Today is a particularly auspicious day since teachers are honored today all over India.
Whether they are spiritual teachers or technical ones today belongs to them. I was not only honored by being introduced by Dr. Hegde at the college of which he is the Emeritus Dean, but also honored by being asked to deliver the 2006 Keshava Pai Memorial Oration on the “Future of Medicine” which I did with great pleasure. This annual oration keeps the memory of the beloved founder of the institution alive. Dr. Hegde’s leadership of Natural Solutions Foundation – India was announced to his institution.
Then I told the audience of medical students, faculty and very senior faculty that the future of medicine was at a point of bifurcation: In one future, untold numbers of people, in rank according to their underlying nutritional vulnerability, would die with or without medications of the chronic degenerative diseases identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the “non communicable diseases of under nutrition”, cancers, diabetes, stroke, heart attack, etc. In the other future, safe, clean, natural and unadulterated food was available to the people of India and the world and dietary supplements and herbs were valuable tools with which to gain, regain and maintain optimal health.
I urged each of them to become a source of light and information, guidance and force for natural choices in spite of the fact that they had been taught that there was a pill for every ill and, increasingly, an ill for every pill.
The first future track, I believe, is the one we will face if Codex Alimentarius is not reigned in and corrected, error by error, country by country. It is a future in which countless people will suffer untold disease and death which is totally preventable and therefore unnecessary if their food and health options are not protected and if Optimum Health is not the goal of Codex and of their country. I explained the globalization of the food supply and the degradation of the environment and the nutrient load of food through common, but deadly agricultural practices. And I explained the magnitude of starvation and illness without nutrients at effective doses, herbs and other supplements at those same effective doses and the safety and quality of food assured.
The second future is the one that we will live in if every country takes stock of her people’s health needs (whatever the multinational corporate needs might be) and corrects the dangerous and disastrous food-related illness and deaths the negative standards and guidelines of Codex will foist upon nations if they let it.
I also explained that within the threat and danger posed by Codex Alimentarius lies the seed of the new medical paradigm (which contains within it the old one: that health and well being reside in clean, unadulterated food, healthy living and exercise and nutrients and herbs given to people based on their individual needs) all focused on preventing illness and, when it does occur, finding and curing the underlying cause of that illness. In other words, the second path is toward Whole Person Healing.
At the conclusion of the lecture, several things happened. First, the grandson of the Founder of the College, Dr. Pai, graciously presented me with a gold medal commemorating the oration. That was really cool!
The second thing that happened was a lively exchange with questions that were dynamic and forward moving. Professor Dr. S. Viswanathan, MB, BS, MD, DGO, PG Dip Yoga, Professor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Deputy Medical Superintendant, Rajah Muthiah Medical College Hospital and Director of the Center for Yoga Studies, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu asked what we must do to bring about the pro health changes in India. I answered that enacting what I call the “Codex two step” regarding the Vitamin and Mineral Guideline (which is laid out in the Codex was the best place to start and he agreed that he would begin there. I was surprised, delighted and nearly breathless when Dr. Hegde, a man who lets no grass grow beneath his feed, announced to me that he had asked Dr. Viswanathan to accept the position of Chairman of Natural Solutions Foundation –Tamil Nadu.
I had to be reminded that Tamil Nadu is one of India’s Sates so Dr. Viswanathan is the first of the State level units for the Natural Solutions Foundation which Dr. Hegde is building for health and health freedom’s sake in India.
We are in the land of ancient medical wisdom here in India. The best known in the West is Ayurveda, a system in which food is specifically used as an individualized medicine every bit as important as herbs, prayer, and other influences. We were delighted to be driven to several really exciting places: Alva’s Ayurveda facilities: a magnificent herbarium containing a vast array of traditional healing plants, an Ayurveda pharmaceutical company (Alva) whose products are made in the traditional ways and are certified Organic, Alva’s treatment facilities and their Hospital. We were also able to meet their gifted and inspired chairman at their new Ayurvedic Medical School and were invited back to present to the school next January. We will be there!
Although herbs were “given” to the WTO, you will remember that our lawyers tell us that the active compounds and complexes in herbs actually still fall under the dominion of Codex where a nutrient related adverse event is “any change in a bio marker”. If India does not protect her natural system of health, Codex threatens it in a major way. Thus, the importance of enlisting this community of interest is obvious. And enlist it we are doing.
In the evening, after a much needed shower (hot, humid, sticky, gooey weather does not make for good party wear) we attended a gathering given by Dr. Hegde on the occasion of his physician-daughter’s visit from the US to her family home here in Mangalore. Dozens of men and women gathered to mix and mingle. They uniformly impressed me with their open mindedness, their intelligence and their interest in the Codex problem. We talked, ate and mingled with supportive, creative and positive professionals who all wanted to know what they could do to help. It’s hard not to love that kind of gathering! AND the food was spectacular in the buffet we all selected from: vegetarian on one long table and non-veg on another. I ate some of each. It was all fantastic.
One of the problems in this trip is that I will no longer be able to go to the Indian restaurants in the US and Europe which I used to enjoy now that I have eaten real Indian food!
Dr. Hegde sent an email notifying us that we had been on 5 Indian TV stations with the Natural Solutions Foundation message. Not only that, The Hindu ran an article 3 days before we arrived. Things are definitely heating up here. Now we will go to at least 2, possibly 3, more cities in India to lecture on the issues at hand.
Stay tuned!
Yours in health and freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MD
Medical Director
July 10, 2006
We were picked up and taken to the Mangalore Press Club where photographers, journalists and TV crews were waiting for us. Dr. Hegde gave an oration which held everyone in the room rapt except us: we did not understand the Indian language in which he delivered it. So we were introduced by an enthusiastic colleague who set the stage for us … but we could not see the stage setting since it was in a language we do not speak. General Stubblebine introduced our topic, health and health freedom, and our mission here in India and then I spoke. The first thing I told the press was that we deeply honored by Dr. Hegde’s decision to accept the Chairmanship of Natural Solutions Foundation – India and that by having such a distinguished health freedom fighter head our foundation in India we were strengthened and guided by a brilliant and wise man.
I then discussed both the problem (multinational anti-health decisions at Codex and country levels) and the solution (the International Strategy supported by legal opinion and our new Codex White Paper on what Codex really requires of nations (soon to be available on www.HealthFreedomUSA.org). The cameras were grinding and flashing and the reporters were writing madly. Afterwards we took questions for quite a while and departed. By the way, NOT air conditioned. The Hindu, a national paper, had already run a major article on the Natural Solutions Foundation mission in the context of the international food quality and choice problems and the International Strategy which we bring to interested countries. Following the press conference, footage appeared on at least 5 TV stations in support of our information and mission. We were thrilled.
Lunch was at a lovely restaurant which has a delightful and varied buffet. While enjoying a lovely salad, I looked down and saw that an uninvited guest, and a pretty large one at that, had come to join us on, not at, our table: a shiny sub-continent sized cockroach!
After we changed tables (did that really help or was it primarily psychological?) the Buffet Chef came out to meet us. He is a graduate of a technical college with a BA in Catering Technology and Hotel Management. We told him about Codex and pointed out that every chef in India should care about the loss of nutrients in food, contamination of the food supply and the degradation of health which it will lead to. He immediately “grocked” it and said that he would share the information on our website with his class, with his schoolmates, etc.
This committed young man pointed out, as everyone does here in India whom we have spoken to, that healthy food is a foundation stone of the Ayurveda way of health and life. Food IS medicine and medicine includes food. Contaminated food will degrade Ayurveda’s power to treat and cure all maladies and diseases and therefore it is a matter of Indian national pride and patriotism to maintain her food supply, and traditional medicines, for her posterity. When we pointed out that according to our reading of Codex, although herbs were “given” to WHO at the suggestion of Dr. Beth Yettley, the US Codex Delegate when too many countries were objecting to treating all herbs as untested drugs, the active molecules and complexes still fall under Codex and, because of that, they are subject to the WHO-supplied definition of a nutrient-related adverse event: “any change in a bio marker” he was appropriately horrified. Herbs are the birth right of his countrymen and the great Indian traditions must be protected, he said.
Then we did a little [very wet] wandering and went back to the club for dinner and hours and hours of email. By the time I got my computer plugged in I was falling asleep there in that hot, cramped mosquito “breedery”!
Yours in health and freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MD
Medical Director
July 8, 2006 We left early in the day for the Geneva airport so that we could catch a Lufthansa flight to Frankfort and change planes to Bombay, now called Mumbai, India, overnight and then catch a morning plane for Mangalore where we would meet Dr. B. M. Hegde, a great friend of Natural Medicine and, we were told, someone who would vigorously champion the cause.
The day before, I had prudently checked in by phone for the reservation and been told that the reservation had been cancelled and there was no such number in the computer, anyway. Well, since the tickets had already been paid for and we really wanted to get to Mangalore to be met by Dr. Hegde’s person, this was not happy news. I called the US, spoke with our travel agent and was told that the reservation (and flight) had a United number, not a Lufthansa one although the flight was operated by the German airline. Huh? Anyway, after a transatlantic call, we got a new reservation number and set off to the airport with trepidation. As it turned out, the new number did the trick and off we flew.
While we were waiting for our flight to Bombay, a lady from the Nigerian delegation approached us and said that our presentation and information had intrigued her greatly and that, since she is close to retirement from government service, she would like to work with us full time when she makes that changes! Sounds like a winner to us and we will work on it as the time approaches.
Then on to the plane and off for India. But, about 4 hours into the flight, lo and behold, the very same thing that happened the week before on the Lufthansa flight out of Lagos, Nigeria happened again: I was (this time for the second time in my life) violently ill. I have no clue. It passed (literally) and I was a bit wobbly but fine.
When we got to Bombay at 1:10 AM we had to collect our bags (1:50 AM) and drag them to customs (2:15 AM) where they were cleared (2:25 AM) and then we got to drag them to JetAir, the connecting airline, stand in line and finally speak to an agent (2:45 AM) who took them. We found the driver from the hotel we were spending a few hours in (2:55 AM) and reached the hotel which we were to leave at 7:30 AM to get back on a plane (3:10 AM). No reservation was waiting for us. So we finally (3:45 AM) said that we would leave a credit card impression for the charge (already paid by the airline since the room was included in our ticket, we were told) and get to bed (4:15 AM). I guess it was a nice hotel: who can remember?
Yours in health and freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MD
Medical Director
“What good is a man’s knowledge unless it prompts him to prevent the pain of others as if it were his own pain?”
Thirukural (Verse 513)
This quote was sent to us by the Indian Professor we are going to visit in when we leave Geneva following the Codex meeting which ends tomorrow. We will be talking to the media and to various professional groups and will keep you posted. But the quote is wonderful so I wanted to share it with you.
Quick but important note: end of the day, Delegates are scurrying away and one says, “I have to go because I don’t want to be late for the US Cocktail Party.” So I walked over to Dr. Scarbrough, the US Delegate and Codex Contact Point and said, “Hi, Dr. Scarbrough. I am surprised you did not invite us to the party. Don’t you love us anymore?” He gave me a rather flat look (perhaps it was just 3 days of gruelling work). Anyway, he fished out an invitation and handed it to me. I thanked him and we had a few moments of chit chat about what hotel theUS delegates were in and where the party was. We did not go because we had other plans for the evening. But while we were chit chatting I asked him why Dr. Schneeman had stated that the US “Could not accept ‘Optimal Health’ as a Codex goal at CCFL last May.” He said, “Well, I don’t know what you meant by your words ‘Optimal Health’ “. I pointed out that they were not my words: they were South Africa’s words and he terminated the conversation with the phrase, “Oh. Well!”
Yes, indeed, “Oh. Well!” If optimal health is not the goal of the US in Codex, it will just have to be the rallying cry of the health coalition there. Oh. Well! Indeed. The world need to be well and the Global Stratagy has a role to play in helping it to be well. Oh. Well!
Codex report (brief since following yesterday’s post you probably have a pretty clear idea of what the nitty-gritty is like!
After telling us that we would have to “race through Agenda items 8-10” so we would have time for item 11 (which contains the Global Strategy) we learned something really important:
Codex is in significant financial trouble. It does not have enough money to do everything that it needs to do. “If governments want to see the smooth operation of Codex they will have to make contributions.” Therefore (listen up: this is really important) “for the first time it is possible for parties other than governments to donate money for food safety programs to FAO” Hmmmmmmmm….. That’s an invitation for …… You fill in the blank.
“Money is required for staffing of Codex Secretariat and for other ways to implement [Codex’s] measurable, achievable goals to document for ourselves how well we are doing in doing the work to which we are all dedicated.”
Finland noted the serious problems about the availability of scientific advice for this supposedly [Science Based] standards setting body because of deep concern about Codex’s serious financial problems. The Finnish Delegate went on to say “WHO is not making enough of a financial contribution. In this regard we welcome the newly established Global Initiative on Food Safety and wait for the results.” (This is where non governmental organizations can give money!!!)
You know what? If I had a whole bunch of money I would put it into Codex and FAO ‘food safety programs’ and make quite a change in the way Codex functions.
Another interesting aspect of today’s discussion had to do with defining “consensus”. Codex consistently has refused to do that despite the fact that it claims to make its decisions on the basis of consensus, whatever that might mean. In fact, Chairmen have been heard (by us) to (inaccurately) tell Delegates who were interested in voting on something that Codex no longer votes because all decisions are made by consensus. So knowing what consensus is would seem to be pretty important, right? Right. So important that Codex makes sure that “Consensus” sits on constantly shifting sand which it can push into whatever configuration it desires. It is a well known control tactic: don’t tell people the rules and constantly refer to the fact that you are making your decisions on the basis of those rules.
Right now as I observe it, “consensus” can mean any one of 4 things:
1. We all agree with something well enough to live with it.
2. Everyone has been heard from ONE TIME. This is pretty easy to arrange as the Chair or the Secretary have control over the button that allows a Delegate to use their microphone and be heard. Only if a delegate shouts out and creates a huge fuss can they change this one.
3. There is no sustained opposition. This is easy for the Chair or the Secretary to achieve for the same reason. And only if countries are exercised enough to be very rude do they find a way over this one.
4. The Chairman declares consensus has been reached no matter what. Only a sustained and well-orchestrated outcry will overcome this one but we have seen it done.
Countries repeatedly asked for clarification which was not given.
Then it was lunch time and we made outstanding contacts with three new countries who were very, very interested in what we had to say. In fact, they each invited us to come to their capital cities to meet with their decision makers. Clearly, we will get to as many of them as we can.
Lunch: excellent contact with Benin, Uganda, brief contact with India who invited us to come visit her in New Delhi the week after next to discuss these issues further after we presented her with our materials.
Global Strategy
We had caught up with the clock so it looked like we would actually get time to discuss the Global Strategy. We made sure that 11 new countries that we had not yet had extensive discussions about this problem with received materials on their desks when they came back from lunch. Each packet contained South Africa’s 11 pro-health points and a discussion about why they represented such an important option for each country and for Codex itself and a pair of cards from the General Stubblebine and me. On the top card was written a brief message which said “The Natural Solutions Foundation hopes that you will consider supporting South Africa’s Pro-Health Global Strategy Implementation Initiative.” Every single one of those countries later sought us out and thanked us for the information and for our activities in the service of health! That made us feel pretty good!
So what happened?
Item: Implementation of the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.
The WHO presented information on the item and. Dennise Cochino (sp?)
repeated the history:
July 2005:
1. WHO and FAO directed Codex to implement the GS.
2. 28th CAC asked WHO and FAO to prepare a letter to facilitate GS implementation.
3. CAC further requested that such document go to CCNFSDU and CCFL and agreed to consider the suggestions of all these process parts in this session.
WHO stated “…however, we considered that the GS was a relatively new initiative and that time was needed for the member states to consider it. So the discussion paper CAC 29 LIM 6 presents the action taken so far based on the following understandings:
We thought that we had to seek information from the member states early on and wanted to build on the work already taking place within Codex and we created an electronic forum. It was established in February 2006 placing a series of questions for the members to answer before the Who/Codex membership.
All Codex National Points of Contact were informed. We accepted comments through April 27. Summary of comments all the comments and of the discussion at CCNFSDU and CCFL were submitted in the LIM document. (This document buried everything that South Africa said under a ton of bureaucratic banality so that it was literally impossible to tell what had been proposed by South Africa either on the eForum or in the CCFL meeting.)
The report went on to say “WHO and FAO would like to accept a delay in presenting the final paper but we believe that this process is very adequate and agree that WHO and FAO facilitate a circular letter and submit again to CCNFSDU and CCFL at next sessions and the results be submitted to the 30th session of CAC.”
[In other words, do nothing which is more of same until next year and for who-knows-how-many years after that. This is the same WHO, by the way that issued a Workshop on the Application of Risk Assessment to Nutrients which defines a nutrient-related adverse event as “any change in any biomarker”. As we see it, there are pro health forces in the WHO and others. This report came from the others.]
The Chair called for comments noting, “The paper and presentation are very clear… and the commission is being asked to endorse the recommendations submitted which will allow the CAC to
1. Accept a year’s delay in the process.
2. During that time, WHO and FAO will complete an “action document” and disseminate it to the member states by circular letter.
3. CCNFSDU and CCFL will discuss the GS [again – or, in the case of CCNFSDU, not] and their comments will be considered
4. Views and recommendations of this committee will be provided to next year’s CAC.
The Chair waited a moment, said, “I see no flags so the recommendations are endorsed.”
“Next item….”
THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WANTED, BUT IT IS GREAT NEWS NONE THE LESS: WE HAVE AN ENTIRE YEAR TO MAKE OUR PRO-HEALTH POSITION IN SUPPORT OF SOUTH AFRICA’S 11 POINTS KNOWN TO THE ENTIRE WORLD COMMUNITY. AND SO WE SHALL.
To be continued!
Yours in health and freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MD
Medical Director
Today was a thrilling day here in the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) meeting in Geneva. Several developments took place which, if properly exploited, can be of major significance for our side. For some real fun, read all the way down to the end of the post: things you will really find fascinating took place today.
The day did not start off so well, though. The first item we were hoping to see go our way was a move by the health freedom coalition nations to move the discussion of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (GS) up from last on the agenda to much earlier to allow significant discussion. You may remember that at Dr. Grossklaus’s Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU, Bonn, Germany) last November that item was moved by the Chairman from item No. 2 on the agenda to item No. 11, the last item. It was carefully allotted no meaningful time and therefore there was no discussion about it at that meeting.
The same tactic is being used here: although Codex is required to come up with a strategy for global implementation of the GS at this meeting (based on national comments given since the last CAC meeting (Rome, Italy, July 4-9, 2005) and the discussion that the item was supposed to receive at CCNFSDU and Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL, Ottawa, Canada May, 2006). You may recall that South Africa introduced their excellent pro health strategy consisting of 11 points for the implementation of the GS and it did receive discussion although the US spoke out against including optimal health as a goal and against banning the advertising of junk foods, known to increase life threatening diseases and death, to children. But SA fought and managed to get the 11 points back into the final records so they are on the docket for discussion.
A report made available by the World Health Organization and the FAO on the discussion so far, by the way, was handed out yesterday. SA’s excellent points were sort of in there, kind of, a little. Basically they were buried and nearly invisible so any pro health advocacy for them will have to wait until there is a discussion, IF there is a discussion, of course! We are already running at least 1 hour behind time and we have only had one day of proceedings.
No one spoke for moving the item earlier in the agenda, however, and the proposed agenda was adopted without demurral by the entire CAC.
But there was plenty of fun, none the less!
Early on, when the obligatory opening remarks were being given it was noted that “several Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have applied for observer status which shows growing interest in Codex. Codex is doing well, certainly better than in the past” and “in light of the joint WHO/FAO consultation [that’s the one presented at CAC 2005 that said ’18. Codex should determine whether it has a relationship to nutrition and, if so, what that relationship is.] Codex is becoming an organization which can continuously review and update itself”. In those same remarks, it was noted that “it is necessary to adapt the mandate of Codex to make Codex more efficient.” FAO noted with pleasure the steps which Codex has been taking to bring about improved efficiency and noted an “important reorganization” despite budget cuts within FAO. In fact, FAO noted, Codex had received a 4% increase in their allocation from FAO. It is not clear that the same was true of WHO’s response to Codex and it was WHO which last year chastised Codex so heavily for its failure to produce a benefit to human health during its existence. (That statement by Dr. Kirsten Leitner, by the way, appears to have been edited out of the audio record available on the internet of last year’s CAC meeting. Somebody REALLY didn’t like that bit, it would appear!)
Now that seems to me a really fascinating statement. I will leave it to you to ponder why the world’s food standard setting body needs to worry about its rep. Could it be that the awareness is growing among its constituents, the nations of the world, that Codex is a troubled, perhaps even an invalid, organization and process? Could it be that the damage which standards and Guidelines based on poor science and multinational corporate agendas, not health, are beginning to attract enough attention to tarnish that rep? It certainly looks like it to us as we go from country to country and make friends with the regulators and responsible persons of a wide swath of countries.
Then things got really interesting. Along the way, Dr. Claude Mosha, the CAC Chairman (yes, the very same Dr. Mosha who wrote a letter to an African National Department Head prohibiting the Codex participation of a pro health Codex Delegate under our sponsorship who is, by the way, NOT here) reporting on the deliberations and activities of the 57th Codex Alimentarius Commission Executive Committee session noted the importance of the “Use of Codex standards and texts at national and regional levels… to increase cooperation with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and increase the use of Codex standards at national levels”. Read that as “Codex is trying to compel every country in the world to adopt Codex standards and Guidelines as their national laws.”
The position of the Natural Solutions Foundation is that every Codex standard or Guideline which is based on junk science and which will degrade health through widespread and comprehensive contamination of the food supply and mandated under nutrition through the impact of the Vitamin and Mineral Guideline and the companion definition by the WHO Workshop on the Application of Risk Assessment to Nutrients of an adverse event which is defined as “any change in a bio marker”. Did you notice that it is ANY change, not just changes in the wrong direction?
In his report on the 58th Executive Committee Meeting (the EC meets twice each year), the Dr. Moshe repeated the fact that “Codex has embarked on a series of reforms based on the WHO/FAO consultation”. You may recall from our reports from last year’s CAC that there were 20 suggested reforms in that report. Our unconfirmed, but reliable, information is that the joint Consultation they are talking about originally came back suggesting that Codex be killed. Industry got into the swimming pool and the result was 20 deeply watered-down recommendations. Number 18 (referred to above) was about nutrition (the only one which dealt with it, by the way) and, as soon as it was reached, Dr. Slorach, last year’s chairman abruptly cut off discussion saying that the CAC was out of time. So what the reforms dealing with nutrition might be are unclear to us here at the Natural Solutions Foundation.
Moving right along, however, the Secretary wanted to determine if there were a quorum present to take care of a procedural item. In this fancy, state of the art Swiss conference center the only way he could do that, despite the fancy microphones, lights, translation devices, etc., was to ask the national delegations to hold up their country signs and count them. We found it interesting that there were a bunch of countries that, while present, obviously did not hear the instructions and failed to hold up their signs. When the Secretary counted, there was no quorum and the matter was deferred until tomorrow, Tuesday, since not enough country flags were held up. It was noted that there were a lot of countries here at the CAC on Codex Trust Fund “scholarship” or support (the Trust Fund is designed to support bringing the developing countries to the meetings) were not present. That is apparently often the case.
Now for the really interesting part:
When the next item came up in which words were being deleted from the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) regulations which clarified that Codex texts (i.e., standards and guidelines) were completely advisory what happened next might be seen as early shots in a CAC revolution.
Malaysia noted that it was not comfortable with the deletion. Singapore joined Malaysia in objecting to this change saying “Every country is supposed to go through risk assessment for appropriate levels of consideration. But CCGP is trying to force mandating of these standards and guidelines…. A Codex standard is no longer advisory.” Both made it clear that they did not want to adopt the proposed language adopted since the changes under consideration made the adoption and use of Codex texts compulsory.
To the distress of us who are here representing the Natural Solutions Foundation and health freedom advocates everywhere the United States’ Dr. Ed Scarbrough (our Codex Manager) spoke strongly for the change. Why not? The US, continually abdicating its responsibility to protect consumer health and health freedom, supporting all of the multinationals’ trade and commercial interests, once again embarrassed us and showed what its colors actually are: green, not red, white and blue. The EU, whose money may be different colors, but whose interests are just the same, followed like a baby duck after its momma duck.
But there was quite a response: the ordinarily placid, polite and calm delegates began to speak in strong terms to oppose the US and EU. Singapore and Malaysia’s strong opposition to the change were joined by
Egypt who said they “Have to register strong reservations over the amendment.” and concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
China concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Nigeria concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Bhutan concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
India concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Indonesia concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Natural Health Federation, the only other health freedom advocate organization (and an official Codex Observer) here, concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Philippines concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Sudan concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Dr. Mosha, the CAC Chairman, clearly tried to quash and quell the revolution by suggesting that the issue be sent to CCGP to deal with.
Singapore came back into the debate swinging, stating that “Codex should not transfer the review [of this matter] to another body”.
Tanzania, despite the fact that Dr. Mosha is from Tanzania and the Tanzanian representative had told us when we visited him in his own country that “Tanzania would not do anything to conflict with or embarrass the Chairman since he is from our country” apparently forgot its resolve to note “Tanzania supports Malaysia and Singapore” [!]
Comoros noted that they concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Uganda concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Iran concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Ghana concurred with Malaysia and Singapore against the US and EU
Other than the Great Parmesan Cheese Debate which had raged for a decade until Singapore called for a vote at the 2005 CAC and the whole thing was dropped, such sustained dissent is unheard of. Country after country participated in what amounted to nearly a role call vote AGAINST the change.
Next, the Secretary of Codex was said by Dr. Mosha to “have a new idea” [sic]. He was given the floor by Dr. Mosha and said, “No sentence provides that Codex standards and related guidelines are mandatory, and this is especially true after acceptance of standards [we presume that he means after acceptance of standards by countries which adopt revised standards which differ from those of Codex — this is our position exactly, and what we have been telling countries around the world to help them focus on how to protect themselves from Codex’s damage to their people’s food and nutritional security and to their health. You can imagine how thrilled we were to hear this “clarification”!]
The Secretary went on to say “Every thing the [Codex Alimentarius] Commission is adopting is a recommendation to the governments. Everything is advisory and there should be no distinction between standards and other texts [e. g., guidelines].” He mentioned that this equivalence of standards, guidelines or other texts as a change which WHO and FAO supported and which was brought about in the last years. This is a strong endorsement of the Natural Solutions Foundation template which was developed in collaboration with the Citizens’ Codex Working Group and others. You can see how it applies by downloading the Codex eBook which elaborates the process as it applies to the restrictive and deadly Vitamin and Mineral Guideline ratified, as you know, with such strong and, to us, distressing, US jubilation one year ago today at the 2005 CAC meeting in Rome.
Now for the kicker: Dr. Mosha, the Chairman who refused to meet with us in Tanzania before the CAC because he wished to remain “neutral and not be pressured by any group [sic] on any position”, the same Dr. Mosha who bullied a National Department into not allowing our sponsorship of an experienced Codex delegate to represent his country’s health interests, that same Dr. Mosha said, “the change is adopted by consensus [!!!!] with the reservations of those countries noted who have expressed them!”
What that means is that this “neutral” Chairman sided with the US and EU despite heated, sustained and articulate opposition to it. What that tells you is that although we are beginning to have an impact, the fight for health is an uphill battle which is going to take time, resources and sustained effort. And we will be here for this battle as long as you want us to be here.
By the way, if you want to understand what Codex is really all about, and why it acts as it does, get a copy of “Nutricide: the DVD” and find out why, how, and by whom Codex was born. If you don’t already know, it will certainly attract your attention, I can promise you!
And now for the very best: While the cadmium standard for rice and mollusks was being discussed again, while the standard was being raised for this very, very dangerous heavy metal from 0.01 (a common national standard), 0.02 ppm (the current US standard) to 0.04 (an industry-friendly standard which allows industrial sludge to be used as “fertilizer” thus saving companies a great deal of money they would otherwise have to spend in expensive appropriate disposal). Last year at the CAC, Kenya and Malaysia noted how many children would die from kidney disease if the cadmium standard were doubled in their staple food, polished rice. Kenya noted that at least 65,000 children would die PER YEAR in Kenya alone if the standard were double. Well, somebody got to Kenya (can you guess whom that might have been?) and this year Kenya, sweet as butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-your-mouth, spoke in favor of 65,000 kids dying for somebody’s profit: “Kenya supports the 0.04 ppm standard.” Bye, bye kids (or perhaps that should read “Buy buy!”
Nigeria was not about taking it any longer. Nigeria, one of our friendly countries that we successfully and extensively visited during our most recent African trip, articulated what we intend to make the rallying cry of Codex countries who value health more than they value corporate interests: the Nigerian Head of Delegation said that “Codex should please consider the issues of health as opposed to the issues of trade!” YES!
Oh, yes. One more thing: In discussing the trade of radioactive food which has been contaminated by a radiation accident (or fallout from a non-accidental source): Codex proposed a table of standards for amounts of radioactive particles (“radionuclides”). The usual suspects thought that was a fine idea. Sure. You’ve got radioactive food. Just dilute it or wait a bit and then sell it internationally. Great idea. Of course, radioactivity is NOT labeled. Health? Consumer protection? Consumer choice? Fuggedaboutit!
However, Indonesia said that it was completely unacceptable to sell radioactive food. Sudan, Egypt, Singapore strongly objected.
Don’t be surprised that IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Commission, which attends Codex (think about that: why do they need to be here? Because of the mandated irradiation of internationally traded food, that’s why) said, “Mr. Chairman, we have had guidelines on radionuclide contamination of foods since 1989. Codex uses the same standards.” Somehow that was supposed to make it all OK.
Apparently it did for the Chairman who declared that that the radionuclide standard advanced by Codex was adopted noting the strong reservations of Indonesia, Singapore, Egypt and Sudan. Well, given the fact that Codex has declared itself to be advisory only, if every country in the world had advanced laboratories that they use to detect radiation in every single lot of food coming into their country, and if they have the international trade muscle to demand changes in the food shipped to them, then any country in the world can protect its people against radioactive foods. Yeah. Right. If you believe that is a meaningful solution, there is a bridge I am sure you would be interested in.
There’s a lot of work ahead of us but you can see that there is a growing body of vigorous discontent and dissent representing world-wide opinion and interests, not just the multinationals any longer!
More tomorrow. This promises to be a lively session and we will keep you closely posted. After all that’s why we are here.
By the way, if you like what we are doing, how about making a contribution on an ongoing basis to keep us doing it?
Yours in health and freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MD