To: IAHF List
Subject: Burton Asked To Obey His Oath: NNFA Witnesses Lie About CODEX While Working On A Global Regulatory Model - As IADSA Presenters Who Are Also Witnesses In Burton's (Theoretical) "Oversight" Hearing
From: "International Advocates for Health Freedom" jham@iahf.com
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 00:10:26 -0500
IAHF List: Breaking News, Codex Oversight
IAHF List: Please read this carefully and check out the link to the IADSA website about this international supplement trade associations open efforts to usher in a global regulatory model for dietary supplements that will undermine US domestic law.....
Three of Burton's planned witnesses are obviously total liars when they claim Codex is a "non issue" (that it "wont" impact US law).... just 10 days after Burton's hearing, they're scheduled to spend 17 hours in the air flying to South Africa to engage in efforts to establish a global regulatory model for dietary supplements....... So, I've hearby informed Burton of this fact (documented below), and if he STILL allows them to lie in his hearing, and not have Malter, Harris and I as witnesses to balance their lies, (they claim Codex is a "non issue" that can "only impact foreign sales by not US law) this hearing will obviously be whitewashed and Burton will be in violation of his oath.... He is running out of time to turn this problem around.....he's allowing pharmaceutically dominated vitamin trade associations to lie to him and to all of us through him unless he turns this around immediately...
Call Burton's Press Secretary John Carterelli to complain at 202-225-2276, also call your own Senators and Congressmen c/o 202-225-3121 (Capital Switchboard) forward this email to your own Senators and Congressmen with your own note of complaint attached, forward it to me and to Burton c/o beth.clay@mail.house.gov, and to radio talk show host stansolomon@stansolomon.com
To: The Honorable Dan Burton, Chairman House Government Reform Committee
Re: Oversight Hearing on March 20- Codex Vitamin Issue
Dear Congressman Burton:
On March 20, according to very reliable leaks from an unimpeachable source, you are planning on calling on the following witnesses to present oral testimony at your Oversight Hearing which will address:
1. Codex 2. Ephedra 3. GMPs 4. Pearson Implementation
Witnesses Called Thus Far:
1. Loren Israelsen, Exec Dir, Utah Natural Products Alliance, Board Member IADSA
2. Karl Riedel, Co Chair, NNFA's International Committee (NNFA is member of IADSA)
3. David Seckman (Exec Dir NNFA)
--------------------------------------------------
4. Bruce Silverglade, Center for Science in the Public Interest (Waxman got him in as a witness)
5. Sidney Wolfe, Public Citizen (Waxman got him in as a witness)
6. Beth Yetley, FDA
7. Joe Levitt, FDA
Wrongly absent from this list are myself, Suzanne Harris, JD; and Richard Malter, PhD who should be allowed to present oral testimony in order to balance the pharmaceutical positions of all other witnesses, especially Israelsen, Riedel, and Seckman (supposedly on our side) on the Codex vitamin issue.
FIRST 3 WITNESSES CAUGHT IN GROSS CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Your first, and third witnesses (Israelsen, and Seckman) are scheduled to be presenters at a meeting in Capetown South Africa just 10 days after your Oversight hearing ends. The meeting in South Africa is of IADSA, International Association Dietary/Food Supplement Associations.http://www.hpasa.co.za/news_release.htm The title of the meeting is "Towards a Global Regulatory Model," and the purpose of the meeting is clearly to discuss what they obviously view as an inevitable process of harmonizing our domestic vitamin laws to an international standard.
NNFA's big lie, which they will be telling at your Oversight Hearing (unless allow Harris, Malter and I as witnesses to expose it) is that Codex is a "non issue" that it "can't" impact the domestic sale of vitamins "only the offshore sale." Israelsen and Seckman wouldn't bother participating in the IADSA meeting if they genuinely believed that.
I flew from Miami to Capetown, and thats a 14 hour flight. From California and Utah where Seckman and Israelsen are, its another 3 and 2 hours further respectively, not counting changing planes. Anyone willing to endure 17 hours in the air must have a damn good reason for it. No, Congressman, the Codex Vitamin issue is NOT a non issue. Your first 3 witnesses are not telling the truth.
Your second listed witness, Karl Riedel, is Co Chair of NNFA's International Committee along with Randy Dennin of Pfizer, who as you can see from the press release above is also scheduled to be a presenter at the IADSA meeting in Capetown. (Riedel echos Dennin's pro pharmaceutical views on Codex, while Dennin is taking positions as scripted by Pfizer, while NNFA members imprudently ignore the gross conflict of interest.)
So.... Congressman........ do you actually BELIEVE Riedel, Seckman and Israelsen when they claim Codex is a "non issue"??? If they REALLY thought it were a "non issue" do you think they'd be going to Capetown South Africa just 10 days after your hearing in order to work out a scheme by which to globally harmonize all dietary supplement laws with the obvious intention to undermine our current domestic vitamin laws?
Please Congressman..... Obey Your Oath!!
Do NOT disenfranchise the grass roots! or there WILL be dissenting views incorporated into the hearing transcript, and You will FORCE us to hold a GENUINE hearing that would only make you look bad. Please don't disenfranchise us.
For the Public Health,
John Hammell 800-333-2553 h&w 24/7/365