The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 passed Congress after more than 2 million letters of support from Americans. That was more letters received than on any other issue in American history.

The FDA had been pressing to regulate dietary supplements out of the marketplace. DSHEA granted protection and a wide assortment of choice in dietary supplements for Americans.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty

While Americans were celebrating their Independence and high-fiving over the $330 million target practice on a comet there was an official United States delegation taking part in a United Nations ratification of Codex. That may lead to dramatic restriction of dietary supplements. The cruel irony is that this infringing on U.S. freedom occurred on Independence Day.

In a clever, surprise move Codex passed as a blank slate. A restriction of items, and restricting amounts of the reduced number of items was delayed until a November meeting.

If the amounts originally presented had been passed they would have violated the U.S. DSHEA law. That would have placed CODEX in violation of Title 19 USC 3512 and made it subject to U.S. court challenges. By passing it BLANK that obstacle was avoided.

One step at a time

Just before the Independence Day weekend in a late night session the Senate narrowly passed a trade agreement called CAFTA. The House did not address it before Congress recessed for the holiday.

CAFTA contains a provision deep within its massive structure that allows DSHEA to be overridden.

Failure to pass CAFTA prior to CODEX is what resulted in the blank slate passage of that U.N. act.

If CAFTA passes the House then the door will be wide open to toss out choices of dietary supplements.

Too late?

News reports have noted that there will be a big fight in the House over CAFTA. It has been reported that a vote will occur later this month. However it is already on the House calendar and can be addressed (and voted on) at any time.

It may be that CAFTA has already passed the House by the time this column appears. If not there is no time for generating support of millions as in 1994. There is not even time for writing letters. The only way to generate volume responses in a short time is if each one will telephone, e-mail and fax their representative with a VOTE NO ON CAFTA message.

Americans are unknowingly floating on the Titanic CODEX and CAFTA is the iceberg that may bring her unhealthfully down to her knees before putting her under in more ways than one.