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Date: Sat, 9 Aug 1997 15:39:07 -0400 (EDT)
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From: John Hammell <jham@concentric.net>
Subject: WHO DOES FISHER ANSWER TO? (JUST SAY NO TO EUROPEAN-AMERICAN
PHYTOMEDICINES COALITION)
Cc: President@whitehouse.gov, tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov,
senator_mack@jec.senate.gov
WARNING to DIETARY SUPPLEMENT CONSUMERS: If you sent in my last form
letter, between us we have submitted over half of the comments the
Commission has received, but WE CAN'T STOP NOW!!! Here is why:
I have read the comments submitted to the Commission on Dietary Supplement
Labels by the Eurpean-American Phytomedicines Coalition. Needless to say,
this multinational pack of SCAMMERS are the DRIVING force behind the push
to create an OTC market for herbs in the US. Their effort constitutes Codex
harmonization. Please attach your own note of outrage to the letter I have
below, and fax or email it in to President Clinton, Senators Hatch and
Harkin, as well as your own Senators and Representatives. The final meeting
of the Commission is this coming thursday and friday in DC. Congress
doesn't come back in til the first week in Sept. This is a major scam.
Foods ARE NOT DRUGS!
***********************Please forward this warning to more
people**********************************
International Advocates for Health Freedom 8/9/97
John C. Hammell, legislative advocate
2411 Monroe St. Hollywood, Florida Republic, America
800-333-2553, fax on demand 954-927-8795, fax 954-929-0507
jham@concentric.net, http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/hammell/index.html
President Clinton president@whitehouse.gov
Senator Orrin G. Hatch c/o Tricia Knight
Fax 202-224-6331
Senator Tom Harkin c/o Sabrina Corlette
Fax 202-224-9369 tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov
Senator Connie Mack c/o Mark Smith
202-224-8022 senator_mack@jec.senate.gov
Dr. Ken Fisher, Executive Director, Commission on Dietary Supplement
Labels, cdsl@birchdavis.com fax 202-205-0463, tel: 202-401-5811 c/o Dr.Castro
Re: The Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels Must Be STOPPED from
Exceeding Their Legal Mandate: Your Assistance Is Requested.
Dear President Clinton, Senator Hatch, Senator Harkin, Senator Mack.... and
last, but certainly not least, Dr. Fisher of the Commission on Dietary
Supplement Labels:
As a consumer, representing millions of American consumers of Dietary
Supplements, (as well as millions of angry consumers world wide), I am very
concerned by the scam I see unfolding vis a vis the Commission on Dietary
Supplements Report, which just underwent a comments period, and which holds
its final meeting on August 14-15, in the middle of summer, while people
are on vacation, while Congress is recessed, while people are largely
unaware of what is going on. What a SCAM!
Of the 123 comments received by the Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels
(CDSL), one was mine, one was Suzanne Harris's of the Law Loft
(representing Life Extension Foundation's 100,000 + members, along with
National Health Federation's 200,000 plus members), one was Emord and
Associates (representing 11 parties inlcuding Dr.Julian Whitaker whose news
letter reaches over 500,000), Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, etc. In
addition, of the 123 total comments, 77 were copies of a form letter that I
generated, which people from all over the US agreed with and sent in by
email and fax. My comments support those of Emord, and The Law Loft, and 77
citizens sent in form letters agreeing with me.
Who do you answer to, Dr.Fisher, the American people, or the
European-American Phytomedicines Coalition (the multinational
pharmaceutical industry)? It comes as no surprise to us that the EAPC
strongly supports the Commission's effort's to create an OTC drug category
for herbs-- but is this in the best interests of American consumers, or
American industry???
Upon close examination of the documents submitted by Emord and Associates,
and the Law Loft, it would not only be illegal for the Commission's final
report to contain recommendation that an OTC drug category for herbs- by
blindly accepting the FDA's undefined "significant scientific agreement
standard" the Commission is BLOCKING our access to truthful health
information. Significant Scientific Agreement is essentially a synonym for
the consensus rule, the Frye rule, or the "general acceptence" test. In the
world of science, business interests, and politics, this does not always
translate to the truth. Often, it is a matter of "old boy politics" and
"committee politics".
This runs contrary to the Supreme Court decision of Daubert vs Merrell Dow.
On June 29, 1993 the Supreme Court overturned the "consensus doctrine." The
"old boys" club is DEAD!
I urge every member of Congress to closely examine Emord's and the Law
Loft's comments, because from an emerging international law perspective, it
would harm American industry to re-write America's laws on botanicals so
that Europeans can take over much of our domestic markets! Along with the
ratification of the NAFTA and Uruguay round of the GATT, America and other
nations signed the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement which
created new important mechanisms to promote food trade. These were the
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures within the World Trade
Organization, and the establishment of the pre-existing Codex Alimentarius
Committee as the body that sets international reference standards for
safety in international food trade.
Under the terms of the Sanitary Phytosanitary Agreement, any nation that
adopts a Codex reference standard, guideline or recommendation for food
safety is presumed not to have erected an unfair trade barrier. Conversely,
any nation that erects a higher food safety standard than that prescribed
by Codex runs the risk of having that standard found to be an unfair trade
barrier by the WTO. That this new system has teeth and claws was recently
discovered by the EU when the WTO decided in a preliminary decision that EU
legislative barriers to beef containing certain beef hormones were an
unfair trade barrier, not in conformity with the Codex standard, not
sufficiently justified by science and did not constitute a consistent risk
management decision when compared to other EU standards.
CAN WE GET OTHERS TO HARMONIZE WITH US?
Suzanne Harris, JD of the Law Loft in in complete agreement with Jonathan
Emord's analysis which calls for the Commission to go "back to the drawing
board" but she goes beyond his analysis to examine the issue of why it
would be a mistake to create an OTC drug category for herbs from a
standpoint of emerging international law. Harris attended the Codex
Alimentarius Executive Committee Meeting in Geneva Switzerland at the end
of June, and also sneaked in to the briefing on Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures as a member of the press. In her detailed, well researched and
footnoted comments, Harris concludes that its in the best interests of not
only the American consumer, but for American manufacturers not to blur the
lines between foods and drugs, but to keep these products classified as
FOODS! Every member of Congress will want to read her comments to better
understand how health freedom issues are playing out in America under
emerging international law. I intend to bring her comments, and Emord's to
every member of Congress, and to distribute them widely on the internet,
through my website and via radio discussions, magazine articles, and by any
other means at my disposal.
For Truth and Freedom,
John C. Hammell
******************************************
Donations Needed- Am One Person Working Alone
International Advocates for Health Freedom
John C. Hammell, Legislative Advocate
2411 Monroe St.#2 Hollywood, FL 33020 USA
800-333-2553, 954-929-2905, FAX 954-929-0507,
FAX ON DEMAND 954-927-8795,jham@concentric.net
http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/hammell/index.html