, here are your direct office numbers:
Barbara Mikulski 202.224.4654
Benjamin Cardin 202.224.4524
For any other state, the Capitol Switchboard number is: 202-224-3121. Ask for your Senator's office by name, and you can ask for the direct number as well before they try to connect you.
"Food Safety"? Meh.
