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Two things happened this morning.
My protest email bounced back after one month. The Codex officials have secured themselves against protests.
I found out that EU has classified vitamins as medicine, and there will be no free sale from 2004. This I found in a small Croatian newspaper. The major European newspapers were silent.
So this is how our lives get dramatically changed - behind the closed curtain, by people (mis)guided by economical motives. The next generations may ask what we (ought to have) have done, when and if they one day discover that for a long period of time, vitamins could be bought over the counter.
The magnitude of what is happening is so huge, that I just don't know how to deal with it.
A sad day.
Sonja
In Reply to: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Sonja on April 24, 2002 at 17:56:57:
SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do all you can to fight this, and spread the word. See if you can capture the attention of the media! Alert the health food chains, fitness clubs, chiropractors, etc. Let's not take this crap lying down!
In Reply to: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Sonja on April 24, 2002 at 17:56:57:
I wonder if there is a newspaper article in English on this subject that someone could post on this board.
WE NEED TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING IN THE UNITED STATES. I would send a copy of an article like this immediately to my congressional representatives.
Years ago, when the FDA was trying to prevent US citizens from obtaining INFORMATION on supplements from health food stores, I called a number that I got from a local radio station, KPFK, here in the LA area. The person who answered said she was a full-time worker for the Church of Scientology and that they were fighting the FDA and trying to put a halt to their gestapo-like tactics and zealousness to strip Americans of their right to get information and to buy supplements.
I will contact the church again and see if I can get that phone number. Apparently the church has people on staff that work with these kind of issues, they are given room and board and a small salary, at least this is my understanding.
I would hope that all of you will write a strong letter of concern about this issue. If we don't fight this, and fight it now, IT WILL HAPPEN HERE! The same multi-national pharmaceutical companies that brought about this dreadful law in the European Union operate in this country as well.
In Reply to: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Sonja on April 24, 2002 at 17:56:57:
Might have to stock up on things or find foods that
contain the most of an item. Might have to find out how to
Extract things from food or which plants contain what.
VF
In Reply to: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Sonja on April 24, 2002 at 17:56:57:
My first reaction : " STOCK UP !!!!!! "
What will they do about all the long list of stuff that isn't vitamins - like probiotics, enzymes, food powders, MSM, essential oils, Primal Defense, herbal tinctures, homeopathics, amino acids, etc. etc.
Imagine having to get all this stuff on prescription. What a joke.
Could you quote verbatim from the newspaper article if you still have it, Sonja? (I can't find this news anywhere on the internet.)
In Reply to: Re: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Jan on April 25, 2002 at 00:42:54:
Hi, Jan.
I could quote verbatim the article, but the question is how much you would understand (unless you happen to understand Croatian). The paper has not quoted the source, so I have emailed them and asked for the source. I should probably have done so before I posted the first message, but I was too upset I guess...
In the meantime I did a little search on my own and here is what I found (I'll paste the links here, in case I mess it u when sending).
http://www.healthy.net/asp/templates/news.asp?Id=4336
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1870000/1870751.stm
http://www.cec.org.uk/press/pr/pr02/pr0204.htm
The first article confirms what I read. It says 'on Tuesday', but doesn't give the date.
The second is a bit old, found at the BBC's website, It's about the meeting. The third one is a statement from the EU Commission, which is a demanti of the rumours. It just shows how controversial the whole thing is. Also, I tried to search the EU Commission site, but it was as impenetrable as their bureaucracy. Maybe they haven't updated yet, maybe they are hiding it. Anyhow, I hope the newspaper I emailed will answer soon.
Basically, the ban means that vitamins are now classified as medicine, and will be available on a prescription only.
I spoke to my landlords today (Europeans living in Oz; quite incredulous when I told them the news) and we all agreed that this is probably a move by some powerful pharmaceutical industry, eventually in collaboration with the medicine practitioners. Simply, the supplements are now the fastest growing market in medical area, and this is an attempt to retain the control of it. That explains why the whole legislative process is so hush-hush, done behind people's back.
It is not clear at this stage WHAT they are going to classify as vitamins. The whole business is just incredible, a touch Orwellian.
Sorry for not being able to give better information. But I am pretty sure that the paper has got it right.
S.
In Reply to: Re: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Mary on April 24, 2002 at 21:50:05:
I wish you luck. I did try to send a letter of protest to the members of the so-called Codex-Allimentaire, but all messages bounced back, some immediately, and some after a month.
I suggested media, because this needs to come into the light. As I live in Australia right now, there are limits to what I can do...but it is important, and that is why I posted the message. (It was here I found out about the ban, so this is not the first time it is being discussed).
Sonja
In Reply to: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Sonja on April 24, 2002 at 17:56:57:
Thanks, Sonja.
Public awareness and indignation is the only thing that will save us now!
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Re: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Vince F on April 24, 2002 at 23:38:48:
You are not the only one who is thinking in that direction.
In th negative scenario, people living in a regular society will be eating processed, nutrient empty food, they will be overstressed and fed hormones; becoming seriously ill, then being forcefed chemicals to suppress the symptoms - and not having the option of buying relatively harmless products that can be of great help if used properly.
In a more positive scenario, people will be forced to create an alternative society, where they will leave the urban areas, start to grow food again and create banter economy to bypass the rulers and bureaucracy. Sounds crazy?
Well, this is already a trend in two places that I know of (there may be others as well): Denmark and Germany. My landlady has just returned from there, and she says it is a new trend in Germany ("zey're all doing it, yeah"). So a lot of people are at the moment creating alternative small communities. Maybe it will never develop, but...who knows. People have the ability to change and adjust when they want to.
In Reply to: Re: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Jan on April 25, 2002 at 00:42:54:
Just found!
http://www.codexalimentarius.org/index.php
In Reply to: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Sonja on April 24, 2002 at 17:56:57:
Hi Sonja,
This is very interesting and horrifying. I'm in England and this outright classification as medicines and ban on the sale of vitamins is not what I understood was going to happen. I will find out more from the EU website plus some of the complementary health journalists who write in our newspapers and post what I discover. Even when the EU make a decision like this it is then up to each of the European countries to adopt and implement it. Let's hope they have more sense!
Helena
In Reply to: Re: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Sonja on April 25, 2002 at 08:49:11:
If you ask me ppl. in Denmark are also way behind in all this.
In Reply to: Re: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Helena on April 25, 2002 at 11:52:31:
Helena,
I couldn't agree more. Well, there are two more years to go, and the tables can still be turned, in my opinion, if the issue comes out in the open, that is...
Sonja
In Reply to: Re: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by From Denmark on April 25, 2002 at 15:54:07:
You are right about that. I was not talking about the majority, but the small beginnings of an alternative way of doing things. When speaking in a global context of an american BB it is easier to say 'in Denmark', rather than refer to a part of Copenhagen.
To you, it would make sense if I said I referred to Frederiksberg, where I visited "Dronning Olga institution", and was told how this kindergarten is organised. It was really interesting how the insitution is alternatively financed and how the local community has organised themselves.
I find it otherwise that it is usually adults with children who are most concerned about the health, food and lifestyle issues. There are more educated people today than before, so I am positive that the awareness of how we live will grow.
In Reply to: Re: stop codex alimentarius web site posted by Sonja on April 25, 2002 at 08:56:15:
Thank you Sonja. Dr. Matthias Rath did well to grab the domain name:
http://www.codexalimentarius.org
since the official site for CODEX is:
http://www.codexalimentarius.net
!
In Reply to: Re: EU has introuced vitamin ban from 2004 posted by Sonja on April 25, 2002 at 08:31:40:
It doesn't help at all that on the surface it looks like CODEX are just safety watchdogs. When people start to look into this, they don't believe it. This is the reaction I have gotten. They look at us like we are conspiracy nutcases.
When supplement companies try to meet burdensome new "safety" requirements for testing of supplement ingredients they will be forced out of business since they won't be able to afford it - no doubt part of the plan.
Thank you for the links. Of course, I don't read Croatian - didn't even think of that. :-) Looking forward to what you hear.
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