To: "Health Freedom, Codex Issues"
Subject: Vitamin Consumers Crash EU Parliament's Server, Parliament Fails to Listen: EU Vitamin Directive "Passes" into "Law" Codex Next? What Must Happen NOW and WHY: Questions to Supplement Industry and EU Parliament from IAHF & Vitamin Consumers World Wide
From: "I A H F" jham@iahf.com
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 13:58:38 -0500

IAHF List: What happened yesterday in the EU Parliament is a day that will live in infamy. This war is not over, we have only just BEGUN to fight!!

Vitamin Consumers Crash EU Parliament's Server, Parliament Fails to Get
Message: EU Vitamin Directive "Passes" into "Law" Codex Next??
by John C. Hammell, President, International Advocates for Health Freedom
POB 625 Floyd VA 24091 USA
http://www.iahf.com 800-333-2553 N.America, 540-763-3051 World Anyone can
be on the IAHF list via http://email.sparklist.com/scripts/lyris.pl?enter=IAHF
Donations are badly needed to carry this mssg to others. IAHF POB 625 Floyd
VA 24091 USA or via paypal http://www.iahf.com

Now that the pharmaceutical industry has set the wheels into motion through passage of the EU Vitamin Directive to control consumer access to high potency vitamins and minerals, and to begin attacking herbs via a seperate Herbal Directive, via UN NGO organizations TABD, and TACD (see below) they have fixed the USA squarely in their gunsights, and via CODEX, the entire world. In this article, International Advocates for Health Freedom will analyze the EU Vitamin Directive in the context of this much broader threat to health freedom to help consumers, and the more honest elements of the dietary supplement industry to clearly grasp what just happened in the EU, why it happened, how it could have been prevented from happening, and what must be done NOW in Europe and world wide to keep fighting back!

The effort to kill the EU Vitamin Directive was (at least in THEORY) "defeated" yesterday March 13, 2002 in the EU Parliament with 383 votes for the Directive, 139 against it, and 19 abstentions. The only amendment that passed was one that extends the scientific review period for companies to send dossiers "proving the safety" of their (already safe) products in to the EU to 36 months, meaning that bans on products resulting from the Directive won't start occurring for another 3 years, once again creating the ILLUSION that there was "never any real threat" posed by the Directive. (Meanwhile a seperate anti Herb Directive is under way in the EU as they attack the industry incrementally.

Via the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue, the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue and Codex the sold out, pharmaceutically dominated supplement industry next intends to harmonize the USA to the EU, (regardless of the wishes of consumers.) (The costs involved with "proving safety" to the EU will be astronomically expensive. Only the large pharmaceutical companies will be able to afford them. This threatens to remove over 300 products from the shelves of British health food stores,and to drive numerous manufacturers out of business.) Now that they figure they have "stopped the vitamin menace" in Europe, NEXT, via Codex and harmonization via TABD and TACD, the pharmaceutical industry (via controlled vitamin trade associations, change agents, controlled opposition groups, and bought off politicians) intends to ignore the wishes of the American people (and vitamin consumers world wide) and to force harmonization of vitamin laws world wide to the EU and Codex.

[See press release titled U.S. and European Leaders Agree on Principles to Harmonize Dietary Supplement Regulations http://www.crnusa.org/shellnr112000.html ]

Consumers and Industry both must ask very serious questions as to whether or not the EU Parliament has bothered to conduct the legally required impact studies on how their Vitamin Directive threatens to impact small businesses. The fact is these impact studies have not been conducted, and have never been made public as required by law. This must be thoroughly examined by Paul van Buitenen, the EU Inspector whose anti fraud investigation three years ago forced many members of the EU Parliament to resign. Van Buitenen has recently handed a new 234 page report on corruption and patronage in the EU over to EU officials. He must be fully apprised of the situation pertaining to the EU Vitamin Directive and its threatened negative impact. http://www.petition450.org/english/default.html

Thus the EU Parliament is mindlessly on course to create the world's biggest black market, and the biggest rise in organized crime the world has ever seen, even if doing so puts consumers at risk from unsafe black market products. Sadly, the supplement industry is not even expressing any indignation over this, but is trying to be "polite" to these corrupt murderers. Why hasn't the supplement industry organized press conferences against the Directive? Why didn't the supplement industry even bother to methodically approach the British press to raise awareness of the issue in their country and throughout Europe? Why didn't IADSA issue a press release defending Kava when it came under media attack right before the committee vote on the EU Directive?

Why do members of NNFA and other vitamin trade associations world wide tolerate the obvious conflicts of interest that exist with IADSA and EAS, IADSA's lobbying firm when EAS also represents the German vitamin trade association which would like a restrictive regulatory model similar to theirs to be imposed on the whole EU and the World via the EU Directive and Codex?

These questions must be asked en masse by small vitamin companies, health food stores and consumers world wide or the pharmaceutical takeover of the dietary supplement industry will not be stopped, and untold millions of people will be condemned to death and immense unnecessary suffering by the pharmaceutically dominated dietary supplement industry. IAHF was leaked a list of the TABD Dietary Supplement working group. All of the American dietary supplement trade associations are represented on it. None can be trusted. None but CRN are telling their memberships the truth about their intention to harmonize our vitamin law to the EU and Codex. CRN made the intention of TABD clear to their membership because most of their members are pharmaceutical companies or very large vitamin companies that don't care about consumers, they only care about increasing market share via uniform global regs just as EHPM did in the EU. See U.S. and European Leaders Agree on Principles to Harmonize Dietary Supplement Regulations http://www.crnusa.org/shellnr112000.html ]

CONSUMERS CAUSE EU INTERNET SERVER TO CRASH UNDER WEIGHT OF PROTEST

Vitamin consumers from all over the EU and the world reviewed Dr.Rath's views at http://www.petition450.org/ as to why the Directive was a bad idea, agreed with them in very large numbers (547 Million) by signing his form letter against the Directive and sent it to the EU Parliament en masse causing the EU's email server to crash yesterday. When Rath attempted to enter the Parliament building, he was barred from entry by security who regard him and all consumers who agree with him to be "terrorists". (Naturally.)

Meanwhile, Ralph A. Pike, Director of the National Association of Health Stores in the UK takes the view that Rath's "arrogance" and "unwillingness to work with industry" has caused the industry to lose much potential support amongst Members of the European Parliament who complained bitterly that they were being forced by Rath and his consumer supporters to delete sometimes 900 "spams" per day from their computers that were intermixed with "legitimate" messages from industry with concerns about the Directive as well as intermixed with other "legitimate" emails.

But lets look at this for a minute: Can it honestly be said by anyone that "Rath" spammed anyone? No! The fact is that Rath did NOT spam anyone, and neither did the consumers who read his information, watched his video on corruption in the EU, and decided to send his form letter to an EU Parliament that SHOULD be responsive to the will of their constituents, and SHOULD pay attention to their concerns, but obviously is too arrogant to CARE what the public in Europe or anywhere else in the world wants. The pharmaceutically dominated dietary supplement industry made no effort to enfranchise consumers in this battle, stupidly ignoring them, stupidly making no effort to communicate with them or to reach out to them in ANY way, not making ANY effort to harness their voices or their grass roots lobbying power, but Dr.Rath filled that void. He made it POSSIBLE for the vitamin consumers of Europe and the world to have a VOICE. How legitimate is it for the supplement industry to CONDEMN him for making consumers AWARE of their fate in this instance, and how legitimate is it for the supplement industry to CONDEMN RATH OR CONSUMERS for acting indignant???

Pike's view is that Rath should have stopped his email campaign once the complaints started from the EU Parliament because they were "alienating potential supporters of industry."

IAHF'S VIEW: SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY ABANDONED CONSUMERS: RATH FILLED THAT VOID: SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY DID NOT SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE: CONSUMERS DID: IN FUTURE - EU SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY CAN'T AFFORD TO DISENFRANCHISE CONSUMERS-THERE MUST BE UNITY

IAHF's view is that the largely pharmaceutically dominated supplement "industry" does not speak with one voice, and that most of the European supplement industry has been coopted by pharmaceutical interests, especially EHPM, which truthfully did NOTHING to try to kill the Directive, and that IADSA and EAS obviously can't be trusted as EAS, the lobbying firm that represents IADSA, simultaneously represents the pharmaceutically dominated German vitamin trade association that would like the ultra restrictive German regulatory model to be imposed on the entire EU and the world.

So why should the vitamin consumers of the EU and the world who share Rath's concerns about the EU Directive and Codex give a damn about possibly "alienating" members of the European Parliament when their concerns AREN'T being even REMOTELY shared by the bulk of the supplement industry, which is tripping over itself to sell out to pharmaceutical interests and which obviously on the whole cares far more about getting increased profit share via uniform EU regulations than they care whether or not products get removed from the shelves?

Put ANOTHER way, why should consumers, many of whose LIVES are threatened by the EU Directive and Codex give a DAMN whether or not they spam a form letter of Dr.Rath's into the EU Parliament causing the EU's server to crash as it did yesterday when they feel that their LIVES are coming under full frontal ATTACK? Why should they show the LEAST BIT of patience or tolerance with an EU Parliament which SUPPOSEDLY is there to serve THEIR INTERESTS and to be concerned with THEIR VIEWS when they obviously don't give a DAMN about whether or not they live or die? Why should they CARE whether or not they crash the EU's server when Rath has shown them a very accurate web based videotape clearly proving that the EU Parliament is RIDDLED with corruption that is even WORSE than it was 3 years ago when an official investigation forced most MEPs to resign their offices? [See video on corrupton in the EU at http://www.petition450.org/english/default.html

In the face of this corruption, shouldn't the supplement industry SHARE Rath's indignation and should people such as Ralph Pike REALLY be so quick to call RATH arrogant, when perhaps this allegation could more TRUTHFULLY be made against the corrupt MEPs who think they have a RIGHT to largely IGNORE the largest referendum in human HISTORY?

Shouldn't Pike and the rest of the industry take the time to STUDY Rath's argument, EXAMINE the videotape he has put on the web that DOCUMENTS EU Corruption, and shouldn't the industry get BEHIND his obvious LEADERSHIP??? (If they DON'T, can they truthfully claim to care about the interests of consumers???)

WHAT IF DSHEA Was Introduced in the EU Parliament & WHAT IF 1994 in the USA Were 2002 in Europe Today?? Would Consumers Back THEN Have Crashed the EU's Internet Server ????

In the early 1990s, when American vitamin consumers rebelled en masse against an FDA rulemaking effort that was even MORE onerous than the EU Vitamin Directive or Codex is today, we did not live in a wired world. The internet existed, and so did the world wide web, but there was not the proliferation of websites that exist today, far fewer people were on line using email, and government was not set up to receive email from citizens the way they are today. So we lived in a very different world. Back then, if you wanted to register your anger with the government, about the best people could do by way of electronic protest was to send a lot of faxes en masse, enough to make fax machines in congressional offices and at the FDA run out of paper and ink, and enough to block OTHER faxes from being received.

DID CONSUMERS ATTACK CONGRESSIONAL FAX MACHINES AND FDA FAX MACHINES DURING THE DRIVE TO PASS DSHEA?

Of course we did! And why NOT? Our lives were at stake! Yes! We FLOODED Congress with more faxes, more phone calls, and more personal visits than they have EVER HAD BEFORE on any single issue in the HISTORY of the US Congress!

LEGITIMATE QUESTION THE EU SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY SHOULD ASK THE EU PARLIAMENT RATHER THAN ATTACK DR. RATH:

What the hell could you EXPECT to happen when you introduced a grossly restrictive vitamin directive given what Congress experienced in the USA when pharmaceutical interests engaged in a SIMILAR attack against THEM back THEN and consumers flooded Congress with with more faxes, more mail, more phone calls and more personal visits than Congress had ever received in their HISTORY, more than even with the VIETNAM WAR?

And what the hell could you EXPECT would happen when AMERICANS perceived that the EU Directive would impact CODEX, and thus IMPACT AMERICAN LAW which consumers in the USA fought so hard for in '94???

Wouldn't it have been WISE of the EU Parliament to attempt to LEARN SOMETHING from the American experience, and before issuing a mindlessly restrictive Vitamin Directive that is clearly intended to ATTACK dietary supplements on behalf of pharmaceutical interests? Wouldn't it have been WISE if the EU Parliament had contacted American consumers, and American supplement companies to ASK US if we thought the EU Directive would be a good idea or not before just sticking it in OUR faces given the reality of CODEX and how it would impact CODEX and the reality of how we might feel about the idea of our European consumer friends being slammed this way? And what about the EU Parliament's attitude towards their OWN CONSTITUENTS???

Isn't it ARROGANT of the EU Parliament to not pay any attention to the TRUTHS Rath is trying to express? Shouldn't they CARE how the citizens of the EU feel on this issue, and shouldn't they LISTEN TO THEM?

Of COURSE they should listen, but they're NOT! They're labeling Rath a "terrorist" and yesterday they used security guards to block him from even ENTERING the Parliament Building, and they REFUSED to allow him to air his views before them, despite the fact that he obviously represents the views of millions of vitamin consumers world wide. Dr.Rath did not send 457 Million emails to the EU Parliament, he merely made it possible for the public to express their views through him.

SO WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NEXT?

What should happen next is this: If industry groups such as NAHS and their leader Ralph Pike don't start grasping the fact that they can't stop people like Rath from encouraging the public to vote with their feet on this issue, shouldn't they join with him in demanding that the criminals in the EU Parliament listen to and RESPECT the wishes of the vitamin consumers of the EU and the WORLD?

Damn right, they should, and frankly, they HAVE NO CHOICE, because they can't STOP Rath and consumers from CONTINUING to crash the email server at the EU Parliament, in FACT, since the EU Parliament has refused to LISTEN to consumers, what SHOULD happen from now on is that the vitamin consumers of the world should CONTINUE to rebel EN MASSE against the EU Parliament, and should consider EVERY DAY to be just another day in this WAR, and we should CONTINUE to assault the EU Parliament with enough email to crash their server EVERY SINGLE DAY so that they have to DISBAND the EU Parliament since the idea of a world government is not feasable or fair ANYWAY, and we should go back to what we had before the EU EXISTED: national sovereignty: where people have some control over their destiny, and where they have a chance to shape legislation within their OWN COUNTRY.

The bottom line is that the EU does not respect the wishes of vitamin consumers in England, Holland Sweden, or ANYWHERE ELSE in the EU, so why SHOULDN'T a state of WAR continue each and every DAY from now ON against the EU Parliament until it is forced to DISBAND because they can't get any WORK DONE with their email servers crashing, their faxes running out of paper and ink, their phones ringing off the hook from angry consumers calling in, and with more personal visits from consumers and supplement industry lobbyists than they have time for ?

In the face of the immense corruption that exists in the EU Parliament today and which is documented by Dr.Rath in his video at http://www.petition450.org/ one thing and one thing only is clear to me, the European Union must be forced to DISBAND, and it should be attacked each and every day by an email barrage even BIGGER than the one that occurred yesterday because unless and UNTIL the EU Parliament acknowledges that they're going to have to harmonize to DSHEA, (since TABD not withstanding, consumers here will for DAMN SURE not agree to harmonization to the EU or Codex, the wishes of sold out vitamin trade associations not withstanding) the EU Parliament has no right to EXIST and is going to have to CEASE THEIR ARROGANCE!!!

(It is strongly recommended from here on in that both the pharmaceutically dominated dietary supplement industry AND the EU Parliament STOP MESSING with the vitamin consumers of the world, or there is going to be even BIGGER PROBLEMS, because if we ever WANTED TO, we could just as easily start spamming the servers of people such as Ralph Pike, JB Cordaro, Simon Petman, and any OTHER industry so called "leaders" who don't act right by us because they try to climb into bed with the murderous pharmaceutically sold out criminals in government.

Should vitamin consumers show any respect whatsoever for the supplement industries efforts to "protect iteself"? Absolutely NOT! Why the hell should we when "protecting itself" is just a synonym for selling out? Hell no! We are the hardliners, and we will NOT be marginalized or ignored! The CUSTOMER is ALWAYS RIGHT, and the time has come for the INDUSTRY and GOVERNMENT to grasp this fully, or the REVOLT is only going to have to CONTINUE!!

Question to be asked en masse by the supplement industry and by vitamin consumes all over the EU and the world about the EU Vitamin Directive: Did the EU conduct the legally required small business impact study to try to determine exactly how their proposed vitamin directive threatens to impact small vitamin companies? Did they bother to try to conduct an impact study to see how their Directive threatens to impact the public health?

The answer to both questions should be very obvious. There is no way the EU Parliament possibly COULD have done EITHER of these things, and it will be ILLEGAL if the European Commission signs the Directive into law in May. Vitamin consumers world wide must let members of the European Parliament AND the pharmaceutically dominated vitamin trade associations know their feelings. Small vitamin companies and health food stores must QUIT the pharmaceutically dominated vitamin trade associations world wide: what is happening in the EU should serve as a wakeup call: small to mid sized vitamin companies and consumers are being led to the CLIFF and must take ACTION to avoid being pushed off! If that means quitting the pharmaceutically dominated vitamin trade associations to form new trade associations that exclude pharmaceutical interests, so be it! IAHF is in touch with several groups and individuals who would like to quit NNFA in the USA and to form a new trade association due to these events. This is already happening in Europe with the formation of the Free Choice in Supplements Alliance. Lets hope its not too late to reverse the march to the cliff.