CAFTA

[existentialist]

A vote is coming up this week, and the issue concerns far you than many are aware. And some people you might not expect are opposing it for good reasons. I guess it partly depends on whose ox is gored. Well CAFTA stands to gore almost everyone:

Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk - A weekly Column

CAFTA and Dietary Supplements

July 18, 2005

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Central
American Free Trade Agreement in the next two weeks, and one
little-known provision of the agreement desperately needs to be exposed to public view. CAFTA, like the World Trade Organization, may serve as a forum for restricting or even banning dietary supplements in the U.S.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, organized by the United Nations in
the 1960s, is charged with “harmonizing” food and supplement rules
between all nations of the world. Under Codex rules, even basic vitamins and minerals require a doctor’s prescription. The European Union already has adopted Codex-type regulations, regulations that will be in effect across Europe later this year. This raises concerns that the Europeans will challenge our relatively open market for health supplements in a WTO forum. This is hardly far-fetched, as Congress already has cravenly changed our tax laws to comply with a WTO order.

Like WTO, CAFTA increases the possibility that Codex regulations will be imposed on the American public. Section 6 of CAFTA discusses Codex as a regulatory standard for nations that join the agreement. If CAFTA has nothing to do with dietary supplements, as CAFTA supporters claim, why in the world does it specifically mention Codex?

Unquestionably there has been a slow but sustained effort to regulate
dietary supplements on an international level. WTO and CAFTA are part of this effort.



It goes on, but quoting further pushes the posting rules and doesn't add that much. CAFTA is bad news for a lot of reasons, this probably not foremost among them, but the issue is gaining us some perhaps unexpected allies.

[Mabus]

1. Where do I find the CAFTA pork?

Here's my rant on the Kansas forum http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=153&topic_id=2250&mesg_id=2257 about CAFTA being an extension of NAFTA and the collateral damage (apart from employment) that has already occurred from NAFTA.

Do you have any idea where I can find the pork that was used as incentives for congress to vote for CAFTA? Items keep getting bantered about but I've yet to actually see a list of the pork that our collective souls were exchanged for.

[Dan Burdick]

2. Senate Bill 3546 a Trojan Horse for Codex?

Dietary Supplement and Non-
Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Act (S.3546)


Currently Hatch and Durbin and other's in congress are pushing an unneeded adverse events reporting bill. This is certainly unneeded from the standpoint of helping to protect USA citizens health. The FDA has (by definition) enough powers, and ways things can be reported. They will typically be using reference to the bogus ephedra issue. (Which itself was probably manufactured for just that propaganda-message use.) The F.D.A. could have left Chinese Ephedra Herb on the market, banned Diet Pills with Ephedrine Sulphate and not made an issue of it. Instead, after considerable 'air play' they ban the herb and speak of those dangerous herbs and the need to repeal DSHEA (which protects herbs and supplements from this type attack for the sake of our health) and bring further 'safeguards.' Meanwhile herbs and vitamins are more safe than food, while people are dropping like flies from prescription drugs.

Barking Up The Wrong Tree – Dietary Supplements are targeted while
foods sicken millions.
Author: VitaNet ® Staff
November 09, 2006 11:54 AM
http://vitanetonline.com/forums/1/Thread/1006

Legislation Alert:
Oppose Dietary Supplement & Non-Prescription Consumer Protection Act-DURBIN
National Health Federation November 17th, 2006
http://www.thenhf.com/oppose_S3546_nhf_press_release_september_2006.htm

S 3546 Adverse Event Reporting Bill - A Trojan Horse? posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Sunday September 17 2006
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2006/09/17/s_3546_adverse_event_reporting_bill_a_trojan_horse.htm

Supplement Regulation: Who's Behind It, and Why Should You Oppose It? Sepp Hasslberger
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/07/19/supplement_regulation_whos_behind_it_and_why_should_you_oppose_it.htm

I wrote my House Representative and two Oregon Senators a letter. This is of a piece with the CAFTA deal as far as CODEX goes, isn't it? I saw a mini video of Congress as CAFTA was being voted, strange that I could sort of watch people moving around and the final fix being made.